Fall Fun With the Rangers

Our Ranger Unit has an irregular schedule and makes full use of Facebook to plan meetings and events. We may not meet often, but when we do, we always have fun!

We started the year off in September by ordering Chinese food and watching the movie "Brave". After the movie was over, we started making plans for our weekend in Toronto in November.

In October, we had a baking night to make shortbread and complete the requirements for the
"Ready, Steady, Glasgow!" Challenge. Baking is always fun - especially when there are such tasty results!


Recipe for Brown Sugar Shortbread (Scottish)
1 cup (250 mL) Butter (no substitutions)
1/2 cup (125 mL) Light Brown Sugar, packed
2 cups (500 mL) All-Purpose Flour
1/4 tsp (1 mL) Salt
1/4 tsp (1 mL) Baking Powder

Cream the butter thoroughly. While beating, gradually add the sugar.
Set aside 1/4 cup (60 mL) flour for rolling the dough. Sift the rest of the flour with the salt and baking powder. Add the butter mixture, mixing well. The dough should feel like putty.
Flour the rolling out surface lightly. Roll the dough out to an even 1/2 inch (1.3 cm) thickness. Cut into fingers, squares, or rounds. Prick each with a fork several times.
Place on an ungreased baking sheet and bake in a 350 F (180 C) oven until lightly browned, about 20-25 minutes (thinner pieces may take as little as 15 minutes). Remove to a wire rack to cool.
Store in a tightly covered tin. Makes approximately 24 pieces.
(Source: This recipe was published in the Hamilton Spectator a few years ago, unfortunately the date and any author information has been cut off the copy I have.)

The remainder of this meeting and our other meeting in October were spent planning our weekend in Toronto. We also spent time talking about College/University preparations and choosing a career. This was a spontaneous conversation as 3 out of 4 Rangers are in Grade 12 and will be heading onto their next adventure come September.

November saw us traveling to Toronto for 3 packed days - see post here.

December was a short month with the holidays. We spent our meeting time brainstorming and making plans for the Ranger Service Project - the last piece needed to complete the Chief Commissioner's Gold Award, and also to earn the Commonwealth Award. The service project list has been narrowed down and a final project will be chosen in the new year. For the Commonwealth Award we will be learning more about Fiji, and are looking forward to finding recipes and enjoying a Fijian meal.

Holiday Craft Night

Our final meeting before the holidays was our annual Holiday Craft Night. This year we made painted wooden gingerbread ornaments, holiday cards and sock. snowmen. Each girl made at least one holiday card to be given to a service project. The highlight for most of the girls was definitely the sock snowmen - they were none other than Olaf, from Frozen!

The instructions and template for Olaf's features came from http://onecreativemommy.com/olaf-sock-snowman-tutorial/

Say No to Violence Challenge

Our first meeting of December was spent working on the Say No to Violence Challenge as part of Girl Guides of Canada's 16 Days of Action Against Gender-Based Violence Campaign. As the girls arrived, they were asked to draw and cut out their handprint on white paper for an activity later in the evening.

We held our usual opening, followed by an active game. The girls had been asked to bring items to donate to a women's shelter, including brushes and combs, shampoo, soap, toothbrushes and toothpaste. Before moving into the evening's activities, we had a discussion about "What is violence against women?", "What is a Women's Shelter?" and "What is conflict?" to familiarize the girls with the terms and topics we would be addressing.

Our first activity was from the Instant Meeting - Defining Conflict. We had a poster of a girl and asked the Guides to share examples of violence, conflict and bullying and added them to the poster, showing their impact on a person. This led into a brief discussion about experiences the girls have had or observed.

The second activity we did was adapted from the Girl EmPower Challenge - Taking the Temperature. We had a series of slips of paper with examples of actions that could indicate a relationship is healthy or unhealthy. The girls split up into their Patrols and we had a relay race to place the slips onto a thermometer (red or hot for unhealthy statements and blue or cold for healthy statements). Once the statements were in place, we reviewed them and discussed what made each statement healthy or unhealthy.

