1. Snow Ball<br />An Activity for Creating Community<br />Time: 15 minutes<br />Materials: Paper (8½” x 11”, 1 per participant), Pencils and/or pens (1 per participant), Large basket or waste basket to collect the snowballs (optional)<br />Purpose: To give participants an opportunity to continue to get to know each other and begin building a sense of community.<br />Introduce the activity<br />Tell participants they’ll need a pen or pencil for the activity.<br />Ask participants to sit in a tight circle (on chairs or on the floor, depending on their preference).<br />Give each participant a piece of paper.<br />Instruct them to fold the piece of paper into four sections.<br /> Round 1. Ask participants to:<br />Write their name in the upper left-hand box<br />Under their name, write their favorite food<br />Crumple up the piece of paper into a ball, and toss it into the center of the circle (or into the basket)<br /> Round 2. Ask participants to:<br />Grab a snowball at random from the center (or basket), and unfold it<br />Write their name in the lower left-hand box<br />Under their name, answer the question “What would you be doing if you weren’t in youth work?”<br />Crumple up the piece of paper into a ball, and toss it into the center of the circle (or into the basket) <br /> Round 3. Ask participants to:<br />Grab a snowball at random from the center (or basket), and unfold it<br />Write their name in the upper right-hand box<br />Under their name, answer the question “What is the one thing your best friend loves most about you?”<br />Crumple up the piece of paper into a ball, and toss it into the center of the circle (or into the basket)<br /> Round 4. Ask participants to:<br />Grab a snowball at random from the center (or basket), and unfold it<br />Write their name in the lower right-hand box<br />Under their name, answer the question “What is the one thing you would most like to do or see before leaving this planet?”<br />Crumple up the piece of paper into a ball, and toss it into the center of the circle (or into the basket)<br /> Snowball readings<br />Ask participants to grab a snowball at random from the center (or basket), and unfold it.<br />Instruct participants to review each entry and select their favorite entry to share with the group. Their selection is based on their own criteria.<br />Invite volunteers to read their “favorite” box to the group, and explain why they chose that box.<br />As each volunteer finishes their reading and explanation, they should crumple the paper and toss it back into the center (or basket).<br />When all participants have read and put their snowball back into the center (or basket), go on to the activity debrief.<br />Note: If time is running short, only have 2-3 volunteers share.<br /> <br />Reflection/Debrief<br />What might this collection of snowballs represent? (Answer: a community)<br />What did you learn about yourself during this activity?<br />What did you learn about the other people here during this activity?<br />In what ways did this activity help us build a sense of community with each other?<br />How might you use this activity with youth? With staff in your program?<br />