Guiders' staff room - tea, wine, chat and optional dancing around the toadstool

Hello :)
I'm a Brown Owl. Feeling good today because after a whole year of advertising I have a new leader who's agreed to sign up from September. This means that we can increase the pack from 25 to 30 and cut down the waiting list a bit Yay!

Thanks backforgood, good idea about noting the contributions in a more structured way. We've now got over 10% of our total target, so feeling good!

We're back at brownies... Agility badge tonight. As I have a small unit, we're doing in sixes and I've got stations set up for different things. I've adapted it to suit our girls with additional needs.

Life'sTooShort With fundraising events such as bag packs, we share out all money raised proportionate to how many hours each individual puts in - if there is space (lots of tills or lots of hours) then they can bring other people (parents, siblings, friends who aren't going) to build up their credit too..... makes it worth the Parents' while to support you, and makes it worth rushing to get there that extra hour earlier or stay later. All parents understand that if they don't commit, then they are not going to benefit from any of the takings - so what they pay in the end will be a lot more than the dc who have supported the fundraising.

We actually got to go to the fire station. Timed the. getting into their uniforms (v quick), and got to go in the fire engine AND play with the hose . Such fun!

The fire fighters' visit was one of our best meetings ever!

We've got firemen coming this week

That all sounds good, Soks.

I doubt that we will be all subbed up until well into the term, which makes me a bit grumpy because it means either hanging on for weeks before banking the subs or making several trips to the bank (not my bank and not nearby).

However, we have several newbies this term and I think we're going to have a really nice mix of girls, so that's all very positive.

Evening! Well we are all sorted on the subs front. A very embarrassed gentleman journeyed to my co-leader's to drop the money to her, after brown owl made it quite clear to the person collecting that she would not be able to join until subs were paid.

So we returned after Easter break fully subbed up and ready to send two girls off to brownies. We trialled a new evening where the girls going up had a brownie join them for our session and buddy them up to brownies after their POG ceremony.

Sunday was fund raising at a local fayre with some help from parents and rainbows who were able. Didn't raise as much as we'd hoped but a good day was had by all and improvements noted for the future.

Hello and welcome, Lifestooshort.

Feel free to vent! And while we're venting, I have had two things in the last week that have had me grinding my teeth. One: New joiner turns up a week earlier than agreed with the parent, when I'm not there and the rest of the team aren't expecting her, because (obviously) it had been agreed she would start the following week. Two: The parent of an older Brownie throws a strop because another girl has been offered a place at Guides before their daughter and parent feels the place should be hers. The fact that the other girl is older, has been on the waiting list longer and the younger girl is, actually, not yet 10 apparently counts for nothing.

Sorry. Needed to get that off my chest.

I, can I join in? I'm actually a co-leader of a USA Girl Scouts Overseas troop in Germany, but I guess we are all related! I'm fed up today with girls dropping out of activities they have committed to! We are fund raising to take the girls on a community service project at the WAGGGS centre in India next summer, so fund raising activities have just started. I have 2-3 girls very committed, but the rest are driving me mad today. I guess they have many extra curricular commitments at this age, but honestly.... Sorry to rant, We actually have a great group of girls who are a lot of fun and having 12 in a senior/ambassador troop (age 14-18) is really very good.

Hi, thanks, yes games will go down well of course, but was wondering if anyone had their sixers running anything more ambitious ?
I'm thinking cooking, trip to park, nature / treasure hunt, any experience of sixers running anything else ? Thanks

They could organise some games.

Hello !
We going to be giving sixers opportunity to run an evening this term, any ideas i can help them with, in case they are a bit lost for ideas ???
Thanks

Ah, not sure then

I want to knit a doll wearing uniform.

Uniform for the actual girls, or mini versions for dolls/teddies? Because I might be able to find the latter from a friend!

Does anyone have a knitting pattern for the current Brownie uniform? The only ones I can find online are for the uniform that went out of date about 10 years ago.

Well the issue of being late hadn't come up yet. Girl hasn't turned up to either meeting or extra this week. Have also found from my admin lady that her subs haven't been paid for the term, so have reminded her mum. Don't think we will see her again as she's due to start brownies after Easter. However, brown owl won't accept her until she's paid us and has paid her subs for the term upfront. Ouch!

Thanks for the advice about the girls. Have practised the 'hard look' followed by the 'raised brows and disappointed' face. Seems to be working so far. That and asking the girls if they think they've been rude or not if they have to be nudged a third time. Seems to make them stop and think.

Have noticed there is definitely a trio who are worst for misbehaving. And my daughter is definitely one of them. So another leader and I have swapped so she speaks to mine and I speak to hers when they play up.

Our Division Senior Section unit came along and ran an easter fun night for us. It was great to see all the girls leading the brownies in their activities. We have some great future leaders there.

I had this with 2 mums who decided to do a class in the same venue! Tawny Owl took them to their mum's one night and one announced "Tawny Owl says you can't be late and seeing as the website says the class should finish at 7.15pm, Snowy Owl says the teacher should get her timings sorted out!" This was after they barged into the class doing their warm down!

I also sent an email out to all parents asking for prompt collection at 7.30pm because I had to leave sharp to collect my son from a local park where he was at training and if I was late then the coach wasn't happy. Solved the issue eventually.

As for the girls, I find a sharp Excuse me with a look works. It certainly worked on the 4 year old who decided to scream at me because there was no orange left at snack!

Oh my days! I've had it this week. Back chat from a relatively new (enrolled) rainbow. And in the same night, a mother was half an hour late and said she'd forgotten her daughter! She'd been dropped off by someone else and they said mother would be 5-10minutes late, 'and that won't be a problem' as if daring us to say yes. Which we politely did point out that it couldn't be a regular thing but could be managed this time as we would be tidying up still. But half a sodding hours! And that was after I'd phoned her earlier to ask where she was.

I think this has happened as the mum is attending a group herself which finishes at the same time as rainbows. So she's thinking we'll be the free childcare while she packs herself up.

I had two sick children at home with dh last night so I did not need to be that late home, plus I live a short drive out of the town so it takes me longer to get there and back anyway.

Useful tips for next week? Both with standing firm and with backchat from rainbows. Is there any discipline which can be used? We've got a few girls, inc my own, who bounce off each other in just the wrong way! I've been working along the separating them out when we're circled. But it just travels round!

Phew, had really nice meetings at Brownies and Guides this week. Had a slightly trying few weeks, general disruptive ness ad not really paying attention, so just bombarded them with activities this week and let them mostly just get on with it. Think it was a bit of a relief for everyone!

I'm giving up with food! Constantly got a child asking what is vegetarian as if I am a complete thicko who has forgotten the water must be vegatarian!

Hmm. It's a while since we had a chocolate-themed meeting. Perhaps I should dust off the plan for the last one.