We then moved on to Conflict Resolution Skits (based on the Conflict Resolution activity in the Instant Meeting pack). Before beginning, we reviewed assertive communication and asked the girls to use the tips in their skits. The girls divided up into 5 groups and made skits on the following:

• A friend calls you a mean name.
• Your cousin plays a game and doesn't let you join in.
• A classmate makes fun of you because you didn't do the craft properly.
• Your sister or brother breaks something and then blames you.
• A teammate doesn't want you on their team because she says you aren't good at that sport.

Our final activity was also from the Instant Meeting pack -  Dove Handprints. The girls glued their white handprints onto coloured paper, added features to make a dove and then underneath, wrote ways they could stop violence or promote peace at home, at school, or in the community.

 Here are some of the ideas the girls came up with:

• Stop animal abuse.
• You can stand up for your friends.
• Don't exclude others because they aren't good at a sport or you don't like them.
• Don't tell rumors about people.
• Stand up for women having trouble.
• Stop bullying before it happens.
• Stick up for people that are bullied. Include people. Don't call people names. Help hurt people. Don't hurt each other. If someone's calling people names, tell them to stop.
• Be truthful.
• Don't call people names.
• Be a lover, not a fighter.
• Don't Lie.
• Always tell the truth.
• Treat people the way you want to be treated.
• Peace. Be nice.
• Don't pollute the water.
• Peace on earth. Help out by caring for others.

Streetwise & Girls for Safer Communities

The last week of November was devoted to learning about safety as we worked on the Streetwise Badge and Girls for Safer Communities Challenge.

As the girls arrived, each Patrol was challenged to come up with a list of ways they could stay safe in the community. After our opening and an active game (Everybody's It Tag), we discussed the lists and came up with a 'top 10' list of safety tips. In sharing the lists, everyone learned new ways to increase their personal safety.

We then looked at the Safety Audit forms we completed on our Safety Hike in September. We discussed what we had observed, and then each group made posters and skits related to the issues and promoting safety.

 

Next we split up into patrols and each was given a street map of the town. We took turns finding different locations on the map and giving directions to each other. The discussion included finding the safest routes to different places, areas where there are hazards, and places the girls could get help.

Our final activity, after exploring the maps of the community, was to create personal maps. Each girl or pair created a map showing local places of importance to them (i.e. home, school, church).

Inventing Badge

The third week of November was one of those weeks when my meeting plan was replaced by the girl's own enthusiasm for becoming true inventors.

As the girls arrived, each Patrol was challenged to brainstorm a list of 10 inventions that they would like to see in the future. After our usual opening and an active game, the Patrols shared their lists - which had a wide variety of ideas.

We then moved into a Patrol Challenge to build a vehicle that would travel across the floor. This activity was based on the 4-Wheel Balloon Car activity from PBS Kids Design Squad Nation. Each Patrol was provided with a sponge, straws, a balloon, cardboard, an elastic band, duct tape, scissors, a ruler, and a pencil. The result? The girls learned the importance of working as a team and how the actions of each person can impact others - and they also made some very cool vehicles!

After we had cleaned up, to keep the girls thinking creatively, each girl was given a slip of paper with an everyday object written on it. They were then told to find a partner and think of a new invention that included both of their objects.

Our final activity, was an inventing challenge. The girls worked along, with a partner, or in a small group to make an invention and then create a commercial for it. We put out an array of supplies including styrofoam cups, newspaper, fun foam, paper clips, beads, plastic spoons and forks, cardboard, string, duct tape, feathers, elastic bands, construction paper and pipecleaners. The girls could use any of the supplies and the only limit was their imagination.

With the Rangers in Toronto

The weekend of November 14th to 16th saw 3 Rangers and 1 Guider setting off for three packed days in Toronto. We met at the Hamilton GO Station and were on the 9am bus headed to Union Station.

Friday
We arrived in Toronto about 10am and set out by subway and bus to check into our hotel. We stayed at the Super 8 Downtown on Spadina Avenue, so had easy access to everything we wanted to do. After checking in, we planned our day and headed out along Spadina to Queen Street in search of Graffiti Alley. What we saw was amazing - truly works of art.

