Brownie Buccaneers

For our final night this term, the Brownie Guides celebrated International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Everybody dressed in their best pirate gear - handmade hooks, cockatoos on the shoulder (because we're Aussie pirates), eye patches and cutlasses found in the dress-up box.

My original plan for the night involved compass skills, tracking and treasure maps but leading up to the night I realised that I was exhausted after a jam-packed term and the girls were as well. So instead, we had fun playing games with some great leadership opportunities.

The night ended with two Promise ceremonies (the first i've ever down while dressed as a pirate Captain) and a Bronze Endeavour award presentation.

Program:
Arrive
Create pirate name tags and practice pirate lingo
Game: Captain's Coming
Song: Pirate Ship 
Song: Princess Pat 
Game: Pirate/ship/treasure (variation of Army/Navy/Air force)
Game: Scallywag/Shiver Me Timbers (variation of Heads & Tails)
Fire safety and candle lighting
Promise Ceremony and badge presentation


The pirate names were created using this great resource from FunnyJunk. I didn't need to create a pirate name as the girls dubbed me 'Captain' for the night!

Image credit: FunnyJunk

The pirate phrases were adapted from this Examiner article. I've made the pages available as a PDF download.

Board Games

A nice relaxing evening for the last Guide meeting of the term. Pyjamas and board games - definitely, my kind of night!

The girls brought along their favourite games and broke into small groups to play. The variety of games was great and there were many that I wasn't familiar with. It was nice to see the Guides teaching their friends games that they play with their families.

There was a snooker type game from India, a giant snakes and ladders board, Payday, Hungry Hungry Hippos, card games (cheat), Guess Who?, Connect Four and so many more.

One group played The Logo Game for the entire night and while I only spent a little time with them, they were clearly enjoying themselves! The photo below shows one of the game cards. Can you name all four chocolate bars pictured? (I could only get the first two correct).

With about 40 minutes left before the end of the meeting, I grabbed Taboo and taught two of my former Brownie Guides how to play. Soon another two girls joined in and we had great fun giggling as we each struggled to have the others guess our tabooed word. 

We played a modified version of the game with one person choosing a card and the rest of us trying to guess the word. Whoever had the card was in charge of self monitoring that they didn't use a tabooed word. Whoever guessed correctly kept the card as a point.

One of the more amusing comments of the night occurred after we had correctly guessed the words 'Bloody Mary' from the above card.

Guide 12 years old: I don't understand this card. It was so easy to guess! Shouldn't it say words like 'scary', 'mirror, and 'haunted'? How come it has all these food words on it?

The girls were shocked when I informed them that Bloody Mary wasn't just a spooky story told at sleepovers but it was also an alcoholic drink! Ahhh, the well-rounded education you receive as a Girl Guide.

Sometimes I go months without visiting a Guide meeting so it's always nice to spend time with the older girls. I'm always shocked by how mature my former Brownie Guides have grown and so pleased with how much they still love Guiding! I really hope that they choose to have another game night and that I get invited. There are so many great card games i'd love to introduce to the girls. I can just see them shouting at each other while playing Spoons!

Cake and cookies

A few weeks ago, the Guides (11-14 age group) wrote a letter to one of the parents who is a professional baker and pastry chef, inviting her to teach them some baking skills. These girls just love cooking! Or perhaps, eating.

First they had a bit of a Q&A session where they learned about the years of training involved in becoming a bakery tradesperson and the strict rules in practical assessments such as not getting aprons and uniforms dirty. It was really interesting and the girls remained attentive despite the fact that there were ingredients directly in front of them. 

Then it was onto the baking! The first thing they made was a simple shortbread. The girls measured their ingredients by weight on scales rather than using measuring cups, which was a first for all of them! Then they had to rub the dough mix between their hands so it would further melt the butter and combine the ingredients. It was a rather slow process, although they didn't mind as they chatted the entire time. 

Each Guide made a large ball of dough. This made two large cookie cutter people (approx. 6 inches tall) or a mix of smaller shapes. Instead of using rolling pins the girls were taught to just use a glass from the kitchen to evenly roll out the dough. They enjoyed learning useful tips that meant they would be able to replicate the baking at home without buying any new equipment. The cookies were then put into the oven to bake for about 20 minutes.

Baked cookie person. Delicious! We didn't have time to decorate because the Guides got caught up in their next activity.

Shortbread Recipe (individual serve)

Ingredients:

150g plain flour

50g caster sugar

100g butter (must be soft)

Method:

1. Set oven at 170 degrees celcius. 

2. Place all ingredients in a bowl.

3. Rub ingredients together between hands - this will take a while and take on the texture of breadcrumbs.

4. Squeeze mix together into a ball of cookie dough.

5. Roll out into approximately 1cm thickness. Cut shapes using cookie cutter.

6. Bake for approximately 20 minutes.
7. Allow to cool down and decorate with icing.


Next up was cake decorating. The Guides were taught to pipe three different styles of border using a star tipped nozzle.

