This week were were upstairs in a smaller room as there was a dinner being held in the hall where we usually meet. This meant that we had to be quiet and couldn't play running games.
We started the evening off with an activity and colouring sheet, followed by our usual opening.
After opening, we played a game that is played in New Zealand called "Lighthouse". In this game, one person is a ship, one person is the lighthouse, and all the other players are rocks. The ship is blindfolded and stands at one end of the playing area. The lighthouse stands at the opposite end of the playing area and the rocks sit scattered in the space in between the ship and the lighthouse. The lighthouse makes a beeping noise to guide the ship through the rocks. The ship tries to walk through the rocks without hitting any. The rocks make a swishing noise if the ship gets too close. This game was very popular and the girls would have keep on playing it!
Next we talked about New Zealand, where it is, what the country is like, and why New Zealanders are known as "Kiwis".
Our first craft was very simple sheep cards. The girls glued white cotton balls onto black cardstock to make the sheep's body and then drew in a head and legs using a white pencil crayon.The next activity was called "Pass it on Mime". This game is similar to Telephone except that the girls are passing on actions instead of words. Players sit in a circle with their eyes closed. The first player is given a slip of paper that she has to act out. When she is ready, she taps the next player on the shoulder to get her to open her eyes and then acts out the instructions. The second player watches, then taps the next player on the shoulder to open her eyes, and then repeats the actions of the first player. Play continues this way until the last player is reached. The last player tries to guess what the actions are. Actions we used were: finding your way through a cave without a flashlight; tying your shoe, zipping up your coat and putting on your mitts; slipping on a banana peel; and kayaking over a rapid. This game was also very popular - and very funny!
Next came our second craft - mini Koru designs. The koru, or spiral is a symbol of energy in Maori art. This symbol is said to have been carved on the early voyaging canoes and today can be found in many places. Our designs were very simple and were done with pencil crayons on small pieces of white card stock. The cards will be laminated so that the girls can pin them on their camp hats.Our last activity was from the challenge resource pack - Indoor Surfing. This activity is intended for younger girls, but the Guides had fun with it. Basically, the girls act out going surfing in 5 steps:
- Paddle out to catch your wave
- Standup and ride the wave
- Lose your balance (gently fall off your board)
- Jump over a giant wave
- Swim into shore
Games, Crafts and Information About Guiding in New Zealand:
http://azmetro.com/nzthink.html
http://www.girlguidingnz.org.nz/
http://www.kinderart.com/multic/koruart.shtml
http://www.newzealandsigns.co.nz/designs.html