Our next task was to find somewhere to eat lunch. There were a few different places, but we eventually decided to be adventurous and went to Nora's Shawarma. None of the Rangers had tried shawarma before, but everyone loved it! The eatery is nothing to look at from the outside and was very cramped and noisy inside - it is definitely where the locals eat and was excellent (as evidenced by the line up that was to the door the entire time we were there).

We spent the afternoon searching for Geocaches - with mixed success. Our searching took us to the Toronto Chinese Baptist Church ("Escape from Chinatown") and Butterfield Park, part of the Ontario School of Art and Design ("Coloured Pencils"). After this we explored Chinatown and visited the Ugly Christmas Sweater Store on Queen Street. We then took the streetcar along Queen's Quay to Union Station where we spent a little time people watching before heading to the CN Tower.

Our goal was to be able to look out over Toronto from the CN Tower in both daylight and at night. Luckily, the sun came out briefly after we got up to the observation level, so we were able to get our daylight photos. As the light faded, we went down to the glass floor (which we all stood, sat and/or lay on) and went out on the outside terrace - which was very windy. We then went up to the Skypod at the top and looked out on the whole city in the dark - which we repeated when we got back down to the observation level.

 

We had a dinner reservation at The Old Spaghetti Factory, so that was our next stop. For those who haven't been there, the eclectic decor starts in the lobby with stained glass, comfy chairs, and a chandelier. The food was amazing - the Rangers all had chicken parmagiana and I (their Guider) had fettuccine alfredo with chicken. All entrees come with soup or salad, fresh bread with garlic butter, ice cream and tea or coffee. This restaurant is definitely on our list to visit again.

Saturday
Our morning started out with an alarm of some sort that made sure we were all up and ready to make an early start. After breakfast, we decided to go geocaching. We visited Osgoode Hall ("Osgood as it gets"), the Canadian Opera Company ("OS 6 Seen from the Shangri La") and the Hospital for Sick Children ("A Place to feel better"), all with no success. Then our luck changed and we found two caches at the University of Toronto, one at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy building ("The Pill Box") and one on College Street ("Zen on College").


Our next stop was Tim Hortons for a hot drink and a snack, then we headed for BMV Books on Bloor Street. This is an amazing store with three floors of books and a lower level with records, DVDs and magazines. It is a mixture of new and used material and everything is 50% of more off the cover/sticker price. This was a hugely successful stop and everyone came away with more than one book.

After a brief stop at the hotel to drop off our books, we headed down to the Distillery District to make sure we knew where we would be going at night. The area is lovely with the original signage and cobbled streets.


We then headed for Dundas Square where we had an early dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. Staying in Dundas Square, we attended Illuminite, the amazing tree-lighting celebration put on by the Downtown Young Business Improvement Area. The celebration included performances by musicians, dancers, and even vertical dance - dancers dancing on the walls of a building using harnesses.

Our final stop of the night was a Haunted Walk in the Distillery District. The walk we went on wound throughout the Distillery District and was called "Ghosts and Spirits of Old Town". We all enjoyed the walk and the tales of the various buildings. As a history lover, I really enjoyed the historical information and context that was provided, bringing each tale from its origins to the present day.

 

Sunday
After breakfast we finished packing and took all of our cases downstairs, where one of the girls' families had generously offered to pick up everything so we didn't have to find a place to store things for the day.

We spent the morning working on the Photo Scavenger Hunt and geocaching. Our stops included the Metro Toronto Convention Centre (stone snowmen?), Roundhouse Park (a train accident?), CN Tower, Rogers Centre (stopped to find a geocache - "Let's Go, Blue Jays"), CBC Building, John Street, Metro Hall, PATH System, Canada's Walk of Fame, Roy Thompson Hall (stopped to find a geocache - "Car On A Hill"), British Phone Booth on Simcoe Street,

Next up was the highlight of the weekend - attending the Toronto Santa Clause Parade! we were able to a spot on University Avenue, sitting on the road so had a front-row view of everything. There were some really neat floats

We also the Parade as an opportunity to present Chief Commissioner's Silver Awards to all 3 Rangers.

