April started off with a visit by the 2nd year Brownies from the 3rd Caledonia Brownie Unit.The 8 girls who joined us were divided up between the Patrols, and we created a 4th Patrol for the evening to keep the groups to a manageable size!As the girls arrived, each was asked to make a name tag using index cards and decorating with markers and stickers.
We held our usual opening ceremony, with the Brownies placed into the Guide Patrols, and then had everyone introduce themselves. Our Active Living Patrol for the week then led an active game before we moved onto our program.
The Guides have been working on the Diversity Challenge from BC and the Brownies 100th Anniversary Challenge from NS, so we used activities from these challenges as the basis for our meeting.
Our first activity was the "Who Are The Lucky Ones?" Game from the Diversity Challenge. Each girl was given a card and a napkin and a plate of Smarties was placed in the middle of the circle. Each girl read her card out in turn and followed the instructions (usually to take no treat!). We then talked about how the girls felt and if they thought what had happened was fair. (Each girl did get a few Smarties to eat after the game!)
We then played a game from Japan called "One-Legged Race". In this game, players stand in teams at one end of the room. The first player in each team runs to the far end of the room and then returns by hopping (keeping their feet and legs together to make a single leg). The first team to have all their players complete this trip wins.
Next up, we explored fractals and each girl created her own triangular fractal pattern. The girls stated with a triangle of paper and were asked to mark the halfway point on each side and then draw straight lines with a ruler to create a total of four triangles. They then coloured in the centre triangle. Each of the three remaining triangles was then divided in the same way and the one in the centre coloured in. Girls could continue as far as they wanted and then colour in all the triangles if they wished. See the image at the right for a better explanation!The Fractal Foundation has a one-page explanation of Fractals in Math and Nature -
fractalfoundation.org/fractivities/WhatIsaFractal-1pager.pdf
An active game followed - Chopstick Race - the girls were in Patrols, and had to manipulate chopsticks with one hand to pick up pieces of sponge from to opposite end of the room. One girl per Patrol at a time and only one piece of sponge at a time! The Patrol with the most pieces of sponge at the end was the winner. (Despite many protests of "I can't use chopsticks", everyone managed very well with this activity.)
Our last activity was a Brownie Badge Quiz using images of early badges. Each Patrol had a sheet showing 9 old badges and they had to decide what it was called, what would need to be done to earn it, and which current Brownie badge it was related to. The answer sheet is below:
We ended the meeting with a couple of campfire songs and reminders about the aquarium trip on Saturday and next week before closing with Taps.
The Diversity Challenge can be found on the BC Council website -
www.girlguides.ca/WEB/Documents/BC/DiversityChallenge_2014.pdf
The Brownies 100th Anniversary Challenge can be found on the Nova Scotia Council website -
www.girlguides.ca/WEB/Documents/NS/challenges/branch15.doc
