I made my own template based off a design I found, however, I forgot to write down the source... I have a feeling it was an old Girl Scouts Science and Technology pack.
I loved the unique the designs!
Showing posts with label arts create-a-challenge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label arts create-a-challenge. Show all posts
Tuesday, 30 April 2019
Circle Art
This is a fun activity that I used a few years ago when we were doing an Arts (Scissors create-a-challenge) badge. This was wonderful at the start of the meeting, while waiting for everybody to arrive.
I made my own template based off a design I found, however, I forgot to write down the source... I have a feeling it was an old Girl Scouts Science and Technology pack.
I loved the unique the designs!
I made my own template based off a design I found, however, I forgot to write down the source... I have a feeling it was an old Girl Scouts Science and Technology pack.
I loved the unique the designs!
Saturday, 11 April 2015
A rainbow of colours
The Brownie Guides absolutely love craft and luckily for them, so does their Leader! We generally make one large project each term, usually for an event or badge, so I am always on the lookout for quality and affordable supplies to use. I generally shop around and buy items on sale, but lately i've been frustrated with kids poster paint i've been buying. Yes, it is wonderful that it's washable, but it is completely hopeless when mixing and creating true, bold colours. I finally decided that buying some good quality paint was worth the investment. Not only was the poster paint not producing quality products, it was so washed out that I was having to spend weekend repainting craft projects with multiple layers to achieve the desired colour!
Last year, I discovered that there were warm and cool primary colours which turned a lifetime of learning completely upside down. Suddenly it made sense why mixing a red and blue paint didn't always create the desired shade of purple, I wasn't using the correct cool and warm variations!
Wanting to pass on this knowledge to the girls, I purchased them lovely new paint from Clever Patch in warm and cool shades. I purchased only the necessary colours: black, white, cool blue, warm blue, cool red, warm red, cool yellow and warm yellow. With this paint the Brownie Guides can now create an array of lovely new secondary and tertiary colours!
I also made a color chart as a starting point to assist the Brownies with creating colours. The chart displays the colours produced by mixing equal amounts of the primary colours shown. By looking at the chart, the girls can deduce that by adding more lemon yellow and less ultramarine, they will achieve a lighter shade of green. They have used the chart with great success which makes me very happy! They also love the new paint and think it is very fancy and professional. Definitely a worthwhile purchase.
Last year, I discovered that there were warm and cool primary colours which turned a lifetime of learning completely upside down. Suddenly it made sense why mixing a red and blue paint didn't always create the desired shade of purple, I wasn't using the correct cool and warm variations!
Wanting to pass on this knowledge to the girls, I purchased them lovely new paint from Clever Patch in warm and cool shades. I purchased only the necessary colours: black, white, cool blue, warm blue, cool red, warm red, cool yellow and warm yellow. With this paint the Brownie Guides can now create an array of lovely new secondary and tertiary colours!
I also made a color chart as a starting point to assist the Brownies with creating colours. The chart displays the colours produced by mixing equal amounts of the primary colours shown. By looking at the chart, the girls can deduce that by adding more lemon yellow and less ultramarine, they will achieve a lighter shade of green. They have used the chart with great success which makes me very happy! They also love the new paint and think it is very fancy and professional. Definitely a worthwhile purchase.
Saturday, 28 March 2015
Girl led activity nights
Our past two meetings have been focused on girl-led activities. This was not part of the original plan for the end of term, however circumstances changed, which allowed time for last minute requests by the Brownie Guides to run longer activities. Usually I have to tell the girls that we'll schedule time in the following term, so it has been great to be able to say "Yes, tell me all about it, so we can make this happen next week!"
At each meeting, three stations (tables) were formed for the Brownie Guides to move between in rotation. The girls ran the activities by themselves and I monitored the movement between tables, so that there weren't too many girls at any one activity. Definitely two easy nights for me - a lovely bonus of girl led Guiding!
Here are the activities that the Brownie Guides organised and ran. Activity one was led for both weeks, which is why there are only five activities listed.
1. Activity led by Miss 8 years - making origami ninja stars
Miss 8 came to me about a month ago and told me she had learned to make an origami ninja star and that she wanted to use it as a challenge on her Arts Create-a-Challenge badge. She's a new member and this is her first independent badge, so after discussing what a challenge meant and what would be a challenge for her, I suggested that she could take her new skills a step further and teach her Patrol to make the star.