We ended our day with lunch at Union Station and completing the remainder of the Photo Scavenger Hunt in the Path System. We returned to Hamilton on Sunday evening very tired, but happy at an excellent weekend.

Enrolment

November 11th was our enrolment ceremony, where we added 8 new members to the Guide family. We were also able to present our Junior Leader, Ocean Lee, with her 12 year pin and our only Pathfinder, Lynsey, with her 10 year pin.

We had a very simple ceremony where girls held up signs about different parts of the Guide program, followed by the normal enrolment ceremony, badge presentations and cake and juice. Ocean-Lee and Lynsey led a sing-song at the end of the evening.

Our Ceremony


Welcome

All of us here play a part in the Guiding days of each new Guide, who will make her Promise tonight. We do many different things in Guides and each of us represents one of the many aspects of the Program.

Girl 1 - I bring friends to work and grow together. "Friends"

Girl 2 - I bring fun to keep each Guide enthusiastic. "Fun"

Girl 3 - I bring the learning of new skills through challenges and badges. "Challenges"

Girl 4 - I bring service in helping others. "Service"

Girl 5 - I bring crafts for fun and achievement. "Crafts"

Girl 6 - I bring outings to broaden our horizons. "Outings"

Girl 7 – I bring games that keep us active and teach us to work as a team. “Games”

Girl 8 - I bring camping for fellowship, enjoyment and appreciation of our great outdoors. "Camping"

Girl 9 - I bring experiments and inventions to help explore the scientific world. "STEM"

Guiding includes all of these things – and so much more. Tonight we are excited to welcome 8 new members into the Guide family.

Enroll Guides

Odds & Ends

We started November off with an 'Odds & Ends' meeting. This is a meeting where we finish up different activities and make plans for future meetings.

As the girls arrived they were asked to check the new Patrol Job Chart to find out what their patrol was responsible for and then each patrol was asked to make a list of campfire songs that they know. As we have four patrols, the jobs are: Set Up/Clean Up (help get out and put away supplies from the cupboard), Promise/Taps (one girl from the patrol leads the Promise at the beginning of the meeting and another girl leads Taps at the end), Game (patrol chooses and leads an active game), Campfire (patrol chooses 2-3 songs to sing at the end of the meeting ~ this will eventually evolve into running a short campfire program).

We then held our usual opening ceremony, followed by an active game.

Our first activity of the evening was to talk about plans for Enrolment and how the ceremony works. After this, we divided up into three groups. The New Guides made invitations for Enrolment and practiced the Promise; the 2nd Year Guides started working on the Campfire Leading Badge by making up new lyrics to camp songs and thinking up ideas for skits, mimes and campfire games; and the 3rd Year Guides discussed the Lady Baden-Powell Challenge, brainstormed ideas for service projects and started working on a presentation about Lady B-P.

Partway through the evening we stopped for another active game, and towards the end of the meeting we all practiced the basic enrolment ceremony. Our meeting ended with singing and Taps.

Hallowe'en Party

We finished October with our annual Hallowe'en Costume Party. This year, the 3rd Year Guides ran the program along with our Junior Leader.

We had a costume parade, made "Monster Bags", played a variety of different games, including Freeze Dance, and decorated cupcakes (or just ate the cupcakes and candy...)

Healthy Eating & Active Living

The second and third meetings of October were dedicated to working on the Healthy Eating Badge and the Passport to Fun and Fitness Challenge from Alberta.

At first meeting, as the girls arrived, each Patrol was asked to choose an active game. Two to be played this week and two to be played next week.

After our opening, we played the first active game, Toilet Tag, as chosen by the Bluebell Patrol.

The girls then split up into patrols to plan a menu for a day (breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks). We collected the menu plans for use next week. Afterwards, we had a brief discussion and group quiz about the importance of various vitamins and nutrients. As a part of this activity we looked at the Nutrition labels found on food products and how to read them.

(Answers are: D, G, A, I, F, C, B, E, H)

Another active game followed, this time Freeze Tag, as chosen by the Holly Patrol.

The next activity was to design a personal coat of arms. Each girl was given a sheet and asked to draw or write things that were important to her or she felt represented her.

