January is ... Build Skills in Communications!

This month we will be working on activities to complete the Build Skills in Communication section of the program as well as work on the Business Communications and Postal Badges.

At our January 8th Meeting, we created collages about Communications and explored Communication through the Arts. Two of the activities we did were Mirroring and Pictures & Patterns:

Mirroring

Two players stand facing each other. One player begins moving and the second player tries to become a mirror image of her movements.

Hint: Slower movements are easier to mirror.

Pictures & Patterns

Materials: Scrap paper, pencils or markers (use ¼ pieces of newsprint)

Two people sit back-to-back. Each player has a sheet of paper and a marker or pencil. The first player draws a picture on her paper. She then describes her picture to the other player so that they can draw it. The second player cannot see the first player’s drawing and cannot ask questions. She must draw what she thinks is being described. Now, look at both drawings—how alike are they? How could you have made it easier?

Try this a second time, but this time the second player can ask questions.

On January 22nd we worked on the Postal Badge. Each girl made mini books about postal rates, special services, and the location of the local post office. Later, we had learned how to properly address an envelope or package and held a parcel wrapping relay race to see which patrol could wrap and label a box correctly the quickest.

The final part of the meeting was spent working on advertising. We talked about different types of advertising and where they can be found, as well as the messages that ads can convey. Each girl then had to create an advertisement of some sort (i.e. a poster, flyer, bookmark, commercial) to communicate a message.

January 29th was our last scheduled meeting on Communications. Girls completed their postal badge mini-booklets when they arrived. We played Kim's game with a tray of assorted objects to complete the Naturalist badge (see Winter Camp post) and also to show how observation is important in communication. The girls had to work as a patrol to try to remember as many items as possible, which provoked a few disagreements as girls were certain they saw different things! (High Score: 21.5 out of 25) Our final activity was tangram puzzles, where each patrol had a puzzle set and was challenged to work together to create a square out of the pieces.

Guide Winter Camp

On the weekend of January 25th to 27th we headed to Camp Teka in Paris, Ontario for our annual Winter Camp Weekend. This year, we were joined for the weekend by the Guides of the 1st Binbrook Guide/Pathfinder Unit.

Friday night was busy with everyone arriving and getting to know each other. We reviewed camp rules and talked about what to do in the event of an emergency. The girls were introduced to the activity table - a table with activity sheets, books, paper, markers, and friendship bracelet supplies that they could use whenever they had free time. The girls were given their patrol scarves to be worn all weekend and patrol duties were briefly explained. Once everyone had arrived, we headed outside for a flashlight scavenger hunt:

1.      What covers a baked potato? (tinfoil)

2.      Not a straight pin (safety pin)

3.      To put on your finger, so you wont’ forget something. (piece of string)

4.      To stop pop cans. (pop tab)

5.      I’m great for eating ice cream! (spoon)

6.      A wooden pen (pencil)

7.      I hold paper together. (paper clip)

8.      You put me on an envelope (stamp)

9.      For finger knitting (piece of embroidery floss)

10. I’m full of snap! (elastic band)

11. For fresh breath (mint)

12. You can write on me (piece of paper)

For each clue, there was a ziplock bag with 4 identical items hidden outside. The girls had to work in patrols to find and collect the items.
We finished off the evening with an activity sheet identifying plants, mammals and insects for the Naturalist Badge, a snack, and some free time.

Saturday started off with breakfast and patrol duties, then we headed outside for a hike.  We walked along the old railway line and came back to camp around the edges of a farmer's field. During the hike, the girls collected sticks and twigs for the frame craft and we also talked about the different plants and animals that live at camp when we came upon signs of life, such as animal tracks and chewed pinecones.

When we arrived back at camp, some of the girls started on a craft while the others got ready for lunch. Our first craft of the weekend was Fimo Utensil Handles - found on Pinterest! The girls pre-chose their colours and created their own designs. We wrote their names on with a permanent marker after baking them.

After lunch, we were all ready for some quiet time. Some girls lay down, others read or talked quietly for nearly the full hour. In the afternoon, the 3rd year Guides from both units were split into 2 groups. One group planned the campfire for Saturday night, while the other group planned Guide's Own for Sunday morning.

Following quiet time, it was back outside to talk about cover, camouflage and wind direction and to play tracking and stalking games for the Naturalist Badge. Some of the girls chose to stay outside and play in the snow while the others came inside to start on another craft.

Our second craft was covered notebooks - also found on Pinterest - which worked out really well. The girls were so creative and everyone's book looked unique. They used scrapbooking paper to cover the covers of the book and then decorated with stickers, ribbon, craft paper, and embellishments. Once all of the girls were inside, we had a snack while the girls worked on the Fimo Utensil Handles and Notebooks. We also did a third craft, making frames using sticks and twigs and ribbon - found in the Canadian Guider magazine.

Supper and patrol duties followed, as well as more planning for campfire and Guide's Own. The girls had lots of free time to talk, play, read, etc. and later on the first group of 3rd year Guides led their campfire.

Sunday morning was frantic as usual with breakfast, packing and cleaning. Once everything was packed up and most of the cleaning done, the second group of 3rd year Guides led Guide's Own and then it was time to go home!

Everyone seemed to have a good time, and many of the girls discovered a common enjoyment of Harry Potter, which became a common theme of free time activities!

Zoe Goes to Kenya!

Each year in January we do one of the "Zoe Challenges". Zoe is a Guide who travels around the world visiting different countries and girls can earn a crest for each country. We have "visited" New Zealand, China, Brazil, France, Trinidad & Tobago, and are finishing off the set this year with the Kenya Challenge.

First, we played Kitnege, which is a tag game. The object of the game is to take the cloth, or kitnege, from the centre of the circle and get to the open space without being tagged.

