Heritage Home Skills Night

On November 27th we had a special evening event to earn the Heritage Home Skills Badge. Participating were 10 Guides and 1 Pathfinders, along with 2 Guiders and 4 Helpers. Lots of hands were needed to help with the games, crafts, and cooking activities we had planned!

As the girls arrived, they decorated a paper bag to hold their finished crafts and baked goods, then we headed into the kitchen to start making bread. The girls worked in groups of 2-3 to prepare the starter mixture by placing 1/2 cup white flour, 1 package of dry yeast, 1 tbsp white sugar and 1/2 cup warm water in a large ziplock back and mixing it together by squishing the bag. The starter then needed to sit for 15 minutes before continuing.

While the starter was sitting, we played a game called Bear in the Pit. To play this game, players in a circle holding hands and with their eyes closed. One player is in the middle - she is the Bear. The bear tried to get out of the circle (the pit) by going under or over the arms of the other players. If she is able to escape from the pit, all of the other players chase her and the girl who catches her becomes the bear for the next round.

Back in the kitchen, the girls added 1 tbsp white sugar, 2 cups whole wheat flour, 1 cup white flour, 1 tbsp vegetable oil and 2 tsp salt to their bags and then sealed them up to mix until the dough started to pull away from the sides and form a ball. Once the dough was removed from the bags it was kneaded for 5-6 minutes and then divided into three mini-loaf pans. The pans were left to rise for a hour.

We then divided the girls into 3 groups - one would go into the kitchen to bake while the other two worked on crafts. Our baking groups each made a different treat:

Group 1 - Ginger Cookies
Mix together 1/2 cup white sugar, 1/2 cup molasses, 1/3 cup vegetable oil, and 1/3 cup water. Beat in 1 egg. Combine 3 1/2 cups white flour, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp ginger. Add to wet mixture, stirring well. Shape dough into 1 inch balls and place on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-12 minutes.
 
Group 2 - Applesauce Bars
Cream 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup white sugar. Add 1 egg and 1 cup applesauce. Add 1 1/2 cups white flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, dash of cloves, and 1/2 cup raisins. Spread in a 9x13x2 pan that has been greased and floured. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes. Cut into squares while still warm.
 
Group 3 - Oatmeal Cookies
Cream 1 cup butter, 1/2 cup white sugar and 3/4 cup brown sugar. Add 2 eggs, 1 1/2 tsp vanilla, and 1/2 cup milk. Add 2 cups white flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 2 cups rolled oats, and 1 cup raisins. Drop by teaspoonful on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-12 minutes.

Our crafters were kept busy with 3 different crafts:

Quilt Block Design Notebook Covers - made by covering a small notebook with plain paper and then arranging squares and triangles of scrapbooking paper to make a 9-square quilt pattern.

Woven Bookmarks - made using a straw loom and multi-coloured yarn. Warps are placed through the straws and then the girls weave the yarn around the straws to form the bookmark (or bracelet), and finally the woven yarn is pushed off the straws onto the warps (the hardest part!)

Whirly Gigs - this classic children's toy was made using circles of cardstock that the girls decorated and string.

Towards the end of the evening, we put some whipping cream into 4 small jars and everyone took turns shaking the jars to form fresh butter. The girls received a loaf of bread, some butter, cookies, squares, and their crafts to take home at the end of the night.

Pathfinder Day!

Friday, November 13th was a PA day for all of the girls so we held a 'Pathfinder Day' to work on a variety of projects and activities.

We started the day by working on the Web Surfin' Module and WAGGGS Surf Smart Challenge.
Activity #1 Your Online Footprint - We made a list all the different ways the internet has a positive affect on our lives (including favourite websites/apps) and a second about ways that the internet can have a negative impact on our lives. This led into a discussion about social networks/media, online privacy, how once a picture is posted it's out there permanently, and cyberbullying. (Connect #1, Respect #1 & 11)

Activity #2 Tweeting - We chose 3 objects (an IPhone, Tablet and Laptop) and each girl hadto write a story including all 3 items in 140 characters or less. We talked about how social media that limits the number of characters may not always give you all the information you need about an event, issue or situation. (Connect #2)
Activity #3 - Online Safety Top-Tips - As a group we game up with a list of top tips for staying safe online and then created a commercial (Protect #1)
Activity #4 - Avatars - As we all spend time online, the girls designed their own avatars. (Protect #6)
Activity #5 - Safety Pledge - Finally, we wrote our own safety pledge.

I pledge to make sure that my Guardians know about any site that I go on. I will make responsible choices and go on sites that I know are safe/appropriate. I will not speak to anyone on a site that I don't know and I will do my best to help others stay safe.

We then moved on to a snack. We baked cookies and had fruit and yogurt dip.

Our service projects for the day were filling Birthday Bags and making Super Hero Capes for a women's shelter. We filled 10 bags with cake mixes, frosting, balloons, streamers, napkins, and a small gift. We made 10 capes that double as fleece blankets, but can be worn like a superhero cape.

Lunch was perogies with bacon, cheese and sour cream. The girls explored plate presentation before eating.

After lunch, the girls then planned out activities they could do to help younger girls learn about Healthy Eating (We Are What We Eat #6). The came up with a game about different serving sizes, an activity to make meal plates using pictures from flyers, and a classification game to help girls learn what foods are in which food groups.

The day ended with finishing up work on the blankets and cleaning up before everyone headed home.

Fall Fun With the Rangers

Our Ranger Unit has an irregular schedule and makes full use of Facebook to plan meetings and events. We may not meet often, but when we do, we always have fun!

We started the year off in September by ordering Chinese food and watching the movie "Brave". After the movie was over, we started making plans for our weekend in Toronto in November.

In October, we had a baking night to make shortbread and complete the requirements for the
"Ready, Steady, Glasgow!" Challenge. Baking is always fun - especially when there are such tasty results!


Recipe for Brown Sugar Shortbread (Scottish)
1 cup (250 mL) Butter (no substitutions)
1/2 cup (125 mL) Light Brown Sugar, packed
2 cups (500 mL) All-Purpose Flour
1/4 tsp (1 mL) Salt
1/4 tsp (1 mL) Baking Powder

Cream the butter thoroughly. While beating, gradually add the sugar.
Set aside 1/4 cup (60 mL) flour for rolling the dough. Sift the rest of the flour with the salt and baking powder. Add the butter mixture, mixing well. The dough should feel like putty.
Flour the rolling out surface lightly. Roll the dough out to an even 1/2 inch (1.3 cm) thickness. Cut into fingers, squares, or rounds. Prick each with a fork several times.
Place on an ungreased baking sheet and bake in a 350 F (180 C) oven until lightly browned, about 20-25 minutes (thinner pieces may take as little as 15 minutes). Remove to a wire rack to cool.
Store in a tightly covered tin. Makes approximately 24 pieces.
(Source: This recipe was published in the Hamilton Spectator a few years ago, unfortunately the date and any author information has been cut off the copy I have.)

The remainder of this meeting and our other meeting in October were spent planning our weekend in Toronto. We also spent time talking about College/University preparations and choosing a career. This was a spontaneous conversation as 3 out of 4 Rangers are in Grade 12 and will be heading onto their next adventure come September.

November saw us traveling to Toronto for 3 packed days - see post here.

December was a short month with the holidays. We spent our meeting time brainstorming and making plans for the Ranger Service Project - the last piece needed to complete the Chief Commissioner's Gold Award, and also to earn the Commonwealth Award. The service project list has been narrowed down and a final project will be chosen in the new year. For the Commonwealth Award we will be learning more about Fiji, and are looking forward to finding recipes and enjoying a Fijian meal.