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Online group lesson - Youth Work in times of Corona

Online group lesson - Youth Work in times of Corona | ©: Image by Vektor Kunst from Pixabay

At least not since WWII has it happened that public life came to a standstill like now. For youth work, that means no more group hours in times of Corona crisis, either. What to do?

The solution could be an Online group hour

This is important because the children and young people will get very bored at home over time. An online group session would provide a change of pace.

On the other hand, you also keep in touch with your group members. That is equally important.

There are several possibilities for an online group session. You could use different live streaming services, set up a skype session, or use Google Hangouts

The prerequisite would be that you have the email addresses of all your group members, or at least a network so that everyone can dial in online on the date in question.

Ideas for an online group session?

Online group lesson - Youth Work in times of Corona | ©: Image by Tumisu from Pixabay

Let's all hope that online group sessions don't become permanent institutions and drag on for weeks and months, but 4-5 ideas should be considered. An online group session doesn't have to last 90 minutes but can last just 30-45 minutes.

I came up with a few ideas right off the bat.

Quiz:

There are several ways to do a quiz, which could be done 2-3 times. It would be essential to present your screen to others. Then, for example, these quiz formats would be conceivable.

Picture quiz:

Picture details are shown, which must be guessed by the others. The solution is typed in the chat window. The first person to type in the correct answer gets the point. So-called USB microscope cameras are also well suited for a picture quiz.
The big prize:

Questions are asked about various areas of knowledge. The team which is on it must call the solution. Think about quiz questions on biblical topics too.
Monday Painter:

Each kid draws a term on PAINT for the other group members. The others must guess the word as fast as possible. But you could also play against Google here. The better you draw, the faster Google guesses the painted term. https://quickdraw.withgoogle.com/. Kind of funny. How often does the group here manage to steer Google to the desired term within 19 seconds?
Corona Quiz:

Keep up to date with a few questions about the Coronavirus. By now, all kids should be able to answer all the questions.
Guessing detective stories:

The group leader reads out a guessing detective story. The group members guess who the culprit is. Of course, only concise stories are suitable here.
Guessing professions:

Each group member thinks of a profession and makes a typical hand gesture. However, a maximum of 10 questions may be asked, then the profession must be revealed. Now everyone, in turn, may try to narrow down the profession and finally guess it. Or guess pantomime terms.

Games via webcam:

Unfortunately, game nights are not that easy to do online - and probably are never as exciting as a real live game night. Nevertheless, some games can be played. You could tell the kids in advance what they should have ready.

For example:

A candidate must stack as many matches as possible on the top of a bottle. The prerequisite is: the candidate must have matches at home and, of course, a webcam for online transmission.
Eat 15 salt sticks in 60 seconds. The prerequisite, as before, is that the salt sticks are available at home.
Guess the peas in the peas jar. A glass filled with peas is shown from all sides. The others now must guess how many peas are in the jar.
Drink a bottle of fizzy drinks. Which candidate can do it at what time?
Type a text (bible passage) into the chat window as fast as possible and without errors. At the same time to check the time and typos.

What else

Behavior tips: Wash your hands, don't hug, keep your distance. Boring, although essential, but certainly already heard 1000x. Nevertheless, how about practicing Corona greeting rituals? Undoubtedly quite fun - if you can transfer a camera or via cell phone to the online session.

Collect ideas for the subsequent group sessions as soon as you are allowed to meet again. Or plan the next joint camp or group outing.
Show a meditation picture and talk about it. What comes to everyone's mind when they see a particular image?