I am wanting some ideas for some initiative exercises for Friday.

I'm helping out with the Air Cadets and so I am wanting some help to put together a few things.

So has anyone done things with corporate team building, or even people who help out with other youth groups.

Throw some ideas in the hat and see what we could come up with.

Have to bear in mind this is for 11-18 year olds. Indoor or outdoor.

They do that already on "green camps".

I also only have between 1900 - 2130

Don't turn up. Leave the building locked.

That looks like fun. Think I will put that on the list.

Where's Alanis when you need her

Just thought it was ironic, someone asking others for help with initiative exerciss

What Sqn you at?

Stand them in a line, try to get them to rearrange themselves into age order without verbal or written communication.

Give them 3 chairs marked 'Chicken', 'Fox' and 'Corn'. They must transport all three from one side of the lake (room) to the other, they can only take one item at a time. The chicken cannot be left with the corn or it will get eaten and the fox cannot be left with the chicken for the same reason.

Get the NCOs to make up their own exercise

There are some we did on our BELA course I will post them up when I remember them.

Get the kids who are team leaders (or whatever theyre called) to lead by example, instead of being a bunch of unpopular-at-school-tts who go to ATC because it gives them the chance to boss other kids around while they stand there looking smug in their stupid beret.

fking ATC. I went for a (very short) while, thinking it might be quite an adventure with good lads doing some grown-up stuff, even got my marksman badge thingy. Did a field trip to Sopley where my group was the only one who didnt get found by the group leaders (forgotten all the lingo, sorry) on a night mission across the fields etc But all that really happens each week is a nerdy kid that you would usually happily slap the lunch money out of, demands you polish your boots better in time for the next meeting or gets you to do some menial task of work for work's sake while he watches. Dont fking ask me to do anything youre not prepared to muck in with yourself, fatty. The world needs leaders, not power-tripping 14 yr olds in berets.

I assumed theyre not all like that, surely? (ATCs that is, not the fatty)

Anyway, I hold absolutely no bitterness about this episode of my life. Whatsoever.

I'm at 2487 Easingwold.

I am just wanting some more outside the usual things to do. This is more for once the NCOs have attempted to come up with ideas to do something properly.

Making parachutes out of a few bits of string, balloons, couple of sheets of paper and an egg. Launched from various heights - the winning team is the one with an intact egg.

There's some cracking command and control tasks involving water pistols and the like - pair the cadets up. One can see but can't move, the other can move, but can't see. It's a bit like robot wars really - you put the water pistols at opposite ends of a half football pitch or similar size and put the 2 talkers in the centre spot and the 2 walkers in the corners. The winning pair is the team that squirts both members of the opposite team. Teaches communication, speed of thought, voice projection, planning etc.