Guiders Staff Room Part 3

sorry, if this has been answered already but I'm a Rainbow Leader and can't find out anywhere if the Rainbow Jigsaw (love, learn etc) is still part of the new programme? I haven't been able to spot a mention of it in what I have read through, but I totally accept that it might be there and I've missed it!!!

My full set of stage 2 & 3 skill builder cards just arrived, along with all the Brownie UMA cards and 30 badge books.

Oh crikey!!! Off ring binder shopping ...

Discovered there's loads of verses to "I wish I was a little round orange"

That's a lovely idea. Anything new is better than endless rounds of Alice The Camel!

Beginning to think about the new term. We have a district campfire in Oct, and every year I realise how few songs my unit know -only because we as leaders don't do the very often. So I'm thinking of doing a different one each week at the opening and closing, opening we teach, closing we remind & remember. Will see how it goes!

I quite like the Rainbow handbook, it replaces the flip book which I hated (and had stopped using, since nobody seemed to ever look at it...). Equally I have a bunch of Rainbows with overly keen mothers so I imagine they'll dive straight into the interest badges, and once one has started the rest will get infected. However, I have two girls in particular who have very chaotic and difficult home lives, and if they wanted to get their Gold award I would need to run separate Saturday badge days for them to work on interest badges, they won't be able to do them at home.

I think it's a shame that swimmer in particular has gone, since that for me comes under skills for my future - I strongly believe that every child should learn to swim if they can and am disappointed that Guiding isn't encouraging that at the moment.

I thought I'd heard that interest badges may be extended in the future though, with extras added, so perhaps not all is lost...

I've just been reading the comments here about the new programme & am glad to see others are a bit about it too.

I'm not sure how well the Skills Builders will work - something like fire lighting (for my Guides, at least) would be a specific day to go somewhere and be taught the basics. Not something to do in meeting time when there's nowhere local to do it, & to get somewhere in time for Guides I would have to cut Rainbows short or not run at all. I think 6 or 7 cards to choose 5 from might have been better so we could tailor them for our own units since we know best how they work.

The UMA's...neither Rainbows or Guides were very taken with them tbh. I'm still waiting for pack two for both sections but not holding my breath for anything great from those either.

I was talking to my Mentor the other day from when I did my LQ as I was home contact for her Rainbows' annual seaside outing & we both wondered just how much of 'our' ( as in those of us at unit level) input was taken on board. And how much was just asked for as a courtesy so they can say we were consulted.

I'm not thrilled with the new handbooks either - they don't hold much useful info for the price of them & I won't be buying them for my girls.

We did a lot of the more obscure badges as a unit and I can't see girls doing similar new ones on their own. I'm not sure GG understand how that type of badge worked in the past.

That’s the thing, the girls did do the badges I listed (amongst others) at home, independently. The new badges, I just can’t see them catching their interest in the same way. I hope I’m wrong as I would really like to see girls achieving their gold awards but without me pushing them to do the interest badges and giving unit time to the badge I can’t see them being done (In the same way as some of the more obscure interest badges from the old programme were never looked at by any of our girls- I don’t think I ever gave out a circus performer, culture or finding your way badge for example).
It’s a shame as I do like elements of the new programme but really struggling with the lack of ‘interest basges’

The interest badges are meant to be done at home by the girls not in meetings. If you want to do Award and Gold Badge not time.

I'm waiting to see the syllabus but yes, I can see interest badges being even more of a unit thing.
A while back I had some good Brownie badge holiday packs, some of those might help.

I agree the badges you listed are the ones our brownies have done at home , plus sports badge (we have a few skiers).
I like the new programme but feel they have got it wrong with the interest badges and wonder how many girls will do any at home .

I’ve just realised that the interest badges that my unit really enjoy doing (cook, hostess, artist, craft, swimmer, friend to animals- the things that they are actually interested in during their own time) are going to be going this time next year.
I was quite enthusiastic about the new programme when I first read about it, but having just realised this, I feel a bit sad. Part of the reason I like the old badges is because it enables us to find out about the girls when they aren’t a brownie, I just don’t feel the new badges give this opportunity. What do other leaders think? With it being the holidays, I haven’t seen any other guiders to ask them their opinions, so don’t know if I’m the only one thinking this.

Oh that's not helpful. I've done the volunteer Join Us role and we have a really long enquiry email we've tailored to our area, things like which units actually need volunteers, do they have a car (mix of urban and rural units) etc.

In my region (SWE) Region HQ is making first contact with volunteers, then passing on to Dist Comm. It's a PITA actually. I job share the DC role and we're pretty on the ball. Region tell volunteers all the wrong stuff!

Have you seen that commissioners now have only 7 days to contact new join us volunteers? How long before we get the same thing for girls

Oh gosh I hate that.
Also the leaders who have bits of paperwork and you desperately need them... and they can't find the time to look for them...

That's not something I'm happy about either - we often do joint activities and if we can't find something both levels can do what then? I can adapt "cooking" but if one's supposed to be making sock puppets and the other level bird houses that's not a joint activity.

I'm not happy that it's so prescriptive only the official cards count towards UMAs. No room for the girls to decide what we do or leaders input.

What about those of us running 2 units with a parent rota? Seriously when am I meant to record 28 individual weekly progress on GO and shop for 5 groups doing 4 different activities each week? How many fwcking reliable adults do they think turn up each week?

Six themes.
Skills badges at different levels.
Level capped but can do lower.
Rainbows 1&2
Brownies 2&3
Guide 3,4 &5
Rangers 6
We do skills badges = 5 meetings
Plus UMA unit meeting activities - these also themed and set time.
Girls do interest badges at home .
Interest badges also themed .
1 skill badge + interest badge + 3-5 hours of UMAs in same theme = Theme Badge.
6 Themed Badges + 3 challenges = GOLD award.
GOLD award for each section.
Only a few girls will get a gold award - shows highly motivated .

Definitely do the E learning it explains it very well.
The programme is out now but we have to 2019 to use it .
I’m planning to use it in Sept with our girls - but I’m new to the unit and they were not doing Adventure or adventure on so easy to make a change.
To be fair to Guiding - big reveal - we can do E learning and there is a lot of training available in autumn,

So basically we do Skills Builders and UMAs in meetings and, because the girls are less likely to do interest badges on their own, we also do badges...

I found this pic to be the best quick summary. I guess we just start them all from scratch whilst getting the older ones to tick off remaining Adventure bits (I'm Brownies)

Oh and our record keeping - is it up on Go at the moment?
I only have waiting list girls what with not having an active unit!