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

[MadBadandDangerousToKnow]

Thought it might be nice to have a place to swap ideas and experiences. Shall we do introductions first?

My name's MadBad and I've been a Brownie guider for about 5 years.

[Becles]

It's been an interesting few weeks. Hoping that the big gig will help me out with rapidly fading mojo.

[lucysmam]

Thanks Groovee, someone on the fb group suggested there might be something in the files so I'll go back and look for an Olivia to alter

[Groovee]

There was a flat Olivia template so you could change it to a brownie X

[lucysmam]

Yes, I think that's what I need to do once I have some boxes to sort it into.

I don't suppose any of the Brownies leaders here have a 'dress a brownie' paper doll? I'm debating putting a Rainbow at the beginning of a rainbow and a Brownie at the other side on my display wall.

[RueDeWakening]

When I sorted my cupboard, I set up a couple of tables, emptied everything out, then sorted into bin and keep piles, then went through the keep pile and put it away properly. Took me about 3 hours though!

I'm not thinking about the boxes and cupboard full of stuff at home

[lucysmam]

Well, cupboard sorting was a bit of a non starter! We both sort of stood in front of it for a while like & gave up.

I had a rummage and found card and wool I can use for next week's activity though, and some rolls of crepe paper I think I'm going to use to create a rainbow wall for our display board (which has been taken over so I'll need to shift stuff about).

Hopefully I'll get some boxes soon from school then I'll give it another go. There is sooooooo much jumbled up junk!

[lucysmam]

That sounds exciting Albus!

My jumbled folders are now totally sorted & organised but I need another one for anything I happen to collect along the way. I chucked a bag of junk and have half filled a recycling box & it all still just fits into a lever arch file

[AlbusPercival]

I am going to visit a brownie unit in the USA on Monday, I can't wait!

I have ordered friendship badges to give to them as gifts, but as they are not here yet, and I fly tomorrow, I don't think I will have them in time.

What can I take instead?

[lucysmam]

Yay! Dp has agreed to cupboard sorting day tomorrow in exchange for a day of not much today & the school kitchen staff are going to hold onto useable boxes that they would usually sling for me!

Hopefully I'll be all organised and sorted before half term at this rate.

[MrsFionaCharming]

4 weeks as Brown Owl done! I'm loving it so far, I'm finding them so much more rewarding than Guides was.

Now if only I like my Rangers even half as much.

[Groovee]

I'm swapping weeks about. Was supposed to start the poppy challenge tonight but I am still poorly, so games night and do poppy challenge next week when all leaders are back X

[RueDeWakening]

I have ambitions of card files with activities on one side and a shopping list of what's needed for it, arranged alphabetically by theme.

I got as far as buying a card file and some cards...then I started a Pinterest board instead

[lucysmam]

I don't do 'chaos' very well Albus, I like things nicely organised so I can get to them or at least know they're easily accessible. Dp calls me the 'household tomtom' because I know pretty much where everything is here

I've been thinking, I need to introduce the Ready For Rainbows book I think and more structure to what we're actually doing.

I just feel a bit like I might be 'stepping on toes' making too many changes in such a short period of time...but it really needs a shake up.

[AlbusPercival]

You are doing well Lucysmam

i took over my unit 2 years ago, and have only started sorting out my cupboards this term!

Im taking one box/ bag home a week and clearing that.

Anyone need 3 black sacks of loo roll tubes? Or 36 out of date and burst cooling packs?

[lucysmam]

Oh, they sound fab Rue! Will write myself a note to get on the laptop and have a look later.

I'm just sorting my jumbley folders - so very much recycling in there it's unreal!

There are also loads of pages from old mags and hastily scribbled down ideas. I don't want to cart all those about so need to transfer them to something that doesn't take so much space.

[Groovee]

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/extra_curricular_activities/2477763-guiders-staff-room-part-2

Part 2 for when we reach 1000

[Groovee]

We're going to need a new thread soon...

[RueDeWakening]

Once you're in the FB group, have a search - a leader produced badges for it, basically units sign up and create paper doll flat Olivia's, post them on to Rainbow units around the country/world and receive others from those units in return. Ours arrived with letters, postcards, county badges, photos etc so we made a really nice display of them.

[lucysmam]

X-posted there!

Yes, that's the sort of thing I'm thinking! Will get on that over the next couple of weeks with the girls. It seems a shame to have the space, and them do so much crafty stuff, to not at least show some of it off.

Who (or what) is Flat Olivia?

[lucysmam]

Thanks again Rue, mine needs organising like that so everything is easily see-able/get to able.

Dp doesn't know it yet but Friday may well be "sort the cupboard day".

I know there are some things in there that need replacing - the majority of the pens are knackered, paints seem to have dried up inside their bottles, there were no brushes to be seen last night.

[RueDeWakening]

Me again :o

Yes, I have a noticeboard - I bought some turquoise backing paper and a wavy Rainbow edge strip for it, which instantly made it look "full" iyswim. Then printed out and coloured two trefoils so they look like Rainbow promise badges, and wrote our unit name to pin between them.

On the board, I usually put my examples of the crafts we're making (promise caterpillar and a door hanger at the moment), any regional or other relevent posters (LaSER Growing Up Wild for now), any photos that I can share - usually of trips we've done.

We took part in Flat Olivia last year and displayed all the Olivias we received on our board, along with a map showing where they'd come from.

And anything else I fancy! I have some "Rainbows around the world" paper dolls in uniform that I need to print, cut out and display at some point.

[RueDeWakening]

Re storage space - we have a big cupboard with two shelves. Bottom has got 2 plastic boxes full of our skipping ropes, stilts, those ELC egg and spoon things etc in which get dragged out every week for the girls when they arrive, behind that is our bag of 2nd hand uniform and other bits that I don't use often (poster paint, aprons etc).

Top shelf has got a medium plastic box with cups, squash and biscuits in, a large Baker Ross box with crafts in - both full sets that we haven't done yet, and left over bits that I'm saving up for a "pick a craft" night at some point, a small cardboard box with pipecleaners, googly eyes, feathers, beads etc in, a plastic folding crate with paper, card, and bigger stuff, then small takeaway plastic tubs with the dreaded glitter, pencils, felt tips, rulers, glue, scissors etc in. All labelled with a sharpie :o

I've just been given a load of ice cream tubs, so will segregate stuff a bit more when I get the chance, but it's working pretty well for now. I spent an afternoon clearing out and sorting the cupboard while the Brownie leaders were doing theirs, over Easter, and it's really helped.

[lucysmam]

Another question; sorry!

Do you all have a display wall at your venue?

We have a little section of wall with nothing on it at the moment which is a shame so was considering spending the next two weeks getting some bits together with my girls to go on it.

[RueDeWakening]

That ^^ makes me sound really organised, but the newsletter is usually written during lunch on the day we start back for a new term :o

And I have a distressing tendency to write "Roundabout 1" in the plan for a week, then not go back to it and work out what we're actually doing until the day before...

[lucysmam]

Thank you all so much ! I'm making notes for myself here

I have solved my second leader problem so that's a weight off! A little girl a few doors up from me has just started Brownies & her nana expressed an interest in leadership with the Rainbows rather than older girls.

I've ordered a couple of shiny new roundabouts - Festivals and the health one. Should be able to talk some friends into coming in to do talks with the girls that are relevant to those as well as some crafts.

Also, organising a trip with a Brownies unit for near Christmas.

Just need to sort the jumbley cupboard of doom now to see what's what - have put a fb status up asking for unloved files/folders/small storage boxes and empty ice cream tubs to sort it all into.

Feeling a bit more organised & less fish out of water now