May and June with the Rangers

We did not meet in May due to a Guider vacation and Guide Camp at the end of the month.

On Saturday, June 1st the Rangers sold cookies during the town-wide yard sale day.

Our next two meetings were of a very "light-hearted" nature and we made made plans for our Toronto trip in the fall and discussed what to do for a year-end activity.

Our final meeting was a movie night with snacks.

Everyone is looking forward to camp in the fall and we hope to make plans to go swimming and spend a day at the beach during the summer.

May and June with the Pathfinders

May was another short month for us due to Guider vacations.

Our May 1st meeting was run by two Pathfinders with the theme "It's Magic!". The girls learned card tricks and slight-of-hand magic tricks.

Meetings on May 8th and 15th were cancelled, but on May 7th, the Pathfinders ran a Guide meeting on The Arts and Active Living.

The last meeting for May was on May 22nd and was run by two girls covering the Focus on Friendship Module.

Our last meeting of the year was held on June 5th with the theme of Music and Dance. Unfortunately only one of the girls who had planned this meeting was able to be present, so we weren't able to do the activities she had prepared.

Normally, we would have had a year-end trip/activity and camp, however due to lack of interest our year-end trip was cancelled.  Camp has been rescheduled to September and we are looking forward to a fun weekend at Camp Orenda!

June Camp - Harry Potter!

On the weekend of May 31st to June 2nd we headed to Byng Island Conservation Area in Dunnville, Ontario for our annual Summer Camp Weekend. As usual, we invited the advancing Brownies to come to camp, and 3 girls decided to join us for the weekend, making a total of 16 campers.

Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate and we had heavy rain for most of the weekend. A big THANK YOU to all of the parents who stayed to help get the tents set up on Friday night despite the rain and who came on Sunday morning to help get everything packed away.

Friday night was busy with everyone arriving, getting tents set up and equipment put away. We reviewed camp rules and talked about what to do in the event of an emergency. The girls were then sorted into their Houses and given their House scarf to be worn all weekend. We had a sing-song, snack and then a trip to the washrooms and bed.

Saturday started off with breakfast and patrol duties. We then headed over to an empty group site for our challenge event.  The girls were told that Professor Dumbledore had fallen victim to a powerful spell and the only way to wake him was to gather the items needed to make a powerful potion. To gather these items, each House had to undertake a series of challenges:
1. Find the names of three mini-fantastic beasts (use field guides to identify three bugs)

2. Gather some unicorn hair (obstacle course)

3. Get a Common Welsh Dragon Egg (follow a string trail blindfolded and then get past a troll)

4. Mix a potion (under a left-handed curse that made their right hands useless, cut up a lemon and mix water, drink mix, food colouring and lemon)

Everyone had fun doing this! After using the potion to revive Professor Dumbledore, we played Quidditch (Muggle version).

We then went back to the site to make lunch. After lunch, we were all ready for some quiet time. Some girls lay down, others read or talked quietly for nearly the full hour. In the afternoon, the 3rd year Guides were split into 2 groups. One group planned the campfire for Saturday night, while the other group planned Guide's Own for Sunday morning.

Following quiet time, it was time for a Transfiguration lesson (crafts) - which was well-timed as it began to rain heavily part-way through! We made magic wands, golden snitches, mini broomsticks and dragon eggs. 

We paused for a snack, and then it was time for our next lesson - Potions, where we made the ever-popular Slime!

Each girl was then given her very own personal potions kit containing a portable cauldren (plastic container with lid) beozar (stone), magic crystals (blue & clear gems), and magic powders (coloured glitter layered in tiny bottles). The girls also received 'textbooks' for the planned subjects - Transfiguration, Potions, Muggle Studies (camp skills) and Astronomy.

Supper and patrol duties followed, as well as more planning for campfire and Guide's Own. The girls had lots of free time to talk, play, read, etc. and later on we had a sing-song campfire while the rain continued.

Sunday morning was frantic as usual with breakfast, packing and cleaning. Once everything was packed up and most of the cleaning done, the second group of 3rd year Guides led Guide's Own and then it was time to go home!

Everyone had a good time despite the rain and we were very thankful for the on-site pavillion and the quality of our tents, which remained dry.

Advancement & Awards Ceremony

Our year-end Advancement and Awards Ceremony was held on Tuesday, May 28th. 7 Guides received the Guide Challenge Pin, 3 Guides received the Lady Baden-Powell Challenge Pin, and 1 Pathfinder received the Canada Cord.

