3rd Year Guide Sleepover

Taking advantage of a Friday PA Day for all schools in our area, we planned a Bridging Sleepover for the Thursday night for our 3rd Year Guides, Pathfinders and Rangers. Unfortunately none of our Pathfinders or Rangers were able to make it, so we went ahead with three of our 3rd Year Guides and finished up some work on the Lady Baden-Powell Challenge and the UK Guide Mixology Badge!

For the UK Guide Mixology Badge, Guides need to do three things:

1. Run your own taste-test.
2. Design a mocktail menu.
3. Hold a mocktail party.

We provided Orange Juice, Lemonade, Cranberry Punch, Fruit Punch, Berry Punch, 7-Up and Ginger Ale and slices of lemon, lime, orange, red apple, green apple, and blackberries for experimentation and let the girls try out different flavour combinations. For our Mocktail Menu, we came up with:

• Sour Cranberry Citrus (Cranberry Punch and Orange Juice with Lemon and Lime wedges)
• Bubbly Lemonade (Lemonade and 7-Up with Green Apple slices)
• Berry Lemonade (Berry Punch and Lemonade with Lemon wedges)
• Juicy Mix (Orange Juice, Lemonade and Fruit Punch with a Lemon wedge)
• Sour Citrus Fizz (7-Up, Ginger Ale, and Lemonade with Lime wedges)

The Guides will finish up this badge by preparing mocktails for our Advancement Ceremony in May. 

After cleaning up the kitchen, the Guides played a game of King of Tokyo and a game with flashlights. We then headed back into the kitchen to make pizza for a snack. 

Armed with pizza and drinks we settled down to do some work on the Lady-Baden Powell Challenge. We started out with a potted history of how Lord and Lady Baden-Powell met and married and how both Scouting and Guiding were started and spread around the world. Next, we talked about the different types of service projects they have taken part in as Guides, with their families, at school and through their churches (as applicable) and created a list of ways to help others (random acts of kindness). We also created a poster to encourage Brownies to join Guides by sharing their favourite Guide activities and started a list of things they are looking forward to as Pathfinders. 

We cleaned up and the Guides settled down with boardgames and books until they were tired. Friday morning came bright and early with the arrival of the other Guides at 7.30am for breakfast!

STEM Sleepover

On Friday night, 10 Guides and 4 Second-Year Brownies got together for an evening of STEM-themed fun! We had four stations available and girls moved through them in any order they chose, spending as much or as little on each activity as they wished. Everyone had a good time designing, creating and building. We had a snack of pizza, veggies and dip before saying good-bye to our Brownie friends.  

Build a Rocket Car
Our first station - and probably the most popular! - was to build a balloon-powered rocket car. The original plan was to use paper towel rolls for the body of the cars, but we soon found that they were too heavy, so we experimented and came up with some creative designs using alternate materials. Supplies provided were paper towel rolls, styrofoam cups, straws, sponges, skewers, balloons, tape, rulers and scissors. 

Create a Kaleidoscope
The second station focused on physics and girls were able to create a working kaleidoscope. We used the heavier tubes from industrial paper towels for the basis of the kaleidoscopes. The eye piece is created by cutting out a circle of cardstock and punching a hole in the centre, then using packing tape to attach it to one end of the tube. Next, a pre-measured and scored piece of cardboard is folded to make a triangle. The inside of the triangle is covered with tinfoil (using silver cardboard would have been better), then the triangle is taped together and inserted into the tube. We then used tri-beads and salad dressing containers (small) attached to the open end of the tube to finish things off. When painted towards a light source and turned, the light passes through the coloured beads and refracts off the foil surface to create the coloured designs!

Design a Pencil Case
The third station challenged girls to upcycle two plastic cups into a pencil case, treasure box, bug catcher, or anything else their imagination could come up with! We provided cups, velcro for attaching the cups to each other, glue and decorating supplies.

Crack a Code 
The fourth station was all about cryptography and codes. The girls had a chance to try out different types of codes, including a Caesar Cipher Wheel, Pigpen Cipher, Morse Code, Scytale Cipher, and creating their own Secret Code.
After the Brownies left, we cleaned up and then the Guides played board games, read and chatted before going to bed. Saturday morning was busy with clean-up, breakfast, packing and good-byes before heading home. 

