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?