UN Forests Challenge Badge

Our second meeting in May was intended to be spend outside taking part in the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup, but rainy weather and overcast skies moved the meeting indoors (our cleanup location had no washrooms or shelter). We did not have our regular meeting space, but had access to two smaller rooms upstairs in the church.

We split the units up into two groups for the evening. The 3rd year Guides went with our Junior Leader to create records of the service projects they have taken part in, learn about Pathfinders, and practice a story presentation for later in the meeting. The 1st and 2nd year Guides worked together on the UN Forests Challenge Badge that we had started earlier in the year.

As the girls arrived, they were asked to write different ways that water can be used on slips of paper (i.e. by people, businesses, plants, animals).

We had a quieter version of our usual opening, followed by a quiet game led by one of the Patrols. Once we were ready to begin our program, the 3rd year Guides and our Junior Leader went off to another room. We began with Water Charades, using the ideas that the girls had written down at the beginning of the meeting.

Next, we had a drama activity based on the Canadian Forestry Association's Teaching Kit - Canada's Forests - A Fine Balance - Vol. 5: Species at Risk (2004). The activity we used was adapted from Lesson 3: Shrinking Habitat - Share the Space. Before starting, each girl was asked to take on the role of something that lives in the forest (i.e. bird, animal) and to think about how their creature would react. We used the story in the lesson plan, changing the last sentence to read "But what do the woodland creatures think?". After reading the story, each girl responded in words and/or actions how she thought her chosen creature would feel and what they would think about what was happening.

The girls then divided up into groups to play "The Green Zone" board game. This game is based on the online game available on the Canadian Forestry Association's website. As the players move around the board, they move forwards or backwards, lose or gain turns, and lose or gain tokens, depending on the scenarios written in the squares. Examples of scenarios are:

• Play outside or go for a bike ride instead of watching TV - +1
• Watch TV instead of helping plant trees - -3
• Community Park is closed to make room for a new building - -10 for everyone

The next 20 minutes or so were spent creatively describing the interactions between people and forests. Some girls wrote stories or poems, others drew pictures or made up a skit.

Our final activity of the meeting was a story reading by the 3rd year Guides. Each girl took on different parts and read out the story "Trees, Fish and Orang-utans" (Indonesia) found in The Right to Food: A Window on the World. (This book can be downloaded from the WAGGGS website at http://www.wagggs.org/en/resources/document/view/909.

We ended the meeting with Taps and had everyone ready for pick-up and downstairs in time for parents arriving.


(Resources on the Canadian Forestry Association's website can be found here - http://www.canadianforestry.com/kits/english/index.html)

Introduction to Guiding

The month of May started off with an Introduction to Guiding Event. We had two adults and 1 girl pre-register for the event, unfortunately none attended. We did end up recruiting two potential Guiders and hopefully they will complete the paperwork soon and we will be able to start planning for the new year!

Despite not having any visiting girls, the Sparks and the Guides still had a fun evening. As the girls arrived, they worked on bookmarks for the Students Rebuild Literacy Campaign. We then had the Sparks opening, followed by the Guides opening. One Patrol led an active game - Romeo and Juliet - and then the Sparks were divided amongst the Guide Patrols for the evening.

Our first activity had 3 parts. 3 Patrols started working on a collage, drawing pictures or using words to describe things they like about Guiding or they would like to do in Guiding. The fourth Patrol set out to follow a trail around the inside of the church (trail signs were drawn on cards and placed on the floor). While on the trail, they had to collect 3 pieces for a craft - a felt flower, felt center, and felt bracelet band. When the first Patrol arrived back in the main room, they started gluing their bracelets together and a second Patrol was sent out to follow the trail. As Patrols returned, they would make their bracelets and then return to working on the collage.

Next, we moved into the kitchen for a quick science experiment. We decided to do Magic Milk as it is fun, colourful and can have lots of girls do pieces. Basically, a thin layer of milk is poured onto a plate, then drops of food colouring are added. Drops of dish detergent are added, causing the colours to flow and swirl (the detergent reacts with the milk proteins and lowers the surface tension of the milk, so the food colouring can move freely.)

