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Extra-curricular activities

Find advice on the best extra curricular activities in secondary schools and primary schools here.

Original poster

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

991 replies

MadBadandDangerousToKnow · 03/03/2009 21:57

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.

OP posts:
Scout19075 · 09/02/2011 22:42

Ours was alright. Most of the night was Go For It!s and we started our Thinking Day pennies. Did you do the baking I think you said you were doing?

ComeIntoTheGardenMaud · 09/02/2011 22:46

Yeah, I'm always up for a GS cookie.

::proffers glass of milk::

Yes and I found an activity on the website which tied in with food, global poverty and Thinking Day, so it all fell into place very neatly. Phew.

Scout19075 · 09/02/2011 22:49

I LOVE when plans come together!

Do you (or anyone) know why you shine pennies for Thinking Day? 'Tis not something I'd ever done and when I asked last night why they were going to do it (don't normally do it but for some reason we did this year) no one could tell me (even the Guiders and Helpers of a certain age).

ComeIntoTheGardenMaud · 09/02/2011 22:54

We don't - it's rare enough for anyone to remember to bring their coin for TD! I think it's just because you can make a more impressive emblem if the coins are nice and sparkly. I'd forgotten about it, but now I can remember shining 2p pieces with Duraglit when I was a Guide.

::nostalgia::

ComeIntoTheGardenMaud · 09/02/2011 22:55

And I am very much of a Certain Age. Cough.

Scout19075 · 09/02/2011 23:01

Maud, these are retire-from-uniform Certain Age.

The answer I got was "tradition" and I pushed "well, why is there a tradition? What started it?" and they looked at me blankly.

BabyScout has his pennies ready for next week.

ComeIntoTheGardenMaud · 09/02/2011 23:05

Ah.

::Feels quite youthful again::

Yep. I suspect it's just one of those 'always done it this way' traditions. Maybe it came from Baden-Powell himself - it's on a par with whitewashing stones and other things that the British Army used to do!

Scout19075 · 09/02/2011 23:07

Just curious, why do people volunteer?

Scout19075 · 09/02/2011 23:08

Whitewashing stones? Really? That's a new one on me!

Scout19075 · 09/02/2011 23:10

Are there any other Senior Section/Ranger people out there and can I pick your brain?

ComeIntoTheGardenMaud · 09/02/2011 23:21

An account of whitewashing stones.

Why do people volunteer? It baffles me sometimes! But, seriously, because it seems to me that - despite all the advances of the last century - it's still pretty much a man's world out there, so a girls-only space where girls can learn new skills, have fun and gain confidence is a valuable thing. I see Brownies as the junior wing of the Women's Liberation Army. And our local pack would have folded if new people hadn't got involved and I wanted it to still be there so that, when the time came, GardenGirl at least had the choice whether to be a Brownie or not.

What about you?

Scout19075 · 09/02/2011 23:36

GSUSA got ahold of me as a child and never let go. LOL.

While I'd like to give the answer "I do it for the girls" and "I do it to give back to my community" in all honesty I do it for those reasons and, frankly, for myself. I enjoy the girls. I enjoy the friendships I've made with fellow leaders/volunteers. I enjoy the different activities, trying new things, teaching and learning new skills.

Girl Scouts has a lot to answer for in helping me become the person I am now and I want other girls to have the opportunities I did. When I was young and single it was good for girls to see a young "old" person and to hear of the recent past and what was achievable (trips, awards, opportunities). I volunteered within a month of my wedding here in the UK as a way to meet people in my new country (that, and this sounds sad, there was gaping hole in my life without Girl Scouts and I only missed six weeks of the new school year).

Heck, Girl Scouts/Girl Guiding gave me MrScout -- who needs more reason to volunteer than that?! Wink

madwomanintheattic · 15/02/2011 17:42

oo, we're not quite into cookie season yet here (scout popcorn just disappearing over the horizon) but looking forward to the mint. Grin

currently a scouts canada cub leader and girl guides of canada pathfinders leader. we set up a new beaver colony and cub pack last year (next week is our first anniversary Grin) as there was a big gap for the boys in our remote little corner of the world. and they needed something to do.

first love is the girls, and am loving the 'empowering girls' theme for this thinking day.

current issues include trying to youtube 'kub kars' to find out wtf. (as an entity our sole experience of kub kars being one leader once saw an episode of south park where they were featured...Confused) we've made them (race numbers and varnish this week) Wink but are now required to build some sort of race ramp (um. ok) and challenge other local groups to races. (um. ok)

anyone have any idea at all on regulation sizes for kub kar ramps?

but on the plus side - three weeks until winter camp - snowshoeing, skiing, possibly ice-fishing, and artist's badge ahoy (snowy landscape saves on paint colour choices Wink)

ComeIntoTheGardenMaud · 15/02/2011 20:32

That sounds great, Madwoman! (Are you the first Mrs Rochester, by the way?)

HattiFattner · 15/02/2011 20:39

madwoman if you want to get your Beavers linked to my Beavers,send me a PM....we are a very old group- one of the first, and have a busy beaver colony. Tried linking up with some Candaians some years ago, but never really heard from them after initial contact. Would love to link up with some international Beavers!

Scout19075 · 16/02/2011 12:46

Just had a huge compliment today. Was at a toddler group with BabyScout and the group was in the village where I am a Guide/Seniors leader. Saw a mom of two of my former Guides (one of which who is now in uni). Apparently the girls LOVED me, especially the younger one, and always loved going camping with me. Sounds like she still talks about it years later and they used to make their mom make one of the (American) treats I taught them how to make at camp.

Grin
ComeIntoTheGardenMaud · 16/02/2011 19:32

Feedback like that is always lovely to hear, isn't it?

Scout19075 · 17/02/2011 08:57

It definitely made my morning! Especially since I had only just moved to the UK when I had her daughters and was still learning about Guiding (which is, in a lot of ways, different than Girl Scouts).

Scout19075 · 24/02/2011 19:29

Does anyone live in a county or region that has different "Challenge Badges" that girls of all ages can work on and then send away for a badge? My Seniors are wonderful but look at me stupidly when I ask "What do you want to do next week/next month/this term?" I'm trying to gather lots of those badges to use as a jumping point of something to do with them. They're also really good for "downtime packs" at camp.

THANKS!

ComeIntoTheGardenMaud · 01/03/2011 16:14

Sorry not to have posted sooner.

We did a South America challenge badge a while back but I can't remember where we got it from. I was in the shop at CHQ recently and there were two different badges for sale on the counter - could you contact them and ask for details?

chrisrobin · 08/04/2011 22:53

Scout- hope this isn't too late for you but Girlguiding Cymru are doing the Beyond the Duck challenge- badge is a pink duck, went down very well with my girls. Warning though, it may send you quackers!

Scout19075 · 10/04/2011 11:28

chrisrobin, never too late! I've been collecting challenges and keeping them in a book and the girls go through and choose what they want to do next. Would the badge be easy to find?

chrisrobin · 10/04/2011 15:21

The badge is available through GG cymru, its on their website, Beyond the Duck but its a 2011 thing only. Am having trouble accessing GG cymru site today, it may be down for maintainance.

Scout19075 · 11/04/2011 14:19

Thanks chrisrobin! Took a bit to get into but I'm there and it looks like great fun and just the sort of thing my girls would get a kick out of!

Scout19075 · 01/05/2011 08:06

To any former or current Guides out there, can you think of any songs that have the words prince/s and/or princess/es in them?