They were each provided with a pre-baked vanilla sponge cake and taught to cut it evenly in half and add jam - without making the cake crumble! Next was spreading the icing on the top of the cake with a pallet knife and piping on their border. Finally they added decorations as they saw fit. 

They absolutely loved every minute of the night and had great fun learning new skills and using professional cake decorating equipment. I'm so glad that I was able to visit and participate in such an inspiring night! I'll definitely be back for the next one!

PJs, crazy hair and a fashion show!

The Patrol Seconders were in charge last week. These four girls haven't had much of chance to act in a leadership role so the girls were really in their element, excited to finally have their chance to finally lead the unit. I was really impressed with their leadership and positive way they responded to my advice when I offered them tips for adjusting an activity. In fact, it was one of the best displays of team leadership i've seen all term! They took turns leading the games and activities rather than all trying to hog the spotlight and even gave other girls the chance to be 'in'. 

The girls had time to plan their night over the past few meetings and they hadn't shared more than a vague outline of their plans with me. They told me they had it all under control, and they did! I had expected their program to follow in the footsteps of the Patrol Leaders who last term ran a World Guiding night, but instead they decided to do a variety of fun activities. 


Here is their program:

Instructions prior to meeting: wear pajamas and 'crazy' hair


1. Colours (skipping rope game)

Earlier in the term the girls were quite hyperactive and just could not settle down to focus on the plans for the night. I ended up scrapping my plans and instead we played an odd assortment of games to use up their excess energy. We were working our way through various skipping chants when I recalled a game from my pre-school day, 'colours'! Surprisingly, none of the Brownie Guides were familiar with it and i'm guessing since they chose to play it again they enjoyed it! They play at a much more advanced level than I ever did! Some of the colours they chose were ridiculously hard to guess. They didn't stick to the red, violet and aqua of my childhood, instead broadening the vocabularies of the younger Brownies and using colours such as mauve, burgundy, salmon and cyan. I was so close to whipping out my phone and resorting to Google for help in a few of the rounds!

In case you don't know it, the game is very simple. 

Before play begins the two girls that are 'in' select a colour, keeping it a secret from everybody else. The aim of the game is to guess this colour. The two girls each take an end of a skipping rope and stand apart so that the rope is in a straight line. They crouch down so that the rope touches the floor and begin to wiggle it gently, similar to a snake moving. The rest of the unit lines up and takes turns jumping over the rope and calling out a colour. If they guess incorrectly they are told, 'no' and move to the back of the line ready for their next guess. If they guess correctly, they swap with one of the girls holding the rope. A new colour is chosen and play resumes. 

This game can be extended using the names of countries, food, Links of Unity etc.



2. World Centres (Shapes)

I'm not sure if i've even written about this game before. It was my favourite game when I was in Brownies and I would have been happy to play it every single week.  

How to play: Draw a chalk shape drawn on the floor in each corner of the room. Girls divide evenly into four groups and stand inside each of the four shapes. An instruction is called, eg. "Square to star". The girls in both these shapes must make their way across the room and into the other shape. While they are moving another girl is 'it' and tries to tag them. If tagged they must sit in the spot they were tagged and then become 'bar' for other girls. When many girls are sitting it is very difficult to get them out, as they just walk from shape to shape touching the head (bar) of the girls sitting. If "All shapes" is called all players must move at the same time in a clock-wise direction to the next shape. 

When I introduced the game to my current unit I renamed it 'World Centres'. In each corner a chalk building was drawn and it was named after one of the four World Centres. A laminated card (see below) is placed into each to help differentiate the four locations. Play is the same as above except instead of shapes, landmarks are used. To have all players move at once, call "World Centres!"

As an extra challenge, I often quiz the girls when we play. They have to name the country their World Centre is located in before they can run outside of their shape. 

We haven't played this game in over a year, so it was a pleasant surprise to bring it back into the mix and introduce it to our newer members. I was not involved at all in the game. The P2s took charge with one being a tagger and the other a caller and throughout the game they would switch roles.

Below are the images we use in our game. I created them by putting photos of the four World Centres through a drawing filter. Click HERE to download a PDF file of these World Centre drawings.

 

3. Skip into Brownie Ring

I was surprised when the girls chose to keep this in their program! I often cut it out due to lack of time. 


4. Cat Walk

This was the reason the P2s asked everybody to wear pajamas and crazy hair. There were many side ponytails and animal themed onesies. It turned out that most of the girls didn't know what a cat walk was until one of the less-outgoing P2s surprised us all and started strutting around, doing ridiculous over-exaggerated poses! The girls thought it was hilarious and gained more confidence about participating themselves. Most did an individual walk and each Patrol also did a group walk and pose. 


