NSP: Words in Action

Our final meeting of January was spent working on the National Service Project: Words in
Action, in honour of Family Literacy Day (January 27th).

We began with our usual opening ceremony, followed by an active game chosen and led by the evening's Active Living Patrol.

Our first activity was to discuss literacy. We started out with reading and writing, where the girls shared the types of books they like to read and what, if anything, they like to write. We then asked what they thought literacy meant and explained that it can include lots of different things, such as understanding numbers and doing basic math (i.e. budgeting), reading information signs, reading a map, understanding information in an article, or being able to use a computer.

We then moved on to the Story Sack Project. Each Patrol was asked to choose a fairy tale and complete an organizer sheet to plan out what they would need to make for their story sack. Once they had filled out the organizer, they were allowed free use of craft supplies and materials that we had brought out of our cupboard.

We needed lots of time to clean up and put away supplies, and didn't have time for a campfire before closing.

Spa Night

For our meeting the week after camp, we decided to have the requested Spa Night and work on the Feeling Good Badge.

As the girls arrived, they worked in their Patrols to brainstorm a list of ways to deal with stress.

We began with our usual opening ceremony, followed by an active game chosen and led by the evening's Active Living Patrol.

Our first activity was to create a Unit list of ways to deal with stress. Each girl then created her own "Stress Less" booklet with ideas to use when she is feeling stressed. We also made Butterflies of Happiness to help the girls identify things that make them happy and that may be activities they could use to reduce stress. The girls drew an outline of a butterfly and then wrote things that make them happy inside before colouring and decorating it.

Next, we moved on to a bit of yoga stretching led by two of the Guides and a relaxation exercise using the "Connect With My Breathing" exercise found in the WAGGGS World Thinking Day 2016 Package.

The remainder of the evening was devoted to Spa activities. The girls tried pedicures, skin care, nails and hair activities.

Winter Camp at Camp Teka

On the weekend of January 15th to 17th, the 2nd Caledonia Guides, 8th Brantford Guides, 1st Caledonia Pathfinders and 1st Caledonia Rangers headed off to Camp Teka for a weekend of winter fun!

On Friday night, the girls started off by making Warm Fuzzy Bags (paper bags, decorated, where girls can leave positive messages for each other). We talked about rules for the weekend, where things were located, and the program. The girls were given patrol scarves (green, pink, blue, orange) and also divided into their Survivor teams (Guides only). The Teams then came up with team names, made posters and mailboxes. While the Guides were busy, the Pathfinders/Rangers went outside for a hike. Later, we had a snack of Pita Pizzas, Veggies and Dip.  No one wanted to go to bed, but we finally got the Guides settled and the Pathfinders/Rangers took over the kitchen and spent time drinking hot chocolate, playing card games and talking.

Saturday morning came too soon for some of us, but we soon had all the mattresses and bedding put away and were ready for a breakfast of sausages, scrambled eggs, toasted pitas with butter and jam, oatmeal, yogurt and fruit. After camp duties were finished, we all headed outside. The Pathfinders/Rangers decided to go cross-country skiing, while the Guides looked for a hill for sledding.

The Guides also went for a nature walk around the property. We had to avoid the driveway due to the ice (which caused more than one of us to fall!). We explored some of the wooded area around the camp, and saw birds and animal tracks - deer, rabbit and fox.

We then went inside for a snack (cookies and hot chocolate) and to warm up. Everyone had free time until lunch, which was a unit favourite - tacos!

After lunch duties were finished, we had a short rest period. During this time the Teams had to choose a leader, choose 5 items from a list (supplies for the challenges) and complete their first challenge (coming up with 2 items that could be used as part of Guides' Own).

