To market, to market

When planning our final 6 months of the year the Brownies created a list of all the activities they wanted to participate in. Let's just say that the list was.... a little overwhelming. Lemonade stands, helping animals, making craft, something for Christmas, raising money for charity, selling things and even more craft. It seemed to go on and on.

Eventually, I took a step back and looked at the list again with fresh eyes. There was a way we could combine all their ideas into one amazing activity that also happened to coincide with my own request that we clean out our craft cupboard which was full of leftover supplies from many years of crafting.

Solution: host a market stall and sell handmade goods to raise money.

I immediately booked the girls a professional market stall in our local area and explained that they were in charge of making the necessary decisions on how to run the stall and what to sell. The needed to decide what to make, how much items would cost, on the day they would be sales people and all the money raised could be donated to the charity of their choice.

First up was choosing a charity. The girls were given the task to go home and research any charity they wanted and then to come back the next week and present their findings to the unit, while trying to persuade the group to choose their charity. The information they needed to find out included the name of the charity, where money donated was allocated and why they thought their charity was worthwhile. We then held a silent anonymous marble vote with the winning organization being a supporters of hurt Australian wildlife. 

We spent one month making crafts using many of the strange supplies found in out craft cupboard. Many of the girls also used the opportunity to teach crafts and skills for their badges.

These included:

• Making healthy dog biscuits for the pets create-a-challenge badge. These were a HUGE hit on the day, with the Brownies cornering anybody that walked by with a dog and persuading them that their dog needed them desperately.
• Eco-friendly newspaper pots
• Pet rocks and creatures - very popular with the toddlers on the day, much to the dismay of parents who would have preferred a simple snowflake ornament
• Hanging paper flower balls

Below are some of the creations made by the Brownies.

A reindeer made from a cork, pipe cleaners and a painted rock

A dog rock pet

A reindeer made with cork, felt, pipe cleaners and goggly eyes

Angels made from wooden pegs, felt, pipe cleaners and LOTS of hot glue

Fairies on a stick. So grateful that these creepy babies are no longer in the craft cupboard!

Candy cane reindeer

Paddlepop stick snowflake

Paddlepop stick reindeer

As I mentioned, the girls were in charge of most facets of the organisation process which happened to include pricing their goods to the value they deemed appropriate. Fresh lemonade was the most expensive thing we sold at $4 a glass and cicada shells (yes, you are reading that correctly) were a bargain at just 10 cents each. Christmas ornaments went for about 20 - 50 cents depending on size and most cupcakes were $1.

On the day the Brownies were delightfully charming as they sold their crafts, fresh lemonade, baked goods, Guide biscuits and more. They raised over $300 for their chosen organisation. Their hard work definitely paid off!

It was a huge commitment to undertake such a large scale project which dominated over half of the term, but the Brownies thrived and I secretly hope that when we plan our program for next year that they want to do it again!

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How service projects does your unit participate in?

Madagascar camp: activity booklet

I always create activity books for the Brownies to use at camp. It's great for the girls to use during free time or if they just need a break from the excitement. Some barely get further than the first few pages, but many complete the whole thing from cover to cover and ask for a copy to give their siblings. I try to include a range of activities to appeal to the different interests and abilities of the girls. 

The back page is usually a challenge specifically about the campsite we are visiting. It's always funny to see when different girls reach the last page. You know because they are walking around the camp with a booklet in their hand studying old photographs to get dates and other random information.

Maybe this is something you can do at your next camp. If you don't know the campsite, that's alright, just keep the questions very general!

Example questions:

1. How many words can you make using the letters in the word (name of campsite)?
2. How many doors are in (name of campsite)?
3. How many people can sleep inside (name of campsite)?
4. What colour is the flagpole?
5. Draw a picture of your favourite thing at (name of campsite).
6. How many people can sleep in (name of campsite)?
7. Name the different wildlife you spotted outside.
8. How many lollipop steps does it take for you to walk around the cottage?
9. Count the trees on the property? (I used this at a campsite that had over 100 trees, it was pretty funny to watch the girls count them all)

If you actually have an opportunity to visit the campsite, make sure to ask more specific questions such as the dates on photographs, the colour of chairs etc.

In case you were wondering, the Brownies favorite pages in the book were the campfire song scramble (they delighted in pointing out errors I had made, so beware) and adding afro wigs to the Madagascar characters (final image)!