At this point, Miss 8 told me that she had only made the star once and did not remember all the steps. We decided that therefore it would be an appropriate challenge for her to learn to make a star and practice until she felt comfortable in teaching others. When she reached this stage we would then make time during a meeting for her to teach her Patrol.
Two weeks later we were at our unit camp, and during free time one afternoon, I happened upon Miss 8 teaching a small group of girls to make the stars! I was thrilled that she had taken my advice and practiced the origami until it was a learned skill and had then had the initiative to teach others when the opportunity arose.
She has since gone on to teach this origami project to every girl in our unit over our two activity nights. I'm really proud of the effort Miss 8 put into this challenge and can't wait to see what she comes up with for the remainder of the challenges for her badge.
One of the other activities we did last week was a teamwork challenge that I haven't used for a few years. As a Patrol, the girls had to get from one side of the hall to the other, without falling into the "lava" (touching the floor). They were given a few sheets of newspaper to use to travel on and had to work as a team to figure out the best strategy to get the Patrol to safety. It was great seeing the different strategies the girls used. Stepping stones (as pictured below) seemed to prove the most successful.
At each meeting, three stations (tables) were formed for the Brownie Guides to move between in rotation. The girls ran the activities by themselves and I monitored the movement between tables, so that there weren't too many girls at any one activity. Definitely two easy nights for me - a lovely bonus of girl led Guiding!
Here are the activities that the Brownie Guides organised and ran. Activity one was led for both weeks, which is why there are only five activities listed.
1. Activity led by Miss 8 years - making origami ninja stars
Miss 8 came to me about a month ago and told me she had learned to make an origami ninja star and that she wanted to use it as a challenge on her Arts Create-a-Challenge badge. She's a new member and this is her first independent badge, so after discussing what a challenge meant and what would be a challenge for her, I suggested that she could take her new skills a step further and teach her Patrol to make the star.
At this point, Miss 8 told me that she had only made the star once and did not remember all the steps. We decided that therefore it would be an appropriate challenge for her to learn to make a star and practice until she felt comfortable in teaching others. When she reached this stage we would then make time during a meeting for her to teach her Patrol.
Two weeks later we were at our unit camp, and during free time one afternoon, I happened upon Miss 8 teaching a small group of girls to make the stars! I was thrilled that she had taken my advice and practiced the origami until it was a learned skill and had then had the initiative to teach others when the opportunity arose.
She has since gone on to teach this origami project to every girl in our unit over our two activity nights. I'm really proud of the effort Miss 8 put into this challenge and can't wait to see what she comes up with for the remainder of the challenges for her badge.
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| Origami star made by one of the 7 year old Brownie Guides |
2. Activity led by Miss 10 years - making paper chatterboxes
It was surprising to see how many girls were not familiar with this activity! What is the world coming to?! I made these all the time when I was young. Miss 10 had brought an array of craft supplies and had the girls making animal faces as well as more traditional chatterboxes (also known as fortune tellers).
3. Activity led by Miss 9 years - finger knitting
Miss 9 years found leading her activity a little tricky as she had forgotten to bring her supplies. She was able to use the wool we had at the Guide hall but there was only one ball so unravelling it and cutting it up cut into her teaching time. It was a good learning experience in being prepared!
Miss 9 years found leading her activity a little tricky as she had forgotten to bring her supplies. She was able to use the wool we had at the Guide hall but there was only one ball so unravelling it and cutting it up cut into her teaching time. It was a good learning experience in being prepared!
4. Activity led by Miss 10 years - making origami boxes
Miss 10 was excited to teach origami after having been taught to fold ninja stars the previous week. However, the other girls weren't as excited by boxes as they were ninja stars. Miss 10 was great though and persevered, adapting her activity by suggesting other designs in her origami book and allowing girls to try and recreate these themselves (a flower and crane was attempted) while she taught others to make the boxes. It's difficult to have an distracted group and she did a great job at bringing back their focus.
5. Activity led by Miss 9 years - felt flowers for a Junior BP challenge
Miss 9 created cardboard templates and then gave step-by-step instructions so that each girl could create her own flower. Aren't they lovely? These felt flowers are badges and are going to be worn by the girls on ANZAC Day in a few weeks time. I'll be making a more detailed post about this Junior BP challenge with further photos and templates (if I have Miss 9's permission!)