Players stand in a large circle with a knotted cloth in the middle. One person is chosen to be 'it' and stands in the centre of the circle next to the cloth. She chooses one player from the circle to complete against. Both 'it' and the chosen player try to grab the cloth and get to the open space in the circle.

If the player with the cloth is tagged, they remain 'it' or become the new 'it'.

Our next activity was called Welcome to Kenya and we all learned some facts about Kenya, including a few phrases in Swahili.
Some of the facts we learned were:

• There are more than 70 tribal groups in Kenya
• English and Swahili are the official languages, but there are many other languages spoken

  Hello	Jambo  (djahm boh)
  How are you?	Habari yako  (hah bah ree yah koh)
  Thank you	Asante sana  (ah sahn the sah nah)
  Goodbye	Kwaheri  (kwah heh ree)

• One of the best known Maasai ceremonial songs is the Engilakinoto. It is supposed to be sung after a victorious lion hunt. It has a deep rhythmic chant and is accompanied by a very energetic dance in which warriors display their strength and prowess by leaping into the air.
• Drums are a very important part of Kenyan music and traditional dances.
• Kenya is home to many animals, including elephants, lions, zebras, giraffes, rhinoceros', and warthogs. Over 1,000 different kinds of birds also call Kenya home.

Next we shared a myth from Kenya. Some different myths can be found on this website - John Tyman - Kenyan Folk Tales

We also had to learn about Guiding in Kenya:
Facts about Guiding in Kenya:

• The first Guide Company and Brownie Pack are formed in 1920
• From 1920 to 1935 Guiding was only found in schools for European girls. The first Guide Company for African girls was formed in 1936
• In 1949 the fairy lore used in the Brownie Program was changed to bird lore
• Lord and Lady Baden-Powell are buried in Nyeri, Kenya.

Age Groups

Rainbows - ages 5 to 7
Brownies - ages 7 to 11

Guides - ages 10 to 14
Ranger Guides - ages 14 to 18
Young Leaders - ages 18 to 30

Girl Guide Promise

I promise on my honour that I will do my best:
To do my duty to God and my Country,
To help other people at all times, and
To obey the Guide Law.

Girl Guide Law

1 A Guide’s honour is to be trusted.

2 A Guide is loyal.

3 A Guide’s duty is to be useful and to help others.

4 A Guide is a friend to all and a sister to every other Guide.

5 A Guide is polite and considerate.

6 A Guide preserves and loves nature.

7 A Guide is obedient and has respect for others.

8 A Guide is courageous and is cheerful under all circumstances.

9 A Guide is careful and avoids wastefulness.

10 A Guide is pure in thought, word and deed.

Girl Guide Motto
Be Prepared

Program

To be enrolled as a Guide, girls must pass a Pre-Enrolment Test by attending at least 6 meetings, learning the National Anthem in both English and Swahili, the Guide Promise, Law, Motto, Good Turn,  Salute and Handshake, the history of Guiding in Kenya, and the World Badge and Trefoil.

To find out more about Guiding in Kenya, visit these websites:

Kenya Girl Guides—http://www.kgga.co.ke/

WAGGGS—http://www.wagggs.org/en/world

(choose Kenya from the drop-down menu)

The last part of our meeting was spent doing a craft. We made Beaded Bracelets because the Maasai people are famous for their jewelry. They use many different colours to make detailed designs and patterns. They use glass, clay, wood stones, shells, metals, and bones to make jewelry to wear everywhere on their bodies. Strands of jewelry decorate the neck, arm, ankle, waist and head: various ethnic groups each wear jewelry in their own unique styles.

Materials:

* brightly coloured beads             * fishing line

Instructions:

1. Cut two pieces of fishing line

2. Tie a knot to hold the two pieces of fishing line together, about 2 inches from the ends.

3. Thread beads on each piece of fishing line separately until the beaded sections are long enough to go around your wrist (this makes a double-strand bracelet).

4. Knot the ends of the fishing line together to hold the beads in place.

5. Tie the loose ends together to form a bracelet.

Planning For the New Year

With the coming of the new year, it means it's time to start planning winter and spring activities. Trying to add in enough variety to keep the girls (and Guiders!) interested can be a challenge.

How do I plan? Well, with the older girls I can only do a little bit of the planning without their input. For all my units, I start by setting up a table with the meeting dates and space for notes. Under each date I write a theme or title then list in brief the activities we're going to do or things that need to happen (i.e. forms that are due back). At the bottom I make a note of what program will be covered. I start off by slotting in activities with fixed dates (i.e. Thinking Day, March Break, Cookie Day) and then work from there.

For Guides, we have a couple of outings in the planning stages that should shake things up a bit. Usually we wait for the spring to get back outside, but this year we're hoping to have a winter outdoors night. We have snow at the moment and hopefully it isn't the last of the season! We'll work on some badges - Body Works and Reporting are planned so far, and try to get the girls into running more activities. One other thing we're going to try is a progressive badge where we do one activity each week and then put all the results into a memory booklet at the end. I'm not sure how well this will work, but I think it will be fun to try, and give the girls something to do as they are arriving.

With Pathfinders, we will be spending the first meeting planning out our meetings until March Break. We also need to talk about what the girls want to do at Winter Camp at the end of February. Our big project for January and February will be planning and preparing for Thinking Day. As we have so many new Pathfinders, we need to spend more time on getting things organized then we have in the past. We want everything to go as smoothly as possible.

Because of exams at the end of January, the Rangers will probably only have one or two meetings this month. Our first meeting back will be the cancelled meeting from December, where we were going to explore summer jobs and applications. I've already seen some postings for student summer jobs, so this will be a timely meeting.