 

 

Towards the end of the meeting we asked the girls to divide up into small groups and start creating a dance routine that they could teach to others (to be continued next week). We ended the meeting with a healthy snack - carrots, cucumber, cheese and ranch dip.

The second meeting started by having the girls finish up their coats of arms as they arrived. We then had our usual opening followed by an active game, Romeo and Juliet, as chosen by the Daffodil Patrol.

Once the girls had used up some energy, we passed out the menu plans from last week and copies of Canada's Food Guide. Each patrol then went through their menu to see if they had enough servings from each food group and made changes where needed. To share, each patrol picked their favourite meal or snack and told the rest of the unit about it.

We then continued creating dances that could be taught, and each group shared their dance with the rest of the unit. After that, we played our final active game, Everybody's It Tag, as chosen by the Violet Patrol.

Next we had a healthy snack of apple slices and orange wedges before starting our final activity. The last activity of the night was to make up a poster or commercial about healthy eating. All of the groups choose to make posters, some using them as part of a commercial and others using them separately.

Fall Cookie Sales

In mid-October we took part in Cookie Day at Sears to sell Chocolatey Mint Cookies.

International Day of the Girl 2015

We started October by celebrating the International Day of the Girl and holding Patrol Leader elections.

As the girls arrived, they were asked to sign the Unit Contract that we created last week. We then held our usual Opening followed by an Active Game.

Our first activity of the evening was Patrol Leader elections. Each enrolled Guide who wished to be considered for election made a brief statement about why they would make a good Patrol Leader and then each Guide was able to vote for the four girls they thought would be the best leaders. After casting their ballots, each girl was able to write down the names of girls they would like to be in a patrol with and we tallied the results and announced the new patrols at the end of the meeting.

We moved onto the IDG activities, beginning with a brief discussion of what makes someone a hero and then creating our own Hero Tree. Each girl wrote names or drew pictures on leaves to show people who they consider heroes and we made a 'tree' on the back of a door from all the leaves.

Next we had an active break and played 'Romeo and Juliet'. In this game, players stand in two lines, across from a partner. The game leader calls out actions and the last pair to perform the action is out. The actions are: (1) Romeo and Juliet (one player kneels on one knee and the other player sits on her knee); (2) Wheelbarrow (one player holds the other player's legs); (3) Siamese Twins (players stand back-to-back and gasp hands between their legs).

We then moved on to having the girls fill out a paper showing or telling how they are a hero!

Here's what they wrote:
How are YOU a Hero?

• "I am a hero because I am in the Karma Cameleon Club and we have fundraisers to help the needy."
• "I am a hero because I cut me hair for cancer."
• "I am a hero because I saved a girl from drowning, her friends sister pushed her under the water and put all of her weight on her shoulders and she stayed under. I pushed the girl off her shoulders and grabbed her. I saved by BEST friends life."
• "I am a hero because I am thin but strong. I can help people by sharing and caring."
• "I am a hero because I bring my mom stuff when she is sick."
•  "Every morning I feed my cat and fish, in the afternoon yesterday I helped my brother with his homework and at night, before bed, I sometimes read to my brother."
• "I am a hero because I am so friendly. I care for others. I can be a great friend. My personality is so great. My spirit is great. That is how I am a hero."
• "I'm a hero because I care about people and I help my mom she she's sick. I also am a hero because I always put others first and give girl guide cookies to everyone."
• "I am a hero because I am nice to all of my friends at Guides. I don't judge a book by its cover and you shouldn't too. Always be a nice friend to everybody you know."
• "I am a hero because I help others when they are hurt or being bullied and stand up for them."
• "I am a hero because I help people when they are hurt and I am kind."
• "I am in Karma Cameleons at school and we have fundraisers to help the needy."
• "At school I try to solve arguments because I am nice and helpful. I hate fighting so I help stop it between my friends."
• "Giving to the poor."
• "I try to be kind and help other people. I also try to clean things up so that others don't have to (ex. sink in bathrooms, garbage outside...). And I try to be like Jesus/God."
• "I am a hero because my school has fundraised and we have made a school in Kenya.

The last activity of the evening was to create superheroes. The girls divided up into small groups and came up with a variety of characters with different superpowers.

