Buttons

What can it be used for?

This is a simple but useful activity you can do if you’re getting to know individuals or a small group. It allows people to reflect on their relationships, without feeling like they’re facing the Spanish Inquisition…

You will need:

An assortment of buttons. You can either order a bag from somewhere like Baker Ross – class value pack buttons or wander over to your local charity shop. Lots of charity shops now are recognising the resurgence of crafting as well as upcycling clothing and furniture.

A bit of space, maybe a flat surface like a tray or table.

How to…

Invite the person with you to choose some buttons. The first represents themselves and they put that in the centre. Next they can choose as many buttons as they like to represent people in their lives – this could be friends, relatives, teachers…anyone who has an input or impact in their lives.

They place these buttons around the button that represents them, and they can decide how they want to do it. Maybe close friends are placed near them, but people they don’t see often or are struggling with might be placed further away.

At its simplest level, this activity help you gain insight into a person’s life, but that can decide how much to share and in what way. It would also be worth doing this activity yourself with them, and thus the sharing is a two-way thing… At a deeper level it invites the person to explore and reflect on their relationships and the impact those people might have on their own choices and actions.

Extension

There are lots of ways to extend and develop this activity, depending on the time, space and context of the conversation.

You can ask about the placement of the buttons and whether or not the person likes where they are, or would like to change them (and thereby the dynamic of that relationship).

You could swap the meaning of the buttons, so the buttons represent for objects, skills or activities instead of people. Which skills/objects/activities are most important to you? Which would you like change and why? Remove a button – how would it feel NOT to have that button and what it represents, in your life?