Bits & Pieces

To end off March, we had a meeting where girls could catch up on pieces of badge work they missed earlier in the year and work on indoor clauses for some outdoor badges.

We held our usual opening followed by an active game. The girls were then told they could choose any of the activities provided to work on. Each activity was written on an index card and these were placed around the room. Girls chose activities that interested them or that would help them complete badges.

Resources and materials were provided for the following activities:

Arts

• Create a work of art based on a dream or fantasy. (Art Production #1)
• Experiment with colour; mix colours and use them in a picture. (Art Production #3)
• Design a package for a product (i.e. a cereal box, DVD cover, toy package) (Art Production #5)
• Write a song or make up new lyrics to a well-known song. (Campfire Leading #4)
• Make a list of ideas for skits, mime, campfire games, etc. that you could use in a campfire program. Perform at least one of them. (Campfire Leading #5)
• Plan and lead a 15 minute campfire. (Campfire Leading #6 & 7)

Outdoors

• Share about a hike you have taken - when, where, why, with whom. (Hiking #2)
• Make a kit list of what to bring for a day spent in the outdoors, including cooking lunch. (Exploring #2)
• Use a street map to give directions. (Exploring #4)
• Design a simple first aid kit for a Guide to bring to an outdoor event. Explain why you have chosen each item. (Outdoor Adventures #2)

Personal Growth

•  Make a list of things you would like to do in Guiding. (One-By-One-By-One Challenge #9)
• Write a short formal letter. (Business Communications #2)
• Make a poster showing different types of communications (Business Communications #8)
• Create a flyer to advertise a Guide event. (Business Communications #4)
• Write a short news story about a Guide activity. (Business Communications #5)

STEM

• Make a Pinwheel. (Engineering Challenge) 
• Build a Raft using the materials provided. (Engineering Challenge)
• Make and fly a Hoop Glider. Make adjustments to your design as needed. (Engineering Challenge)

We ended with a 15 minute campfire planned and lead by two of the Guides to finish off their Campfire Leading Badge.

Therapeutic Paws of Canada

As a welcome back from March Break we had a visit from Nicole, Cheryl and Shaili from Therapeutic Paws of Canada.

We held our usual opening ceremony followed by an active game, before introducing Shaili to the girls. The girls learned lots and had fun doing skits and games with Shaili. And Shaili enjoyed all the extra snuggles and treats! The program lasted about an hour (and then Shaili got some extra attention from the Pathfinders!)

 

Therapeutic Paws of Canada is a non-profit organization of volunteers providing animal resources for human needs (physical, mental, educational, motivational, socialization) through regular visits to hospitals, residences, schools, etc. More information can be found on their website at tpoc.ca/.

Our visitors were from the Haldimand County Branch, but there are branches across Canada. See the local Facebook page here - Therapeutic Paws of Canada - Haldimand County

Some of the Guides then took part in an evaluation day on April 10th where dog/owner teams were being evaluated for certification to work with children. See the post about that day here - TPOC Haldimand County IWC Evaluation Day

Girl Guides of Canada - Try Now, Join Later!

If your daughter (or you!) has wanted to try out Guiding (in Ontario) but you were afraid to make a commitment without knowing how you and your daughter would like it, here’s your chance.

Try Now Join Later

Try Now, Join Later for Ontario residents is back for the 6th year! 

For the months of April, May and June, girls can try Girl Guides of Canada, the original activity-based organization for girls in Canada and receive their Membership for FREE*! *Weekly activity dues and special event fees may apply.
Your daughter is invited to take part in the remaining unit meetings this Spring. As an added bonus, she will be included in our Spring Renewal process for the upcoming Guiding year that starts in the fall, giving her priority renewal before open registration begins in June.

ABOUT GIRL GUIDES OF CANADA-GUIDES DU CANADA: As the largest organization in the world for girls and women, Girl Guides is committed to providing girls with opportunities to build self-esteem, learn new things, have fun and make new friends. Our programs help girls to develop a sense of responsibility and independence, develop team skills and respect for each other, offer service to their communities and most importantly, discover the best in themselves. As part of a world-wide organization in 146 countries with 10 million members, the opportunities are endless!

You’ll Be Saving $160+

While you will still have to pay dues (usually around $1 a week) and any fees for extra activities you choose to send your daughter to, the membership fee will be waived. Your daughter will get a chance to check out the branch of Guiding that she would fit under and see what it’s all about.

There are units all over Canada but only Ontario is participating in Try Now Join Later. Call the 1-800-565-8111 number to find your local unit and find out more.

From Caledonia? Use the comments section to connect with me and find out more about our local units!  (Girls born in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 are encouraged to come and visit the 2nd Caledonia Guides!)

What Branch Is My Daughter In?

*Girls who are born in a 'bridging' year may try to branch they would join in September or the branch other girls their age are in now:
Girls born in 2009, 2010 and 2011 can try Sparks
Girls born in 2007, 2008 and 2009 can try Brownies
Girls born in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 can try Guides
Girls born in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 can try Pathfinders
girls born in 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001 can try Rangers
Born before 1998? New adult members are always welcome!

