Welcome to this resource for Venturers and Venturer leaders. The aim of this resource is to provide you with a wide range of activities for Venturers, 13-15 year olds in the Woodcraft Folk.
Most of the activities in this pack were collected from past and present Venturer leaders from across the UK at the national Venturer Camp in 2010. Other activities are old favourites, from a previous edition of ‘The Venturer Book’. All activities are examples of what has worked well with actual Venturer groups. The result is a sharing of tried and tested activities to help new and experienced Venturers and leaders alike.
The pack has been divided by the types of activity e.g. game, debating style, craft or drama activity. As no two Venturer groups are the same, flexibility is the key to using this resource: take what
you want, adapt as you see fit, but most of all – enjoy it! The most important aspect is that young people are given the opportunity to explore and try out new and more challenging activities.
- A Venturer programme should take forward the ideals of Woodcraft Folk, by:
- opening young people to new ideas, experiences and opportunities to develop choices
- building awareness of and participation in democracy – within Woodcraft Folk and in the widerworld
- exploring issues which concern young people, at a level they can relate to and learn from
- giving opportunities to develop social skills and friendships
- developing a sense of awareness and empowerment
- offering activities in a non-competitive and co-operative environment.
And finally, at the back of the resource is a blank template. This is for you to copy and capture your own successful sessions as we hope that this sharing of ideas between groups will continue. We also welcome your feedback on what’s in here, how it worked with your group, suggestions for tips and variations, and any improvements that could be made.