Promise & Law

Our last meeting in September was spent learning about the Promise and Law. As the girls arrived, they collected dues and were then given slips of paper with different values and actions (both positive and negative) and asked to put them on the sheet of paper labeled with the Guide Law they thought it was related to. After our opening and an active game, we reviewed the choices and discussed how some values could relate to more than one Law.

We then had the girls divide up into patrols and told them that each patrol was stranded on a desert island and needed to come up with 3 rules or laws that they thought were needed. After calling the patrols back together, we used the rules they had come up with and the values discussion to create a Unit Contract, which will be written out and signed by every member of the unit.

For the rest of the evening, we divided the group up and the 3rd year Guides worked to plan the Hallowe'en party while the 1st and 2nd year Guides did Promise & Law activities. The first activity was a Promise & Law Relay Race, where cards with pieces of the promise and laws were placed at one end of the room and the teams had to send one person at a time up to get a piece, and then put the pieces together make the promise and law. The second activity was called Keeping the Law and challenged each group to write down ways they could keep each of the Guide Laws. We then used these to play charades - guessing both what the action was and which Law it related to.

We ended the evening with a sing-song and Taps.

Safety Hike & Night Games

The third week of September was devoted to our annual hike and night games. We met in at Kinsman Park, behind the old Library and started the evening be having each patrol solve a list of clues to create a scavenger hunt list.

We then did our opening in the park and talked about parts of the Hiking Badge - how to behave on public in private property, why we don't go swimming without a lifeguard, what to do if someone gets logs, and why it is important to to leave the details of where you are going and when you will return with someone at home.

Each patrol then looked at the Spot the Hazards sheet from the Girls for Safer Communities Challenge and identified the various hazards in the picture. We reviewed what they had spotted and handed out copies of the GFSC Report Card. (Visit the GGC Website for more information on Girls for Safer Communities.)

During our Safety Hike, the girls noted the different hazards and also positive aspects of our community. The report cards were collected and will be used later in the year.

Back in the park, we held our scavenger hunt by flashlight, played Torch Tag, and Hide and Go Beep. In Torch Tag, the person who is 'it' uses her flashlight beam to tag other players. In Hide and Go Beep, all of the players except the one who is 'it' hide, but they must make a sound ("beep") every 30 seconds. The player who is it locates the other players by their sounds.

(Answers are: Acorns, Car, Dirt, Door, Feathers, Fence, Flowers, Garden, Grass, Nest, Pine Cone, Plant, Rock, Rocks, Spiderweb, Stairs, Tree, Weed, Window)

Outdoor Explorers

Our second meeting of September was spent largely outside to take advantage of the light evenings. We had two additional girls join us, one advancing Brownie and one who was a Spark and Brownie in the past.

As the girls arrived, they were asked to add their ideas to sheets of paper placed around the room. They were asked for ideas for games, activities, badges and outings for the year. The girls also made Warm Fuzzy Envelopes out of cookie envelopes. The idea of Warm Fuzzy envelopes is something I brought back from Camp Woolsey. The envelopes will be put out each week along with a pad of paper and the girls are encouraged to leave positive, friendly notes for each other.

After our opening we went outside. Our first game was Blob Tag (which seems to be a favourite of the girls).

We then taught the girls how to hold a compass, find north, and set and follow a bearing. Each patrol practiced by making shapes using compass directions.

Next we played Shipwreck, which is great for demonstrating the importance of listening to instructions. All of the girls start in the middle of the playing area with one player as the 'Captain'. The Captain calls out different instructions and the last player to follow the command is out. The different instructions are:

• Port - everyone runs to the port, or left, side of the playing area
• Starboard - everyone runs to the starboard, or right, side of the playing area
• Bow - everyone runs to the front of the playing area
• Stern - everyone runs to the back of the playing area
• Galley - everyone runs to the middle of the playing area
• Hit the Deck - everyone lies down on the floor
• Dead Cockroach - everyone lies down on their back withe their hands and feet in the air
• Salute the Captain - everyone salutes the Captain
• Lifeboat - two players join hands with a third player in the middle
• Man Overboard - one player kneels on the ground and a second player stands behind with one hand on their shoulder and looks for the person who has fallen overboard

We ended our time outside with Freeze Tag, as requested by the Guides.

