Rainbows badges

Ever thought of attebding the group and talking to the organisers

Zombie thread but I'll give the most obvious answer - with Rainbows in particular - organize and layout the badges to cover the worst stains on the polo shirt.

Zombie thread!!!!

Also PMSL at the use of the word 'staff': Guuders are all volunteers!

You may concider asking the staff at the rainbow club first. They seem to be the people with the information.

Hello, I'm a Rainbow Leader who has been involved with Guiding since I was aged 7. I know this topic is old, but I thought I could shed some light.

We charge 1.50 per meeting and we follow the school terms. We use a school hall for free so we simply open when they are and are closed when they are. Because of that the collective term price differs. For example, if it was a 6 week term then it would be 9 pound. However the price of a unit differs depending on where they are, if they have to pay rent on the meeting place.
My unit doesn't have a county badge, that's more of an old brownie pack tradition. You'll find most newer brownie packs don't have them anymore. The Olivia badge is called a 'fun' badge. If parents wanted to they could purchase it them self at their local Guide and Scout shop or online. My Rainbows don't receive the Olivia badge, simply because I save our money to do other badges.
There are roundabout badges based on the 4 bases of Rainbows (look, learn, laugh and love). Their fun to do, I let the girls have a look and the democracy picks what activities they want to do from each section. But we've done the Olympic Badge and the Rainbow 25th Birthday Badge as well as the Adventure 100 back in 2010. In the past we've also done the Royal Wedding badge.

At the end of the day its all down to the unit, its funds (because badges cost around 80p to 2.00 each) so if the unit doesn't have much money, then purchasing badges isn't an option. People forget that every February the unit pays a certain amount of money to Girl Guiding to keep the running of Girl Guiding Buildings and the running of the website...ect which takes a lot out of the funds. This year it cost me 300 pounds. Some units get parents to pay for their children, I don't in my unit however some will do. I make sure my parents are aware of the census cost and that's perhaps why around that time of the year we aren't doing badges.

At the end of the day, if you think your money is going to waste because your paying and they aren't coming home with very good crafts or they aren't coming home with badges then say something. Rainbow Leaders don't know they aren't meeting expectations. I know that if my parents weren't happy I'd like them to come and talk to me so I could ask for suggestions and try to improve.

Rainbows is Voluntary work, we don't get paid for turning up every week, planning all the times, sorting out the finances, ordering crafts, finding out new games. Looking after your children (which some parents can't push them through the door fast enough) but as well as that Rainbows offers an all female environment. Something that they don't get anymore. It allows girls to do girly things without a boy going 'oh that's girly. Can't do that' and it allows girls to play games that are usually male dominated. The Guide Leader (we have rainbows, brownies, guides and rangers all under the same name) has had an increase in girls from Asian families, because the families are aware and very happy with the all female environment.

either, but wishes every week for it. They are charging £15 per term, but as the girls which take the group are students, the group finished mid June, and does not restart until end of September, is this normal?? Im not sure if we are paying less than usual as we are not having the full terms.??

My DD has been going to rainbows for nearly a year now, and has her promise badge from her 'troop'(is that what they call it??), then she has 3 other badges for camps and events which she has attended. She does not have a troop name or county badge (seen mentioned around). Bless the girls that hold the meetings (I certainly couldn't do it), but they don't seem to be very organised. Should my DD have a troop & county and Olivia badges, and is there anything else that she should have?? My DD has not had the home visit by the Olivia doll.

or important to them, even...

I've just started helping at Rainbows. There are only a few badges that they do - and these are accomplished at the meetings. We have been doing the Love badge, this has involved some finger painting, making paper chains, washing things...they are all activities which help us talk to the girls about their community and family. The paperchains had the names of people impotant to them on, for example.

Hello,

There are lots of Roundabout badges the Rainbows can do now, but they would only do a maximum one a term and usually only one a year. It's a group badge, not an individual interest badge like the Brownie badges. The other badges are very much down to the unit. We weren't giving our Rainbows any badges but have started recently and they seem to really love them - and it gets the parents sewing again!