We started the ceremony by forming a horseshoe and then some of the Guides shared their favourite activities from the past year. All of the Guides were then called up individually to receive year-end badges, crests and Cookie All-Star Certificates.

We then welcomed 3 2nd Year Brownies to Guides by presenting them with a certificate.

Next, the Guides just receiving the Guide Challenge Pin were called up and presented with their Pin and Certificate.

A brief overview of the Lady Baden-Powell Challenge was shared with the parents: "The Lady Baden-Powell challenge is the highest award girls earn in the Guide program. Completion of this challenge usually takes at least two years. To earn this award, girls complete the Guide program, learn more about Lady Baden-Powell, share their Guiding experiences with others, and participate in small service activities and larger service projects, both inside and outside of Guiding." Then we called up the Guides receiving the Lady Baden-Powell Challenge Pin in addition to the Guide Challenge Pin and presented them with their Pins and Certificates.

Our final award of the evening was the Canada Cord.

A brief overview of the award was shared: "The Canada Cord is the highest award girls can earn in the Pathfinder program. Completion of the Canada Cord usually takes three years. To earn this award, girls complete specific modules to learn more about Canadian and World Guiding, event planning, the outdoors, relationships, safety, health and fitness, and the arts. They learn and demonstrate leadership skills, plan and carry out small service activities and larger service projects, participate in bridging activities with older and younger girls, learn about first aid and earn the Citizenship Certificate."

We then presented the Canada Cord and Certificate.

The Guides then did a short Candle Ceremony:

Guide comes up and lights Pink Candle

In Sparks you learned to share and be a friend and work as part of a team.

Guide comes up and lights Orange Candle

In Brownies you learned to lend a hand and take part in your community.

Guide comes up and lights Blue Candle

            In Guides you learned to be prepared and try new things.

Guide comes up and lights Green Candle

In Pathfinders you learned to plan your own activities and to lead others.

Guide comes up and lights Red Candle

In Rangers you will look wider as you continue to work as part of a team, participate in community projects, have new experiences, plan your own activities and develop your leadership skills.

The evening ended with juice and cake for everyone.

Camping & Outdoor Skills

At our May 21st meeting we used the Ranger meeting plan for the cancelled May 14th meeting.

We started out with an arrival activity where each patrol made a list of suggestions for food and activities at camp. After Opening, one patrol led an active game.

Our first activity was to work on the Be Prepared sections of the Camp Out, Basic Camper and Experienced Camper Badges. The advancing Brownies and 1st and 2nd Year Guides were split up into pairs and each pair was given a "What to do if..." scenario to act out for the rest of the group.
Scenarios:

· You become lost while hiking – you should hug a tree and shout for help
· You are leaving the campsite – you should always have a buddy with you!
· It is a hot, sunny day – you should put on sunscreen, a t-shirt and a hat
· Someone in your patrol gets hurt while playing a game – you should get an adult to help her
· It is wet and raining outside – you should put on rubber boots and a raincoat to stay dry
· You wake up in the morning at camp and it is raining – before you leave your tent, you should make sure nothing is touching the walls and make sure that the door is closed properly.
· There are lots of mosquitos at your campsite – make sure your tent is always zipped up tightly and put on bug spray to help keep them away.

The 3rd Year Guides discussed the emergency and safety situations listed as part of the Experienced Camper Badge:
·  A plan to search for a missing person. Why is it important for searchers to communicate with a home base. Where would you look for someone who is missing at camp?
·  A system to keep in touch when groups are in different parts of your camping area. What are some ways you can stay in touch?
·  A place to meet in case of emergency. What sort of emergencies would you use this location for?
·  The safety precautions you should take in severe weather (thunderstorm, high winds, etc.) that may occur where you live or where you are camping.

Our next activity was Kim's Game using items that might be taken to or used at camp. The items were laid out on a tarp and everyone had one minute to study them. When the minute was up, the items were covered an each patrol had to write down as many items as they could remember.

We then played a game called Cat’s Tails:
Supplies: Yarn, Scissors
Cut 30 pieces of string of the same length. Hide all but three or four pieces.
Divide the girls into three or four teams of equal size. Each team chooses a "cat" who is given one of the extra pieces of string. At a given signal, all players except the "cats" scatter to hunt for the hidden strings. As a girl finds one, she takes it back to her "cat", and uses a reef knot (or a knot of your choice) to tie it to the string tail the "cat" is holding. The team with the longest cat's tail wins.