Inside, we made Armpit Fudge and talked about what you should do if you get lost while on a hike and reviewed what they need to bring for our hike next week. The girls also shared stories of different hikes they have been on.

Recipe for Armpit Fudge
1/2 cup Icing Sugar
1 tbsp Butter
2 tsp Cream Cheese
1/2 tsp Vanilla
2 tsp Cocoa Powder
Put all of the ingredients into a Ziplock Bag. Squeeze out as much air as possible and seal. Smoosh all of the ingredients together until they are blended and the mixture is coming away from the bag (it will be more like thick frosting than fudge). Use the heat from your hands, or armpit, to help mix the ingredients.

Guide Open House

We held our first meeting of the 2014-2015 Guiding Year on Tuesday, September 9th. After the success of last year, we decided to hold an open house to encourage new members to join us. We had 4 returning Guides, 2 transferring Guides, 4 advancing Brownies, and 2 girls who were new to Guiding join us for the evening.

We were also fortunate to have our Administrative Community Leaders join us to speak to parents about the need for Guiders. Unfortunately, we did not recruit any new leaders for Brownies, Guides or Pathfinders, but we did find a new Spark leader.

As the girls arrived, they made name tags with index cards, markers and stickers. They were then given a Human Bingo Card and went around the room asking other people to sign squares on the card.

Next up were a series of Find Your Place activities, where the girls had to get into a line according to first name, height; date of birth, month of birth, age, shoe size, etc. After this, we played Blob Tag to get everyone moving and to use up some extra energy.

We then divided the girl up into small groups and gave them the challenge of building a bridge between two chairs one metre apart. The only supplies were newspaper, scissors, tape, and a ruler. We tested the bridges to see which could hold the most weight. We were able to place 100 markers on one bridge before it was jarred - so it may have held more!

Our final activity was a compass story, The Wedding, where the girls had to go to points in the room whenever a compass point was named in the story.

With everyone worn out from this last game, we ended the meeting with a snack and showed a slideshow of activities from last year and talked about plans for Guides this year.

1st Caledonia Pathfinders - 2014-2015

For the 2014-2015 Guiding year, the Pathfinder unit will be dormant due to lack of leaders. We have one Pathfinder registered who will be working with the Brownie Unit and participating in some activities with the Guides and Rangers.
We hope to be able to reopen the unit in September 2015, however, additional leadership will be required.

May & June with the Rangers

Our last regular meeting was spent working on the Ready, Steady, Glasgow! Challenge which focuses on the Commonwealth Games to be held this year in Glasgow, Scotland. The first part of the evening was spent learning some basic Highland dancing, including demonstrations of sword dancing and the Highland fling. The girls then created an obstacle course and guided each other through it while blindfolded. We will complete the challenge by making Shortbread.

We ended the year by attending Rally Day at Canada's Wonderland. We enrolled Ocean-Lee as a Ranger at the end of the night.

May & June with the Pathfinders

Scavenger Hunt
May started off with our annual Scavenger Hunt. This year, we completed a photo scavenger hunt around town. The list had two categories - take a picture of the entire team and take a picture of a person, place or thing. Items included:
Entire Team

• On a spiral slide
• Doing the YMCA
• Playing leap-frog
• Doing Super Hero Poses
• Wearing tin foil or napkin hats

Person, Place or Thing

• Calculator spelling a word
• "Caution: Wet Floor" sign
• Dog in clothing
• Colourful tongues
• A pink or purple vehicle
• Human bridge
• House with Christmas lights

Be A Star!
Our next meeting was based on the Be A Star Module and included our own awards show.

The first activity was to create Red Carpet Outfits using newspaper, flyers and tape. Outfits included dresses, purses, hats, and accessories.
Next, we did a 'Who Am I?' Quiz with facts about famous people. Girls had a numbered sheet and there were facts about different people stuck up around the room. They had to go around the room and write down the names of people who they thought each fact described. After the game, we discussed the different reasons why people become famous.

