Tekarama 8: A Nature-ly Fun Camp!

From June 12th to 14th, 12 Guides, 1 Ranger and 1 Guider, joined by 2 Guides from the 2nd Ontario Lone Guide Unit, attended Tekarama 8 at Camp Teka in Paris, Ontario. The camp was for Guides, and had 110 enthusiastic participants. All Guides attending earned the Naturalist badge.

On Friday night, we all arrived and set up the tents for the weekend. The girls then spent some time setting up their sleeping areas and chatting. Our first activity was hat crafts - the girls were able to make a number of different crafts including a sleeping camper, make new friends, Teka tree, and a pie iron. We then had a campfire, played a Night Eyes game to help the girls get to know the others who would be in their patrol for the weekend (the girls were all split up and each Guider accompanied a group of 7-8 girls, none from her own unit) and had a snack of spider dogs and hot chocolate before heading to bed. One tent decided to have an argument at 1.30am (I was NOT amused), but everyone still managed to be up bright and early - about 6am!

Saturday started with Colours and breakfast. After eating, each Patrol had a duty to perform
(i.e. cleaning the lats, planning Guides Own/Campfire/Sunday Colours, emptying dish basins, picking up trash). Activities for the day were planned in a round-robin fashion, with two stations in the morning and two in the afternoon. One station was to build a terrarium in a jar, using large empty jars, soil, plants and natural materials. A second was playing Kim's games - smell, sight, and touch, The third was learning about camouflage, cover and wind direction, then playing Predator-Prey, an Animal Sounds game, and Clothespin Tag. The final station was Pond Study with Sarah from the GRCA.

After we had finished our sessions, everyone had some free time where they could rest, play games, swap, work on puzzle booklets, or just socialize. After dinner, we played wide games, including Deer (an ecology/ecosystem game), followed by a Campfire and a snack before bed.

Unfortunately, Sunday morning started with rain, so we were unable to get the tents down dry, but it did let up enough for us to enjoy Colours, followed by Breakfast and Duties, then Guides Own. The rain returned in full force as we were striking camp, so, sadly, we went home rather wet, but having enjoyed the weekend.

 

Guide Advancement 2015

Our Guide Advancement Ceremony was celebrated in the last week of May. The girls came for 6.30pm as usually and the parents returned at 7.15pm for our ceremony at 7.30.

We began our ceremony by forming a horseshoe and then welcomed all of the parents and guests. Each girl then shared something that she really enjoyed about Guides this year.

Next, we called each girl up to receive her badges and Cookie All Stars Certificates. The badges were in cookie envelopes with a sheet attached listing what was inside (everyone receives lots of badges and challenge crests).

Once all the 1st and 2nd year Guides had received their awards, we called up the 3rd year girls individually. All girls received the Guide Challenge Pin and 3 received the Lady Baden-Powell Challenge (a 4th girl earned this Challenge, but was not present). The girls were called up, received their badges, pins, certificates, and a green gift bag. They then had to remain standing in a line while each of the other Guides came up one at a time and added an item to their bag, explaining what it was for (the bags became a "Guiding Survival Kit" to prepare them for Pathfinders). After all the items had been placed in the bags, our Junior Leader presented each girl with a blue flower and a green flower, and the girls then rejoined the horseshoe.

At the end of the ceremony, we called up our Junior Leader and presented her with the Girl Assistant Certificate for all of her help this year. Parents and guests were then thanked for coming and cupcakes and juice were served.

Hola Amiga! Welcome to Chile!

For 2015 and 2016 Ontario is twinned with Chile, so we had a meeting to celebrate this link and learn a bit more about our Chilean sisters as our final regular meeting!

As the girls arrived, they finished up their Forests illustrations, stories and skits from last week. We then had our usual opening followed by an active game led by one of the Patrols.

We started the program by learning a little bit about Chile and locating the country on a world map. The girls learned how to count to 10 in Spanish (uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, seis, siete, ocho, nueve, diez) and a bit about Guiding in Chile.

Next we learned a bit about the traditional art of Crin Weaving, which uses horsehair to make delicate and intricate patterns. More information can be found here - http://www.participationandexchange.com/working-with-crin-a-chilean-horse-hair-weaving-technique-with-paola-raggo.html. We made a star craft using basic weaving techniques, similar to those used to make a God's Eye. We used white pipecleaners cut into thirds and multi-coloured yarn. If the pipecleaners were gradually folded upwards while weaving, it was possible to make a tiny basket (right).