During the afternoon, the Pathfinders/Rangers did some more skiing, hiking and card playing, and also made muffin cake, while the Guides took part in a Survivor Challenge (based on the challenge available at e-patchesandcrests.com/ideas/camp_plans/survivor_camp/index.php). The teams chose which challenges to complete and then worked as a team to succeed. Challenges that were chosen included:
1. Knot Challenge - Correctly tie 4 different knots: Reef, Clove Hitch, Bowline, and one other.
4. Shelter Challenge - Build a shelter using a tarp, rope and items found in nature to build a shelter your whole team can fit inside.
6. Know Your Team Challenge - Each team member will tell a Guider the name of everyone on their team and something new they have learned about each one.
7. Sports Challenge - Invent a new sport using items found in nature. Decide how the sport will be scored and what the rules are. Play the sport with the other team.
8. Fashion Challenge - Design a team outfit, including a hat, and make one using only newspapers, masking tape and markers.
9. Survival Challenge. Your team has become lost in the woods! Name the 3 necessities for survival. Using only the materials you have or those found in nature, make a distress signal that could be seen from overhead and the 3 survival necessities (simulated only).
10. Arts Challenge - Create a nature collage outside. Return items to where you found them once it has been judged.
13. Singing Challenge - Learn a new song from the Pathfinders/Rangers and sing it to the Guiders as a team.
15. Entertainment Challenge - Perform a song/skit using only puppets.
We then had supper (tuna salad, grilled cheese, and soup), followed by duties and free time. We allowed the Guides to talk, craft and play, while the Pathfinders went on an Orienteering Hike to finish the Finding Your Way Module. Later, we had a campfire, with the Pathfinders/Rangers leading a number of songs, including "If I Were Not a Girl Guide", "My Aunt Hoover", "Auntie Monica", "Sam the Lavatory Man", "Herman the Worm", "Land of the Silver Birch", "Say Why", and "Linger". Everyone was settled a bit earlier, and the Pathfinders/Rangers once again took over the kitchen for their own activities.

Sunday morning was spent packing up and getting all of the gear out onto the porch ready for pick-up. We then had a breakfast of oatmeal, yogurt, muffin cake, fruit, toast and leftovers. The Pathfinders/Rangers did the camp evaluation and then split up to help supervise the Guides outside and to help the Guiders finish cleaning the building. Everyone had had a good time, and all the girls were picked up by 11.15am.

Healthy Eating at Zehrs

For the second week of January we were unable to use our regular meeting location, so we booked a store tour and session and Zehrs. The Guides worked on the Healthy Eating Badge and the Pathfinders worked on the We Are What We Eat Module.

When we arrived, we were welcomed by the in-store Dietitian, Jamie, and went upstairs to the Community Room. We learned about the vitamins and nutrients in foods and what they do for our bodies, macro- and micro-nutrients, how to read a nutrition facts panel, and what the daily percentages mean.

We then went out into the store and visited the various departments. We learned about serving sizes, making healthier choices, and the nutrients and vitamins contains in different food groups. We also compared products to find the difference between different brands and types of food within the same food group.

The meeting ended with a taste-test of Vanilla Greek Yogurt and reminders for camp on the weekend!

Zoe Goes to Brazil

2016 started with out annual Zoe Challenge night. This year we worked on Zoe Goes to Brazil.

As the girls arrived, each Patrol was asked to make a list of ideas for food, games and activities at winter camp.

We had our usual opening ceremony, followed by an active game led by our Active Living patrol for the evening.

Our first activity was to learn a bit more about Brazil and Guiding there. We did this using a short Powerpoint presentation on a tablet to illustrate the information being shared.

We then moved on to crafts, making beach frames and pictures to go in them. The beach frames were made using shells and basic wooden frames. They were inspired by the beautiful beaches found in Brazil. The artwork was based on the work of Romero Britto, a Brazilian artist, who started out drawing on scraps of newspaper and cardboard. His work shows colorful images and can be found in galleries and museums in over 100 countries.

We then played a game from Brazil, "Gato Doente" (Sick Cat). In this game, one player is the cat, or gato. When the game starts, the gato chases the other players. When a player is tagged, they become a gato doente (sick cat) and must hold the part that has been tagged with one hand. The sick cats must chase all the others until only one healthy player is left. (This game proved to be quite popular and we played a few different rounds.)

We ended our meeting with a campfire and Taps.