September was very exciting as we opened the first ever Ranger unit in our town. We have four girls and have had lots of fun so far!
Our first meeting was spent brainstorming ideas over a pizza dinner that we won for coming up with the winning suggestion for the tag line for the new National Service Project (our suggestion was Girl GREENness Starts Here!). One of the first things we decided to do was attend River Crossing in Sombra, Ontario for the first time. Our second meeting was dedicated to making SWAPS for River Crossing. This was a lot of fun and involved going through totes of craft supplies and coming up with unique ideas. We started working on program at our third meeting by looking at Challenge #10 Working Together in the Celebrate Guiding section. This challenge is all about the Twinning projects. We learned about past projects and looked into our new twinning partner countries, Grenada and Curacao. At the end of the month we attended River Crossing - we got lost on the way there, but finally made it. Unfortunately we didn't have the proper paperwork to go across the border to the Michican side of the river - if we go again, we would make sure we could do this!
We started off in October by working on the Twinning Challenges. The girls split into two groups and one group took Curacao and the other took Grenada. Both groups will share what they've learned at our Twinning meeting later in the month. At this meeting we also made foam flowers, which are really pretty - I can't find a pattern at the moment, but I will post one in the future. I wasn't available the following week, so the girls got together at one person's house and started working on the World Guiding Badge from Venezuela as well as picking out program challenges they would like to work on this year. Cookie Selling at Sears came next, where we sold 14 cases of chocolatey mint cookies. Our next meeting was our Twinning Challenge night. We learned about life and Guiding in Grenada and Curacao and tried making fried bananas and nutmeg ice cream. The fried bananas were ok (better with syrup!) - I wonder how they would have been if we could have deep fried them instead of just using a frying pan. For the ice cream, we made ziplock bag ice cream and sprinkled on nutmeg. We had a hike planned for the last weekend of the month, but had to cancel it as it was cold, windy and raining. (This was a very proud moment for me as a Guider, as the Rangers contacted me to tell me they were cancelling the hike instead of my having to make the decision and contact them!)
At the beginning of November two Rangers and I attended Ranger Round-Up at Doe Lake (this was a provincial Ranger weekend with girls from all over Ontario). The girls enjoyed the sessions and activities, the food was great, and the service project really worthwhile. The service project consisted of cutting out and sewing reuseable sanitary pads for girls in Africa.
Our first meeting of the month was spent making Toothbrush bracelets - this went over really well, although we found it is easier to shape the brushes by holding them in a towel rather than using pliers as the instructions suggested. The rest of the meeting was spent planning meetings, our sleepover, and our Christmas party. Our next meeting was spent completing the World Guiding Badge from Venezuela, including making large World Flag puzzles for the Guides to use. In the middle of the month we volunteered at the Christmas House Tour and Bazaar hosted by the United Church Women. We made sandwiches and served soup and sandwiches, cleared dishes, refilled coffee and tea urns, milk jugs and relish dishes.
The next week we visited the Hamilton-Burlington SPCA to find out about the work they do and about what volunteer opportunities are avaialble for teenagers. We ended the month with a sleepover with the Pathfinders and joined in making 19 dozen cookies for the Out of the Cold Program. The girls ate pizza, talked, danced, listened to music and generally relaxed.
We only had one meeting in December due to the semi-formal dance at the high school and the holidays. The girls gathered at my house to watch a movie and eat Chinese food (always a popular choice!). The movie they chose was The Polar Express.
September started off with a planning meeting and discussion about what Pathfinders is all about. 6 out of 7 Pathfinders are first years, so we will be spending more time teaching the girls how to do things this year. Our second meet was split between outdoor games and activities from "The Arts From A to Z" module.
One of the things we have the girls do is plan and run a meeting based on a module. They can choose to work alone, withe a partner, or with a small group. The first of this year's "Pathfinder Planned" meetings was done by three girls and covered the Media & Image module. This group included our only 3rd-year Pathfinders and the program was well planned and gave the other girls a good example to follow. At our next meeting we celebrated the International Day of the Girl with activities about girls lives around the world. Cookie Selling at Sears came next where we sold 11 cases of chocolatey mint cookies. A leader-led meeting came next to cover the Choosing Your Own Direction module and the annual Cookies Rising badge. At this meeting we reviewed the Promise and Law, talked about the Canada cord and started planning our first service project - making birthday boxes for Martha House (a women's shelter). Our Hallowe'en party was held a week early as most of the girls still wanted to go out trick or treating!
The first two weeks of November were Pathfinder-led meetings, the first on the Be A Star module and the second on the Rembrandt & Co module. The following week was our annual Scavenger Hunt/Birthday Party. This year we had a photo scavenger hunt where the girls split into two teams and had to go around town taking pictures of places and things on their list. The birthday party piece came about as both Guiders have their birthday's a week apart and it has become a tradition that we have cake on the meeting that falls between them. The final meeting of the month was a requested 'Survivor' night. Teams had to design flags, build shelters, lay a fire, learn to tie knots, and practice teamwork by feeding each other pudding ... blindfolded!
December was a short month that started off with our annual service project sleepover. The girls baked 19 dozen cookies to send to the Out of the Cold program and filled 20 birthday boxes with donated items for the women's shelter. Of course, we also had pizza and lots of time for chatting and listening to music. At our first meeting of the month we talked about responsibility and started planning our Thinking Day Event. Our final meeting of the year was our annual Christmas movie night where the girls came to my house and watched Christmas Vacation (their choice).
September started off with a Getting to Know You meeting to help everyone meet new friends. This was followed by an Outdoor night and hike preparation. The next week we went for a Hike along the Rotary Trail at Seneca Park and then played night games in the park (Flashlight Tag, Night Eyes, etc).
In October we began by learning and reviewing the Promise, Law and Motto, holding Patrol Leader Elections and planning the Hallowe'en Party. At the next meeting we celebrated the first annual International Day of the Girl by learning about issues that affect girls around the world. This meeting was followed by two weeks spent earning the NEDIC Challenge, which focuses on body image and self-esteem. The month ended with our annual Hallowe'en party, with each patrol leading an activity.
We began November with our Enrolment Ceremony where we welcomed 5 new Guides into our unit and presented Membership Pins and Badges to all of the girls. The following week we earned the Plants and Animals Badge and the week after learned all about Girl Scouts in the USA in honour of their 100th Anniversary. The last meeting of the month was our Happy Unbirthday Party where we played party games, had cake, and collected items for the Birthday Box Project undertaken by the Pathfinders. In mid-November our 3rd Year Guides volunteered at the annual Church Bazaar. They served soup and sandwiches, refilled milk jugs and relish plates, and cleared tables.
December was short but busy! The first meeting was a Newspaper Challenge. The girls had to design and create a hat to wear for the evening, dress a member of their patrol in a newspaper outfit, use teamwork to travel across the room using two sheets of newspaper, and go on a scavenger hunt in the newspaper. Our final meeting of the year was our annual craft night. This year we made beaded snowflakes, fimo pins and layered cards. December was also the time for our annual sleepover. This year we worked on the Fashion Badge and the girls learned how to use a sewing machine to make their own hooded camp blanket.
Wow! I can't believe it's almost Christmas - where has the time gone?! Since my units have finished for the holidays it seems like a good opportunity to do a review of the past 4 months. I'll have to do this one unit at a time or this post will be overly long :)