We then played "Atrapar la Cola", or Catch the Tail. In this game, players are divided into two teams. Each team make a chain, linked by players holding onto the hips or shoulders of the player in front of them. The goal is to keep your chain from falling apart while trying to link up to the end of the opposing team before they link up to you!

Before the meeting, I had made a batch of Cocadas, which are basically a sweet, coconut ball that is baked in the oven. Recipes can be found in various places online. While we had our snack, we read a Chilean Folk Tale aloud - "The Magic of This World" (found at
http://www.recordonline.com/article/20101129/life/11290306)

Then we played another game "Cielo, Luna, Mar", or Sky, Moon, Sea. This game is usually played on a set of stairs, but we taped 3 lines on the floor so the whole unit could play (and it was much safer!). The lines were labeled "Sky", "Moon" and "Sea". A Guider would call out one of these and all the girls had to hop on both feet onto that line. When the next step was called, they had to jump to it (forwards or backwards) with their feet together. Girls were out if they jumped to the wrong line, took an extra step or didn't jump with the rest of the group (we got pretty strict towards the end as all of the girls were really good jumpers!).

Our last activity was another craft. In honour of Senorita Kot we made a beaver (pompom and fun foam) and a flag to go on our camp hats.

The meeting closed with Taps.

UN Forests Challenge Badge

Our second meeting in May was intended to be spend outside taking part in the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup, but rainy weather and overcast skies moved the meeting indoors (our cleanup location had no washrooms or shelter). We did not have our regular meeting space, but had access to two smaller rooms upstairs in the church.

We split the units up into two groups for the evening. The 3rd year Guides went with our Junior Leader to create records of the service projects they have taken part in, learn about Pathfinders, and practice a story presentation for later in the meeting. The 1st and 2nd year Guides worked together on the UN Forests Challenge Badge that we had started earlier in the year.

As the girls arrived, they were asked to write different ways that water can be used on slips of paper (i.e. by people, businesses, plants, animals).

We had a quieter version of our usual opening, followed by a quiet game led by one of the Patrols. Once we were ready to begin our program, the 3rd year Guides and our Junior Leader went off to another room. We began with Water Charades, using the ideas that the girls had written down at the beginning of the meeting.

Next, we had a drama activity based on the Canadian Forestry Association's Teaching Kit - Canada's Forests - A Fine Balance - Vol. 5: Species at Risk (2004). The activity we used was adapted from Lesson 3: Shrinking Habitat - Share the Space. Before starting, each girl was asked to take on the role of something that lives in the forest (i.e. bird, animal) and to think about how their creature would react. We used the story in the lesson plan, changing the last sentence to read "But what do the woodland creatures think?". After reading the story, each girl responded in words and/or actions how she thought her chosen creature would feel and what they would think about what was happening.

The girls then divided up into groups to play "The Green Zone" board game. This game is based on the online game available on the Canadian Forestry Association's website. As the players move around the board, they move forwards or backwards, lose or gain turns, and lose or gain tokens, depending on the scenarios written in the squares. Examples of scenarios are:

• Play outside or go for a bike ride instead of watching TV - +1
• Watch TV instead of helping plant trees - -3
• Community Park is closed to make room for a new building - -10 for everyone

The next 20 minutes or so were spent creatively describing the interactions between people and forests. Some girls wrote stories or poems, others drew pictures or made up a skit.

Our final activity of the meeting was a story reading by the 3rd year Guides. Each girl took on different parts and read out the story "Trees, Fish and Orang-utans" (Indonesia) found in The Right to Food: A Window on the World. (This book can be downloaded from the WAGGGS website at http://www.wagggs.org/en/resources/document/view/909.

We ended the meeting with Taps and had everyone ready for pick-up and downstairs in time for parents arriving.


(Resources on the Canadian Forestry Association's website can be found here - http://www.canadianforestry.com/kits/english/index.html)

Introduction to Guiding

The month of May started off with an Introduction to Guiding Event. We had two adults and 1 girl pre-register for the event, unfortunately none attended. We did end up recruiting two potential Guiders and hopefully they will complete the paperwork soon and we will be able to start planning for the new year!

