January & February with the Rangers

January was a very busy month outside of Guiding for all of us, so we didn't me again until February.

Our first meeting of February was spent planning activities for camp the following weekend.

On Friday, February 14th, we were off to Winter Camp! See the post - Guide/Pathfinder/Ranger Winter Camp 2014.

Tuesday, February 18th was our town-wide Thinking Day celebration. See the post - World Thinking Day 2014

Congratulates to Allison and Sarah who were presented with their Chief Commissioner's Bronze Awards!

Our next meeting was held that Friday, February 21st, and we continued working on the UK Chocolate Badge (started at camp by making Truffles and Bark). Our treats tonight included White Chocolate Covered Pretzels (some with sprinkles), Toblerone Fudge, and White Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Cookies (some topped with grated chocolate).

The White Chocolate Covered Pretzels were made by melting white chocolate wafers in a double boiler, then dipping the pretzels into the chocolate and laying them on wax paper to harden. Sprinkles should be added before the chocolate sets.

The Toblerone Fudge is made by melting a 400g Toblerone bar with a can of Sweetened Condensed Milk in a double boiler. Once the chocolate is melted and the ingredients blended, remove from heat and add 2 tsp of Vanilla. We poured the mixture into mini cupcake holders to make bite-size fudge, but you could also use a parchment paper-lined pan.

The White Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Cookies were made by melting white chocolate wafers in a double boiler, then dipping shortbread cookies into the chocolate and laying them on wax paper to harden. The grated chocolate was from a square of bakers chocolate and grated over the cookies using a mini grater.

The chocolate theme was continued at our last February meeting, where we made Chocolate-covered Peppermint Patties and Cinnamon Roasted Almonds.

The Peppermint Patties were made by mixing a 3/4 cup of Sweetened Condensed Milk with 1.5 tsp of Peppermint Extract, then mixing in about 4 cups of Icing Sugar to form a stiff dough. The dough was then rolled into balls, flattened, and placed on waxed paper to set. We should then have been able to dip the patties into the chocolate (made by melting chocolate wafers in a double boiler), but as the patties weren't quite set we improvised by using a spoon to pour chocolate over the patties on the plate - the result looked a bit odd, but still tasted really good!!

The Cinnamon Roasted Almonds were made by beating 1 Egg White and 1 tsp of Water until frothy, then adding the almonds (we had about 2 cups, the recipe called for 4 cups). In a separate bowl, 1/2 cup Sugar, 1/4 tsp Salt, and 1/2 tsp Cinnamon were mixed together and then sprinkled over the almonds. Mix and toss everything until all the nuts are well-coated. Spread the nuts out on a lightly greased cookie tray and bake at 250F for 1 hour. (These were a huge hit and disappeared very quickly! It is important to grease the tray - the nuts are sticky)

We also started sewing the toothbrush/toothpaste holders made from washclothes that were started at our crafting afternoon over the Christmas holidays.

January & February with the Pathfinders

January started off with a craft night where we made decorated badge boxes and ribbon-covered pens.  The boxes were plastic photo cases decorated with craft paper/cardstock, stickers and drawings. The pens were made by wrapping a length of ribbon around the pen and gluing it at both ends. Then a felt 'tuft' was added the end.

Our second meeting was spent making plants for our January, February and March meetings. We looked at all the different places in town we could go to and tried to think of things we could do there, then we made lists of things we could do for different amounts of money. Later, we started planning activities for Thinking Day, using the WAGGGS Activity Pack and other resources. Our last activity for the evening was to come up with a schedule of meetings until the end of March. We had lots of ideas and were able to come up with a good list, with some activities being held over until the spring.


On January 22nd we had a Movie Night and watched Cheaper By the Dozen 2. The girls enjoyed the movie, snacks and lots of social time.

Our final January meeting was spent working on the Fashion Sense From Head to Toe Module. The girls were asked to wear their favourite outfit and then tell why it is their favourite (or if they weren't wearing it, to tell what their favourite outfit is). We looked at the "stylebook" that was created by Pathfinders about 3 hears ago and talked about how styles and fashions have changed in that short a period of time - hairstyles, make-up, clothing - everything came in for comment. Some of the girls had brought fabric and/or pieces of clothing that could be altered and they busied themselves in creating new fashion designs from old. We finished the meeting by talking about current fashions - are they good for everyone? What makes them popular?

