20 After-School Empowerment Activities That Girls Actually Love

Fun, Meaningful, and Totally Girl-Approved

After a long day at school, girls don’t need another lecture. They need space to unwind, express themselves, connect with others, and feel good about who they are. The best after-school activities are the ones that feel like a deep breath—a mix of creativity, movement, real talk, and joy.

If you're running a girls' group, after-school club, or community circle, this list is here to help you keep things fresh, flexible, and empowering. These 20 activities are designed to spark confidence, friendship, kindness, and leadership without feeling like “more school.”

Because when girls actually enjoy the experience, that’s when the magic happens.

💡 Key Takeaways

• Activities should help girls recharge emotionally and socially after school

• These ideas work for a variety of group sizes, energy levels, and ages

• They blend movement, reflection, connection, and self-expression

• Perfect for weekly groups, drop-ins, or multi-week programs

• No prep overwhelm—just meaningful engagement with heart

Confidence grows when girls feel safe to be fully themselves. These activities meet them there.

1. High-Low-Ha
Start your group check-in with this simple share: one high from the day, one low, and one thing that made you laugh (the “ha!”). It’s a light, honest way to build trust and normalize all emotions.

2. Empowerment Journaling
Give girls a prompt like “I feel strong when…” or “Something I want to let go of is…” and time to reflect in their journals. They can share if they want, or keep it private.

3. Power Pose Circle
Let each girl take a turn showing off their “power pose”—arms wide, chin high, strong stance—then cheer each other on. Add an empowering phrase like “I am brave!” to boost the energy.

4. Kindness Card Exchange
Girls write anonymous uplifting notes or affirmations and randomly exchange them in the group. Everyone walks away with something encouraging and unexpected.

5. Confidence Collage
Provide magazines, markers, or Canva tools and let girls create a mini poster of images, words, and colors that represent their confidence, dreams, and strengths.

6. “Would You Rather” Empowerment Edition
Get girls talking with playful but powerful questions like “Would you rather try something scary or support someone else who is?” Use it as a lead-in to deeper reflection.

7. Movement + Music Break
Put on a group-created playlist and let the girls move however they want—dance, stretch, sway, jump. It resets energy and brings joy.

8. Brave Jar
Have a jar where girls can add slips of paper each time they do something brave. Read a few aloud each week to celebrate every type of courage.

9. Shine Shoutouts
Each girl gives a kind shoutout to someone else in the group—something they admire or noticed. It builds community and helps everyone feel seen.

10. Values Sorting Cards
Print or write out cards with values like honesty, creativity, leadership, empathy, resilience. Let girls choose their top three and talk about why they matter.

11. Friendship Map
Girls draw a map or visual of their friendship circle—who’s in it, how the connections feel, and what makes them strong or complicated. Use it to start honest conversations.

12. Affirmation Stones
Girls choose a word that represents something they want to remember about themselves—brave, kind, enough—and write it on a smooth stone to keep or trade.

13. Calm Corner Creation
Let girls help create a “calm corner” or chill-out space with cozy items, journals, fidgets, and affirmation cards. Rotate who adds something to it each week.

14. Empowerment Skits
In small groups, girls create a short skit about how to handle a tough moment with confidence—like speaking up for a friend or saying no with kindness.

15. Gratitude Circles
Go around the circle and share one thing you're grateful for today. It's simple, grounding, and builds emotional awareness.

16. My Future Self Letter
Girls write a short letter to their future selves—what they hope, believe, and want to remember. Seal in envelopes to be opened later in the year.

17. DIY Confidence Cards
Each girl creates a mini deck of cards with affirmations like “I can handle this,” “I belong,” or “My voice matters.” Use as a calming tool before tests or big days.

18. Social Change Brainstorm
Girls talk about something they’d like to change at school or in the world—and come up with ways to take small, meaningful action as a group.

19. Kindness Jar
Keep a jar where girls can anonymously write when they see someone being kind. Read a few at the end of each session for a sweet group lift.

20. “I Am” Mirror Messages
Girls write kind messages and affirmations on sticky notes, then place them around a mirror or doorway where others will see them on the way out. Small words, big impact.

These activities aren’t just ways to pass time—they’re moments that can help shape how a girl sees herself and her place in the world.

Looking for even more ready-to-use ideas, themes, and session plans?

The FearlesslyGiRL Program Kits are designed to help you run powerful, heart-centered girl groups without all the prep stress. You’ll get printable workbooks, done-for-you activities, journaling prompts, and more—so you can focus on leading with love.

Thanks for creating space where girls can feel strong, supported, and completely themselves. You’re making a difference that lasts.

– Kate