Despite not having any visiting girls, the Sparks and the Guides still had a fun evening. As the girls arrived, they worked on bookmarks for the Students Rebuild Literacy Campaign. We then had the Sparks opening, followed by the Guides opening. One Patrol led an active game - Romeo and Juliet - and then the Sparks were divided amongst the Guide Patrols for the evening.

Our first activity had 3 parts. 3 Patrols started working on a collage, drawing pictures or using words to describe things they like about Guiding or they would like to do in Guiding. The fourth Patrol set out to follow a trail around the inside of the church (trail signs were drawn on cards and placed on the floor). While on the trail, they had to collect 3 pieces for a craft - a felt flower, felt center, and felt bracelet band. When the first Patrol arrived back in the main room, they started gluing their bracelets together and a second Patrol was sent out to follow the trail. As Patrols returned, they would make their bracelets and then return to working on the collage.

Next, we moved into the kitchen for a quick science experiment. We decided to do Magic Milk as it is fun, colourful and can have lots of girls do pieces. Basically, a thin layer of milk is poured onto a plate, then drops of food colouring are added. Drops of dish detergent are added, causing the colours to flow and swirl (the detergent reacts with the milk proteins and lowers the surface tension of the milk, so the food colouring can move freely.)

After cleaning up, we moved on to the international portion of our evening. As it was May 5th, we learned a little bit about Cinco de Mayo and Guiding in Mexico. We played :a Gallinita Ciega (The Blind Hen). In this game, one player is chosen to the the blind hen. She is blindfolded and all the other players scatter around the playing area. The hen has to try to tag the other players, who make noises and call out things like 'Here I am', while trying to eade the hen. When the hen tags another player, she gives them the blindfold and they become the blind hen.

We then had a piñata (made from a gift bag and strung onto a broomstick. Inside, were baggies with PR materials (bookmark, tattoo, postcard) and a mini-sticky notepad with 'Guiding is FUN-tastic! written on it and a roll of rocket candies (each girl received 1 baggie).

We ended the meeting with a participation - Mosquito Hunt (in Campfire Activities, page 86) and a short campfire, followed by Spark Closing and Taps.

Princesses Give Service

When we asked the girls for ideas for meetings, we were given a variety of ideas that were put together to make our "Princess Night". Each girl was asked to come dressed as a princess. What did that mean? Whatever they thought it meant - when asked, we responded that they should feel like a princess in whatever they chose to wear! We had a great range of outfits, from some very traditional princess-like dresses to comfortable outfits to gala dresses and high-heeled shoes.

Our meeting started with our usual opening and a game of Wax Museum (to save wear and tear on outfits) led by one of the Patrols.

We then talked about what it means to be a Princess and learned about some real Princesses (under the traditional definition) - many of whom have connections to Guiding and/or Scouting - and the causes they support.  I had put together a slideshow of photos of princesses around the world to share while we had the discussion - some entries were:

• HH Princess Hajah Masna (Brunei) - President of the Brunei Girl Guides Association
• Princess Sisowath Kanthireth (Cambodia) - International Commission for the Girl Guide Association of Cambodia
• HRH Princess Benedikte (Denmark) - Royal Patron of the Olave Baden-Powell Society
• Princess Basma bint Talal (Jordan) - President of the Jordanian Association of Boy Scouts and Girl Guides
• HRH Princess Azizah Iskander (Malaysia) - Royal Patron of the Girl Guides Association of Malaysia in the State of Penang
• Caroline, Princess of Hanover, Hereditary Princess of Monaco (Monaco) - Patron of the Association des Guides et Scouts de Monaco
• HRH Queen Maxima of the Netherlands (Netherlands)- Patron of Scouting Nederland
• Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya (Thailand) - Chief Guide of the Girl Guides Association of Thailand
• HRH Sheikha Jawaher Bint Mohammed Al Qassimi (UAE) - Chairwoman of the United Arab Emirates Girl Guides Association
• HRH Sophie, Countess of Wessex (UK) - President of Girlguiding UK (her daughter, Lady Louise, is a Brownie!)

The remainder of our meeting was devoted to service projects.Two girls brought in clothing donations for the Goodwill Good Turn Challenge, but not enough to earn the crest - they will each receive a fun service crest instead.