Links and Downloads:

• Code and Cipher Sheets
• 3 Ways to Make a Kaleidoscope (external link)
• How to Make a Balloon Powered Car (external link)

Hamilton City Hall Campfire 2018

This week we joined over 100 other Guiding members at City Hall in Hamilton for a nighttime campfire! We swapped with other Guides, learned lots of new songs, and earned the 2018-2019 Sing Ontario Sing Challenge!

Western Hemisphere

• Tall Trees (Canada)
• Fire's Burning
• Land of the Silver Birch (Canada)
• Make New Friends (USA)

Europe

• Rosen fra Fyn (Denmark)
• Tree in the Wood (England)
• Dans Mons Pays (Spain)

Asia-Pacific

• Kookaburra (Australia)
• Tongo (Polynesia)
• Hey, Hey, Hey, Jubilee Hey! (Sri Lanka)
• The Other Day I Met a Bear (India)

Europe

• Tzena (Israel)
• Shalom Chaverim (Israel)

Africa

• Zulu Warrior (South Africa)
• This Little Guiding Light of Mine (Tanzania)

Western Hemisphere

• Waddle Atchaa (Canada)
• On My Honour (Canada)

Europe

• Softly Falls (Germany)

Africa

• Zulu Farewell (South Africa) 

LINKS:

• Sing Ontario Sing Challenge 2018-2019 (GGC - Ontario Council)

Bridging: Outdoor Games and Activities

Tonight we turned the meeting over to the Pathfinders to complete the Outdoor Activities Bridging section of their program. We started with out usual opening, then the Pathfinders took charge!

We headed outside for a bit, although it was raining lightly. Everyone started off with a Scavenger Hunt, designed by our Ranger, around the property in partners, followed by a round of the ever-popular, Everybody's It Tag - when one girl tags another, they play 'Rock, Paper, Scissors' and the loser sits down until she is tapped by another player to rejoin the game. 

Two of the Pathfinders then explained Fox and Rabbit - essentially link tag, where the person who is It is the fox and the runner(s) is the rabbit. The rabbit can link onto a pair at anytime, causing the person on the free end to become the new rabbit. This was followed by a round of Four Corners - where girls choose a corner to run to and the person in the center closes her eyes, spins around and points at a corner. Anyone in the corner that is pointed to is out.

As the rain was getting heavier, and not everyone had proper rain coats, we relocated back into the hall. After removing wet shoes and socks, two Pathfinders explained and led a game of Ladders - girls sit in pairs with their legs outstretched to form the rungs of a ladder. Each pair is numbered, when their number is called their race along, jumping over each pair of legs, along the outside and then over the remaining 'rungs' until they get back to their spot. (**Safety Note: This game has a high risk of slipping, tripping, and being stepped on. Girls must listen to instructions, follow the rules and play properly; wear non-slip shoes or bare feet; and keep their legs flat and hands tucked in while they are sitting down.)

Our final game of the evening was Streets and Alleys (which apparently was a new one to many of the Guides!) - Girls stand in a grid formation (i.e. 4 parallel rows of 4 girls) with their arms outstretched to the sides. Everyone faces the same direction - in our case Streets was facing the windows, and Alleys was a 90 degree turn to face the stairs. The caller calls 'Streets' or 'Alleys' frequently changing the space the cat (chaser) and mouse (runner) have to run. The cat and mouse cannot go through walls (arms) and can only run along the open rows and around the outside.

The evening finished up with a long sing-song with lots of action songs! We enjoyed My Paddle, My Aunt Hoover, Fried Ham, I'm Being Eaten by a Boa Constrictor, My Name is Joe, Pizza, Pizza Hut, Zulu Warrior, Swimming Pool, Bananas in the Sky, Baby Bumble Bee, Herman the Worm, and Purple Light. We closed with reminders for next week and Taps.

Update on the Pathfinders & Rangers

Although they haven't featured much this year, we do have an active Pathfinder/Ranger Unit of 7 girls! Our Unit is unique in that their meetings are held without a Guider in constant attendance. The girls head off to a separate room from the Guides and run their own meetings with a Guider popping in occasionally to see that there are no problems. Meetings are planned by Guiders and girls, but are run by the girls themselves. Our Ranger makes sure things go smoothly and takes on a key leadership role. Although this arrangement was born of necessity due to a lack of Guiders, turning things over to the girls has been mostly successful!

September

Friday, September 8th - Welcome Back BBQ
To celebrate the start of a new Guiding year, we had a BBQ (unfortunately it rained, so we were indoors!) and started doing a bit of planning.