February was a busy month with Winter Camp and Thinking Day. We had to cancel our first meeting of the month due to bad weather - a snowstorm that came in during the day.

Because of the cancellation, our first meeting was held on February 12th. This was to be our planning meeting for camp activities, the Murder Mystery evening and Thinking Day. Unfortunately, only 4 girls were present. First, we made a list of activities to do at camp. We are camping with the Guides and Rangers, but each branch will have time to do their own programming. The rest of the meeting was spent going through the activities planned for Thinking Day. This way, the girls became familiar with the activities they would be leading at our town-wide Thinking Day event.

On Friday night, we were off to Winter Camp! See the post - Guide/Pathfinder/Ranger Winter Camp 2014.



Tuesday, February 18th was our town-wide Thinking Day celebration. Unfortunately, only 2 Pathfinders came, but fortunately the Rangers pitched in to help make sure the event was a success. See the post - World Thinking Day 2014

Our final meeting of February was about Respect, Responsibility, Manners, and Etiquette. Again, we had a small attendance so some activities have been held over until everyone is present. We started the meeting with social time and then a group puzzle to change the word 'thank you' into the word 'please'. We then talked about Thinking Day - what went well, what didn't, and what could we do differently next time. The two girls who were at the event expressed their frustration with the other girls for not being there and we talked about the importance of taking responsibility for your actions. Next, we did a team quiz about manners and then had a snack (thank you Emily!). The last part of the meeting was spent making up skits about responsibility in pairs. Some of the scenarios were:

• You are watching your favourite television program and you remember that you have a science project due tomorrow.
• Your grandmother asks you to watch your younger brother while she goes to the store to get milk.
• Your row in class has been assigned a group project. You are supposed to do research, but would rather play soccer after school than go to the library
• Your sister isn't feeling well and your parents ask you to take over her chores for the weekend.
• It's supper time and you're in the middle of an important texting conversation with a friend.
• Your coach asks you to come to practice on time and you'd rather hang out with your friends.

World Thinking Day 2014

The Caledonia Sparks, Brownies, Guides, Pathfinders and Rangers got together on Tuesday, February 18th to celebrate World Thinking Day.

The theme for World Thinking Day this year was "education opens doors for all boys and girls". 

Our evening started with the branch openings - Sparks, Brownies, and Guides. This was followed by a brief introduction to the theme and the planned program for the evening. 

Our first activity was done in branch groups, and was to make name tags showing the girl's names in Hindi and English. This was done with pre-printed labels on fun foam. The girls then decorated the name tags using peel-and-stick felt and fun foam decorations and stickers. 

We then split up into 3 mixed groups (Sparks, Brownies and Guides) to rotate through three stations.

Station 1 - Barriers to Education
At this station, the girls learned about some of the barriers to education faced by children in other countries. These included Cost (of schooling, supplies and uniforms), Distance (getting to school), Water (lack of water locally, time spent fetching water), Work (need to earn money to support family), and Being a Girl. They played a game similar to dodge ball, where the girls in the centre were the barriers to education and the other girls had to knock them out so that everyone could go to school.

Station 2 - Quality Education
At this station the girls learned that sometimes even though children go to school, the schools they go to aren't good and they don't learn even basic skills. Everyone then drew or wrote down things that make a school a good school. These were all posted on a wall display.

Station 3 - Learning for Life
At this station the girls learned about continuing their education to achieve their dreams and that many of the things they are learning now will be of use to them later in life. The girls then shared what they want to be or do when they grow up. After everyone had shared, the girls played a game from West Africa called 'Pilolo'. This game is usually played using sticks or stones (we used paper clips). All of the players cover their eyes while the game leader hides the items (one per player) around the playing area. When the game leader calls out 'pilolo', everyone hunts for an item and tries to be the first player to pick up an item and sit down.

After everyone had rotated through the stations, we took a break for cupcakes and juice. Before we started our campfire, we looked at the items that had been donated to make up school kits for the Mennonite Central Committee and everyone was thanked for their generous donations. We also had the honour of presenting Chief Commissioner's Bronze Awards to two girls (Allison & Sarah H). 