The girls continued their work on making bookmarks for the Students Rebuilt Literacy Campaign, to raise donations for the Save the Children Literacy Boost Programs in Mali, Peru and Nepal. How the campaign works is that groups, like Guides, make bookmarks and submit them to Students Rebuild, and then the Bezos Family Foundation donates $1 for each bookmark to Save the Children. For more information visit http://studentsrebuild.org/find-challenge/literacy-challenge/about-challenge.

The last part of our meeting was spent doing a book exchange for the Words in Action National Service Project. Girls had been asked to bring in books during the month of April, and for each book they brought, they were given a ticket. Each ticket entitled them to choose a new book. We had added some additional books picked up at thrift stores to ensure a good selection. Girls who had brought in books to exchange were allowed to pick first, and if they had extra tickets they were able to give them to girls who had not brought in books, so everyone ended up going home with something new to read! Half of the remaining books were donated to the Grand River Veterinary Hospital where they will be sold in aid of Canon's Cause, which helps abandoned and injured animals. The other half will be donated to a women's shelter as part of the Ranger Service Project.

We closed the meeting with Taps (after asking the girls to put down their books, as some had already started reading!).

Celebrate St George's Day!

Our third meeting in April was spent learning about Norway and earning the Norges Speiderforbund Guide St. Georgsdag badge.

As the girls arrived, each Patrol was asked to make a list of ideas for Good Turns (ones they have done and ones they could do if the opportunity arose).

We then had our usual opening, followed by a Patrol-led active game, and then discused our theme for the evening by learning a bit about Norway and Guiding there, as well as a brief introduction to St George.

Next we used wooden shapes and paint to try Rosemaling. Rosemaling means "decorative painting" in Norwegian and the term is used to describe a form of folk art that originated in rural Norway in the mid-1700s. It is characterized by stylized flowers and scrolls, made by blending colours, and is used to decorate walls, trunks, bowls, cabinets and other furniture.

As girls began to finish their painting, we read the Legend of St George aloud, and then asked the girls to illustrate part of the story. The version of the legend we used can be found at http://projectbritain.com/stgeorge2.html.

Once all the painting was completed, we played a game from Norway called "Sti Heks", or "Sticky Witch". This game is very similar to Frozen Tag - The player who is it is the “witch” and she “freezes” players by tagging them. When a player is tagged, they must stand still with their arms and legs spread out until another player crawls under them.

While everyone caught their breath, we talked about the Knight's Code of Chivalry found in Scouting for Boys, and compared it to our Guide Laws. 

The girls then worked on their illustrations until the end of the meeting, which concluded with Taps.

All About Our Environment

Our second meeting in April included a visit by the 2nd year Brownies from the 3rd Caledonia Brownie Unit.

As the girls arrived, the visiting Brownies were added into Patrols and each Patrol brainstormed a list of ways they can take care of the environment through the 4 R's (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Refuse). We had our usual opening, welcomed the Brownies, and then one Patrol led an active game.

Our first activity was a quick summary of the ideas each Patrol had come up with to make one master list. Each Patrol then picked 1-3 of the ideas and created a skit to share the ideas with the rest of the Unit.

We then moved on to a recycling game. Each Patrol had 4 cards labeled "Garbage Can", "Composter", "Recycling Bin", and "Return/Reuse". The Patrols sat at one end of the room and the leaders at the other. A leader called out an item (i.e. pizza delivery box, orange peels, clothing, straws) and each Patrol had to decide which card showed the correct location and then one player from each Patrol had run up to the leaders with the card. The first Patrol to arrive with the correct answer received 4 beads, the second 3 beads, third 2 beads, and fourth 1 bead. There was often more than one correct answer, and as long as the girl bringing up the card could justify her answer, it was accepted (especially the Return/Reuse card). The Patrol with the most beads at the end of the game was the winner.

Next we learned about vermicomposting, we had brought in our vermicomposter from home so the girls were able to see and touch the worms and soil in the composter. (Vermicomposting uses red wriggler worms to consume the waste materials and produce nutrient-rich soil (worm poo!)) To learn more about vermicomposting visit http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/vermicomposting/.