Tuesday, September 12th - Welcome Back Meeting
For our first meeting of the year, everyone took part in a scavenger hunt where girls had to get others to sign their cards if they could say 'yes' to a question on it and the goal was to fill your entire card (i.e. someone who likes pizza, someone who has a brother). The Pathfinders then led a game of Everybody's It Tag for the whole group. Afterwards, the Pathfinders and Rangers worked on planning and identifying activities that they would like to do this year.

Tuesday, September 19th - Mini Messy Night and SWAP Making 
The Pathfinders & Rangers joined the Guides for an evening of messy fun and swap-making for the upcoming Campfire at Hamilton City Hall. Read about the meeting here - Mini Messy Night & SWAP Making

Tuesday, September 26th - Scavenger Hunt
This year's annual scavenger hunt was "The Selfie/Photo Team Scavenger Hunt". The girls are sent out around town to find - and photograph - as many of the items on the list as they can, including their team members!

Downloads:

• The Selfie/Photo Team Scavenger Hunt
  

 

Thursday, September 28th - WE Day Toronto 2017
WE Day was AWESOME! This was the first time we attended, and though we were small in numbers we had a great time. Read all about the event here - WE Day Toronto 2017

October

Tuesday, October 3rd - Campfire Sing-Along at Hamilton City Hall
Unfortunately, none of the Pathfinders or Rangers could join us for this event, but the Guides had a great time!


Saturday, October 7th - Cookie Selling at Zehrs
The Guides, Pathfinders and Rangers all sold Cookies at our local Zehrs store.

Tuesday, October 10th - International Day of the Girl
For the International Day of the Girl we worked on the WAGGGS #TeamGirl 2017 Challenge. We learned about rights vs needs, barriers girls face in accessing education, and explored human rights and the rights of the child. The girls talked about issues they care about and did some brainstorming around possible service projects for this year.
Read all about our meeting here - International Day of the Girl 2017

Friday, October 13th to Sunday October 15th - Nighthawk Goes to Platform 9 3/4 
The latest Nighthawk Camp was all about Harry Potter! At this camp, the activities take place through Friday night until 6am Saturday morning, and start again Saturday afternoon. Despite the rain and mud, we had a great time.
Read all about the camp here - Nighthawk Goes to Platform 9 3/4

Tuesday, October 17th - Leadership Skills
Our Ranger, a graduate of the LDP 4 program at Camp Woolsey, shared some of the skills she has learned by leading the Pathfinders through different activities to complete the Find Your Inner Leader Module. Lynsey planned an led activities about leadership styles, teamwork, problem solving and planning, which included role play, skits, and challenges.


Tuesday, October 24th - Pumpkins Galore
As Halloween fell on a Tuesday this year, the Pathfinders had a pumpkin-themed meeting the week before. They planned the activities and our Ranger did the shopping. They baked pumpkin muffins, spray painted pumpkins, snacked on muffins and chocolate, and played a huge game of hide-and-seek around our meeting space.

November

Tuesday, November 7th - Enrolment
Although it wasn't planned, our new Pathfinders were enrolled with the Guides. We also took part in our first Girls First! activity about badges shapes and designs and the importance of interest badges in the program.
Read about our ceremony here - Enrolment 2017

Saturday, November 11th - Remembrance Day
Unfortunately I have no photos, but as Remembrance Day fell on a weekend this year, 1 Ranger, 3 Pathfinders and 2 Guides were able to be at our local Cenotaph to lay a wreath on behalf of Guiding.


Tuesday, November 14th - Initiation With Lynsey
The girls earned the We're A Team Module while taking part in a series of silly and teambuilding activities with Lynsey, our Ranger, to welcome our new Pathfinders into the Unit.
 
Tuesday, November 21st - Introducing the Canada Cord
Tonight the girls were joined by a Guider for the first half of their meeting to talk about the Canada Cord. We did an overview of what is involved in earning the Canada Cord, the different modules and projects that need to be undertaken, and determined that the girls are interested in working towards this award! We reviewed what Modules they have already completed (Choosing Your Own Direction, Find Your Inner Leader, and We're A Team!), looked at what we need to cover for our 3rd Year Pathfinder (Cookies Rising, First Aid, Outdoor Bridging Activities, 4 hours of Service and her leadership camp or event) and a few modules that interest the group as a whole (Survivor Girl; Knots, Knives and Outdoor Lore; and Now You're Cooking). The second part of the meeting was spent taking part in a series of challenges - Role Play Activities on problem solving and behaviours; Game Inventors to create new games; and Energizers - 60-second active living activities.

