Leaders

Icebreakers/Get-to-Know-You Games

People Bingo

Make a 5 x 5 grid, like a bingo grid. Write "FREE" in the center space. In all the other spaces, write things such as "Born in another state," "Is the youngest child in family," or "Plays a sport." Fill in all the grids with items of interest to the girls. Run a copy for each girl. The girls are to get the signature of a person who meets the criteria for each section. You might want to implement a rule that a person can only sign another person's paper in two spots. The first person with a completed card wins. Variation: Rather than a bingo board, create a "Treasure Hunt" sheet with items such as the categories listed above. Encourage participants to meet as many people as they can in order to fill their treasure hunt list.

Line 'Em Up!

Divide the girls into groups of 4 to 7, depending on the difficulty level you want. The more girls in a group, the higher the level of difficulty. Give directions for each group to arrange themselves in a line according to a particular characteristic--for example, shortest to longest length of hair, alphabetical by best friend's first name, birthdate, shoe size, length of thumb, number of letters in last name. Several rounds can be played in a short amount of time, depending on the size of the groups.

Name Tag Mingle

Each group member will need a 5" x 7" card for a name tag. Then give the following directions:

Put your name in the center of your card.
1. In the upper left corner, write four things that you like to do.
2. In the upper right corner, write your four favorite singers or groups.
3. In the lower left corner, write your four favorite movies.
4. In the lower right corner, write four adjectives that describe you.

When everyone finishes, have them mingle with the group for a few minutes. Without talking, they are to read the upper left corner of the other group members' cards. When time is up, they are to find one or two people who are most like them and visit for a few minutes. When time is up, they are to mingle again reading the upper right corner of the other group members' cards. They then find the one or two people most like them and visit. Repeat with the lower left corner and lower right corner information. To make sure everyone visits with several people, you could implement a rule that no two people can be in the same group more than once.

Knots of People

Divide the group into teams of 8 to 12 members. Have each person join right hands with another person in the group, but it has to be someone who is NOT standing immediately to the left or right. Then have each person join left hands with another person in the group, but it has to be someone who is NOT standing immediately to the left or right and someone other than before. Now the groups have to untangle themselves without letting go of hands. They may have to loosen their grips a little to allow for twisting and turning. They may have to step over or under other people. The first group to untangle their knot is the winner.

4 Facts

Divide the girls into teams of 4-6 members. Each girl should write down 4 facts about herself, one of which is a lie. Each person reads their list out-loud and the rest of their team writes down the one they think is a lie. When everyone is done reading their lists out-loud, the first person reads their list again and identifies the lie. The teams then see how well they did.

Yarn Ball

You will need a ball of yarn for this activity. The girls will stand in a circle. The person who starts will say her name and something unique about herself. That same person will hold the end of the yarn and throw the yarn ball to anyone else. Thsi will remain until everyone has been introduced. A spider web will be formed in the middle of the circle from the yarn.

Toilet Paper

You will need two to three rolls of toilet paper depending on the size of the group. Have the group sit in a circle. The leader tells the group to pretend that they are going on a camping trip over night. Pass out the rolls of toilet paper and say that each person needs to bring enough toilet paper for one night in the forests. Once they have taken their sheets, tell them that for every piece of paper that they bring, they need to tell the group one fact about themselves.

Trace Game

This is an active variation of the "Telephone" game. You will need cards with words on them, and paper and pencils. Have the girls split into groups and stand in a straight line behind each other. Have the last person in line pick a card. Then they must trace the picture of the word on the card onto the back of the person in front of them. This continues until the drawing gets to the first person's back. That person must then draw what was on their back and identify it. The participants may not talk at any time throughout the game.

What's Your Name?

For this game, you will need index cards and pencils or pens. Each girl gets an index card and writes her nmae vertically down the center of the card. Players then circulate and learn each other's names. Each girl prints other girl's names (either first or last) so that they intersect her name wherever there is a common letter. The first girl to use all the letters in her name wins.

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