This year there are a few extra badges because of the Centenary. Some you just get and there is one called 'Adventure 100' that they have to get 100 points from a range of activities to achieve. The work for this badge started in October 2009 and will continue through to October 2010. They can carry any points through to Brownies with them.

It's up to the individual unit what sort of activities they do and how structured they are but they are meant to listen to the girls, so if there is something your DD wants to do which they do not currently do (e.g. games outside, nature trail, pond dipping) get her to suggest it. Her unit leader will thank me for this!!

They are huge, aren't they? They were much smaller in my day.

I don't think my daughter had any badges from Rainbows and she's not accumulated too many from Brownies yet. I'd like to know why the badges, especially the District Activity day badges are so big. We're rapidly running out of room on her sash!

It's all very different from when I was in Girls' Brigade .

Yes, Leslaki, it all depends on the unit leader and how they like to approach it. We are very keen on badges !

Well you do have to do activities to get your roundabout badges. We did a festivals badge recently and they had to learn about different festivals, make stuff, learn a dance etc.

I think DS's troup may have recently changed their approach - he spent most of last term working on a model to get an 'imagination' badge, but this term has had one a week, pretty much.

PMSL at 'boy with many badges' - I hope he enjoys the attention!

Stealthsquiggle - I think it depends on the troup! DD is in Rainbows and never gets any badges!! No rainbow there has and she isn't bothered. Ds has just changed troups at Beavers and the diference is incredible!! His old one gave him numerous badges - about 1 a week! the new one does hardly any! he is now there with boys, who have been there for ages and who have hardly any badges, swooning ovr his arm!!! he is the "boy with many badges" and they all seem very impressed!!!

Beavers is 6-8. It is all group actvities in as much as the entire colony (or everyone there for that session) participates, and gets the badge, but, by the sound of it, a bit more structured.

Rainbows is 5-7. Brownies is 7-10.

What age group is Rainbows, then [ignorant]?

Stealthsquiggle - don't know much about Beavers but what you describe sounds more like Brownies than Rainbows. The emphasis at Rainbows is very much on group rather than individual activities.

Oh, and no 'Easter Egg hunt' badge - I am gutted - I was expecting an Easter Bunny

So given that they are for the same age group, it sounds like Beavers is more structured than Rainbows ? Or is that just the way my uber-serious DS approaches it? He had to speak coherently about a hobby to get a hobby badge (cue household traumas while I hunted for props), spend an afternoon rioting in some woods for a hiking badge, and feed the cat for an 'animal friend' badge, etc, etc...?

Craft sounds fun and all that, but if I was a small girl I think I would opt for Beavers.

Our Rainbows get the Olivia badge when they have had their turn at bringing Olivia home. The other badges are not individual badges, they are collective - so they relate to a particular topic that they covered at Rainbows. There is something called the Rainbow Roundabout and you get Roundabout badges when your unit has completed activities from it. There is also Aim Hi which is a healthy living programme and you also get badges for completing parts of this. And there are random badges like World Thinking Day badges that anyone in the guiding movement can do.
You will need to start a second line on top of the first at some point. Then when she moves on to Brownies (and gets her Pot of Gold badge) you can unpick them all and sew them onto her camp blanket.

You rang?

Celebrate badge is just a badge to celebrate I think! Just celebrate for being in Rainbows! It'll be obvious if you have centenary badge. The Olivia badge is again, just an excuse to have a badge to show off!

Rainbows are deemed not old enough to do interest badges like Brownies and Guides, but they do one together in their unit, called Roundabouts. It'll be round, with either a red, yellow, green or blue boarder and show 4 jigsaw pieces on it and the four logos that make up what Rainbows do.

It doesn't matter where you sew them on either. Mine generally sew them around the bottom of their t-shirt.