Downloads:

• Canada Cord Overview
• Challenge Activities  

Tuesday, November 28th - Girls Count!
Financial Literacy is an important skill to learn, so since November is Financial Literacy Month, we all took on the Girls Count Challenge. To earn this challenge, girls take part in activities about Currency Awareness, Purchasing Power and Money Management. As an added bonus, the Pathfinders also earned their Moneywise Module!
Read all about our meeting here - Girls Count!

December

Tuesday, December 5th - By Girls, For Girls
This week each girl was asked to bring a 10-15 minute activity to lead for the rest of the group. Some girls worked together and led more than one activity, while others worked on their own.


Friday, December 8th to Saturday, December 9th - Sleepover
For our annual December sleepover, we had crafts, a service project, games and baking on the agenda. For our main craft, we glued yarn onto canvases in different patterns the covered everything with tinfoil. The tinfoil was pressed firmly over the yarn so that it made raised lines. The areas between the yarn lines were then coloured with Sharpies. The effect is like stained glass! We then moved onto our service project - making hygiene kits. We made 20 packages that consisted of a toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, kleenex and moist wipes wrapped in washcloth and secured with hair elastics. After that, it was time for some baking, we made chocolate chip cookies and chocolate chip oatmeal muffins (breakfast!). We ordered pizza and continued crafting for awhile. The girls played games and stayed up into the early hours of the morning, long after their tired Guider had fallen asleep!

Useful Links:

•  Tin Foil Line Relief Art by Becker Middle School

Tuesday, December 12th - Elftastic Challenge
The Elftastic Challenge makes a perfect theme for a combined Guide/Pathfinder/Ranger holiday party. The girls made crafts, decorated (and ate) cookies, and played games. 
Read about the Elftastic Challenge here - Holiday Party


Tuesday, December 19th - Holiday Party
Tonight was our final activity of 2017. We ate pizza and veggies, baked cookies, had a gift stealing exchange and played Twister. The cookies are our favourite Chocolatey-Mint Chip Cookies, made by breaking up a row of mint Girl Guide cookies to use instead of regular chocolate chips. The gift exchange spending limit was $5 (but regifting and handmade were encouraged!) and we had a good time rolling a large die and passing or 'stealing' gifts around the circle. It has been a busy four months and it will be nice to have a bit of a break and come back refreshed and ready for more fun in January!.

Fall Frolic 2016: Healthy Harvest

On Saturday, October 1st, 3 Guides and 2 Guiders joined 250 other Sparks, Brownies, Guides and Guiders at Camp Teka in Paris, Ontario for the annual Fall Frolic Event. This year's theme was Healthy Harvest, and the Guides completed the requirements for the Farming Badge.

Although we had heavy rain early in the morning, and it was overcast, there was only a bit of light rain during the day - something we were very happy about! We met at the High School and walked into camp. The participants were divided up into branch groups and then into smaller groups - we were with 2 other Guide Units and had a group of 28 girls. The day was arranged as a rotation of 6 different activity stations.

Everyone also received a bag full of 'freebies', including a pen, key chain, sling bag, activity sheets, information sheets, wipe-off menu planners, and recipes. These items were provided courtesy of Zehrs' Markets, Egg Farmers of Ontario, Ontario Berry Growers Association, Dairy Farmers of Canada, Ontario Pork, Beef Farmers of Ontario, Ontario Cattlemen's Association, and Farm & Food Care Ontario.



Zehrs' 3 Stars
At our first station, Elyse, a Dietician from Zehrs', talked to the girls about healthy foods, eating the rainbow, and played a game. In the game, the girls were divided up into smaller groups, and a large coloured die was rolled. The groups then had to come up with as many fruits and vegetables as they could that matched the colour (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, or purple).

Agri-Fun
Next up, we learned all about farming and cattle from Sandy, who raises beef cows. The girls learned about the differences between different cattle breeds and the care of cattle, worked on a giant puzzle about local crops, explored different products that are made from different parts of a cow, and tried different puzzles.

Crafts
We were able to warm up a bit while we did crafts inside the Longhouse. We made shrink art tags and beaded corn. After this session, we had a break for lunch.

