Fun school club ideas?

December 13, 2013 11:04 AM

I'm a high school teacher and I want to start a club for my students that's just about having fun.

I'm looking for specific club suggestions that aren't for a special cause, but just about having a good time and enjoying being with other kids.

I had the idea to start a board game club, but apprently another teacher is already doing that.

The students I work with are between the ages of 13 and 17. I can get a little bit of money from the PAC for supplies, but really, not much more than a couple hundred bucks.

Any ideas welcome!

posted by figaro to Education (12 answers total)

I loved making my own movies when I was that age. My sisters and I took existing things and then redid them really stupidly. Nancy Drew became Nancy Poo, for example. And we made our own mystery for her to solve. I was strangled by an unseen assailant wearing black gloves. Nancy Poo came to solve the crime. Spoiler! Mom was the murderer! Though Dad, not understanding that we already set mom up to be the killer, went on a huge "I did it! I killed her! I confess!" rant, and we kept saying "No dad! No!". We then cut away to Nancy Poo declaring that "Poppa Kilarosisis" was insane and not to be believed, and then we resumed with the investigation. Classic. "Momma Kilarosisis"'s confession was much less exciting than dad's. Mom just put on the murderer's gloves and was all "Oh, you found my gloves. Look, they fit." and that was it.

So I say make a movie.
posted by PuppetMcSockerson at 11:07 AM on December 13, 2013

Improv comedy group?

There was one in my high school. I wasn't a member, but I know some of the activities involved practicing performing funny short stories, improvising songs, impersonations of celebrities, etc.
posted by fontophilic at 11:11 AM on December 13, 2013 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Honestly, if you just want kids to be able to join to be with each other and have fun, give it some bullshit name like "Student Life Enrichment Group" or "Student Activity Group" or "Student Enrichment Club."

And then from there, you could have monthly or biweekly themes depending on whatever the kids want to do, maybe one fundraiser a semester, and then some sort of club-sponsored party thing at the end of the year. Boom. Student life: enriched.
posted by phunniemee at 11:28 AM on December 13, 2013 [3 favorites]

Seconding something that's mostly unprogrammed.

In middle school I was a member of the "Math and Science" club. In contrast to most after-school activities, we didn't really do much except hang out with the teacher (an adult who always had cool anecdotes) and talk about whatever. Sometimes we'd borrow one of those Macintoshes-on-a-cart and a modem for some free Internet time, and other times we'd sit around playing board games or playtesting a lesson plan.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 12:01 PM on December 13, 2013 [1 favorite]

Be More Awesome Club. Make a collective list of everything the students want to learn to do that school year. It could be silly things, like fit 10 cookies in your mouth, juggle, or more serious, such as help out people in need in your community, make a movie, learn basic first aid and CPR, write a collection of short stores, learn to knit, whatever.

Make sure it's a giant poster sized list that you can always add to, and cross off things once you've done them.
posted by inertia at 12:56 PM on December 13, 2013 [6 favorites]

Société Bon Vivant or something. Goal, to learn to live well, more broadly, to learn how to expose yourself to new things, to find things that cheer you. Watch a foreign film, try geocaching, visit with some old people, have a go at meditation or yoga, learn to whistle real loud. Start a habit of self discovery, curiousity and fulfillment that will follow them into the future.
posted by Iteki at 1:39 PM on December 13, 2013 [2 favorites]

wimp.com might be a good 10 minute segment. It's 5 videos a day, family friendly, short (a minute or two each, occasionally a 10 or 15 min one). Ugly web site, but it's in my daily feel-good list.
posted by at at 3:42 PM on December 13, 2013

I took a class once upon a time called "Surprise! There Might Be Pie!" Every week we did something different. One week you'd learn to juggle, another week would be about making desk forts. And sometimes, there was pie (or pizza pie).

I also nth improv or Be More Awesome Club.
posted by jenfullmoon at 5:34 PM on December 13, 2013 [2 favorites]

I hate to say it, but I would not have joined a club in high school with some unintelligible name. The ones you wanted to join were the ones with the names that you and your peers understood immediately. Clubs I was a part of in high school:

-pirate club (ostensibly the goal was to raid other clubs during their meetings. mostly I remember watching Hook during lunch)
-pictionary club (this one was a ton of fun)
-gay/straight alliance (don't remember too much happening here)
-improv club (as an audience member--still so fun)
-ninja club (no one ever showed up, so pretty successful)

When I went to high school, activities that people did to pad their college applications or that they actually liked were all done after school. Clubs were weekly lunchtime gatherings that brought students of like minds together, mostly just to hang out and maybe get a pizza around Christmas. It was more about having a place and a time to meet during school hours that was sort of like structured play time.

Other suggestions: knitting club, hackeysack club, film history club (learn those kids some classic movies), rainy-day/childlike games club (heads up 7Up, hangman, field day olympics, rainbow parachute!, etc). Also, one of the best experiences I had in high school was with my 11th grade history teacher, who organized about two tours a year in the city. We'd meet up at an arranged time at the train station on a Saturday, she'd take us downtown and then lead us on a walking tour or to a museum for an exhibit. I credit it with broadening my mind beyond my years, opening me up to experiencing the city as an almost-adult and giving me plenty of fond memories. A club that organized those kinds of field trips would have been amazing.
posted by therewolf at 7:49 PM on December 13, 2013 [1 favorite]

Where were you in my school?!

On the same vein as the Be More Awesome et al ideas: Best Day Project?
posted by divabat at 8:44 PM on December 13, 2013

Cheese appreciation club.
posted by town of cats at 9:06 PM on December 13, 2013

Response by poster: All of these are great suggestions. Thanks everyone!
posted by figaro at 9:42 PM on December 18, 2013