One of the other activities we did last week was a teamwork challenge that I haven't used for a few years. As a Patrol, the girls had to get from one side of the hall to the other, without falling into the "lava" (touching the floor). They were given a few sheets of newspaper to use to travel on and had to work as a team to figure out the best strategy to get the Patrol to safety. It was great seeing the different strategies the girls used. Stepping stones (as pictured below) seemed to prove the most successful.
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How does your unit give Guides the opportunity to take the lead?
Tuesday, 2 September 2014
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!
Here are some of the Brownie's creations:
Some other fun drawing activities (click the links!):
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!
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| Credit: Expressive Monkey |
Here are some of the Brownie's creations:
- Funny Bunny faces by Housing a Forest - similar to the Crazy Critters
- Pocket doodles for kids by Bill Zimmerman
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| Credit: Bill Zimmerman |
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Do your Guide enjoy drawing activities?
Friday, 13 June 2014
Lots of looms
And the rainbow loom band craze continues...
The girls were in charge again last week with two Patrols running activities - rainbow loom bands and a taste-testing challenge. This meant that every single Brownie Guide brought in a loom (with many even owning MULTIPLE looms!) and bands.
Because the Patrols were in charge I didn't get a chance to show them my alternate methods of looming. This is something that I still would like to share with them, especially as they still love looming so much! Maybe an "alternate looming" night?
I've also added the fork to my repertoire of alternate looming. A little tricky to begin with but once you develop a rhythm, you quickly catch on! Cool, right?!
Patrol one: Rainbow Looms
The Patrol divided the unit into 3 groups - beginner, intermediate and advanced - and then each group focused on a different bracelet. The beginners group (6 girls with Miss8years in charge) created single band bracelets, fishtails and also learnt to attach charms to a bracelet. This group worked really well together and made some really cute bracelets.
The intermediate and advanced groups had a little more trouble as their bracelets were quite complicated and it took time making sure that each girl was following the steps correctly. This meant that no one in those groups completed their bracelets in the 30 minute time allowance they had to run their activity. The Brownies quickly realised that looming was definitely a whole night activity!
I wasn't sure exactly what level of involvement the girls required of me during the loom making and so in preparation for this activity I spent the night before the meeting creating bracelets by watching Youtube videos. I've discovered that I quite enjoy the process of making the bracelets as it is so similar to crocheting and I like understanding how the designs have been created.
Here are my creations - as you can see, i'm drawn to the rainbow color schemes!
Patrol two: taste test challenge
As I mentioned in my post a few weeks ago, the girls chose this activity as a part of the Food create-a-challenge badge. They were very excited and giggly when preparing this as they just wanted to see the reactions when everybody tried the more extreme food samples such as lemon juice and chilli.
This activity was the perfect example of organised chaos and did not run at all in the orderly fashion that had originally been explained to me. It was definitely a case of too many cooks with five girls each giving the rest of the unit conflicting instructions!
Everybody (Leaders excluded fortunately!) was seated at a table and then blind-folded. On a spoon they were given a small sample of food to try.
For the first round of tasting the girls were told to say their guess out loud. Very quickly the Patrol realised that those that were unsure of the correct answer just stayed silent until somebody else answered. From here they modified their instructions so that guesses were whispered and then noted down by own of the girls in the Patrol. I was impressed that they modified the activity when they realised it wasn't working as planned but it sure did slow things down!!
Foods tastes included: mustard, chili, popcorn, mayonnaise, lemon juice, dark chocolate, war heads and about five other things I can't remember.
It was definitely an experience letting the Brownie Guides lead activities these past two weeks. There were successes and some dramas but that is all part of the experience. It very quickly became clear to me that I need to work on organisation methods with the girls - that some activities work better in small groups, where others can be done on a unit level.
Unfortunately we did not have time for more than a brief evaluation on either night due to time constraints and our next meetings won't allow for it either. Without properly evaluating and discussing their activities and leadership, the Patrol nights won't have as much impact on the girls as I would have liked. But still it was a learning experience for them and me!
The girls were in charge again last week with two Patrols running activities - rainbow loom bands and a taste-testing challenge. This meant that every single Brownie Guide brought in a loom (with many even owning MULTIPLE looms!) and bands.
Because the Patrols were in charge I didn't get a chance to show them my alternate methods of looming. This is something that I still would like to share with them, especially as they still love looming so much! Maybe an "alternate looming" night?