The last activity of the evening was Camp Scenario Skits - What Would You Do? We divided the girls into 5 small groups and each group was given a scenario that they had to act out their response to.
Scenarios:
·  You turned your back from the campfire and it spreads, what do you do?
·  You were on a hike and a thunder/ lightning storm hits, what do you do?  
·  The camp warned you about raccoons, what do you do to protect your food?
·  There are 4 people in your tent and 1 person takes up to much room, what do you do?
·  Your tent mate snuck food into the tent what do you do?

We ended the evening with a sing-song campfire.

The Arts and Active Living

During the month of May, both Guide Guiders were out of the country for two weeks. The meeting on May 7th was run by the Pathfinders and the meeting on May 14th was cancelled due to a double-booking at the church.

The May 7th meeting was on the theme of "The Arts & Active Living".

The Pathfinders planned a Craft - Mother's Day, Friendship or Birthday Cards; Games - Colour Tag, Hide and Go Seek, Octopus; Dancing - Line Dancing, Cha Cha Slide, Skits and a Campfire.

March & April with the Rangers

We began March by working on a follow-up activity to this year's World Thinking Day Theme. We began by researching the aspects of a healthy pregnancy and looked into what resources and services are available locally for mothers and young children. All of this information was combined into a large poster featuring an illustration of a stork carrying a baby. (Healthy Living #14 Young Mothers)

At our second meeting in March we watched the movie "Mean Girls". At the following meeting, we discussed social aggression and bullying to complete Community Connections #24.

Out last meeting in March was spent planning the 2013-2014 Sing Ontario Sing Challenge - In the Key of Guiding over a dinner of Chinese food. We decided on different categories and found songs that would fit the different sections. Our first meeting in April was spent sourcing all of the songs and activities, both online and in books and finalizing our challenge plans, ready for submission to the Program Committee. Our categories were In the Key of ... Me, Active Living, Outdoors, Our Community, Our World, Fun, Cookies, the Arts, and Leadership Skills. Watch the Ontario webpage for the challenge to be posted - www.guidesontario.org.

March and April are also Cookie Months, so we sold cookies on the Saturday of Easter weekend at the LCBO with the Guides and at Sears on National Cookie Day at Sears in April with the Pathfinders.

As part of the NSP Operation: Earth Action, we had planned out a meal using as many local foods as possible and decided to have a dinner party from our planned menu. Our meal started with bruschetta bread and punch, followed by a main course of chicken, mashed potatoes, carrots and corn, and ended with a dessert of chocolate brownies and ice cream. We are fortunate in that all of the items on the menu except for the punch and the chocolate brownies are produced locally.

The next meeting was spent planning a Guide meeting for May. The topic was camping and outdoor skills and included the following activities: Food & Activity suggestions for camp, Camp Scenario Skits, Kim's Game, Cat's Tails Game, Guess What's in the Bag - Nature Edition, a snack and campfire.

At our last meeting in April we discussed perceptions and media. This discussion was prompted by a new video posted by Dove - http://realbeautysketches.dove.ca/
We talked about what the girls thought of the video, the words people used to describe themselves and others, the demographics represented, and what was included/omitted from the video. Afterwards, we made a poster showing the perceptions and stereotypes associated with Guiding versus what we are really all about and discussed how we can change these ideas.

We ended April with our annual participation in the Great Toronto Scavenger Hunt. This year's theme was The Wizard of Oz and we spent the day travelling through the "Oz" top reach the "Emerald City". In our adventures, we visited the PATH system, Simcoe Park, Roy Thomson Hall, St. Andrew's Church, Mirvish Row, Canada's Walk of Fame, Queen Street, Osgoode Hall, Old City Hall, Nathan Phillips Square, The Eaton Centre, Yonge-Dundas Square, Ed Mirvish Theatre, Massy Hall, Elgin Theatre and Union Station.

 "We're Off to See the Wizard..." Outside Roy Thomson Hall

Sculpture in Simcoe Park

Saying the Promise at Old City Hall

Under the Clock on Queen Street

"Milking the Cow" at Brookfield Place in the PATH system

March & April with the Pathfinders

March was a short month for Pathfinders as we only had two meetings due to March Break and a Guide outing.