Games
After lunch, it was of to Games (my favourite session!). Our group was divided into three smaller groups to tackle the different games:

• Hoops - Each girl had a small hoola hoop. They had to roll the hoop using only one hand from the starting point, around a pylon, and back to the start. They had to let go of the hoop (not hold onto it the whole time) and get it to roll along. If the hoop fell over, they had to start again.
• Sack Race - A traditional sack race using soya bean sacks!
• Rubber Chicken Games - One game was like Over-Under, where the girls had to squeeze the chicken twice before passing it to the next player; another was a relay where the chicken started at the back of the line, each person had to squeeze it twice before passing it forward, and then the person at the front had to run to the end of the playing area and back - squeezing the chicken the whole time!
• Ball Passing - This was my favourite game - it was also the most challenging - and it would be a great teambuilding activity. Each girl had a foot-long piece of PVC pipe (the pipe had been cut in half length-wise, so each piece was a trough). They stood in a line, with their pieces of pipe touching. A small ball was placed in the first girl's pipe, and it rolled along - once the ball left the first girl's pipe, she had to run to the end of the line and place her pipe beside the last person's (the idea was to create a continuous trough for the ball to roll along). Ideally, the group would make their way to a metal pail, and the ball would drop into the pail. Both groups made it to the pail, but didn't quite get the ball into it.

Drama
For our Drama session, the Guiders had to get involved as living scarecrows. Yes, the girls were split into teams and had to dress a Guider (there are no photos of this...). They also did other activities, including acting out a day on a farm.

Music
Our final session of the day was Music. Here, we sang some old favourites and learned some new songs - all with the common theme of food!

• Pizza Hut Song
• Knife, Fork, Spoon, Spatula
• Lu La
• All I Want for Breakfast
• One Bottle of Pop/Fish and Chips and Vinegar/Don't Throw Your Trash in My Backyard
• International Grace

The day ended with everyone singing Lu La and Daylight Taps. We then walked out of camp and back to the High School to meet parents.

The "Challenge" Challenge

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

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.

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!

The Big Brownie Birthday Challenge

2014 is a very special year - it marks 100 Years of Brownies!! In celebration, we decided to earn the UK challenge badge when the 2nd year Brownies visited Guides.

As the Guides arrived, they filled in their physical fitness log for the past week. The visiting Brownies were divided into the Guide patrols and we then proceeded with our usual opening followed by an active game. 

Our first activity was a participation story about Brigid, a 1914 Rosebud (we used the story from the Irish Girl Guides Challenge pack and changed the location from Ireland to Canada). The rest of our evening was based on challenges. When a group finished a challenge, they were given a piece of Brigid and at the end of the evening the pieces were used to reassemble Brigid (whose pieces were scattered by her journey through time!).

After a discussion about being a good team player, we began our Patrol Challenge. We divided the unit into 4 groups with tree names (early Brownie groups used trees for their Six names) and started the challenge activities.

Challenge 1 - Compass Puzzle
Each team was given a set of pie pieces with compass points on them. The pieces are assembled into a compass on one side of a file folder. When the pieces are all in place, the folder is closed and flipped over. If the pieces are in the right places, when the folder is opened, a picture will be showing.

Challenge 2 - Secret Codes
Each team was given a copy of a phone keypad and two messages to solve. The two messages were: 76732837 273 669 27696437 (ROSEBUDS ARE NOW BROWNIES) and 4843464 7827833 46 3645263 (GUIDING STARTED IN ENGLAND)

Challenge 3 - Scavenger Hunt
Each team was given a list of clues to solve to make a scavenger hunt list:

• An article used for sewing ([pine] needle)
• A page of a book (leaf)
• A dog's call (bark)
• Ice cream sometimes comes in this ([pine] cone)
• Brownies dance around this (toadstool)
• What Hawaiian dancers' skirts are made of (grass)
• A yellow flower with the name of an animal in it (dandelion)
• You can make a pie or jam with these (berries)
• An old fashioned pen (quill)
• The Flintstone's daughter (pebbles)
• Glue does this (stick)
• This can be used to help you drink (straw)
• You find these when you trace your family tree (roots)
• Rivers, libraries and trees sometimes have these (branches)
• Used for making bread, pies, cakes, but is spelled differently (flower)

Challenge 4 - Engineering Teamwork
Our teamwork challenge was to build catapults using popsicle sticks, tape, paper, an elastic band and a plastic spoon. The results were very creative, although some worked better than others.