I've also added the fork to my repertoire of alternate looming. A little tricky to begin with but once you develop a rhythm, you quickly catch on! Cool, right?!
Patrol one: Rainbow Looms
The Patrol divided the unit into 3 groups - beginner, intermediate and advanced - and then each group focused on a different bracelet. The beginners group (6 girls with Miss8years in charge) created single band bracelets, fishtails and also learnt to attach charms to a bracelet. This group worked really well together and made some really cute bracelets.
The intermediate and advanced groups had a little more trouble as their bracelets were quite complicated and it took time making sure that each girl was following the steps correctly. This meant that no one in those groups completed their bracelets in the 30 minute time allowance they had to run their activity. The Brownies quickly realised that looming was definitely a whole night activity!
I wasn't sure exactly what level of involvement the girls required of me during the loom making and so in preparation for this activity I spent the night before the meeting creating bracelets by watching Youtube videos. I've discovered that I quite enjoy the process of making the bracelets as it is so similar to crocheting and I like understanding how the designs have been created.
Here are my creations - as you can see, i'm drawn to the rainbow color schemes!
Patrol two: taste test challenge
As I mentioned in my post a few weeks ago, the girls chose this activity as a part of the Food create-a-challenge badge. They were very excited and giggly when preparing this as they just wanted to see the reactions when everybody tried the more extreme food samples such as lemon juice and chilli.
This activity was the perfect example of organised chaos and did not run at all in the orderly fashion that had originally been explained to me. It was definitely a case of too many cooks with five girls each giving the rest of the unit conflicting instructions!
Everybody (Leaders excluded fortunately!) was seated at a table and then blind-folded. On a spoon they were given a small sample of food to try.
For the first round of tasting the girls were told to say their guess out loud. Very quickly the Patrol realised that those that were unsure of the correct answer just stayed silent until somebody else answered. From here they modified their instructions so that guesses were whispered and then noted down by own of the girls in the Patrol. I was impressed that they modified the activity when they realised it wasn't working as planned but it sure did slow things down!!
Foods tastes included: mustard, chili, popcorn, mayonnaise, lemon juice, dark chocolate, war heads and about five other things I can't remember.
***
It was definitely an experience letting the Brownie Guides lead activities these past two weeks. There were successes and some dramas but that is all part of the experience. It very quickly became clear to me that I need to work on organisation methods with the girls - that some activities work better in small groups, where others can be done on a unit level.
Unfortunately we did not have time for more than a brief evaluation on either night due to time constraints and our next meetings won't allow for it either. Without properly evaluating and discussing their activities and leadership, the Patrol nights won't have as much impact on the girls as I would have liked. But still it was a learning experience for them and me!
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What are your experiences with girls taking over?
Thursday, 29 May 2014
Girls in charge
This week's meeting was the first time I
have EVER sat down at a desk to do paperwork during a Brownie meeting. The
girls such did a great job with the first of their Patrol nights (which they planned a few weeks ago), that while they were busy creating
skits, I had a chance to sit down and sign off some badgework - a task usually
done in front of the TV at home. This shared leadership thing is awesome!
That said the night wasn’t without its challenges…
The two Patrols each had 30 minutes to run an activity for the rest of the unit. By strange coincidence, both happened to choose drama activities, but each had a slightly different spin on the idea. Having such similar activities allowed me to observe and compare how each group presented their activity and dealt with any issues that arose.
Some of the things I observed over the night were:
And finally, here are the activities:
Patrol One:
Patrol two gave each group a folded piece of paper with a topic (aliens, ghost and witches). The girls were given 10 minutes to create a skit based around this topic and then came back together to perform in front of the group. The Patrol-in-charge then filmed the skit, creating a "short film".
That said the night wasn’t without its challenges…
The two Patrols each had 30 minutes to run an activity for the rest of the unit. By strange coincidence, both happened to choose drama activities, but each had a slightly different spin on the idea. Having such similar activities allowed me to observe and compare how each group presented their activity and dealt with any issues that arose.
Some things that were really great about the night were:
- The enthusiasm for creating completely original skits!
- The dress code for the night was "crazy clothes" and the Brownies did a great job with weird hairstyles, clashing colors and mismatching outfits. I wish that I had remembered to take a group photo!
- Laying down broomsticks to assign an area for the audience to sit.
- The laughter. The girls had such a fun night and while I didn't understand 90% of what was occurring during the performances, they did, and that is all that matters!