At our first meeting in March, two girls planned and ran an evening to complete the Safe at Home or Out and About Module. Their chosen activities included brainstorming a list of ways to show your parents that you are responsible, taking an Internet Safety Quiz, playing charades about household hazards, and making skits about how to handle uncomfortable situations.

Our second meeting was held in the last week of March and was devoted to planning meetings for the rest of the year, discussing cookie sales, and choosing options for a year-end trip.

To make up for the cancelled meetings, each girl was given a take-home module to work on with the help of their families. The module was Skills for Around the Home and the girls were asked to complete 4 activities from 4 different areas. The idea was to get them to try doing things around the house that they hadn't done before.

Section 1 - Feeding a Family

Girls had a choice between planning, shopping for and preparing a 3-course dinner for their family or making a weekly shopping list and going shopping, then reviewing shopping habits and costs.
Section 2 - Clothing

The girls were asked to look at the laundry symbols on their clothing and find out about special washing instructions. They then had the option of helping to sort, wash, dry, and fold a week's laundry for their family or learning how to make minor clothing repairs and adjustments (i.e. hemming, sewing on a button).

Section 3 - Indoors

Everyone was asked to brainstorm a list of clean chores in their home and make a list of all the things that need to be done for each room. They also had to consider who does each chore in their family and their personal responsibilities. They then had the option of either learning how to do a chore that they don't usually do or learning how to make a simple change or repair around the house (i.e. changing a washer on a faucet, caulking a bathtub, painting a wall)

Section 4 - Outdoors

The girls had the option of making a list of outdoor chores and activities in their own home, finding out how outdoor equipment is stored during the winter and how to get it ready for use in the spring, and doing some form or outdoor yardwork, or learning about car care by having their parents show them how to check fluid levels on the family car and finding out how to top up the different fluids.

April started off with a meeting about Citizenship and Multiculturalism to help our 3rd Year Pathfinder complete the requirements for the Citizenship Certificate.
Our first activity was sharing about different Historic Landmarks that each member has visited. Some of the places included Cottonwood Mansion, Edinburgh Square, Dundurn Castle, Westfield Pioneer Village, Casa Loma, the Henry Ford Museum, and Ruthven Castle.
Next we talked about culture at home and noted places on a town map that have been influenced by different cultures. We then played The Culture Game from the Equitas Play It Fair Toolkit, with each girl taking on the characteristics of one of the imaginary cultures.

We rounded out the evening by discussing customs and cultural traditions and common assumptions and stereotypes. Did you know that it's considered good manners to slurp your soup in Japan - it means you're enjoying your meal!!

Our April 10th meeting was run by two girls on the theme of Books & Reading. We began
the meeting at the public library where the girls looked for and checked out books that interested them.
When we got back to the Hall, each girl shared the title and plot of the book she chose and why they picked that particular book. This was followed by a discussion about different genres and why people liked different types of books.
Each girl then had to come up with a title for their personal autobiography and then create a fictional character for a book and come up with a title for their novel.

On April 17th we planned to spend the evening outside playing games in the park beside the Hall. With only a few girls in attendance, the 1st Year Pathfinders went outside to play in the park while I worked with our 3rd Year Pathfinder to plan her meeting for Guides (the Feeling Good Badge). Later in the evening, All of the girls talked about their favourite songs, what they listen to when they are happy or sad, and how music affects mood. As most of the girls had either an iPod or a phone with them, we were able to listen to their favourite songs as well.

The last meeting of the month was held on April 24th and was intended to be a Service Project Night. Unfortunately, we had very low attendance - only 3 Pathfinders and 2 3rd Year Guides.
Two of our service activities were cancelled - one due to the weather and the other due to the supplies not being delivered. We were able to make catnip toys to be donated to the SPCA.

After we finished these, we talked about different types of service projects and planned ideas for next year. The most popular ideas were:

Community - knitting/crocheting squares and making blanktes to donate to Good Shepherd

Outdoors - creating a PSA for the World Wildlife Fund

Feeling Good Badge

For our April 30th meeting we were visited by Ocean-Lee, our 3rd Year Pathfinder. She had planned the meeting as part of the requirements for her Canada Cord. 

We made Stress Relief Boxes filled with a notebook, pencil, lip balm, heart eraser and a sucker. The girls used stickers and markers to decorate their boxes.