Our final activity was to make small planters and plant seeds. Each girl made her own planter using half of an empty water bottle, googly eyes and a pompom nose. We then planted marigold seeds and added some compost (courtesy of the worms) to help the seeds grow.

Each girl took home a slip asking them to help with sorting and putting out their family's recycling for at least one month. Girls who complete this take-home task will earn the Recycling Badge!

We Love Our Pets!

Our first meeting of April was devoted to learning about Pet Care and completing some of the requirements for the Pet Lover Badge.

Joan Robinson from the Grand River Veterinary Hospital visited to teach girls about the proper care for their pets. She also brought along 2 canine friends - Canon and Caber!. The girls learned about the importance of correct handing, feeding, grooming, exercise and medical care for their pets; signs of illness and what to do if their pet is sick or hurt; how to determine the right type and amount of food their pet needs; and what happens when a pet visits the vet.

Each girl also shared photos and something special about their pet.

Girls wishing to finish the badge need to care for a pet for at least 2 weeks and return the chart provided with a parent/guardian signature and a list of the tasks they did to care for their pet.

Arts & Crafts

Our final meeting of March was devoted to Arts and Crafts as requested by the girls.

We began with our usual opening and an active game, then moved right into crafting for the rest of the evening. The girls had the choice of 3 different craft activities, and could choose to do as few or as many as they wished.

(a) Floral Baskets - Girls were provided with a wicker basket and flowers and ribbon to decorate it.

(b) Painting - Girls were given a 4" x 6" stretched canvas on wood to paint in any way they wished.

(c) SWAPS - A variety of craft supplies were made available and the girls could create their own small crafts. Girls attending Tekarama 8 in June were encouraged to start making SWAPS.

We ended with a thorough clean-up of the room and Taps.

Aeronautics Badge

As we were unable to get into the annual Guide Engineering Day at McMaster University, we decided to hold our own engineering night and earn the Aeronautics Badge during the first week back to Guides following March Break.

As the girls arrived, they were provided with paper and markers and asked to make paper airplanes. We started the meeting with our usual opening and an active game.

We then began with a discussion about engineering, aviation and space. Our first activity was to identify the different parts of an aircraft and their role in flight. We did this with a large picture of an airplane and label cards that could be stuck to the picture as each part was identified.

(A) Ailerons - moving parts, attached to the rear edge of an airplane's wings, that help the airplane to roll (or bank) left or right.
(B) Cockpit - the place where the pilot sits to fly the airplane. It contains the instruments and controls.
(C) Elevators - the moving horizontal parts of the tail on an airplane that move up and down to make the airplane climb or descend, or pitch.
(D) Flaps - the moving parts attached to the rear edge of an airplane's wings that are used to increase lift and drag at reduced airspeeds (take-off and landing).
(E) Fuselage - the streamlined body of an airplane to which are fastened the wings and tail.
(F) Landing Gear - the under structure (wheels, skis or pontoons) of an airplane which supports it on land or water. Retractable gear folds up into the airplane in flight. A fixed gear does not retract or fold up.
(G) Propeller - two or more twisted blades which an engine turns which pull an airplane forward as they turn.
(H) Rudder - the moving vertical part of the tail that controls the left to right, or yaw, movement of an airplane's nose.
(I) Wings - the part of an airplane shaped like an airfoil and designed in such a way as to provide lift when air flows around it.

Next, we made gliders out of styrofoam plates and tried flying them. When a paperclip or other weight was added to the nose, they were able to go much further!

We then played an Aircraft Matching Game to help the girls learn about different types of aircraft. The cards were cut apart and each Patrol used the cards to play Memory.

The Guides who attended Winter Camp learned about the Phonetic Alphabet, so we had a quick review and then had the girls try to read different messages using the alphabet.

