This week we explored the History of Guiding to finish up the Our Story theme badge.As the Guides arrived, they gathered in their Patrols to check attendance and collected dues. This week, they also had to gather supplies and put together their Patrol Box. Each Patrol will be responsible for their own supplies this year. They also had to put together a short presentation about one of the B-Ps - Robert, Agnes and Olave.
After our opening, each Patrol shared their presentation so everyone could learn about Robert, Agnes and Olave Baden-Powell. This answered some of the questions from last week:
- Who started Guiding and why?
- When was Guides started?
- Where did Guides start?
Why are Patrols named for flowers and birds?
The original Scout Patrols were birds and animals, and each Scout was expected to learn about their chosen emblem, where it lived, what it ate, etc., and also to use its cry as their Patrol call. Now, the idea of girls going around roaring and hissing like lions or snakes wasn't going to go over well, so B-P and Agnes suggested flower, and later bird, emblems for Guides. Patrol calls stopped, but Guides were still expected to learn all about their chosen emblem.
Why don't we wear dresses as uniform anymore?
The same reason we don't wear long skirts and blouses - times change, and so does fashion. The Guide Uniform has changed many times, becoming less formal and more comfortable over the years. The dress was discontinued about 2001 as very few girls were choosing it as a uniform option, instead going for pants and a t-shirt or sweatshirt. If you like skirts and dresses, you can always wear a skirt with your Guide t-shirt - or find an old Guide uniform and wear it instead!
We also spent a few minutes looking at a Guide Uniform from the 1970s and talking about the challenges of running and playing games in a skirt and how t-shirts are much more comfortable for meetings. I actually wore the same uniform (skirt and blouse) in the early 1990s and could speak from experience! A few of the girls are determined to find old uniform dresses to wear now.
Next we played an active game, Twos and Threes, from Sixty Indoor Games for Scouts by J.B. Collyns (Brown, Son & Ferguson Ltd: Glasgow). In this game, players make a large circle that is two-deep (Guides stand in pairs, one in front of the other). One pair steps out of the circle, with one player going inside the circle and the outside. At 'go', the girl in the circle chases the other girl. To change places with another player, the runner or the chaser stands in front of a pair of girls, and the girl at the back takes her place.
Our next activity was to make Guiding Collages. We had paper, clippings from Guiding publications, and some old Canadian Guider magazines. Each Patrol had supplies to make two collages with the theme "Spirit of Guiding". Everyone got really into this activity and we will be finishing it up in two weeks time.
After cleaning up, we played Kim's Game. This is a classic observation and memory game that has been played by Guides and Scouts since the beginning. Patrols have one minute to look at a tray of items (we used Guiding-themed items), the tray is then removed and players have a short time to try to recall everything they've seen. The Patrol that remembers the most items wins.
Our final activity was to learn Why We Are Called Guides. We read the excerpt from How Girls Can Help to Build Up the Empire (the first Guide Handbook) and found out that we are named for the Corps of the Guides in India. These Guides can turn their hand to anything, are brave and determined, skilled at woodcraft, homecraft, and outdoor lore.
We closed with reminders for next week (City Hall Campfire) and Taps.
Links & Downloads:
- How Guiding Began
- Meet the Baden-Powells
- The Three Baden-Powells: Robert, Agnes and Olave - Girl Guides of Canada
- Why We Are Called Guides - Girl Guide History Tidbits
