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.

Unit Traditions

Traditions are difficult to give up, especially when they've also become routine and you don't notice how outdated they are! 

I was a Brownie and a Guide, as were my fellow Leaders and we have taught our Guides the traditions that we grew up with. The Brownies skip into Brownie Ring, the Guides raise the flag in horseshoe and the absolutely girls love to do "Twist Me and turn me and show me the elf" at Promise ceremonies! Whenever we have changed things up and held an alternate ceremony, the girls ask me when the real Promise ceremony will be!


Brownie Ring
After our initial game, the girls go to their Patrol corners, mark Patrol attendance and then skip into the Brownie Ring. When I was in Brownies each Patrol sung their own Patrol song based on their bush fairy character. I still remember each of the songs!

Credit: http://www.sparklesgarden.com/officialaustralianpatches.html

We're Moora Moors,
Happy and bright,
Trying hard to do what's right!








When the bush fairies were replaced with Australian animals we had the girls create their own Patrol songs based around the tune of the bush fairy songs.

Credit: http://www.guidesnsw.ashop.com.au/p/507645/patrol-emblem---rosella.html

We're Rosellas,
Green and red,
We don't like flies but we like bread!









My Brownies no longer sing the songs as when they elected new Patrol emblems they created new complicated songs with lyrics that they could never seem to remember. Instead they sing the "Brownie Guide Song" as they form the Brownie ring.

Brownie Guide Song
We're Brownie Guides, we're Brownie Guides
We're here to lend a hand
To love our God and serve our Queen
and help our homes and land.
We've Brownie friends, we've Brownie friends
in North, South, East and West,
We're joined together in our wish
to try to do our best.

Clearly with our new Australian Guide Promise we're well overdue for an update to this song, but I really love it and the Brownies have timed it down to an artform to have all the girls in the ring by the time the lyrics end. Any suggestions for altered lyrics so that the tune can remain the same?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What traditions do you have in your unit and what has been adapted?