     A - Alfa                                N - November

     B - Bravo                             O - Oscar

     C - Charlie                           P - Papa

     D - Delta                              Q - Quebec

     E - Echo                              R - Romeo

     F - Foxtrot                           S - Sierra

     G - Golf                               T - Tango

     H - Hotel                             U - Uniform

     I - India                               V - Victor

     J - Juliet                              W - Whiskey

     K - Kilo                                X - X-Ray

     L - Lima                               Y - Yankee

     M - Mike                              Z - Zulu

(1) (Foxtrot Lima Yankee India November Golf) (India Sierra) (Foxtrot Uniform November).  
FLYING IS FUN

(2) (Bravo India Romeo Delta Sierra) (Golf Alfa Victor Echo) (Papa Echo Oscar Papa Lima Echo) (Tango Hotel Echo) (India Delta Echo Alfa) (Tango Oscar) (Foxtrot Lima Yankee)  
BIRDS GAVE PEOPLE THE IDEA TO FLY

(3) (Alfa India Romeo Papa Lima November Echo Sierra) (Hotel Echo Lima Papa) (Papa Echo Oscar Papa Lima Echo)  
AIRPLANES HELP PEOPLE

Our final activity was split between making and flying paper airplanes and designing kits (which unfortunately we couldn't try to fly in our meeting place!).

We ended the evening with a fun song and Taps.

Winter Wonderland

We spent the first two weeks of March working on a combination of winter-themed activities, activities to complete the Alberta Polar Challenge, and planning for the remainder of the Guiding year.

Week 1 as the girls arrived, we asked each Patrol to brainstorm a list of activities we could do, theme ideas for meetings, badges they were interested in working on, etc. We then had our usual opening followed by an active game.

Our first activity was Countries of the Arctic. We spread out a world map on the floor and had the girls find the Arctic Circle and then find the countries that are located within the Arctic (Canada, USA, Greenland, Russia, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland (border)). We also talked about Antarctica and how it is not owned by any country, but that a number of countries claim parts of it and there are many research teams that visit there.

Next we had an active game - Dog Sled Races. In this game, the girls line up in teams at one end of the room. The first girl in the team runs the length of the room and back to her team. When she reached her team, she picks up the second girl on the team (second girl holds onto the waist or shoulders of the first girl) and they both run to the end of the room and back. They then pick up the third girl, and continue until the whole team runs the length of the room and back together.

We then moved on the Animals of the Poles, where we identified some animals that live in the Arctic and/or in Antarctica and made two 'critters' - a Snowy Owl and a Penguin.

This took up most of the remainder of the meeting, and we ended with an action song and Taps. Each girl was then given a "take-home" craft - Crystal Snowflakes. They were given all of the supplies needed except for a glass container and hot water.

 

Week 2 started out with each girl indicating her preferences on a "I Want To Do..." list of activity suggestions based on the ideas the patrols had come up with last week. The ideas were: (1) Vet visit and learn about pet care; (2) Build birdhouses; (3) Visit The Aviary to see exotic birds and go on a hike; (4) Have a Chilean meeting; (5) Baking night; (6) Dress-up night and learn about real princesses. We then had our usual opening and played an active game - Unicorn Tag.

We then had a discussion about life in polar regions and how different animals have adapted to life there - i.e. the larger paws on a lynx or arctic hare that allows them to walk on top of the snow like they are wearing snowshoes, and how certain animals coats change to white so that they blend in with the snow. We also talked about the challenges that animals in the polar regions face, with the lack of vegetation, melting ice packs, and human encroachment.

Next we played a Polar Game called Owl Hop. The goal of this game is to hop as long as possible on one foot. All the players choose a foot to hop on and place their other foot behind the knee of the hopping leg. Players cannot change legs and must hop completely clear of the floor.

A planning session was next, and we split up into groups for this. The 3rd Years made plans for a meeting they will run for the rest of the unit (Sweets Night), and the 1st and 2nd Years brainstormed ideas on different themes - Animals, Oceans-Waves-Sand, Body, and Other People. Lots of good ideas were generated and we have lots of material to work with to plan the next two-and-a-half months of meetings.

We moved onto an Arts activity next, where the girls worked in small groups to create a dance to celebrate the return of the sun after a long, dark winter.

Our final activity of the evening was to learn the song "40 Years on an Iceberg". We then ended with Taps.

World Thinking Day Celebrations

On Tuesday, February 24th all of the units in Caledonia got together to celebrate World Thinking Day. As the girls arrived, they made World Thinking Day bookmarks to trade with
each other later in the evening.

We began our evening with the Spark, Brownie and Guide openings and a brief welcome and introduction to the theme for World Thinking Day - "We Can Create Peace Through Partnerships" and our service project for the evening. As a service project, we made bookmarks for the Student's Rebuild Literacy Challenge. By making 95 bookmarks, the Bezos Family Foundation will donate $95 to Save the Children's Literacy Boost Programs in Peru, Mali and Nepal. We will also be forwarding $55 to the Canadian World Friendship Fund.