After cleaning up, we moved on to the international portion of our evening. As it was May 5th, we learned a little bit about Cinco de Mayo and Guiding in Mexico. We played :a Gallinita Ciega (The Blind Hen). In this game, one player is chosen to the the blind hen. She is blindfolded and all the other players scatter around the playing area. The hen has to try to tag the other players, who make noises and call out things like 'Here I am', while trying to eade the hen. When the hen tags another player, she gives them the blindfold and they become the blind hen.

We then had a piñata (made from a gift bag and strung onto a broomstick. Inside, were baggies with PR materials (bookmark, tattoo, postcard) and a mini-sticky notepad with 'Guiding is FUN-tastic! written on it and a roll of rocket candies (each girl received 1 baggie).

We ended the meeting with a participation - Mosquito Hunt (in Campfire Activities, page 86) and a short campfire, followed by Spark Closing and Taps.

Princesses Give Service

When we asked the girls for ideas for meetings, we were given a variety of ideas that were put together to make our "Princess Night". Each girl was asked to come dressed as a princess. What did that mean? Whatever they thought it meant - when asked, we responded that they should feel like a princess in whatever they chose to wear! We had a great range of outfits, from some very traditional princess-like dresses to comfortable outfits to gala dresses and high-heeled shoes.

Our meeting started with our usual opening and a game of Wax Museum (to save wear and tear on outfits) led by one of the Patrols.

We then talked about what it means to be a Princess and learned about some real Princesses (under the traditional definition) - many of whom have connections to Guiding and/or Scouting - and the causes they support.  I had put together a slideshow of photos of princesses around the world to share while we had the discussion - some entries were:

• HH Princess Hajah Masna (Brunei) - President of the Brunei Girl Guides Association
• Princess Sisowath Kanthireth (Cambodia) - International Commission for the Girl Guide Association of Cambodia
• HRH Princess Benedikte (Denmark) - Royal Patron of the Olave Baden-Powell Society
• Princess Basma bint Talal (Jordan) - President of the Jordanian Association of Boy Scouts and Girl Guides
• HRH Princess Azizah Iskander (Malaysia) - Royal Patron of the Girl Guides Association of Malaysia in the State of Penang
• Caroline, Princess of Hanover, Hereditary Princess of Monaco (Monaco) - Patron of the Association des Guides et Scouts de Monaco
• HRH Queen Maxima of the Netherlands (Netherlands)- Patron of Scouting Nederland
• Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya (Thailand) - Chief Guide of the Girl Guides Association of Thailand
• HRH Sheikha Jawaher Bint Mohammed Al Qassimi (UAE) - Chairwoman of the United Arab Emirates Girl Guides Association
• HRH Sophie, Countess of Wessex (UK) - President of Girlguiding UK (her daughter, Lady Louise, is a Brownie!)

The remainder of our meeting was devoted to service projects.Two girls brought in clothing donations for the Goodwill Good Turn Challenge, but not enough to earn the crest - they will each receive a fun service crest instead.

The girls continued their work on making bookmarks for the Students Rebuilt Literacy Campaign, to raise donations for the Save the Children Literacy Boost Programs in Mali, Peru and Nepal. How the campaign works is that groups, like Guides, make bookmarks and submit them to Students Rebuild, and then the Bezos Family Foundation donates $1 for each bookmark to Save the Children. For more information visit http://studentsrebuild.org/find-challenge/literacy-challenge/about-challenge.

The last part of our meeting was spent doing a book exchange for the Words in Action National Service Project. Girls had been asked to bring in books during the month of April, and for each book they brought, they were given a ticket. Each ticket entitled them to choose a new book. We had added some additional books picked up at thrift stores to ensure a good selection. Girls who had brought in books to exchange were allowed to pick first, and if they had extra tickets they were able to give them to girls who had not brought in books, so everyone ended up going home with something new to read! Half of the remaining books were donated to the Grand River Veterinary Hospital where they will be sold in aid of Canon's Cause, which helps abandoned and injured animals. The other half will be donated to a women's shelter as part of the Ranger Service Project.

We closed the meeting with Taps (after asking the girls to put down their books, as some had already started reading!).

Introduction to Guiding Event

No experience necessary! All women age 18+ are invited to come and learn more about the opportunities offered by Girl Guides of Canada!

