My idea my choice
You’ll need
- Crafting materials
- Paints
- Aprons
- Colouring pens and pencils
- Glue
- Scissors
- Paint brushes
- Paint palette
- Old magazine and card bord boxes.
- Small pebbles or another type of voting counter.
- Small container for voting counters.
Before you begin
- Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Take a look at our guidance to help you carry out your risk assessment, including examples.
- Make sure all young people and adults involved in the activity know how to take part safely.
- Make sure you’ll have enough adult helpers. You may need some parents and carers to help.
Planning and setting up this activity
- You can use the Democracy Challenge award pdf to help you prepare for the session.
- This activity should be completed in two sessions.
Session 1- make a representation of the idea.
Session 2: present the idea and vote.
- Ensure to collect recycling materials and magazines etc for the collage and model making. Ask squirrels and leavers to collect and bring to session.
- Set up the crafting materials on tables for everyone to share in groups.
Running this activity
Session 1: Create Idea Representation
- Gather everyone around and tell them that today squirrels will share something they’d love to learn, do, or explore in Squirrels by creating a fun representation of their idea. They can do the idea as a drawing, painting, collage, song or model.
By the end of the activity, Squirrels will,
- create a simple representation (drawing, model, song, collage, etc.) of ONE IDEA only.
- Share their own ideas confidently in front of all the squirrels
- Listen to others’ suggestions.
- Then finally vote on the idea that they like. The idea with the most votes will be done by all the squirrels in a future session.
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Prompts to spark ideas:
- There is no wrong idea.
- Have you played a game at home, school or nursery that you’d like to play in Squirrels?
- Have they learnt about something at school/ nursery/ at home that they would like to learn more about e.g. nature, their community, space.
- Have you visited somewhere nearby that you’d like to visit again?
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Put everyone in groups and they can now go to their tables and start making a representation of their idea. Remind them that they can do the following
- Drawing or painting
- Collage
- Model using craft or recycled materials
- Photograph (if appropriate)
- A short song
- Simple computer drawing.
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Once everyone has completed their Idea representation, bring everyone back together.
Session 2: Sharing ideas and voting.
- Squirrels should discuss everyone’s ideas and aim to pick the three best ones. Those that want to can share their idea and say one sentence about their idea. For less confident speakers, allow an adult to share on their behalf. For larger groups, work in small teams.
- Squirrels can then vote for their favourite idea by placing voting pebbles in a jar. Alternatively, they could use items gathered via a nature treasure hunt such as feathers, leaves or acorns. Ask Squirrels for the reason for their view.
- Whichever idea gets the most votes should be carried out and Squirrels should discuss with the group Leader how to make it happen.
Reflection
The Squirrels were enthusiastic about sharing their ideas and enjoyed expressing themselves creatively through drawings and models. The activity supported communication skills and helped build confidence when speaking in front of the group. It also gave leaders valuable insight into what the young people are interested in, helping to shape future programme plans.
Safety
All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.
You must run your activities in line with the Safeguarding Code of Conduct for Adults (Yellow Card) and report any concerns to the UK HQ Safeguarding Team.
- Glue and solvents
Always supervise young people appropriately when they’re using glue and solvent products. Make sure there’s plenty of ventilation. Be aware of any medical conditions that could be affected by glue or solvent use and make adjustments as needed.
- Scissors
Supervise young people appropriately when they’re using scissors. Store all sharp objects securely, out of the reach of young people.
- Sharp objects
Teach young people how to use sharp objects safely. Supervise them appropriately throughout. Store all sharp objects securely, out of the reach of young people.
- Rubbish and recycling
All items should be clean and suitable for this activity.
- Online safety
Supervise young people when they’re online and give them advice about staying safe. Take a look at our online safety or bullying guidance. The NSPCC offers more advice and guidance, too. If you want to know more about specific social networks and games, Childnet has information and safety tips for apps. You can also report anything that’s worried you online to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command. As always, if you’ve got concerns about a young person’s welfare, including their online experiences, follow the Yellow Card to make a report.
Make it accessible
All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.