The girls were divided into 5 colour groups and the Guiders led their groups through the 5 planned activities. Through our activities, we explored World Guiding, the World Centres, and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). There was approximately 10 minutes for each activity, with a few minutes at the end to finish up crafts.

Activity A - World Centres - Sangam
Craft - Rangoli Art
At this station, the girls located the World Centres on a large world map, then created their own Rangoli designs using chalk on black card stock.

Activity B - MDG 2 - Education
Service Project - Celtic Knot Bookmarks
At this station, we worked on our service project for the evening. The girls were reminded that not all children are able to go to school and that by making bookmarks we were helping to children in other countries learn to read and write. The bookmarks we made had a celtic knot design, which the girls coloured and then glued onto a piece of card stock and added a piece of ribbon as a tassel.

Activity C - MDG 1 & 7 - Poverty & Environment
Activity - Plastic Bag Ball & African Handball
At this station, it was explained that not all children have money to buy toys and electronics, and they often make their own games from scrap materials. One object that is commonly made is a ball. The girls were shown how to make a ball using a wad of newspaper and plastic bags, then used a pre-made ball to play African Handball. In this game, the players are divided into two teams. Each team tries to keep control of the ball for as long as possible by tossing it back and forth between players - at the same time, the other team tries to intercept the ball. The player holding the ball cannot 'travel' with it and must throw it to another player before moving. When a player catches the ball, the other players on her team clap their hands and stamp their feet.

Activity D - MDG 8 - Partnerships
Activities - There's No I in Team
At this station, the girls practiced working together through three team building activities. The first activity was Pass the Can - in this activity, players sit in a circle and pass a coffee can around the circle using only their feet. If the can falls off someone's foot, the group starts over. The second activity was Sardines - in this activity, all the girls in the group stand on a tarp, making sure no one's feet are touching the floor. Everyone then gets off, and the tarp is folded in half. Continue folding the tarp in half and see how small it can be before the group can no longer fit onto it. The third a activity was Tarp Turn-Over - in this activity, a group stands on a tarp and tries to turn it over without anyone stepping off.

Activity E - WAGGGS - Twinning 2020: Ontario & Chile
Game - Corre, Corre la Guaraca 
At this station, the girls located Chile on a world map and learned that Ontario will be twinning partners for 2015-2016. The girls then played the game "Corre, Corre la Guaraca". In this game, the group sits in a circle while one player jogs around the outside with a handkerchief. Trying not to be felt, the runner drops the handkerchief on a players back and runs. If she makes it around the circle before the seated player realizes the handkerchief is on her back, the runner picks up the handkerchief and goes around the circle again. If the seated player catches on, she must get up and try to tag the runner. If she succeeds, the runner sits down and the second player becomes the runner. If she fails to catch her, they play again.

After the stations were completed, the girls had a few minutes to finish up their bookmarks for trading, the bookmarks for the service project and/or their rangoli art. They then had the opportunity to trade bookmarks with another girl.

We ended the evening with a snack (cupcakes and juice boxes) and singing "Fire's Burning" in a round, followed by Spark, Brownie and Guide closings.

Learn About WAGGGS

The third meeting in February was spent learning about WAGGGS and international Guiding in preparation for World Thinking Day.

We started the evening with our usual opening and an active game. Before starting our program we spent a few minutes talking about the World Centres, the World Flag and the World Trefoil. Our first activity was a Relay Game based on a Guiding board game. We made each of the squares on the game board into a question and gave each patrol a set of answer cards. When a question was called out, each patrol had to choose a card and send a runner up. The first patrol to arrive with the right answer card received a bead (point). Some questions had 'shout it out' as part of the instructions - these didn't have points or cards attached, and for the Good Turn squares, a different member of each patrol had to come up each time and share a good turn they had done within the past week (all received a bead).

Next we moved on to comparing the uniforms and enrolment pins of different countries. For this activity, I had printed out cards with a picture of a Guide, the name of the country, what Guides are called there, and the age group. I coloured in each Guide and then pinned the enrolment pin onto the card (If I didn't have the actual pins, I could have printed images.) We passed the cards around so everyone could have a look and then put the cards in the middle and talked about the similarities and differences.