The girls then discussed what they do when they feel stressed and Ocean-Lee shared some of her own tips. After the discussion, each girl made her own stress ball using balloons and rice. 

The final activity of the evening was to try some basic yoga and an activity to focus on breathing sounds.

The Guides had a lot of fun with this evening!

Fun in the Outdoors!

For our April 23rd meeting we spent the evening outside and we were lucky enough to have beautiful weather!

As an arrival activity, each Patrol was asked to make a list of all the ways they use water in a day. After opening, we went through the lists and talked about the importance of water for life and the challenges faced be people in countries where the water supply is limited or unsafe.

We then went outside for our patrol-led game (tag) while one Guider set up for the Treasure Hunt that had been requested. Coloured cue cards were cut into quarters and each piece had a letter written on it. The cards were placed all over the church grounds (always in plain sight, but not always obvious). Each patrol had to find all of the cards in their colour and then come back and sort them out to spell the phrase - "FUN & FRIENDSHIP".

Next we had a nature exploration activity. The girls were split into pairs and each pair given a ruler, a pencil and a piece of paper. They then had to find a plot of ground 12" x 12" (or one ruler length each way) and discover what was there. The plots had to be on the grass/garden/treed area of the property and the girls were challenged to list everything they found. At the end of the activity, we discussed what the girls had found and talked about being observant.

Our last outdoor activity was 3-on-3 Soccer. Basically, the unit was split into 2 groups and each girl given a number within her group (i.e. 1-7 on each team). We then called out 3 numbers (i.e. 1, 2, 3) and those players had to try to get past the other team's players and score a goal. When a goal was scored, or after about 30 seconds to 1 minute, we changed players. This was fun and no one kept score.

We ended our evening by making bug houses - described in the Operation: Earth Action post.

Discovering Our Community

The theme for our April 16th meeting was Discovering Our Community, which we did with a heritage walk scavenger hunt!

The weekend before, the Guiders went on a walk around the downtown area of Caledonia and came up with a series of questions for the girls to find the answers to. The final walk had information that was read out (so the girls had to listen to get the answers) and also questions that asked them to look for information that was visible from the sidewalk.

We started and ended at Grace United Church, and of the sites we stopped at were:

• The house built by Neil McKinnon, nephew of the town founder
• Caledonia Fairgrounds
• Edinburgh Square, the War Memorial and the Lawn Bowling Club
• Home built by Dr. William McPherson and its barn (now apartments)
• Caledonia Legion
• Site of the Diamond Hotel (now the Hald-Nor Credit Union)
• Businesses on Argyle Street
• Caledonia Bridge & Toll House
• Jones Bakery
• Site of Bryant's Tavern and the Caledonia Opera House (now the Cornerstone Restaurant)
• Union & Exchange Hotels (now Wiggie's and an abandoned buildling)
• Sachem Office
• Home of John Avery, town clerk (now a private home)
• Manse House of the Sutherland Street Kirk (now a private home)

Operation: Earth Action

The 2012-2013 National Service Project is Operation: Earth Action, which looks at different environmental issues and how girls can help. We worked on the challenge over three weeks, including both activities listed in the challenge and related activities of our own.

On April 9th our arrival activity was called "What Do You Think?" We posted sheets of paper around the room with different questions or statements and asked each girl to write on each page what she thought about it. The questions and statements were:

1. What interests you about the environment?
2. What would you like to change or improve in our local environment?
3. We can help the environment by using reusable water bottles whenever possible.
4. We can help the environment by using reusable shopping bags whenever possible.

After our opening and patrol-led game, we discussed the girls responses to these questions and statements.

As our craft, we recycled bottle cap into critters using water and pop bottle lids, fun foam, goggly eyes and other left over craft supplies. While this was happening, the girls were taken into the kitchen one patrol at a time to make Natural Lip Balm (1tsp Petroleum Jelly, 1tsp Aloe Vera Gel and 1/2tsp Coconut Oil) which was then poured into individual containers to set and each girl was able to take home her own container of lip balm.

Next, we worked on the Map Your Meal portion of the challenge, which was finished up at our April 16th meeting. We asked each patrol to come up with a dinner of their favourite foods using pictures from grocery store flyers. They then had to figure out where each item came from and how far it travelled to get to their table. We then had a discussion about local foods and found substitutes for the items they had chosen that would still be tasty but can be found much closer to home.