Connect with Guiding

You can find out more about Girl Guides of Canada-Guides du Canada on the official website.
You might also want to check out the Girl Guides CAN Blog, GGC on Facebook, and Twitter.

If It Isn’t Fun.. It Isn’t Guiding!

Famous Five Challenge

In honour of International Women's Day on March 8th, we worked on the Famous Five Challenge from Alberta.

As the girls arrived, they continued working on their footprints showing their personal Guiding Journey. We held our usual opening ceremony, followed by a game led by the Active Living Patrol for the week.

We started by asking the girls if they were persons - a unanimous yes. Then we asked if girls and women had always been persons - another yes, but some girls looked a bit unsure. This led into a discussion of the Persons Case and the role of the Famous Five in ensuring that all girls and women would be recognized as persons under the law.

As part of this introduction, we watched the Heritage Minute about Emily Murphy:

We worked through a series of facts, as provided in the challenge pack, about the Famous Five, having the girls go to one side of the room for 'True' and the other side for 'False'. To get everyone moving, we used the Participation Story that is provided for Brownies, but added the girls running to the end of the room and back to use up some excess energy.

Our final activity involved talking about rules and laws and then having the girls work in small groups to come up with a campaign to be the leader of the first colony on Mars. They had to work out rules/laws that would be needed and then present their decisions to the rest of the group and try to "sell" their platform.

The Challenge Pack can be found on the Alberta Council website
www.girlguides.ca/WEB/Documents/AB/Challenges/AB-2014-FAMOUS-FIVE-CHALLENGE.doc

Fast Facts About the Famous Five & the Persons Case

Who Where the Famous Five?
The Famous Five is a term created by the media to refer to the five women who took part in the 'Persons Case'. Five people needed to stand together to bring an appeal against a law to the Supreme Court.  The Famous Five were: Emily Murphy, Nellie McClung, Henrietta Muir Edwards, Irene Parlby, and Louise McKinney.

What Was the Persons Case?
Did you know that until 1929 women in Canada weren't considered to be persons under the law? Five courageous Alberta women couldn't believe this either! They appealed the law to the Supreme Court of Canada and eventually the Privy Council in London, England. The new ruling, that women were indeed persons, meant that women could now hold federally appointed offices, such as belonging to the Senate of Canada.

What Started the Persons Case?
When Emily Murphy became the first female magistrate in the British Commonwealth in 1916, a lawyer questioned her right to hear the case because, under the law, she wasn't a person. She asked the Province of Alberta for a ruling, and in 1917 Alberta declared that both men and women were equal under the law. Because this ruling didn't apply to federal appointments, she decided to try to change the law.

What Happened During the Persons Case?
1917 - Emily Murphy launches a series of petitions, gathering thousands of signatures, asking politicians to change the law and recognize women as persons.
1927 - After the petitions failed, Emily Murphy gathered four of her friends - Nellie McClung, Henrietta Muir Edwards, Irene Parlby, and Louise McKinney - and they petitioned the Supreme court of Canada to have women declared as legal persons.
1928 - The Supreme Court of Canada turns down the petition, so the five women took their case to the Privy Council in London, England.
1929 - On October 29th, women were finally recognized as persons under the law.

NEM 2016 - Crazy Contraptions

For our first meeting in March, the Guides and Pathfinders participated in the National Engineering Month Crazy Contraptions program. Unfortunately, they were not able to find facilitators for us, so we had to run the program ourselves.

The program organizers provided all the materials needed as well as crests for each participant.

We started out with our usual opening followed by an active game.

The first activity was called "Does/Is Your Engineer...".Each girl was given a card about an engineer. We all shared the name of our engineering and what they do before moving onto the questions. One side of the room was Yes and the other was No. With each question, the girls needed to decide if the statement applied to their engineer or not. This activity opened the girls eyes to the many types of engineering and also to the types of things that engineers do.

The main activity for the evening was building the Cam Toys. We divided the girls into small groups and had each group start by building one toy. They were given a kit, supplies and an instruction sheet. This took about half-an-hour or so with some frustration in getting things to stay together. Each group was then provided with enough kits to make a toy for each girl. This took the remainder of the meeting, but was not as straight-forward as it could be and led to some frustrations. Younger girls would have needed much more Guider intervention to complete this activity.

We ran into a number of challenges doing this activity, however, the girls were all involved and engaged for the entire evening.

Tips for This Activity

• Make a sample before hand so that you know how to put things together.
• Ensure you have lots of alternate methods of 'sticking' things together - i.e. clear tape, masking tape, duct tape, white glue, hot glue guns.
• Encourage the girls to experiment - there is really only one way to put it together in the end, but the girls should reach that conclusion themselves.
• Have an extra activity available for those who finish early. Girls/Groups will take different amounts of time.