- First aid skills. It was great to see the girls putting their skills to good use, but I wonder if I should also be alarmed at the amount of skits that focused on people injuring themselves. The price of comedy...
- We finished the meeting ON TIME (this happens at best 4 times a year). Clearly they have a better control of time than I do. Or perhaps, I actually had a free moment to look at the time and keep us on task!
- Leadership. Especially when the Patrol in charge went around to the other groups to let them know how much time they had left to practice and offered assistance with scripts.
- Teamwork!! For the Patrols in charge AND those creating skits. By the end of the night even my least cohesive Patrol had created and performed together! A real achievement!
- Not listening. I felt the girls handled this very well. One girl implemented a clapping pattern (common in schools) but most stuck with the hand in the air and waited for silence. It was great for them to see things from a Leader's perspective and also come to an understanding that you have be in a position that the majority of the group can actually see you to hear or follow your directions.
- The first Patrol in charge gave out their activity instructions and then went immediately to create their own skit. I explained that as Leader's they needed to remember the needs of the other groups as well and to offer assistance or advice in needed. From there they were great and would periodically split up and assist the other Patrols with their planning.
- Never ending skits - i'm sure you've seen them before! The plot slowly disappears, the Leader looks completely confused, the girls on stage get the giggles and the audience members start to get fidgety (or alternately seem to think what is happening onstage is absolutely hilarious!)
- No set stage area. The audience was cordoned off which one Patrol took to mean that the rest of the hall was their stage. I had to stop them when they entered the kitchen!
- Performers speaking with their backs to the audience. Very common and not a worry until we do drama again.
Patrol One:
Patrol two gave each group a folded piece of paper with a topic (aliens, ghost and witches). The girls were given 10 minutes to create a skit based around this topic and then came back together to perform in front of the group. The Patrol-in-charge then filmed the skit, creating a "short film".
When we were cleaning up I came across this script one of the Patrols had created. I especially love scene 3!
The night was definitely a worthwhile experience for both myself and the girls! Next week should be interesting as the other two Patrols present their activities - rainbow loom bands and a taste-testing challenge.
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How do you give girls the opportunity to lead?
Sunday, 11 May 2014
What's gonna work? Teamwork!
These activities have all been used as Patrol activities during Brownie Guide meetings. For more information about our Patrol activity tubs and other Patrol activities visit this post.
Activity: Build a clove hitch ladder
Guiding Fundamental: Outdoors
Activity Challenge Card:
Equipment Provided: Knotting cord, sticks
Further Information Provided:
How the Brownie Guides reacted:
I had chosen activities for the other Patrols which would allow me to spend a lot of time with this Patrol, since I knew they would need some guidance with their knotting. At first I taught the girls the second method of tying a clove hitch as this method can be used in any situation whereas method one can only be used on a open-ended pole or stick.
The Guides had mixed success with this, getting it right about 60% of the time. I could tell they were getting frustrated and so decided to show them method one, which admittedly is the way I was taught to tie a clove hitch. I teach this knot as 'little e's' rather than 'Mickey Mouse ears', as the 'e' method gives more direction in how to make the loop formation correctly. Just "draw" two little e's using the cord, which makes sure that the correct side of the cord appears on top. Then put loop one on top of loop two.
Very quickly the girls success rate jumped up to 100% and they were over the moon. (Insert guilty Leader for not teaching them this method to begin with). The Patrol ended up building a ladder than was 2.5m long with about 30 rungs. A pretty impressive effort. The Patrol Leader tied her knots using method two, and the other Guides using method ones.
Activity: Can you find the alphabet?
Guiding Fundamental: Patrol System
Activity Challenge Card:
How the Brownie Guides reacted:
I was surprised when the girls worked their way through the alphabet sequentially (although that it what the instructions imply) whereas I would have written down the letters A through Z and then filled in the blanks when inspiration hit. Two Patrols have completed this activity and both showed great teamwork, roaming the hall finding answers and discussing possibilities. Afterwards they loved presenting their favourite answers to the unit. Success!
Activity: Guide Biscuit Shop
Guiding Fundamental: Patrol System, Promise and Law
Activity Challenge Card:
Equipment Provided: Lots of cash in different denominations, signage, packets of Guide biscuits, paper shopping bag
How the Brownie Guides reacted:
I threw this activity together quickly as this year's batch of Guide biscuits arrived just in time for our meeting. The girls love to sell things but really struggle with looking at the money handed to them by the customer and then giving correct change.