The evening ended with a campfire and branch closings. 

Winter Camp 2014

On the weekend of February 14th to 16th we headed to Camp Teka in Paris, Ontario for our annual Winter Camp Weekend. This year, we had 10 Guides from the 2nd Caledonia Guide Unit, 4 Pathfinders from the 1st Caledonia Pathfinder Unit and 3 Rangers from the 1st Caledonia Ranger Unit all camping together. A surprise awaited us at camp ... no water!

Friday night was busy with everyone arriving and getting settled in. As the girls arrived, we had everyone decorate a paper bag to be used as a "Smile Bag" for the weekend. 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 Rangers then headed outside to hide a few items for our scavenger hunt and then the Guides and Pathfinders came out to start the hunt. While this was happening, the Rangers headed off to start working on their snow fort. After coming inside, we had a snack of pita pizzas and juice, then started getting ready for bed. Everyone settled down and we all had a good night's sleep!

Saturday started off with breakfast and patrol duties, then we headed outside.  The Rangers tried out the cross country skis and worked on their fort, the Pathfinders played on the snow piles and later tried cross country skiing, and the Guides went on a hike. We walked along the driveway and tried to get onto the rail trail, but the way was blocked by snow and downed trees and branches. We then returned to the building and the girls could choose to go inside and start on a craft or stay outside and try another trail and go sledding.

 

 

After lunch, we were all ready for some quiet time. Some girls lay down, others read or talked quietly for nearly the full hour. After quiet time, the girls had the option of working on crafts, going outside, or doing their own activities. The Rangers made chocolate truffles and went outside to work on their snow fort. The Pathfinders spent some time outside, some time reading magazines, and some time working on crafts. The Guides were also split, with some going outside and others working on crafts. 

Our crafts for the weekend were:

Guides - painted treasure boxes and corner bookmarks

 Pathfinders - decoupage candle holders and mirrors 

Supper and patrol duties followed, and then free time. The girls had lots of free time to talk, play, read, etc. Two girls were then called to help make bark and two others to make the 'muffin cake' for breakfast. The Pathfinders led a sing-song and we ended with a snack of bark and juice.

Sunday morning was frantic as usual with breakfast, packing and cleaning. Once everything was packed up and most of the cleaning done, we had a camp evaluation and then everyone went outside while the clean-up was finished.

Recipe for Bark

1 cup Butter

1 cup Brown Sugar

1 package Chocolate Chips

Saltine Crackers

Tinfoil

1.Cover a baking tray with tinfoil (make sure there are no holes, it must be all one piece). Spread out saltine crackers to cover the tray.

2. Melt butter and brown sugar in a saucepan and boil for 3 minutes.

3. Pour butter and sugar mixture over crackers and spread into corners. Bake for 5 minutes. 

4. Take out of oven and pour chocolate chips over carmel, spread into corners as the chocolate melts. 

5. Put in the refrigerator for 1 hour or until set. 

6. Break into pieces and store in the fridge until eaten.

Canadian & World Guiding

The first two weeks of February were spent learning about Guiding in Canada and around the World. 

Our first meeting opened with an activity in patrols as the girls arrived. Each patrol had to create a list of all the things they use at school. We then started the meeting with our usual opening and an active game. 

As an introduction to our Going Global Service Project (and our Thinking Day Service Project), we discussed education around the world, including facts from the 2014 World Thinking Day Activity Pack. Then we went through the lists the patrols had made and narrowed the list down to the bare necessities that are collected and made into School Kits by the Mennonite Central Committee. (Each girl took home a flyer about donating these supplies - notebooks, pencils, erasers, pencil crayons and rulers.)

Next we did a participation story about the history of Guiding, followed by a relay game about the youth branches of Guiding in Canada. Each patrol had to gather and match cards to show the branch name, t-shirt, age group and enrolment pin for Sparks, Brownies, Guides, Pathfinders and Rangers.


After this, we sat down to discuss people and roles in Guiding. We learned about Lones, Pathfinders, Guiders, Link, Trefoil Guild, ACLs, and Trainers. We ended the evening with the 3rd Year Guides starting to work on a poster about Agnes, Olave and Robert Baden-Powell while the 1st and 2nd Year Guides played a Guiding Symbols Board Game.


