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Volunteering at Scouts is changing to help us reach more young people

Volunteering is changing to help us reach more young people

Volunteering is changing at Scouts. Read more

Discover what this means

Watch out, fox is about

Put on your thinking hat and work out who’s missing from the group.
Plan a session with this activity

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You’ll need

  • Blanket or towel

Watch out, fox is about

  1. Everyone should walk or run around the room.
  2. When the person running the activity says ‘Watch out, watch out, fox is about’, everyone should curl up into a ball on the floor and cover their eyes.
  1. The person leading the game should take the blanket and put it over one curled up person.
  2. Everyone except the person under the blanket should stand up and try to work out who is under the blanket.
  1. Once everyone’s worked out who’s under the blanket, the person leading the game should pick the blanket up again. 
  2. Everyone should repeat steps one to five keep playing until they run out of time or want to move on to something else.

Reflection

In this game, everyone had to problem-solve to work out who was missing from their group. Well done to everyone who faced their fears when they were covered by the blanket.

After playing the game, think about:

  • What did people enjoy about the game?
  • How easy was it to work out who was missing?

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.

Dark

Provide some light, so the environment isn’t completely dark. Everyone must be able to see others and move around the area safely.

Active games

The game area should be free of hazards. Explain the rules of the game clearly and have a clear way to communicate that the game must stop when needed. Take a look at our guidance on running active games safely.

It’s OK if people struggle to remember each other’s names. They could describe who they think is missing if they can’t remember their name.

To make the game more difficult, the person leading the game could hide two people (or an adult) to see if the group can work out who is missing.

Some people might not like being covered by a blanket. Before you begin, remember to check in with everyone to see if they're okay with being covered with a blanket.

If some people in your group don’t want to be covered with a blanket, you can play another way: the person leading the game could choose someone to leave the room. Just like the original game, everyone will have to work out who is missing.

 

All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.

Squirrels All Together Challenge Award

Encourage everyone to take the game home and play with friends and family. They could hide teddies and toys and work out which one is missing.

Ask the person who was covered by the blanket to choose the next person to be covered by the blanket to develop their decision-making skills.