Meeting #10: Food Bank Volunteering

Support Community service badge (SC)



You in Guiding: Be Involved in Your Community (YiG4)

We took the girls to Feed NS, to help sort food at the Christmas warehouse. They are getting their Christmas hampers ready, so we bagged potatoes, apples, and onions. The girls worked hard for over an hour and we bagged and boxed lots of vegetables and fruit for families in our community and province. (SC, YiG4#3)

Special Event: Olympic Sleepover

We couldn't get a camp booked for the fall, so instead we rented a fire hall so we could have a sleepover. We chose the Olympia Badge from the WAGGGS website, since we had some Bronze level ones leftover from a few years ago.

FRIDAY

7:00-7:30: Arrival

7:30-8:00: Orientation and Rules: We had twelve girls. To split them up into their groups in the following manner--first, they got into six groups of two and then two groups of six. Then they got into four groups of three and they were all very pleased with themselves until we counted each group off--1, 2, 3--and all the 1s were a group, etc. Surprisingly, there wasn't much grumbling, even though they didn't get to choose who was in their groups.

8:00-8:45: Make up your country. Design a flag and nametags. Create an anthem.--We gave them large pieces of paper and they could make up their country name and design their flag and make up an anthem or cheer. They also made their nametags to go with their countries. They also had to choose a flag bearer and a torch runner. 

8:45-9:00: Opening Ceremonies: We had them parade in and do a horseshoe formation, while we played the Olympic Hymn. Then the torch bearers fell out and ran the torch  around the room and up the middle. Each country did their anthem/cheer, and then we had one girl read the Olympic Athlete Oath and a Guider read the Olympic Judge Oath.

9:00-9:15: Mug up--Since it was a sleepover, we had chips and cheesies and Fruitopia.

9:15-10:00: Campfire: We sang some fun songs, old favourites and I taught them some new ones.

10:00-10:30: PJs

11:00: Lights out

SATURDAY

7:00 Wake up

7:00-8:00: Dressed and packed up--since we were sleeping in our play area, they had to get their sleeping bags and gear packed up and stowed in the corner before breakfast.

8:00-8:30: Breakfast--Our quartermaster always treats us well! She made Cinnamon French Toast Bake and Monkey Bread Minis, along with oranges and kiwi slices and juice.

We had a scoreboard on the wall, with each team country and each activity that we filled out after each activity was completed (3 points for first, 2 points for second, 1 point for third), and the winning team got to do their anthem/chant after each activity.

8:30-9:00: Tangrams activity--One of the activities in the challenge was to create an Olympic figure out of a tangram puzzle. Then we had them switch tables and they had to race to recreate another team's tangram without talking. (YaO2#2)

9:00-9:15: Food Pyramid activity--the next challenge activity was to compare the Asian Food pyramid to a Western Food pyramid. The first team to find 5 differences won. It was interesting, because their differences weren't what we were expecting, but they were all valid differences!

9:15-10:45: Olympic Games--Now we got into the active games:

Hopscotch--we used green painter's tape to make three small hopscotch's on the floor (1-4, plus a home at the top). Each girl had to do each number.

Leap Frog--they did these as  a race--lots of fun to watch!

Skipping Relay--they had to each skip forwards and backwards twice up the course. When the teams finished, they had to all sit down before they could earn their placement.

Balloon Pop Hop--We tied balloons to their legs with string, marked out a square with pylons, and they had to pop the other countries' balloons. The last balloons not popped won. One girl didn't like the sound of the balloons popping, but this was a fun game all around.

Three-legged race

Wheelbarrow race--they had to switch at the turnaround so everyone got a chance to be the wheelbarrow.

Musical Chairs

Hula hooping--We timed each girl from each team and the aggregate time was what we used for each country.

10:45-11:00: Snack--Goldfish crackers and apple slices

11:00-11:15: Closing Ceremonies--They paraded into horseshoe formation and ran the torch out of the stadium. Then we awarded them gold, silver and bronze "medals"--we found jingle bells at Michael's that were gold, silver, and bronze and we put them on ribbons. The girls loved them!

11:15-12:00 Create commemorative coins and make up a sport--The last challenge activity. Everyone made a commemorative coin out of shrinky dinks and they all turned out fantastic. Then we laid out an assortment of sports equipment--balls, skipping ropes, hula hoops, pylons, paddles, inflatable bat--and had them each invent a game to play. 

12:00-1:00: Present new sports--We played all the games that the girls invented.

1:00-1:30: Lunch--Ham and cheese croissants, heated in an oven, with veggies and dip, and two-bite brownies for dessert.

1:30-2:00: Guides Own--We did our Two Apples and an Onion, read an Olympic Poem, sang Aka Taka Nuva (this is the closest version I found to the one I know), and handed out their crests.

The girls all went home with smiles on their faces and everyone seemed to have a wonderful time!

Meeting #9: First Aid badge

First Aid

You and Others: Learn About Safety

Another easy night--we had a guest speaker from St John's Ambulance come to help the girls earn their First Aid badges.

6:30-6:45: Patrol Time--We asked the girls to list the Christmas songs that they know and like to sing, for when we visit a Senior's Center in two weeks.

6:45-6:55: Horseshoe

6:55-8:15: St John's Ambulance led the girls in learning about first aid and helped them put together personal first aid kits that they can take with them on our hikes. We purchased most of the supplies: Lock and Lock containers, bandaids, tape, gauze, alcohol wipes, safety pins, pencil, notepaper. Our presenter supplied them with gloves and a triangular bandage. (FA#1-10, YaO4#1, YaO4#2).

8:15-8:30: Updated Program books and closing

Meeting #8: Fitness Fun badge

Fitness Fun badge (FF)

Discovering You: Stay Fit and Healthy (DY3)

Beyond You: Try New Things

We had a guest presenter at our meeting--she's a Ranger leader, our Area Active Living advisor, and a fitness instructor. She worked on the Fitness Fun badge with the girls (DY3#6)

6:30-6:45: Patrol Time. We didn't have a lot of time, but we have a sleepover coming up so we asked the girls to choose from three Challenges we're thinking about doing.

6:45-6:55: Horseshoe. We found out the results of the sleepover planning, which was that they liked the idea of all the challenges and there was no one challenge that won out over the others, so we're no farther ahead and we still have to make a decision!

7:00-8:20: Our guest took over. We did yoga for half an hour. (FF#3 & #7, BY3#3)

Then she discussed with the girls ways to change their daily routines to add more fitness (walking more, taking stairs when you can, playing outside instead of watching tv). (FF#1)

Then we went over different ways to stretch various muscles--some we had done during the yoga session. (FF#4)

Finally, we learned the proper ways to do squat, lunges, push-ups, and crunches. She stressed to the girls that there is no such thing as "girl push-ups" and "boy push-ups", but rather beginner and advanced. I thought this was a great point to make. (FF#6)

She was a great presenter and I think the girls really enjoyed it. I know they enjoyed getting their badges!

Special Event: Remembrance Day

Lining up to parade in; Placing the District wreath; Remembrance Day Tableau

On Friday, our District took part in our community Remembrance Day ceremony. This was the first year we've had a service in our community and the whole thing was spearheaded by a fabulous Scouter who did an amazing job organizing everything.

The weather didn't cooperate, unfortunately. The ceremony was supposed to be outside on the ballfield behind the Community Hall, but 100 mm of rain and 50 km/hr winds  forced us to move inside, which really wasn't suited for everyone who showed up! We had over 100 Girl Guide members, Scouts were probably equivalent, plus the Cadet regiment and band and all of the parents and members of the community.

All of the youth did really well through the whole thing, especially during the two minutes of silence. The ceremony was beautiful, and Scouter Jim did a great job, keeping things moving. It was so moving when the whole place sang O Canada and God Save the Queen.

You in Guiding: Be Involved in Your Community (YiG4)

Beyond You: Discover Your Community (BY1)

And I always tell the girls that there is very little that we do that doesn't relate to programming in some way. Participating in the ceremony is an activity of our choice that helps us be involved in the community (YiG4#6) and as a Unit, we participated in a community event (BY1#3).

Meeting #7: Planning

You and Others: Learn about Leadership in a Group

It's a lot of work, letting the girls do the planning!

6:30-7:00: Patrol Time After attendance and badge presentations, the girls worked on deciding which badges we were going to work on when, and which pieces of programming we would work on for the hiking challenge. They are still getting to used to this responsibility, and we had to do a lot of checking up with them and keeping them on task. Hopefully, as the year goes on, they will get better at it! Badge Planning (Word doc)

7:00-7:15: Horseshoe. The patrol leaders gave attendance, and the names of who presented badges and which badges, then we talked about upcoming meetings. Then we discussed the results of their badge planning. No patrol planned the Fitness Fun badge, so we will decide that. They all chose the First Aid badge to work on next.

For the Hiking badge activities, we counted which patrols picked each activity and majority ruled. They agreed on 5 of the 6 activities.

For the Hiking Challenge, they all chose the same activity, which was create a journal out of recycled materials, and only one other group picked a second activity, so that will be our second activity. I would have chosen the two activities that coincided with the Hiking badge. One thing I like about letting the girls choose is that it takes *me* out of my comfort zone and plan things I wouldn't normally plan!

7:15-7:30: Our Guide Store order came in a few weeks ago, and this was our first meeting where everyone (theoretically) had a program book. So we went over the programming that we've already accomplished, so they could check off their books, and see what we've done so far. For the girls who forgot to bring their books, it was a good opportunity for them to see why they should bring their books.

7:30-7:45: We did some more planning. One group planned a campfire for that night, one group planned a game or two for that night, and one group planned a campfire for another night. For the campfire planning, I gave the girls the Table of Contents from my own personal songbook that I compiled of songs that I know and like. For the game planning, I picked 10-12 games from Becky's Guiding Resource for them to choose from.

7:45-8:00: They chose two games to try: Back to Back and the Dutch Shoe Game. The girls did a lot of giggling while trying the Back to Back game. And we learned which girls could stay on rhythm for the Dutch Shoe Game. Girls from the patrol that did the game planning were in charge of teaching the games too. Two of the girls really stepped up and did a great job. They are getting credit for You and Others: Learn About Leadership in a Group #2. (YaO1#1)

8:00-8:20: We had a chance to have campfire at the end of the meeting! With our new time (an extra half an hour added to the meeting), we have time to include a campfire at the end of some meetings. One girl did most of the leading, though there were songs she wasn't sure of but knew they wanted to do, so she asked me to lead them. She is getting credit for You and Others: Learn About Leadership in a Group #6.  (YaO1#6)

I'm surprised there's no credit in the Program Squares for Campfire Leading (though I know there is a badge for it). Interestingly though, when I look it up in the Guide Cross Reference (Excel doc), it gives YaO1#5, Taking Responsibility. I don't always remember to look at that file to see how it correlates the programming.

8:20-8:30: Taps and clean-up

Meeting #6: Science Badge



Science Badge (S)

Beyond You: Try New Things (BY3)

My favourite kind of meeting--one where the leaders don't have to do anything! Supernova through Dalhousie university promotes Science, Engineering, and Technology to youth across Nova Scotia, and have developed a program for Guides where they offer 6 different badges to choose from. We did the Chemistry badge last year, and the Astronomy one a few years ago, and this meeting we did the Science badge, as voted on by the girls earlier in the year.

Supernova offers its programs at the university, or they will come to your meeting place. It's nice to go on an outing and have a change of scenery, so we went to Dal (S6, BY3#4).

The instructor, a biology student at Dal, was terrific, as they always are through Supernova. She started by talking about the three kinds of sciences (S1) and then had the girls brainstorm way they use science and technology in their every day lives (S3).

Then they got into the fun stuff. The study of DNA has changed, thanks to technology, so the girls learned about DNA and did an experiment to extract DNA from a banana. They mushed up a banana, added a solution to it, and filtered it into a test tube. Then added another chemical and let them sit. In the end, two of the test tubes were able to extract the DNA. (S2)

Next they made Goop--basically cornstarch and water--which is a non-Newtonian fluid. If you squeeze it (get it moving fast), it solidifies, but then will turn back to liquid. When deciding on a colour to add to it, the girls chose blue for Girl Guides! (S4)

Then they made a pickle flashlight! (video on Facebook--may have to like the page to see) Nails in boards, attached to a power source, acted as a battery. The brine solution from the pickles make them quite conductive. The pickle is speared on one nail, and then when the second nail touches it, it lights up. We turned out the lights and it was very cool to see! (S5)

Finally, the favourite Supernova trick, is elephant toothpaste (video on Facebook). It's a great chemical reaction that occurs quickly and makes a great mess!

The girls had a fabulous time, and got to do some hands-activities and watch and learn about some other science activities.