Getting Ready for Winter Camp

January 21st was our pre-camp meeting for our Winter Camping trip on January 31st to February 2nd. Once again this year we will be camping at Camp Teka in Paris, Ontario. [Note: Our camp was cancelled due to a problem with the water system at camp - there was no running water! We were able to reschedule our camp for February 14th to 16th, with the Pathfinders and Rangers.]

The arrival activity was for each patrol to make a list of things they would like to eat at camp and things they would like to do at camp. This is very helpful in planning the menu and activities for the weekend.

After our opening and an active game, we started an experiment to see which fabrics are the best to wear when outdoors. This would also lead to a discussion about layering and staying warm in cold weather.

There are a number of ways to do the fabric experiment. How we did it was to give each patrol a bucket of water, a pair of pants, a sock and a mitten. They set up their bucket with the three clothing items hung over the edge and just touching the surface of the water. The buckets were they left for about half an hour.

Our girls love drama, so we did a dramatized version of "A Day at Guide Camp". As a leader called out the different activities, the girls had to act them out. Everyone starts out lying on the floor with their eyes closed. We used following basic instructions with some more details added to make it more 'real':

• It's time to wake up! Sit up and stretch
• Get up out of your sleeping bag and get dressed
• Roll up your bedding and put it by the wall
• Eat breakfast
• Wash your dishes
• Put on your outdoor clothing
• Go outside for a hike
• Come inside and take off your outdoor clothing
• Now we're going to do some indoor activities

With the last instruction, we moved into a Packing Relay game. Girls lined up in patrols and one at a time ran to the far end of the room to get a slip of paper with an item on the kit list. The patrol had to decide which category the item belonged in (Bedroll, Bag, Toiletries, Outdoor Clothing, Leave at Home) and the first patrol to get all the items into the right categories was the winner.

Next, the girls made up skits - one group showing what to do if they got lost, another showing why we use the buddy system at camp, and the third showing how to get help in an emergency.

After this, it was time to go back to our fabric experiment. We made a chart to record the results - how far the water had wicked up the fabric, how much heavier the wet item felt compared with a dry item, and how much water we could wring out of the wet item.

Once we had finished recording our results, we discussed the types of clothing that are best for camp and about layering. 

Finally, there was just enough time to finish our dramatization of "A Day at Guide Camp":

• Eat lunch
• Quiet Time!
• It's time to do a craft - let's paint!
• Put on your outdoor clothing
• Play tag in the snow
• Come inside and take off your outdoor clothing
• Eat Dinner
• Sing-Song
• Roll out your bedroll
• Put on your pyjamas
• Go to sleep