Urban Hike & Night Games

We ended September with a short hike in town and night games in the park. Before we set out, we had a brief discussion about the importance of leaving details of your plans with someone at home, what to do if you got lost, why we don't go swimming without a lifeguard and how to behave on public and private property (these are all parts of the Hiking Badge).

Our first activity was Find Your Tree. The girls were divided into pairs with one partner blindfolded. The girl who could see guided her partner to a tree that she then had to memorize how it felt. The seeing partner then led her partner away from the tree and took off the blindfold. The girl who was blindfolded then had to find her tree again.

We then headed out on our walk across the bridge and along the river path. Along the way we looked for signs of nature and objects that would fit on your thumb. We found different types of trees, feathers, grasses, wildflowers and moss. On the way back to the park, we did two walking activities. The first was a Blind Guided Walk. All of the girls were blindfolded and the leaders went at the front, middle and end of the line. We all joined hands and then went on our walk with the leader at the front calling out directions and information about the path and the girls trying to avoid any bumps and holes based on what they were told. Our second activity was a Circle Walk. We divided the girls into two groups, and then had each group form a circle with their arms around each others waists - and then they had to walk forward, moving as a group.

Once we arrived back at the park we had time for a quick snack and then started our night games. We had time for 3 games before it was time to go home:

The Bat - One girl is the bat and leaves the group. One of the other players is chosen as the moth, then all of the players spread out and start moving around and making noises of a chosen animal (the moth is silent). The bat then goes around the playing area trying to find the moth by listening to the noises made by the players.

Listen With Your Eyes Closed -Everyone stands in a circle and closes their eyes. Stay quiet for a few minutes and listen to the sounds in the dark. After the time is up, ask the girls what they could hear.

Sneak -  One player stands in the centre with a flashlight. The other players make a wide circle around the player in the centre. One at a time, players try to sneak up on the player in the centre and tap her on the shoulder without being caught in the flashlight's beam.