1. Abraham Lincoln - I was the 16th President of the USA. I freed the slaves. 
2. Albert Einstein - I was a physicist. I am famous for the formula E=mc². 
3. Ludwig van Beethoven - I was a famous German composer. I became deaf, but continued to compose music. 
4. Benjamin Franklin - I was a founding father of the USA. I flew a kite and verified that lightning was electricity.
5. Beyonce Knowles - I am a famous pop singer and fashion model. I starred in Dreamgirls.
6. Bill Gates - I am the founder of Microsoft. I am the richest man alive.
7. Eddie Murphy - I am a famous American comedian. I played Doctor Doolittle in the movies.
8. Adolph Hitler - I was the dictator of Germany during WWII. I was the leader of the Nazi Party.
9. Elvis Presley - I was a famous singer. I am often called the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King". I am often impersonated.
10. George Washington  - I was the first President of the USA.
11. Harry Houdini - I was a famous escape artist.
12. Sir Isaac Newton - I was a physicist in England. I discovered gravity when an apple fell on my head.
13. Jane Austen - I wrote many novels, including Pride and Prejudice.
14. Leonardo da Vinci - I painted the Mona Lisa.
15. Louis Carroll - I wrote Alice in Wonderland.
16. Mark Twain - I am an American novelist who wrote Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.
17. Mother Teresa - I was a nun who served the poor in Calcutta, India for many years.
18. Steven Hawking. I am a physicist. I am famous for my book, A Brief History of Time.
19. Thomas Edison - I am a famous American inventor. I invented the light bulb.
20. Walt Disney - I created Mickey Mouse. I am the founder of Disney.
21. William Shakespeare - I was a playwright. I wrote Hamlet and Romeo & Juliet.
22. Sir John A. Macdonald - I was the first Prime Minister of Canada.

We then had nominations for favourites - books, actors, actresses, movies, tv shows, subjects, etc. and created ballots to vote on the unit favourites in all categories.

We ended the meeting with an awards show with a variety of categories made up ad-lib.

We Are What We Eat

Our final regular meeting of May was spent in a visit to Zehr's for a tour with the Dietitian. We learned about identifying ripe fruits and vegetables, the differences between fresh, canned and frozen foods, food labelling, food groups and servings, different nutrients, and how to read the Nutrition Facts panel on products. We also made a dip to eat with pita slices. The dip was made from plain Greek yogurt, mayonaisse, grated cucumbers, chopped fresh chives, fresh dill, and onion flakes.

We completed our work on this module at our final meeting, where we made kebabs and baked potatoes on the barbeque.

Advancement
The last week of May was Advancement with the Guides and Rangers - see the Advancement post.

Camp Skills
Our last regular meeting of the year was held in the first week of June and we focused on Camp Skills. We practiced setting up one of the unit tents, building a fire in a foil dish and trying to toast a marshmallow, and practiced tying knots.


Medieval Mayhem Camp
We ended the year by attending the Medieval Mayhem Camp hosted by Community 12.

Medieval Mayhem Camp

Three Pathfinders attend the Medieval Mayhem Camp hosted by Community 12 and held at Camp Marydale on June 13th to 15th. The girls were able to participate in a variety of activities with girls from many different units.

Based on the activities chosen by the girls, each unit was able to participate in four different sessions. We took part in Lantern Making, Tye-Dye Madness, Covergirl, and Knots, Knives & Lore.

 

Knots, Knives & Lore included learning different knots and string games, and a challenge to unwrap and cut chocolate while wearing oven mitts.

Lantern Making was tin can lanterns. Cans are filled with water and frozen, then a pattern can be placed on the can and a hammer and nail used to make holes. Once the ice has been removed, a tealight can be added and the light will shine out through the nail holes.

In the Tye-Dying session, we learned about making natural dyes and then used pre-made dyes to tye-dye t-shirts that were being remade into bags.

Our last session was Covergirl, where we learned about make-up and beauty projects used in the Middle Ages and made natural lipbalm.

Other sessions were: Games Galore, Water Games, Canoeing, Fishing, Archery, Medieval-themed Crafts, Astronomy and Pond Study.