UM4 GFI Activities and BP

Unit Meeting 4

This evening the Guides spent time on their Go For It!  Last week, each patrol chose their GFI, did a 'getting started' activity and then planned 4 'sessions' worth of activities to complete over the next few weeks.  Tonight we allocated time for them to do 2 of their 4 planned session (each session being 30-ish minutes each).

• Pandas - GFI Peace (unit printed copy only)
• Friendship Bracelets
• Greetings
• Pelicans - GFI Grrreeen (unit printed copy only)
• Recycled Bubblewrap purses
• Recycled Magazine holders
• Puffins - GFI Blast from the Past (PDF Download here)
• Candle Smores
• Design a space menu
• Penguins - GFI With A Splash (unit printed copy only)
• Waterways, lakes and rivers scrapbook
• News Item on a water rescue

Bringing their own Resources and learning lessons about responsibilty

Each patrol had given me a list of what they were going to bring for their activities, and a list of what they needed me to bring, or the unit to provide.   In theory, I should only provide what they have asked me to provide. In practice, it's a bit different.

I always have  a dilemma here: I think we should encourage the girls to remember their resources, take responsibility, and deal with the consequence of forgetting them.  BUT  if one girl forgets to bring a key resource or doesn't turn up, this prevents her whole patrol from doing the activity, this is (a) unfair on the rest of of the patrol and (b) means I have to find something for them to do for half an hour, or magic up a replacement task - neither of which I want to happen.  So, for key resources, I do bring some extras (kept hidden in a bag!).

For example, Marshmallow Smores, I had a spare bag of mini marshmallows and chocolate buttons, so if these were forgotten or the girl was absent, the rest of the patrol would still have something to work with (albeit on a smaller scale). As it happens, they all remembered.

Likewise for other patrols, I brought along some bubblewrap (girls forgot), some magazines (some girls remembered, others didn't).  Half of the girls in Pelicans forgot to bring a cereal box for their Magazine Holder craft - so they had to negotiate with the girls in their patrol who did bring boxes, to share and halve the boxes.  Hopefully a bit of peer pressure here will encourage them to think about responsibility next time.

How the GFI activities ran

The girls really have got the hang of this now (this is the second GFI they have run on their own). 

Here are some observations

1. All patrols worked well in their groups and (from what I could tell at least) girls were treating each other fairly and cooperating.   
2. Wanted to spend longer, and would probably have spent an hour on their first activity, (craft-based) despite all of the chosen activities being listed as 20-30 mins each in the GFIs
3. Lots of good co-operation, collaboration and communication going on in each patrol
4. Good to bring emergency just-in-case 'core' items for each task, so the rest of the patrol isn't prevented from completing their activity if a key person doesn't come.
5. 2 or 3 girls didn't realise they were doing TWO activities this week - they thought one activity per week. Need to make that clearer on their planning sheets.

Baden Powell Challenges - girls on a new journey.

We have one girl who is 3/4 through her Baden Powell challenge activities, and this week we started off four more girls on their journey. One had already looked through the clauses and chosen some she liked the look of, but all four new ones were given a folder to have a look through.  While one seemed perhaps a bit disinterested, the other three of them are already chattering about what clauses they might like to do: organise an international evening for the unit; first aid and fake wounds; cooperative games evenings, and suchlike - I think we may be able to have a term of BP-organised evenings at this rate!  We will see...