Quick Activities for Team Building

Building a sense of belonging is critical for all organizations, youth and adults alike. Groups are more efficient and effective when individuals feel accepted, safe, respected and appreciated by their peers. It is worth the 10-15 minutes that it might take to incorporate the following team-building activities into your next meeting or event. Below are some 4-H team building activities tried and tested by our Ambassadors and 4-H Council Officers.

Two Truths and a Lie - Ainsley (Blue River Wranglers 4-H Club)

Participants are given an index card and asked to write three interesting statements about themselves that others might not believe. Two of the statements are true and one should be a lie (make sure to mix it up). When everyone is ready, the participants take turns sharing their statements and everyone guesses the lie.

Find Your Pair - Abby (Lucky Clover 4-H Club)

This activity takes some planning. The leader will collect youth appropriate riddles and write the question on one card and answers on another. The participants are given a random question or answer and they must find their pair and prepare to share their riddle with the group. This activity is great because it allows you to create random pairs for future activities during your meeting/event. Example jokes:

• What do you call birds that stick together? Vel-crows!
• What starts with a P and ends with an E and has a million letters in it? Post Office!

 

Would You Rather - Theresa (Country Hearts 4-H Club)

The leader will read a “would you rather” statement and identify one side of the room as one answer and the other side of the room as the other. The leader will ask participants to share their reasoning for their answers with the nearest neighbor. Example statements:

• “Would you rather live 365 days of the year in a tank top or in a sweater?”
• “Would you rather be really short (under 4 feet) or really tall (over 7 feet)?”

Pirate Ship - 4-H Ambassador Training

This is a great activity for large groups. The leader will need a loud voice or a microphone and gives commands and the participants must act accordingly. The participants are “out” if they cannot keep up or they miss the command.

Command:	Action:
“Captain’s Coming”	Participants stand at attention and say, “aye, aye, captain.”
“Hit the Deck	Participants lay on their belly.
“Starfish”	Find a wall to stick to.
“Light House”	Participants pair up. One person stand straight and other circles around.
“Row the Boat”	Participants get into groups of three , sit in a line and row.