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Do you have any quiet time activities you use at camp?

Clipart

I love cute cartoons and graphics and wish there were more available for Girl Guides or alternatively, that I was blessed with the ability to draw! Unfortunately this is not the case, so I often use clipart from Girl Guides Canada as their uniform is similar to the Australian Guide uniform. Their pictures also show Guides and leaders participating in a wide range of activities such as camping, canoeing, craft, and first aid. 

Look at this adorable Girl Guide! 

Girl Guides NSW has a few new characters available on their online Leader's Support website, although you have to search through the pages to find them.

Here are some links for other clipart websites from other Guiding countries:

• BOGUK's clipart - Girl Guides UK
• Cherokee Scouting - Girl Scouts USA

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What websites do you use for graphics?

Scribble Party

A scribble party is something that I have wanted to use as a meeting for a long time, but there has never been any time in our term program.

However, this year we chose to give our usual Halloween party a miss, which gave me the perfect opportunity to give it a try. It also doubled as a farewell party for one of the Brownies that was bridging to the Guide unit. A scribble tshirt doubled wonderfully as a memory tshirt and at the end of the night the girls covered her tshirt in lovely farewell messages.

Photo credit: http://drjeanandfriends.blogspot.com.au/2013/05/time-capsules-and-memory-shirts.html

The Brownies each invited a friend and every girl was told to wear a plain white tshirt that was allowed to be decorated. Most parents just purchased new white shirts, with Kmart having the best deal for just $2 a shirt!


Equipment needed:

• White tshirt per person
• Fabric markers - make sure to buy these ahead of time so that you can shop around for the best price! I purchased a 10 pack of crayola fabric markers for $8.50, but in most shops they cost well over $10. The price adds up quickly depending how many packets you need to buy.
• Instructions on how to set the fabric markers so that they don't run - one per girl. For Crayola the instructions were located on the back of the box and involved ironing the shirt while it was inside out.

Activities:

• Whistle Game - we play this often as an ice-breaker, and it is simple to add the drawing element. Give each girl a fabric marker. The Guides move around the room at random as instructed (e.g. skipping, hopping) until the whistle is blown signaling they need to form a group. The number of whistles dictates the number of girls in each group. 3 whistles = a group of 3 girls. Once in a group, sign the shirt of everybody in the group. Play continues with the stipulation to find new people for your group each round.

• Whispered drawings - much like Chinese whispers. Everybody sits in a circle and the first girl passes on a simple message of something that can be drawn eg. A cat wearing a hat. The message is passed around the circle, to the last girl who then draws the picture on the back of the first girl. The answer and drawing is then revealed and laughter ensues. Play continues starting with the next player. The girls loved this so much that it ran for much longer than anticipated!

• Drawing relay races

• Free Draw!

These are some of the designs that ended up on my shirt. I also have many signatures and some lovely messages!

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Would you consider having a scribble party at your meeting?

Secret Orders

Have you stopped by Gaye Wilson's Guiding Works website? It's full of amazing resources; camping tips, program ideas, wide games and more.

One of the games I love from her website is called Secret Orders, which she has adapted from the book of games, Clouds on the Clothesline. We have that book in our unit and i'm ashamed to say that I haven't opened it in many years. Thank goodness for Gaye or i'd be missing out on a great activity!

The basic premise of the games is that Patrols need to complete a set of orders in silence. A member of each Patrol chooses a card and has her Patrol complete the order before the next player can choose a card. Play continues until all the challenges have been completed.

We have four sets of laminated cards in different colors, one for each Patrol. All the challenges are the same for each Patrol and can be completed in any order.

I played this game with the Guides (10-14 years), as a test run to see if it would be suitable for the Brownies. It worked really well but was quite a challenge for them, so I would definitely need to adapt some of the challenges to suit the younger girls. It was really interesting to watch how the Patrol's interpreted the challenges and worked (or didn't work) as a team. 

At the moment we use 12 challenges in total, listed below. The majority are straight from Gaye's list.

Be sure to check out the Guiding Works website for the complete instructions to this wonderful game of teamwork.

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What secret orders can you come up with?

Gem stones

The Discover-a-Challenge badges were introduced with the new Australian Guide handbooks and very similar in content to the old Rainbow Skills badges.

Credit: Girl Guides Australia

The badge has different levels, which are named after Australian gemstones.