Our second meeting started with an arrival activity where each patrol looked through magazines and found out some of the things that Guides did in the 1950s. The girls were surprised to find out that we still do many of the same things, just in different ways. We then had our usual opening and an active game (Link Tag).

We then learned about the history of Guiding in Canada, with each girl reading out one fact - we have 16 girls, so there are 16 history facts:

1910	Guiding begins! Companies are started in Toronto, St Catharines, Moose Jaw, Sardis (BC), Vancouver, Winnipeg, and Dawson (YT)
1911	The first Guide Camp is held. Guides from the 1st Toronto Company camp on the banks of the Credit River in June.
1914 to 1918	During World War I, Canadian Guides give service by working in munitions factories and government offices, volunteering in hospitals, knitting socks, and making dressings and bandages.
1924	35 Canadian Guides, Rangers and Guiders attend the first International Camp at Foxlease in England
1927	The first Girl Guide Cookies are sold. They are baked by a Guider, Christine Riepsame of Regina, and sold by the 4th Regina Guides to raise money for their activities
1928	The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts is formed with Canada as a Founding Member. Today, there are 145 member countries.
1935	Lord and Lady Baden-Powell visit Canada. While in Alberta, Lady Baden-Powell meets members of the Sarcee Nation and is given the name “Otter Woman”.
1945	The Canadian World Friendship Fund (CWFF) is set up. The Fund is used to support Guiding projects and programs around the world, including the World Centres, the World Thinking Day Fund, and projects in developing countries designed to improve the lives of girls and young women within their communities.
1953	Chocolate and Vanilla Girl Guide Cookies are first sold.
1962	The National Office at 50 Merton Street, Toronto is opened. Brownies, Guides, Rangers and Guiders ‘built’ the office by purchasing square inches for $0.10 each
1979	Pathfinders begin. The age groups are now Brownies 6 to 9, Guides 9 to 12, Pathfinders 12 to 15 and Senior Branches (Rangers, Cadets and Junior Leaders) 15 to 17+
1988	A new branch for 5-year-olds is started. They will be named Sparks in 1989.
1992	Girl Guide and Astronaut Dr. Roberta Bondar becomes the first Canadian woman in space. She takes her Brownie Wings and Girl Guide Cookies into space on board the Space Shuttle Discovery.
1993	Chocolately Mint Cookies are first sold.
2005	The new Guide Program, “Guides on the Go” is introduced. The highest award for Guides is the Lady Baden-Powell Challenge.
2010	Guiding worldwide celebrates 100 years. Since 1910, over 7 million Canadian girls and women have been at part of Guiding.

Next we played a 'find your partners' game using the World Thinking Day Focus Countries - Armenia, Bangladesh, Benin, Egypt and St Vincent & the Grenadines. Each girl had a card with either the National Flag, Guide Uniform or Guiding Logo for one of these countries. We then had the girls make groups by type (flags, uniforms, logos), something in common (i.e. colours), and finally for each country, so that we could look at and compare the flag, uniform and logo for each country. 

We then divided into groups, with the 3rd Year Guides continuing to work on their poster about Agnes, Olave and Robert Baden-Powell, while the 1st and 2nd Year Guides divided into four groups to make posters about the World Centres - Our Chalet, Pax Lodge, Our Cabana and Sangam. We also talked about the 5th World Centre Pilot Project in Africa. All of the girls will finish their posters at our February 25th meeting.

Our last activity was a game from New Zealand called Sheep Tag. In this game, one girl is 'it'. When she tags another girl, they have to lie on the ground on their bag and wave their feet in the air while saying "baaa baaa" in a pitiful sheep voice. Other players can free them by tagging their foot and saying "She'll be right Mate!" ("She'll be right Mate" is a saying that basically means everything will work out fine in the end.)

At the end of the meeting we had just enough time to sing a couple of songs and so we sang Kookaburra (which everyone knew) and Tzena (which only a few people knew).

We continued our World Guiding theme at our Chemistry Badge meetings. The girls finished up their posters at the first meeting and then presented them to the rest of the unit at the second meeting. Here are the girls' posters: