Outdoor Skills

Our second meeting of September was spent outside working on outdoor skills, including compass work, trail signs, map reading, knots and observation.

As the girls arrived, they played tag and worked on the Unit Banner. Following a brief opening, the girls chose an active game to play while the Guiders finished gathering the materials for the evening's activities.

Once we were outside, the girls split up into 4 groups. Each group choose the activity they would start with by picking a number between 1 and 8. As they finished an activity, they returned the card and supplies and received a new one. Some groups spent considerable time on one or two activities, while others moved quickly through all of the options.

Card #1 - What Lives Here?
Choose a tree and with your group look for as many signs of life as you can find. Do you know what kind of tree it is? What plant life is growing around it? Are there signs of bird of animal life? Which birds and animals do you think live here? Is there any moss or lichen? Are there signs of insect activity? Which insects do you think live here?

Card #2 - Compass Directions
Use the compasses provided to follow these directions. Give the compass to one person. She should use the compass to find North and leads the group 5 paces in that direction. The next person finds West and goes 5 paces that way, repeat for South and then East. Where do you end up?

Card #3 - I'm Lost!
With your group make up a short skit showing what you should do if you get lost while hiking or camping.

Card #4 - Maps
Do you know what these symbols mean? (pictures of symbols for Fire Station, Information, Library, Pool, Elementary School, High School, Arena) Find out and then see if you can find them on the map. Find your house and the church on the map. Give directions to another member of your group from your house to the church.

Card #5 - Trail Signs
Look at the trail signs on the card. What do you think they would be made of outdoors? What do they mean? Find materials around the church to make trail signs. Split into two groups and lay short trails for each other to follow.

Card #6 - Triangles
Find 9 sticks on the ground. Lay them all down and see how many triangles you can make at once.

Card #7 - Scavenger Hunt
Can you find everything on the list? Remember not to move natural items. You just need to see the items, not bring them back.

Card #8 - Knots
Using the rope provided, or your scarf, tie a reef knot. If you already know how to tie a reef knot, help other members of your group to learn to tie one.

At the end of the evening we went back inside where each group presented their skit on what to do if they became lost, talked about what they needed to bring for the hike next week, how to stay safe while hiking, and how to behave on public and private property. We ended by learning the song "Pizzaman" and closed with Taps. 

Outdoor Explorers

At our second meeting we divided the girls up into 3 Patrols. We have 5 returning Guides, 5 advancing Brownies and 5 girls who are new to Guiding.

The arrival activity was to make lists of activities that they would like to do this year. Four sheets of paper with topics and some suggested activities were placed around the room and each girl took a marker and initialed beside any idea she liked and also added any additional ideas she had. The top ideas: Visit from the Vet for the Pet Lover Badge, Baking and Cooking Night, Cookie Selling, Wall Climbing, Arts & Crafts, Talent Show, and Playing Games.

We had our usual opening and attempted to march into a horseshoe. This was followed by a Game led by our Junior Leader, Ocean-Lee.

We spent the next hour outside exploring the environment around the church with 3 outdoor activities:
1. Trail Signs - I made cards with trail signs and laid a trail with them around the church, including a 'treasure' to be found (dish of Werther's Original candies). One patrol at a time set out to follow the trail using cards with a chart of trail signs.
2. Nature Scavenger Hunt - While one patrol was following the trail, the other two patrols solved clues to make a list of scavenger hunt items. They then had to find these items on the church property.
3. Listening Post - For this game, two girls were blindfolded and stood at one end of the playing area. The other girls had to try to creep up to them without being heard and caught. If one of the blindfolded girls heard movement, she pointed in its direction and shouted 'freeze!'. At this signal, everyone had to freeze in place and if the blindfolded player was pointing at someone, that player (or players) had to go back to the start. This game is usually played with flashlights instead of pointing, and anyone caught in the flashlight's beam has to go back to the start. I think we'll try this again when there are more leaves on the ground to make a noise!

After the games, we went inside for a snack. Since we can't make a fire at the church, we made S'mores in the oven - a hit as usual! While the girls were eating, they each told the rest of the group about a hike they have taken. 

We ended the evening with a sing-song and Taps.