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.

fluffles, glad it all worked out in the end! I ended up not going to Guides this week due to a migraine -- gutted that I missed one of my older young leaders teaching Irish Dancing. Ah well, next time!

Is anyone else really looking forward to the end of the Centenary year/celebrations?

Happy Centenary Finale Day to all of the Guiders out there!

Indeed ,
2010 2010 2010
We must be half way to the next one!!!

Have a good evening everyone! I've had to bow out of our District do, at the last minute. Got a meeting at DD's school, which I'm afraid takes priority over voluntary work!

What's everyone doing then? If I remember at 8.10, I'll silently take my promise again with you all!

I was meant to be out our County event with my two units but they said no babies (BabyScout is >1) and MrScout can't get home from work until 8. So I've waved my girls off and wished them a happy celebration. When BabyScout gets to sleep I will "celebrate" by catching up Guiding things, emails, paperwork, etc.

Hope you are all having fun tonight!

Just back from Trfalgar Square. It was quite a moment.

My daughter has been to our local 'celebration' and absolutely loved it. She is 15 and has stayed on at guides as an 'helper' - doesn't want to leave and there isn't a ranger group to go to.

She went all the way through from being a rainbow, then brownie and then guide and gets such a lot out of the organisation :)

Hello everyone.

We have our Christmas bizarre bazaar coming up and I need some ideas for things which the Brownies can make and will look professional enough that people will want to buy them. Any ideas?

Small, are you looking for theme-specific things? And how much per craft are you able to spend?

My friend runs a very large guide group with its own Brownies Rainbows and Senior section too. They are looking to revitalise their popular Handicraft competition, and she's been asking for ideas for new competition categories. They already have drawing, decorating biscuits etc. My DD loves guides ( she is 13 ) but is far from crafty! The age groups go from 5/6 all the way up to seniors, but that doesn't mean each age group has to.

Does anyone on here have any ideas - she would be grateful. I think she just feels lacking in inspirations!

Sorry PS - the competition takes place towards the end of the Spring Term.

Many thanks!

Some of these ideas come from our local horticultural society:

decorated greetings card (Easter?) - you may want to specify whether cards made from scrapbooking kits from craft shops are acceptable. Some of our very young competitors who had drawn their cards were disappointed (I think rightly) to be pipped to the prize by an older child whose card was made from a kit of ready-cut shapes

vegetable animal

paper bag puppet

wooden spoon puppet

garden on a paper plate/in a shoe box

decorated egg

junk model - specify a theme?

plasticine model - specify a theme?

Just popping in with a glass of wine to see what you are up to this term, we planned out our Brownie programme up to easter with the girls this week. Chocolate night is a definate, lol. Next week we are doing a quiz/ game show night, not quite sure of the format yet ??????

That's impressive planning. We tend to wing it from week to week blush but we have four badges planned for this term at the Brownies' request.

Hello, do you mind if I sneak in here? I am new to MN (about a week). I have been with my current Brownie pack since we moved last April (well May with Brownies) and have been put in charge of planning our meetings...

HeadsUp - do you always plan with the girls? How much of a say do they have?

LaVie - we have been winging it a lot which I think is why I have been nominated...

I should say, though, that we are working our way through the badges that the Brownies have chosen and, once the clocks go forward, we'll also start work on our Brownie garden. We always grow some plants from seed. So it's maybe not as wing-and-a-prayer as I made it sound.

We always give the Brownies a say, but sometimes we have to take the basis of their ideas and turn it into something more practicable/feasible!

After yesterday's bunfight on AIBU, I wondered whether anyone fancied a cup of tea or something stronger?

Yes please! (Still waiting for our cup emoticon!)

Met with my mentor for my new level this evening. Really could have signed everything off (silly that the leader qualification doesn't distinguish program levels like the holiday/camping ones do) but she wants to come to one of my new section meetings.

What would you like, Scout? We have tea, , gin!

We had a great meeting last night, if I do say so myself. How was yours?

Sounds silly, but could really go for a big glass of milk and Girl Scout Cookies (tis the season of Thin Mints!).

Fancy a Girl Scout cookie, Maud?