Our final follow-up activity was done on April 23rd, when we made bug houses out of empty water bottles, corrugated cardboard (cookie cases!), paper clips and yarn. The full instructions can be found on the EcoKids website.

Reporting & Business Communications Badges

At our meeting on April 2nd the Guides worked on completing their Reporting and Business Communications Badges.

As the girls arrived they were asked to decorate a postcard, leaving the back blank. Later in the evening we asked them to write a message to a Lone Guide on the back of the card. These cards will be sent to the Lone Guides in Ontario as friendship cards.

To finish up the Business Communications Badge, we used a white board to write a business letter as a group. The example we used was asking someone from the fire department to come to a meeting and do a presentation on fire safety to help the girls earn their Fire Safety Badge.

We also talked about Braille communication and where you can find examples in everyday life. Each patrol then had to solve a message written in Braille.

To complete the Reporting Badge each girl created a newspaper front page, complete with newspaper name, picture, and article.

Spring Cookies

Saturday, March 30th was our Spring Cookie Day! The 2nd Caledonia Guides and 1st Caledonia Rangers teamed up to sell 14 cases of chocolate & vanilla cream cookies. 

Guide History Night

On Tuesday, March 27th the 2nd Year Brownies from the 3rd Caledonia Brownie Unit visited the 2nd Caledonia Guide Unit to find out what Guide meetings are like.

Our theme for the evening was "Guide History" and included dress up, games, a craft, participation story, and opening and closing ceremonies.

Our first activity was dressing up in heritage uniforms for the evening. We had Brownie, Guide, Pathfinder and Ranger uniforms from the past and most girls choose to wear a uniform for the evening. It was fun to see the girls try to manage active games wearing a dress or skirt - which few of them are accustomed to!

After our opening Horseshoe, one of the patrols led an active game and then we went into our first activity which was to learn about how our unit fits into the structure of Guiding, about the 5 youth branches of Guiding, adult roles and Canadian Units on Foreign Soil. (All parts of the Canadian Guiding badge!)

Next we did an active quiz about Lones (more Canadian Guiding badge!). Each corner of the room was labelled with a letter (A,B,C,D) and the girls had to run to the corner they thought was the right answer. After we finished the quiz, we talked briefly about why a girl might join Lones rather than an active unit.

            Lones Active Quiz

1. What are Lones in Girl Guides of Canada?

(A) Money borrowed                               (B) Girls who cannot attend a regular meeting

(C) Non-member                                    (D) Unit dues

2. What Branches of Guiding have Lone Units?

(A) All Branches                                   (B) Guides and Pathfinders

(C) Rangers                                           (D) Sparks and Brownies

3. How can a regular Unit help a Lone?

(A) Let her know what District she lives in            (B) Adopt her

(C) Send her funds                                             (D) Smile when they see her

4. Where can a Lone wear the Lone Pin?

(A) Camp hat, blanket                            (B) Girl Guide uniform

(C) Jeans                                              (D) School jacket

5. Lones are eligible to attend what local events?

(A Community                                       (B) Local

(C) Camping                                          (D) All of the above

6.Who can adopt a Lone?

(A) Units                                               (B) Communities

(C) Trefoil Guilds                                    (D) All of the above

7.What months does the Lone program operate?

(A) September to August                      (B) September to June

(C) September to April                            (D) September to May

8.How does a Lone work on her program with her Lone Guider?

(A) Email                                               (B) Video and cassettes

(C) Fax and telephone                            (D) All of the above

Our next two games and our craft came from Guide magazines from 1921 and 1922, so were authentic games form Guiding's past.

Game #1 was a passing relay similar to games we play today. The girls had to pass a ball along their patrol going over the head of the first girl, then between the legs of the next girl, and repeated until the last girl had the ball, then she had to run to the front of the line. After the whole patrol had done this, they had to pass the ball sideways. The first girl passed the ball around her left side, the next girl around her right side, and so on. This added an extra bit of challenge as the girls had to think about left and right which wasn't as simple as over and under.

Our craft was a Geometric Guide Card that could be put on a camp hat. Each girl received shapes to make an early Guide in uniform - black rectangles for the shoes and legs, a navy triangle for the body, a white square and a white rectangle for the top, red triangles for the tie, navy circle for the hat, brown rectangle for the stave, and beige circles forth head and hands. The cards were really cute when done and we covered them with mactac so they will last longer.

