At our first meeting in March, two girls planned and ran an evening to complete the Safe at Home or Out and About Module. Their chosen activities included brainstorming a list of ways to show your parents that you are responsible, taking an Internet Safety Quiz, playing charades about household hazards, and making skits about how to handle uncomfortable situations.
Our second meeting was held in the last week of March and was devoted to planning meetings for the rest of the year, discussing cookie sales, and choosing options for a year-end trip.
To
make up for the cancelled meetings, each girl was given a take-home
module to work on with the help of their families. The module was Skills
for Around the Home and the girls were asked to complete 4 activities
from 4 different areas. The idea was to get them to try doing things
around the house that they hadn't done before.
Section 1 - Feeding a Family
Girls
had a choice between planning, shopping for and preparing a 3-course
dinner for their family or making a weekly shopping list and going
shopping, then reviewing shopping habits and costs.
Section 2 - Clothing
Section 2 - Clothing
The
girls were asked to look at the laundry symbols on their clothing and
find out about special washing instructions. They then had the option of
helping to sort, wash, dry, and fold a week's laundry for their family
or learning how to make minor clothing repairs and adjustments (i.e.
hemming, sewing on a button).
Section 3 - Indoors
Everyone
was asked to brainstorm a list of clean chores in their home and make a
list of all the things that need to be done for each room. They also
had to consider who does each chore in their family and their personal
responsibilities. They then had the option of either learning how to do a
chore that they don't usually do or learning how to make a simple
change or repair around the house (i.e. changing a washer on a faucet,
caulking a bathtub, painting a wall)
Section 4 - Outdoors
The
girls had the option of making a list of outdoor chores and activities
in their own home, finding out how outdoor equipment is stored during
the winter and how to get it ready for use in the spring, and doing some
form or outdoor yardwork, or learning about car care by having their
parents show them how to check fluid levels on the family car and
finding out how to top up the different fluids.
April started off with a meeting about Citizenship and Multiculturalism to help our 3rd Year Pathfinder complete the requirements for the Citizenship Certificate.
Our first activity was sharing about different Historic Landmarks that each member has visited. Some of the places included Cottonwood Mansion, Edinburgh Square, Dundurn Castle, Westfield Pioneer Village, Casa Loma, the Henry Ford Museum, and Ruthven Castle.
Next we talked about culture at home and noted places on a town map that have been influenced by different cultures. We then played The Culture Game from the Equitas Play It Fair Toolkit, with each girl taking on the characteristics of one of the imaginary cultures.
Our
April 10th meeting was run by two girls on the theme of Books &
Reading. We began
the meeting at the public library where the girls looked for and checked out books that interested them.
When we got back to the Hall, each girl shared the title and plot of the book she chose and why they picked that particular book. This was followed by a discussion about different genres and why people liked different types of books.
Each girl then had to come up with a title for their personal autobiography and then create a fictional character for a book and come up with a title for their novel.
The last meeting of the month was held on April 24th and was intended to be a Service Project Night. Unfortunately, we had very low attendance - only 3 Pathfinders and 2 3rd Year Guides.
Two of our service activities were cancelled - one due to the weather and the other due to the supplies not being delivered. We were able to make catnip toys to be donated to the SPCA.
April started off with a meeting about Citizenship and Multiculturalism to help our 3rd Year Pathfinder complete the requirements for the Citizenship Certificate.
Our first activity was sharing about different Historic Landmarks that each member has visited. Some of the places included Cottonwood Mansion, Edinburgh Square, Dundurn Castle, Westfield Pioneer Village, Casa Loma, the Henry Ford Museum, and Ruthven Castle.
Next we talked about culture at home and noted places on a town map that have been influenced by different cultures. We then played The Culture Game from the Equitas Play It Fair Toolkit, with each girl taking on the characteristics of one of the imaginary cultures.
We
rounded out the evening by discussing customs and cultural traditions
and common assumptions and stereotypes. Did you know that it's
considered good manners to slurp your soup in Japan - it means you're
enjoying your meal!!
Our
April 10th meeting was run by two girls on the theme of Books &
Reading. We began the meeting at the public library where the girls looked for and checked out books that interested them.
When we got back to the Hall, each girl shared the title and plot of the book she chose and why they picked that particular book. This was followed by a discussion about different genres and why people liked different types of books.
Each girl then had to come up with a title for their personal autobiography and then create a fictional character for a book and come up with a title for their novel.
On
April 17th we planned to spend the evening outside playing games in the
park beside the Hall. With only a few girls in attendance, the 1st Year
Pathfinders went outside to play in the park while I worked with our
3rd Year Pathfinder to plan her meeting for Guides (the Feeling Good
Badge). Later in the evening, All of the girls talked about their
favourite songs, what they listen to when they are happy or sad, and how
music affects mood. As most of the girls had either an iPod or a phone
with them, we were able to listen to their favourite songs as well.
The last meeting of the month was held on April 24th and was intended to be a Service Project Night. Unfortunately, we had very low attendance - only 3 Pathfinders and 2 3rd Year Guides.
Two of our service activities were cancelled - one due to the weather and the other due to the supplies not being delivered. We were able to make catnip toys to be donated to the SPCA.
After
we finished these, we talked about different types of service projects
and planned ideas for next year. The most popular ideas were:
Community - knitting/crocheting squares and making blanktes to donate to Good Shepherd
Outdoors - creating a PSA for the World Wildlife Fund