Guiding in Caledonia needs YOUR help! Without additional volunteers, we will not be able to keep all of our units open and continue to offer the same great programming for girls.

Celebrate St George's Day!

Our third meeting in April was spent learning about Norway and earning the Norges Speiderforbund Guide St. Georgsdag badge.

As the girls arrived, each Patrol was asked to make a list of ideas for Good Turns (ones they have done and ones they could do if the opportunity arose).

We then had our usual opening, followed by a Patrol-led active game, and then discused our theme for the evening by learning a bit about Norway and Guiding there, as well as a brief introduction to St George.

Next we used wooden shapes and paint to try Rosemaling. Rosemaling means "decorative painting" in Norwegian and the term is used to describe a form of folk art that originated in rural Norway in the mid-1700s. It is characterized by stylized flowers and scrolls, made by blending colours, and is used to decorate walls, trunks, bowls, cabinets and other furniture.

As girls began to finish their painting, we read the Legend of St George aloud, and then asked the girls to illustrate part of the story. The version of the legend we used can be found at http://projectbritain.com/stgeorge2.html.

Once all the painting was completed, we played a game from Norway called "Sti Heks", or "Sticky Witch". This game is very similar to Frozen Tag - The player who is it is the “witch” and she “freezes” players by tagging them. When a player is tagged, they must stand still with their arms and legs spread out until another player crawls under them.

While everyone caught their breath, we talked about the Knight's Code of Chivalry found in Scouting for Boys, and compared it to our Guide Laws. 

The girls then worked on their illustrations until the end of the meeting, which concluded with Taps.

All About Our Environment

Our second meeting in April included a visit by the 2nd year Brownies from the 3rd Caledonia Brownie Unit.

As the girls arrived, the visiting Brownies were added into Patrols and each Patrol brainstormed a list of ways they can take care of the environment through the 4 R's (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Refuse). We had our usual opening, welcomed the Brownies, and then one Patrol led an active game.

Our first activity was a quick summary of the ideas each Patrol had come up with to make one master list. Each Patrol then picked 1-3 of the ideas and created a skit to share the ideas with the rest of the Unit.

We then moved on to a recycling game. Each Patrol had 4 cards labeled "Garbage Can", "Composter", "Recycling Bin", and "Return/Reuse". The Patrols sat at one end of the room and the leaders at the other. A leader called out an item (i.e. pizza delivery box, orange peels, clothing, straws) and each Patrol had to decide which card showed the correct location and then one player from each Patrol had run up to the leaders with the card. The first Patrol to arrive with the correct answer received 4 beads, the second 3 beads, third 2 beads, and fourth 1 bead. There was often more than one correct answer, and as long as the girl bringing up the card could justify her answer, it was accepted (especially the Return/Reuse card). The Patrol with the most beads at the end of the game was the winner.

Next we learned about vermicomposting, we had brought in our vermicomposter from home so the girls were able to see and touch the worms and soil in the composter. (Vermicomposting uses red wriggler worms to consume the waste materials and produce nutrient-rich soil (worm poo!)) To learn more about vermicomposting visit http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/vermicomposting/.

Our final activity was to make small planters and plant seeds. Each girl made her own planter using half of an empty water bottle, googly eyes and a pompom nose. We then planted marigold seeds and added some compost (courtesy of the worms) to help the seeds grow.

Each girl took home a slip asking them to help with sorting and putting out their family's recycling for at least one month. Girls who complete this take-home task will earn the Recycling Badge!

We Love Our Pets!

Our first meeting of April was devoted to learning about Pet Care and completing some of the requirements for the Pet Lover Badge.

Joan Robinson from the Grand River Veterinary Hospital visited to teach girls about the proper care for their pets. She also brought along 2 canine friends - Canon and Caber!. The girls learned about the importance of correct handing, feeding, grooming, exercise and medical care for their pets; signs of illness and what to do if their pet is sick or hurt; how to determine the right type and amount of food their pet needs; and what happens when a pet visits the vet.

Each girl also shared photos and something special about their pet.

Girls wishing to finish the badge need to care for a pet for at least 2 weeks and return the chart provided with a parent/guardian signature and a list of the tasks they did to care for their pet.