Game #2 was called "Pork and Green Peas". It is played similarly to 'Darling if you love me won't you please, please smile'. In this game, the girls who are "It" go around the circle asking questions to different girls. The girls in the circle have to answer "Pork and Green Peas" without smiling or laughing, no matter what the question is. This created some very funny moments as the girls became more creative with their questions.

Our final activity was a participation story about the beginning of Guiding and Thinking Day. Instead of having each group just say the phrase associated with their word, they had to stand up before saying it. For "Thinking Day" everyone had to get up, spin in a circle and shout 'Happy Birthday!'

We ended our meeting with Taps and everyone received an Easter treat before they left.

Visit to The Sachem Office (Reporting Badge)

On Wednesday, March 20th the 2nd Caledonia Guides visited the offices of The Sachem to work on their Reporting badge. Tamara, a reporter for The Sachem, was our host for the evening and did a super job of presenting information to the girls and showing them how a newspaper layout is created.

The girls learned about some of the different jobs involved in producing a newspaper - reporter, publisher, printer, selling advertising, designing layouts. They also found out how a reporter's story gets into a newspaper and how all the pieces of a front page layout. A group photo was taken and a mock-up front page created to show the girls how this is done on the computer, then each girl received a copy to take home.

We talked about the 5Ws and an H (Who, What, Where, When, Why and How) and the importance of being factual and accurate when writing news articles. The story of Cinderella was used to demonstrate the inclusion of the Ws/H. As the story was told, the girls held up signs with Who, What, Where, When, Why or How on them each time one of those questions was answered in the story.

Later, we talked about the difference between a news story and an editorial and about what censorship and liable mean and how they apply to newspapers.

We will be completing the Reporting badge in April with our own "Be a Reporter" night and the creation of a unit newspaper!

Body Works Badge

At our March 5th meeting we worked on the Body Works Badge. The purpose of this badge is "to encourage interest in the science of human biology."

To earn this badge, Guides need to do 6 activities. The activities we chose were to learn about how the body works; interview a medical worker about how they use Math & Science in their job; learn to take their own pulse; look at and explain how optical illusions work; take fingerprints; and find out how fat insulates against the cold. (Other activity options are finding out if you have flat feet or high arches and finding out about a health-related organization and doing a community service project.)

As the Guides arrived, each patrol was assigned a body system to make a skit about - stomach, heart, brain - to share at the end of meeting.

After our opening, we showed the girls how to find their pulse and put a sticker on the spot where they could feel it. We then played an active game and then everyone checked their pulse a second time. We had a brief discussion about why their pulse would be more rapid after physical activity.

One of our Guiders is a Nurse, so she talked to the girls about how she uses Math and Science in her work.

Next, we let the girls use a stethoscope to listen to their own heart beat. While the girls were waiting their turn, we took fingerprints from each girl using graphite from a pencil, packing tape and index cards.

The fingerprint game was a challenge to find your own fingerprint. An index card with a thumb print was put down in front of each girl. The girls looked at the card and if they thought it was their's remained sitting. If they thought it was someone else's, they stood up. The girls standing them moved clockwise to the next empty space and looked at that fingerprint. Once everyone was sitting in front of a fingerprint they turned the cards over to see if they were right and the fingerprint belonged to them.

Next, we did the fat as an insulator test. Each girl covered a finger on one hand in lard and then put that finger and the same finger on the other hand into a basin of cold water. The girls agreed that the finger without the fat covering got cold faster!

Our last activity was optical illusions. 6 cards with optical illusions on them were put up around the room and each girl was given an answer sheet with question about each illusion. The girls were then divided into groups and moved around the room visiting each illusion. Once everyone was done, we gathered everyone together and talked about what they had seen and what answers they had written down.

Optical Illusion	Question
Image that appears as wine glasses one way and faces the other	What shapes do you see?
Two circles, one surrounded by smaller circles, the other by larger circles	Which of the centre circles is larger?
Image of an elephant with the feet offset from the legs (giving the illusion of having more than 4 legs)	How many legs does the elephant have?
Two straight lines, one with ^ on each end, the other with v on each end	Which line is longer?
Square drawn on top of a series of concentric circles	Are the lines of the square straight or curved?
Diagonal lines with hatch marks	Are the lines parallel?

At the end of the evening the girls presented their skits and we learned the words and actions to "Forty Years on an Iceberg" (one of the Sing Ontario Sing songs for this year).