Next up was a game - African Handball. In this game, the goal is for one team to try to keep control of the ball from the other team. Players cannot travel while holding the ball, and when a player catches the ball, their team claps their hands and stamps their feet.

The last part of the meeting was spent preparing presentations. The 3rd Year Guides created a presentation about Lady Baden-Powell as part of the Lady Baden-Powell Challenge, while the other Guides were divided into two groups and made commercials to advertise World Centres - Pax Lodge and Sangam. After the presentations, we had closing and said good night.

Exploring Our Roots

The second meeting in February was spent learning about Guide History and Guiding in Canada.

As the girls arrived, each Patrol was asked to make up a short skit on a theme - Guide Meeting, Cookie Selling, Guide Camp, and Helping Others. As were were missing quite a few girls this week, we combined the girls and eliminated the Helping Others Skit.

We started the meeting with our usual opening followed by an active game, and then had the girls finish presenting their creative creations from last week.

This week's program was started off with a short discussion about people in Guiding. We went through the 5 youth branches and also talked about Lones and Adult roles (Link, Trefoil Guild, Unit Guiders, Trainers, Administrative Community Leaders).

Next we played two games. The first was a relay game found in an issue of The Guide magazine from 1921. The girls lined up in patrols and the player at the front of the line was given a ball. The ball is passed along the line on alternating sides (first player passes to the right, second to the left, and so on). We added a second ball to each team and also had the last player in line come to the front once she had both balls. The second game was found in an issue of The Guide magazine from the 1930s. The girls sit in two straight lines with their legs stretched out towards the other line. The first player in each line is given a ball. She has to bounce the ball on the outside with one hand, pass it to her other hand and bounce it on her other side before passing it to the next player who repeats the actions until the ball reaches the end of the line. We added a second ball starting at the opposite end and also had the balls go along the line one way and then back the opposite direction.

After our games we moved on to a badge quiz using old Guide badges. Badges were passed around one at a time and the patrols asked what they thought the badge might be called or what it might be for. As the girls guessed at each badge, we told them what the image on the badge was, what the badge was called, and a couple of things that a Guide would have needed to do in order to earn it.

As time was running out, we then moved on to our skits and facts about Guiding History.

First Fact - Guiding began in Canada in 1910, with groups forming in Toronto, St Catharines, Moose Jaw, Sardis (BC), Vancouver, Winnipeg and Dawson City. Girls were excited to try new activities and learn about first aid, tracking, nature lore, and outdoor cooking and camping.

Skit #1 - Guide Meeting (the girls were very quick to tell us that this did not represent our meetings!)

Second Fact - The first Guides choose a uniform of a loose white blouse and navy blue skirt. This changed to a blue dress in the 1920s, and with slight changes in shade and style, this would remain the uniform for nearly 80 years.  (At this point I passed around two Guide dolls - one in a 1970s uniform and the other in the 2000s uniform.)

Did you know that Girl Guides have been selling cookies since 1927? That's nearly 90 years! The first cookies were baked by Christine Riepsame of Regina and sold by the 4th Regina Guides.

Skit #2 - Cookie Selling

Third Fact - We have been selling chocolate and vanilla cookies for over 60 years and the chocolatey mint cookies for over 20 years. One of the things cookies help to pay for is camping. Guides have been camping since 1911 - over 100 years!

Skit #3 - Guide Camp

Fourth Fact - Every few years a National camp is held with girls from across Canada and around the world. The next National camp is Guiding Mosaic in 2016, which is being held at Sandy Lake, Alberta. These large camps always involve a service project of some sort. service and helping others has been a part of Guiding since the beginning. During the First World War, only 4 years after Guiding began, Canadian Guides gave service by working in factories and government offices, volunteering in hospitals, knitting socks, making dressings and bandages, and collecting supplies and donations for the war effort.

(We would have had Skit #4 - Helping Others here)

Fifth Fact - Today, Guides take part in service projects around the themes of Community, Environment, and International. This year, we have collected items for the Food Bank and a Women's Shelter (Community), will be making bookmarks to support educational projects in Africa, South America and Asia (International), and will be working on an environmental project as well.

With that, it was time to say goodnight and good bye until next week.