• Turquoise - 5 years and older 
• Topaz - 6 years and older
• Amethyst - 7 years and older
• Garnet - 8 years and older
• Agate - 9 years and older
• Zircon - 10 years and older
• Jade - 11 years and older
• Sapphire - 12 years and older
• Diamond - 13 years and older
• Black Opal - 14 years and older

Excerpt from Handbook #2 for girls aged 7-9 years.

With so many different badges available and with the way my Brownies prefer to work on twenty badges at once rather than focusing on one at a time, means constant diligence in trying to keep up with their progression. So here's the plan to try and get girls enthusiastic about a new set of challenges and also to assist with keeping up with their progress.

Each girl has a been given gem stone with her name on it.

Every time a Brownie completes a challenge (there are 10 challenges per gemstone) she colors in a section using the correct colour for her gem (agate - pink, garnet - red etc). In some cases (ie. 7, 8 and 9 on the diagram) two sections are coloured in together because they are so small. I've numbered the picture below as an example of the ten distinct sections. This Guide would have completed 5 challenges towards her amethyst badge.

Once the badge is completed the girls get to paint over the whole thing with glitter so that it sparkles. None of the girls have completed any of the levels so far, so i'll just have to wait to see if having the physical gem hanging on the wall inspires them or not. Will keep you updated!

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Has your unit started working on the discover-a-challenge badges yet? 

Knotting Challenge Night

Teaching knots can be difficult. A room full of Brownies, two adults, lots of gadget cord and lots of stress - for both Leader's and girls!

I am always trying to find new ways to make knotting interesting. I have lots of great resources for once the girls have mastered the basics (knotting baseball, anyone?), but it's teaching the basics and keeping those skills current that is the problem.

Credit: http://eugbug.hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Tie-Knots-a-Simple-Guide

One activity that both myself and the Brownies love is a knotting challenge night. It is great way for each girl to work to their own skill level and the way the night is designed eliminates competitiveness. 

I set up stations all around the hall with instructions and supplies. The girls make their way around the room visiting the stations in any order. The stations are designed so that multiple girls can be working on the activity at one time, and some require a partner to work alongside.

I give the girls a page to record what challenges they have worked on, and once they have completed it, they find another Brownie to peer-assess them and sign off their page. This works really well as it keeps 20 girls from running up to me each time they tie a knot to confirm if is correct and also give the girls the practice and confidence to identify knots. I do of course make my way around the stations and check the girls completed knots, as there will always be the few mistakes along the way, but it general this method works wonders!

Below are the challenge cards we use, one for each station. My cards are laminated so that I can write on them with a whiteboard marker. This way I can change the knot depending what we are focusing on eg. reef knot, clove hitch, double overhand, sheet bend etc.

Tip: If you laminate your cards remember to wipe them off immediately after use, they can be awful to clean after the marker has been left on for an extended period! I've been told that plastic sleeves also work in the same way.

Here are the other challenges we use, but these include photos of the girls so I can't post them here: 

• Can you help a friend tie a _________? (ie. assist another Guide that may be struggling)
• Work with a friend, using one hand each to tie a ________.
• Can you make a sling for a friend and tie it off using a reef knot?
• Can you jump rope and then tie it up using a double overhand?
• Can you help to build a rope ladder using a clove hitch?

Most of the activities are self-explanatory but here is a little further information on how I run them.

Tie a knot in 15 seconds
Supplies: iPad or stopwatch
We use an iPad timer for this which the girls love! There is always a huge group around the iPad racing against the clock. 15 second is actually quite a long time once you are a proficient knotter, so the girls often stay and try to beat their best time.

Tie a knot with jelly snakes
The girls have never actually done this as part of the challenge night. They are always so entertained by the other challenges so I don't bother putting this card out. but I always keep a bag of jelly snakes handy, ready to surprise them with a treat one night.

Tie a knot using spaghetti
This involves a bit of prep work for the Leader but the girls adore this challenge. It's so difficult because the spaghetti is so fragile - but if it breaks they get to eat it! Hint: Fettucini seems to be sturdier than round spaghetti pasta.

We usually focus on one knot per night, but I allow early finishers to choose any other knot they wish and make their way around the challenges again.

Tip: The knotting challenge also works well as a meeting starter. Have 3 or 4 stations set up with supplies and the girls can get straight into the knotting as they arrive while you speak to the parents. 

