The program over the year - how to fit it all in?

These are all the things we should try to cover in the guiding programme over the year.... I'm not sure how we manage to fit it all in, but i think we usually do!

The Guide Programme covers 5 different areas:

1. Healthy Lifestyles – develop your mind, body and soul. It’s all about keeping healthy and happy.
2. Celebrating diversity - meet new people and get involved in things going on in your area.
3. Global Awareness – make the world a better place.
4. Discovery – have new experiences and adventures.
5. Skills and Relationships – build on your personal and life skills.

The 5 Essential principles – During their time at Guides, the Guides will be encouraged to:

1. Work together in small groups
2. Govern themselves and make their own decisions
3. Have a balanced & varied programme
4. Care for the individual
5. Share a commitment to a common standard

In addition, we try to fit in the following over the a year, which help to cover the Guide Challenge Badge requirements each year

• 2 GFI's per year (takes a minimum of 3 full weeks to complete each GFI)
• 2 Interest Badges per year (usually 2 full weeks to complete each badge)
• 2 trips out per year
• 2 'Community' activities per year - thinking about others in our community
• 1 residential/night away per year
• Something from the wider guiding family - a division or regional event, a national challenge, etc- something to show the girls that we are part of a bigger guiding family.

To ensure variety and that every girl gets to do some things they want to do, we try and include these activities every term:

• Sports / active fun
• Craft activities
• Cooking / food
• New skills or experiences
• A party or 'let your hair down' activity
• A trip out, or a visitor in to the unit (to provide variety from the leaders)

And finally, we also need to make sure these things happen too

• Promise Ceremonies, Promise and Law activities - introducing new girls to the unit and to guiding.
• Fire drill
• Unit Rules
• Girls choose patrols, vote in Patrol leaders and patrol seconds (although perhaps the patrol leader should choose their own patrol second?)
• Girls update G-Files for challenge badges
• Assist BP girls in their challenges - ensure that sessions are available in the plan for them to run for their BP clauses
• Assist YLs in their YLQ  and ensure Young Leaders get appropriate 'senior section' opportunities - to work on their YLQ and/or to get SS Octants signed off, and to participate in wider SS activities.  Ensure that leaders have time to answer questions from YLs and support them, and give them appropriate guidance in their Leadership journey.
• Parent Rotas, development of Unit Helpers and leaders
• Girl-led guiding - time to get input from the girls on what they want to do in Guides, so that it can be incorporated into the programme for next term. So, feedback and suggestion sessions for :
• Promise ceremonies
• Activities
• Outings
• Badges
• GFIs
• Camp themes and activities
• Games

So, how do we fit all of this in to our programme each year?  

We have 5 or 6 meetings per half term, which means 30 to 36 meetings per year (typically around 33), plus the following out-of-meeting regular activities (and possibly other out-of-meeting activities)

• Winter indoor camp weekend
• Summer canvas camp weekend
• Remembrance parade
• Pizza and Panto night out on a Friday near christmas
• A divisional, county or regional event or day

I actually think we do manage to fit most of these things in, but only by being smart with our planning and ensuring we cover several aspects with each activity.  We do try not to make any activity too much like being in school, even when badge work suggests it.  I guess we can be reasonably confident we are doing a good job, by the fact that we are full to capacity and have a waiting list....but I still feel we have to keep on our toes!

The biggest 'conflict' is between 'girl-led-guiding' and fitting all of this stuff in that we are supposed to fit in.

Quite honestly, 90% of our 10-13 year olds would choose to do the chocolate badge, chocolate GFI, sit and natter all night, or race around the hall screaming and playing tag amd generally letting of steam.  They would would rarely, if ever choose to do any 'community' activities, or learn about celebrating diversity or global awareness. They mostly don't want to have to plan GFIs themselves (although they do like to be able to choose the activities), but they want the leaders to organise it for them - and take the 'thinking' and 'planning' out of the activity.

Mostly, if given a free choice, our girls want 'down time' when they come to Guides, a chance to switch off their brains after increasingly busy and tiring weeks at school.  As a mother of two guide-age girls, I can certainly see this in them, and I can see the value in that. But this does at times conflict with fitting in all of the recommended programme elements, PLUS all of the things they have to do to get challenge badges and suchlike.

I'd be interested to hear from other guiders (a) if I've missed anything here, (b) how you manage to fit it all in, and (c) how to deal with the conflict of 'covering a good and varied guiding programme' vs the girl-led desire to switch off their brains and just chill out when they come to guides.  What do you think?