For this activity the girls had fun setting up a little table with their biscuits and displaying posters on the wall. They took turns being the salesperson, in charge of the money and the customers. They really like using real money and practicing their customer service skills. I think that they would have happily played shop all night long!
Activity: Patrol interviews
Guiding Fundamental: Patrol System
Activity Challenge Card:
Equipment Provided: iPad
How the Brownie Guides reacted:
Every Patrol is desperate for their turn at this activity because they just love to be in front of the camera. The girls haven't gone beyond the suggested questions provided but have given some great responses! I think their videos have an equal amount of both interviewing and dancing. It will make for a great end of year movie.
--------------------
Activity: Build a clove hitch ladder
Guiding Fundamental: Outdoors
Activity Challenge Card:
Equipment Provided: Knotting cord, sticks
Further Information Provided:
How the Brownie Guides reacted:
I had chosen activities for the other Patrols which would allow me to spend a lot of time with this Patrol, since I knew they would need some guidance with their knotting. At first I taught the girls the second method of tying a clove hitch as this method can be used in any situation whereas method one can only be used on a open-ended pole or stick.
The Guides had mixed success with this, getting it right about 60% of the time. I could tell they were getting frustrated and so decided to show them method one, which admittedly is the way I was taught to tie a clove hitch. I teach this knot as 'little e's' rather than 'Mickey Mouse ears', as the 'e' method gives more direction in how to make the loop formation correctly. Just "draw" two little e's using the cord, which makes sure that the correct side of the cord appears on top. Then put loop one on top of loop two.
Very quickly the girls success rate jumped up to 100% and they were over the moon. (Insert guilty Leader for not teaching them this method to begin with). The Patrol ended up building a ladder than was 2.5m long with about 30 rungs. A pretty impressive effort. The Patrol Leader tied her knots using method two, and the other Guides using method ones.
--------------------
Activity: Can you find the alphabet?
Guiding Fundamental: Patrol System
Activity Challenge Card:
How the Brownie Guides reacted:
I was surprised when the girls worked their way through the alphabet sequentially (although that it what the instructions imply) whereas I would have written down the letters A through Z and then filled in the blanks when inspiration hit. Two Patrols have completed this activity and both showed great teamwork, roaming the hall finding answers and discussing possibilities. Afterwards they loved presenting their favourite answers to the unit. Success!
--------------------
Guiding Fundamental: Patrol System, Promise and Law
Activity Challenge Card:
Equipment Provided: Lots of cash in different denominations, signage, packets of Guide biscuits, paper shopping bag
How the Brownie Guides reacted:
I threw this activity together quickly as this year's batch of Guide biscuits arrived just in time for our meeting. The girls love to sell things but really struggle with looking at the money handed to them by the customer and then giving correct change.
For this activity the girls had fun setting up a little table with their biscuits and displaying posters on the wall. They took turns being the salesperson, in charge of the money and the customers. They really like using real money and practicing their customer service skills. I think that they would have happily played shop all night long!
--------------------
Guiding Fundamental: Patrol System
Activity Challenge Card:
Equipment Provided: iPad
How the Brownie Guides reacted:
Every Patrol is desperate for their turn at this activity because they just love to be in front of the camera. The girls haven't gone beyond the suggested questions provided but have given some great responses! I think their videos have an equal amount of both interviewing and dancing. It will make for a great end of year movie.
Friday, 9 May 2014
Patrol Planning
An important part of the Australian Guide Program is developing a shared leadership approach which basically means planning the program WITH the Guides. Not always the easiest endeavour!
The Brownies are actively involved in creating our program each term with brainstorming nights where they discuss what activities and badges they want to do. The girls take turns leading songs and running games each week but usually only Patrol Leader's or the girls working on their Junior BP award run the programming for the entire night by themselves. So I really wanted to give the rest of the unit the chance to step up and have a greater degree of control in running our meetings.
Our Guide unit (10-14 year olds) runs extremely successful Patrol night's where each Patrol runs the program for the entire unit. So at our recent Leadership Training, I spoke to the Patrol Leader's and Seconder's and we decided to have each Patrol take turns running a 30 minute activity. If this is successful each Patrol will get to run an entire night in Term 3. The girls are desperate for this as increasing their activity to 1.5 hours means they can have a movie night. Apparently there is no limit to the amount of times they want to watch Frozen.