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How do you make knotting fun?

Growing Up

Today I bumped into one of my old Guide Leader's. I've known her since I was a Brownie, although at that time she was in Guides. By the time I moved up to Guides, she was a Junior Leader, and then time passed again and suddenly we were both Leaders of the groups we had been members of as children.

It was lovely to catch up on each others lives and we realised that at least 6 years had passed since we last saw each other! I told her about how quickly the Brownies seemed to be growing up and that any day now I would be seeing my former Brownies drive by me in their cars. (I haven't seen it yet, but my original Brownies are definitely old enough to drive by now!) 

She laughed and said, "Now you know how I felt when YOU became a Leader!"

Credit: Girl Guides Canada

It made me realise that the age gap between myself and the Brownies is slowly getting larger and larger. For most of my life i've been a young Leader. I've now reached the point where I am just... a Leader!

This story isn't going anywhere, it has no moral or wise words. Just thought that i'd share my mid-life Leader crisis.

Brownie Gang Show

The Brownies love to perform so we decided to hold a Brownie Guide Gang Show. The girls shared a range of talents; singing, dancing,gymnastics, joke telling, skipping, poetry reading and playing musical instruments.

It was also the perfect opportunity for the girls that wanted to to complete a challenge for their peak achievement award - the Junior BP award.

Junior BP - World Guiding challenge: Prepare and perform an Australian concert item that would tell international visitors something about our country.

Credit: http://blog.twmg.com.au/australia-is-the-second-most-creative-country-in-the-world/

Two girls (7 years old) discovered the song, Cuddly Koalas, in my campfire song book and taught themselves the lyrics. They were not familiar with the tune of Frère Jacques, so two of the older Brownies who were rehearsing for a flute and violin duet taught them the tune and accompanied them during their performance. It was beautiful seeing the Patrol system in action.

Cuddly Koalas (tune: Frère Jacques)

Cuddly koalas, cuddly koalas

Possums too, Possums too

Wallabies and wombats

Wallabies and wombats

Kangaroo, kangaroo.

Other performances included:

• Song: Home among the Gum Trees (This song is actually really long! I had no idea.)
• Song: Under a Southern Sky
• Poetry reading (A sweet poem written by a 7 year old with the message: don't pollute our country. So sweet.)

I've never had any Brownies work on this particular challenge before as most prefer to teach games from other countries, so it was great to see the girls so enthusiastic about their Australian performances!

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What concert item would YOU prepare to tell international visitors about Australia?

Old Fashioned Party Games

Sometimes the best nights can be as simple as going back your childhood. And by that I mean MY childhood.

We decided to have a slumber party at the Guide hall with the simple agenda of party games and a movie. And it couldn't have been a more successful night. Don't you just love when things go according to plan?

Pass-the-parcel was a game I never really enjoyed. Sure, you were given lollies and prizes just for unwrapping a layer of paper but it never really interested me. And worse, when my mother planned the game for my birthday parties she would often skip lollies and put in cards that said "Do 5 star jumps". For someone that disliked being but in the spotlight it was not a game I enjoyed.

The girls were adamant about playing pass-the-parcel at the sleepover so I knew I had to think of something to make it more interesting. Inspired by my Mum's version of the game, I hunted for a long, long time for ideas. It's hard to find an answer when you don't really know what question you are asking!

I finally found my answer from the lovely ladies at www.guiders.co.uk

Pass-the-parcel forfeits.

None of the Guides had never played "forfeits" either (maybe it's not played in Australia...?) but they loved it! They worked together. Supported each other. Every person had a try. And most importantly, everybody had fun! 

The rules are simple.

Pass-the-Parcel: Forfeits

1. Everybody sits in a circle and when the music commences, passes around a package wrapped up with many layers of newspaper.
2. When the music stops, that person opens one layer of newspaper and reads the challenge inside.
3. The player can choose to either complete the challenge or forfeit it to another player. Whoever completes the challenge earns a treat, in our case, one m&m (which the girls were thrilled with!)
4. Play continues until all layers have been unwrapped.
5. Often the last layer has a larger prize, but we didn't feel that was necessary.

Here were the challenges we used:

This game was so successful, that it was the only other game they ended up playing was the chocolate game!

I haven't tried this out with the Brownies yet, but i'm sure that they'll love it as much as the Guides did!

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How do you adapt traditional party games to fit a Guiding meeting?