Guiding is a journey. Some start as Sparks, while others join later as Brownies, Guides, Pathfinders, Rangers or Guiders. Some will travel along the Guiding path from beginning to end, while others will take breaks along the way. Each person’s journey will be different, but each will be the star of her personal Guiding journey.
This year, we embraced the new Girls First Program. We now work on Theme Badges and Program Areas rather than checking off boxes for specific activities. This puts our Guides, Pathfinders and Rangers in charge of their Guiding experiences.
In the Guide Together Program Area we find out about Guiding in Canada and around the world, as well experiencing the sisterhood of Guiding. This year we voted on options for the new uniform, explored Guiding history, took part in a community campfire, bridged with Sparks and Brownies for World Thinking Day, and held our annual messy night.
The Build Skills Program Area helps us to build important life skills. We’ve practiced teamwork and leadership skills, learned how to be prepared for emergencies at home, spent time in the kitchen, and made first aid kits.
The Explore Identities Program Area is all about us! We explore what makes us special and learn to appreciate differences in others. This year we shared our dream careers with Girl Guides of Canada and earned the Team Girl badge for the International Day of the Girl.
Our favourite Program Area is <>Experiment and Create because we get to try hands-on science activities, build our own creations, and explore the arts. This year we learned about caterpillars, explored space and astronomy, built with LEGO, wrote and created our own movies, and tried our hand at clay modelling and different types of painting.
Be Well is the Program Area about being healthy – mentally and physically. We’ve learned how to recognized and manage stress, stayed active with lots of games, and built relationships with each other through board games.
Activities in the wider community fall under the Connect and Question Program Area, where we explore our local community, Canada as a whole, and the wider world. We’ve visited the Caledonia and District Food Bank, celebrated Pancake Tuesday, and explored Maori culture by earning the New Zealand Guide Maoritanga badge.
Service is a big part of Guiding, so the Take Action Program Area is the place for us to explore issues we care about, learn about advocacy and make a difference. We found out how the Food Bank works, packaged items for Christmas hampers, explored issues that impact girls around the world, filled a three shoeboxes for teens living in transitional housing, and took part in the Students Rebuild Ocean Challenge.
Next year a new Program Area will be added called Into the Outdoors, with three theme badges all about camping and outdoor fun! We still went into the outdoors this year with outdoor games, fire lighting, winter camp, emergency preparedness in the outdoors, and cooking on buddy burners.
Tonight we have 5 Guides who are getting ready to star in the next stage of their journey. Sierra, Jaime, Anna, Kennedi and Marika are all receiving the Guide Challenge Pin to remember their time in Guides and a gift to help them keep track of their adventures, use their creativity, explore the world around them, and always be prepared.
Sierra, Jaime and Anna have also earned the Lady Baden-Powell Challenge, the highest award for Guides. To earn this award, they had to complete the Guide program, take part in service and leadership activities, share their Guiding experiences, find out about Pathfinders and learn about Lady Baden-Powell.
Congratulations Guides!