5. Fruit Salad (Ladders)

It has been a long time since we played this so it was a nice change of pace, despite the cries of "somebody stepped on me!" every now and then.


It was a fun night bringing back some long forgotten games and i'm proud of the girls for taking the lead. Even better it meant that I could turn up on the night without having to do any planning! (well... except for the backup activities I planned just incase!)

Australian Girl Guide badges

Many of the State Guide shops are now selling updated posters which display badge placement on sashes. I have to admit that i'm extremely excited about these - much more user friendly than the old version! 

I also love these posters displaying the almost the entire range of achievable badges - there is an updated version that includes the new advocacy badge. They look great hanging up in the Guide hall and are wonderful for prompting the girls to find some challenges relevant to their interests.

Image credit: Girl Guides Queensland

Sleeping under the stars

When the Brownie Guides go to camp it usually involves a large cabin with a kitchen, working bathrooms and bedrooms filled with bunk beds. However, this past weekend we braved the elements and slept under the stars without tents to raise money for disadvantaged and homeless youth. 

The rain has been constant these past few weeks and the girls were extremely worried that their outdoor camping experience would be cancelled due to rain. Luckily everybody was snug and asleep in their bedrolls before the rain began and so we did end up sleeping outside the entire night! Luckily almost everybody remained completely dry - a credit to their bedroll making skills (thank goodness for duct tape!)

This is definitely an experience they will remember for years to come.

Rolled up bedrolls

Glow sticks hung from tree branches to illuminate the path to the toilet block.

Crazy Critters

Sometimes Patrol activities are simply to engage the girls with a simple task which allows them to socialise and have fun. Drawing activities are wonderful for this!

One of the Patrol's recently had this 'Crazy Critters' drawing activity in their Patrol Activity Tub. The activity is a free download from the Expressive Monkey website. 

Each player takes turns rolling a die. The first rolls determines which body your bug will have. All the players must roll and draw the body of the bug before moving onto the faces (the second roll). Play continues until all bugs have been completed. Then you can go ahead and give your bug a name!

Credit: Expressive Monkey

Here are some of the Brownie's creations:

Some other fun drawing activities (click the links!):

• Funny Bunny faces by Housing a Forest - similar to the Crazy Critters
• Pocket doodles for kids by Bill Zimmerman

Credit: Bill Zimmerman

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Do your Guide enjoy drawing activities?

Compass Kim's Game

We had some extra time during a meeting a few weeks ago, so I had the Brownie's draw a giant chalk compass on the floor (so lucky that we have our own Guide Hall!) and had girl's take turns adding the cardinal and half-cardinal points.

Credit: Tiny Pic

I have a box of random items that I have collected to use for Kim's Games, so the girl's took turns choosing items and placing one on each compass point. There was a chess piece, a pair of fluffy dice, a golf ball, a plastic trumpet that came out of a bon-bon and a collection of other miscellaneous items.

The Brownies were given one minute to observe their chalk compass and then in Patrol's they had to recreate the compass including the items found in each direction.

It's always interesting try out a new activity (especially one you've created on the spot) and seeing how the girl's react. Fortunately, they had fun and wanted to play again! This time using 16 points, the girl's rearranged the items, added in some new ones and played the game all over again!

Teaching the Brownie Guides some basic compass navigation skills has been on the back burner for a while now, so this was a great introductory activity to get them interested! Now I just need to find some affordable compasses!

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What variations of a Kim's Game have you played?

Would You Rather?

I used to have a calendar of Would You Rather? questions and thought they would be great to use as a quick activity in the Patrol Activity Tubs. Rather than typing up my own questions, I used these cute cards which were designed* and provided as a free download (for personal use only) by: The Measured Mom. I laminated the cards (they print 6 to a page) and added rings, giving each Patrol a different set of questions.

Most of the questions are rather silly or amusing such as, would you rather go to school on a bus or on the back of a dinosaur? and would you rather swim in a pool of marshmallows or M&Ms? But there are some more thought provoking questions such as the example in the photo above.

* I did make a few edits to the cards so that the language would be more familiar to the Brownies. Mostly just changing American English to Australia English eg. camper was changed to caravan, candy to lollies etc. 

The instructions I gave the Brownies were that one girl would choose a question to ask her Patrol. Everybody had to be quiet while they thought about their answers and then in turn they would give their answer along with why they chose that response.

This worked well and the Brownies had great fun with the cards. Eventually the Patrols merged together and everyone ended up in a huge group with one girl asking questions and everybody shouting out their answers. Not a whole lot of reflection happening!

The girls spent longer on this activity than I had planned and when the groups merged my carefully separated sets of cards were shared amongst the unit - that's 48 unique cards! Clearly I will have to think of some new questions! Perhaps some with more of a Guiding focus. Any suggestions?