So much like GuideyDiary's unit, this week was all about the Brownie's planning activities as a Patrol.
The Brownies split into their Patrols and began brainstorming. It was interesting to observe the different methods the girls chose for discussing their ideas. One Patrol had each girl create her own list with every possible activity she wanted to do. Another created one master list and then each girl had two votes to cull it down. The third Patrol discussed their ideas until coming to a consensus and I have no idea how the final Patrol made their decision, but by the time I made it to their group, they had their activity completely planned with equal input from each girl!
Below are the activities the girls chose to organise for their 30 minute activity.
Patrol One
Everybody dresses up (no theme, anything goes!) and brings in their rainbow looms and loom bands. Everybody can share their skills and teach others, with the Patrol members teaching specific styles of bracelets.
Patrol Two
Every Patrol creates a skit with the title, Crazy Doctor!
Patrol Three
Each Patrol is to create a skit with a funny twist eg. mixed up fairytales. The Patrols film their skit and then present the short film to the unit.
Patrol Four
The Patrol chose to begin the Food create-a-challenge badge. The girls planned two activities: a blind-folded taste test and the game, fruit salad.
To make the taste test fair, they have decided to switch the dishes around so that everybody tries them in a different order. Below is the eclectic list of foods that will be used in the taste test.
I find it interesting that dressing up and performing skits were such popular choices, especially since they weren't even brought up in our unit brainstorm! I'm excited to see what happens when the Patrols take over! Will chaos reign?
The Brownies are actively involved in creating our program each term with brainstorming nights where they discuss what activities and badges they want to do. The girls take turns leading songs and running games each week but usually only Patrol Leader's or the girls working on their Junior BP award run the programming for the entire night by themselves. So I really wanted to give the rest of the unit the chance to step up and have a greater degree of control in running our meetings.
Our Guide unit (10-14 year olds) runs extremely successful Patrol night's where each Patrol runs the program for the entire unit. So at our recent Leadership Training, I spoke to the Patrol Leader's and Seconder's and we decided to have each Patrol take turns running a 30 minute activity. If this is successful each Patrol will get to run an entire night in Term 3. The girls are desperate for this as increasing their activity to 1.5 hours means they can have a movie night. Apparently there is no limit to the amount of times they want to watch Frozen.
So much like GuideyDiary's unit, this week was all about the Brownie's planning activities as a Patrol.
The Brownies split into their Patrols and began brainstorming. It was interesting to observe the different methods the girls chose for discussing their ideas. One Patrol had each girl create her own list with every possible activity she wanted to do. Another created one master list and then each girl had two votes to cull it down. The third Patrol discussed their ideas until coming to a consensus and I have no idea how the final Patrol made their decision, but by the time I made it to their group, they had their activity completely planned with equal input from each girl!
Below are the activities the girls chose to organise for their 30 minute activity.
Patrol One
Everybody dresses up (no theme, anything goes!) and brings in their rainbow looms and loom bands. Everybody can share their skills and teach others, with the Patrol members teaching specific styles of bracelets.
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| Photo credit: http://htekidsnews.com/rainbow-loom-mania-ask-the-creator/ |
Every Patrol creates a skit with the title, Crazy Doctor!
Patrol Three
Each Patrol is to create a skit with a funny twist eg. mixed up fairytales. The Patrols film their skit and then present the short film to the unit.
Patrol Four
The Patrol chose to begin the Food create-a-challenge badge. The girls planned two activities: a blind-folded taste test and the game, fruit salad.
To make the taste test fair, they have decided to switch the dishes around so that everybody tries them in a different order. Below is the eclectic list of foods that will be used in the taste test.
I find it interesting that dressing up and performing skits were such popular choices, especially since they weren't even brought up in our unit brainstorm! I'm excited to see what happens when the Patrols take over! Will chaos reign?
Saturday, 7 December 2013
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:
Below are some of the creations made by the Brownies.
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!
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.
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| A reindeer made from a cork, pipe cleaners and a painted rock |
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| A dog rock pet |
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| A reindeer made with cork, felt, pipe cleaners and goggly eyes |
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| Angels made from wooden pegs, felt, pipe cleaners and LOTS of hot glue |
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| Fairies on a stick. So grateful that these creepy babies are no longer in the craft cupboard! |
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| Candy cane reindeer |
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| Paddlepop stick snowflake |
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| 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?
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