Our theme for the evening was "Guide History" and included dress up, games, a craft, participation story, and opening and closing ceremonies.
Our first activity was dressing up in heritage uniforms for the evening. We had Brownie, Guide, Pathfinder and Ranger uniforms from the past and most girls choose to wear a uniform for the evening. It was fun to see the girls try to manage active games wearing a dress or skirt - which few of them are accustomed to!
After our opening Horseshoe, one of the patrols led an active game and then we went into our first activity which was to learn about how our unit fits into the structure of Guiding, about the 5 youth branches of Guiding, adult roles and Canadian Units on Foreign Soil. (All parts of the Canadian Guiding badge!)
Next we did an active quiz about Lones (more Canadian Guiding badge!). Each corner of the room was labelled with a letter (A,B,C,D) and the girls had to run to the corner they thought was the right answer. After we finished the quiz, we talked briefly about why a girl might join Lones rather than an active unit.
Lones Active Quiz
1. What are Lones in Girl Guides of Canada?
(A) Money borrowed (B) Girls who cannot attend a regular meeting
(C) Non-member (D) Unit dues
2. What Branches of Guiding have Lone Units?
(A) All Branches (B) Guides and Pathfinders
(C) Rangers (D) Sparks
3. How can a regular Unit help a Lone?
(A) Let her know what District she lives in (B) Adopt her
(C) Send her funds (D) Smile when they see her
4. Where can a Lone wear the Lone Pin?
(A) Camp hat, blanket (B) Girl Guide uniform
(C) Jeans (D) School jacket
5. Lones are eligible to attend what local events?
(A Community (B) Local
(C) Camping (D) All of the above
6.Who can adopt a Lone?
(A) Units (B) Communities
(C) Trefoil Guilds (D) All of the above
7.What months does the Lone program operate?
(A) September to August (B) September to June
(C) September to April (D) September to May
8.How does a Lone work on her program with her Lone Guider?
(A) Email (B) Video and cassettes
(C) Fax and telephone (D) All of the above
Our next two games and our craft came from Guide magazines from 1921 and 1922, so were authentic games form Guiding's past.
Game #1 was a passing relay similar to games we play today. The girls had to pass a ball along their patrol going over the head of the first girl, then between the legs of the next girl, and repeated until the last girl had the ball, then she had to run to the front of the line. After the whole patrol had done this, they had to pass the ball sideways. The first girl passed the ball around her left side, the next girl around her right side, and so on. This added an extra bit of challenge as the girls had to think about left and right which wasn't as simple as over and under.
Our craft was a Geometric Guide Card that could be put on a camp hat. Each girl received shapes to make an early Guide in uniform - black rectangles for the shoes and legs, a navy triangle for the body, a white square and a white rectangle for the top, red triangles for the tie, navy circle for the hat, brown rectangle for the stave, and beige circles forth head and hands. The cards were really cute when done and we covered them with mactac so they will last longer.
Game #2 was called "Pork and Green Peas". It is played similarly to 'Darling if you love me won't you please, please smile'. In this game, the girls who are "It" go around the circle asking questions to different girls. The girls in the circle have to answer "Pork and Green Peas" without smiling or laughing, no matter what the question is. This created some very funny moments as the girls became more creative with their questions.
Our final activity was a participation story about the beginning of Guiding and Thinking Day. Instead of having each group just say the phrase associated with their word, they had to stand up before saying it. For "Thinking Day" everyone had to get up, spin in a circle and shout 'Happy Birthday!'
We ended our meeting with Taps and everyone received an Easter treat before they left.
