New Girlguiding Programme - an index of skills builder cards and unit meeting activity cards

With the launch of the new programme comes a plethora of 'activity cards' for the prescribed Unit Meeting Activities that must be done, as well as for the prescribed Skills Biulder Activities.

With 12 UMA cards per pack (3 packs available), and 5 Skills Builder Activity Cards per level, per topic, per theme, we have a LOT of A4 cards to 'scan' through when planning.

Skills Builders:

There are 6 stages (levels) -
* Rainbows = 1,2
* Brownies = 2,3
* Guides = 3,4,5
* Rangers = 5,6

Each of the 6 themes has 2 topics at each level, and 5 activities to complete at each level

This means for Level 3, we have 6 themes x 2 topics x 5 activities = 60 cards at level 3, and the same at level 4, and level 5.

OR if you think if it in themes, we have
Express Myself theme, has 2 topics "Communicate" and "Innovate"
* Communicate stage 3 has 5 activities
* Innovate stage 3 has 5 activities
* Communicate stage 4 has 5 activities
* Innovate stage 4 has 5 activities

* Communicate stage 5 has 5 activities
* Innovate stage 5 has 5 activities

On top of that there are compulsory Unit Meeting Activities (a guide must do 5 hours of these per theme, in order to get the theme award, as well as the SB level and an interest badge).  

So, all in all, a LOT of different activities to try and fit in over a 2-3 year rolling programme. It feels like a planning nightmare, trying to ensure that 24 girls at 3 different stages, cover all elements required for the badge, as well as ensuring the programme is sufficiently girl-led (despite the prescriptive approach of the new activities), varied, and caters for the individual.

To try and help with this, i've collated key information from each activity card into a summary index spreadsheet which tells me what the activities at each level and topic are, the timing/duration, what resources are required, what space (indoor or outdoor) is needed, and any comments or concerns I have. 

If you want to have a look at my efforts, you can download the SB and UMA Index spreadsheet from here - be warned, it's not pretty and contains many typos.

Over the coming weeks and months, I will be adding information about the minimum number of girlrs required to run each activity, and whether a leader is required (many activities DO need leader input and DO need larger numbers, despite the blurb on the GG website telling us these are brilliant for small groups, and designed to be self-led.  

If you've got any suggestions or corrections, plesae do let me know!


DOWNLOAD LINK: SB and UMA Index spreadsheet 

UM 12: And we're off! A new year.

Our first week back after Christmas, and another new guide to join us, bringing our numbers up to 29 on the books.  A stark change from when my own daughter joined 3.5 years ago and there were only 9 girls in the unit!  It was lovely then, and is lovely now - just very different!

Our first week back is usually when we try and get the routine tasks out of the way and give the girls chance to catch up after their break from school. Our girls are split over 7 or 8 different schools, so it's futile to expect to not want to spend the whole time nattering on the first week back.  Tonight was no exception.

This evening, we spent time in the horseshoe remembering what our Unit Guidelines are (as set by the girls in September), we talked about what the Baden Powell Award involved for the older guides and introduced our newest guide to the unit.  There was much 'talking-over-the-top' going on...but again, that's par for the course on the first week back.  I've long since discovered when they're in this kind of mood, there's little point fighting it.  With reminders that if they carry on interrupting/talking that they won't get to play games (and following through on that), they generally get the idea after a few minutes.

We were also treated to a presentation by one of our BP girls who had done a fantastic poster and fact presentation sheet about Global Warming. The girls listened attentively to her, and the presentation was well-researched and well presented.  That's one more clause signed off!

Over the course of the evening, I asked the girls to give their suggestions on four topics - Trips Out, Games, Activites and Badges/GFIs.  Each patrol was given a stack of post-it notes, and four A3 sheets were pinned around the room (one for each topic).  They were to write their preferences/suggestions on the postit note and stick it on the appropriate posters.

Then it was on to some patrol time.  Nothing too difficult this week, and really an opportunity for the girls to chat and renew their friendships.  They all made a Guide Law Folding Thingy (thankyou to the wonderful 2nd Kingsbridge Guides) each patrol was asked to write down 4 or 5 important qualities of a good patrol leader or patrol second.  Mostly they chatted though.

After that, a quick tidyup, then time for a silly game. They got into pairs and we did the Body Parts game.  I shout out a number, and a body part, e.g. "3 feet" or "4 hands" or "two tummies" - and as a pair, they need to ensure that they ONLY have those body parts touching the floor.  So, two girls standing up would be "4 feet", or two girls lying with their feet in the air would be "2 backs".   There were some inventive approaches from some, and it was a good giggle game that required little or no preparation or organisation into teams etc. Everyone could join in, and it can last as long as you want.

At this point, our visitors arrived!  We had invited along our District Commissioner (who was also leader of this unit until a year ago), our Division Commissioner (who runs our feeder brownie unit), and our Division President (who runs a feeder Rainbow unit), so most of the girls knew them all.

The reason? We had a Baden Powell Award Presentation to do!  One of our older guides worked independently to complete her BP, and managed to get on her Adventure Weekend at the end of last year.    Our District commissioner made a fantastic cake (as well as some delicious chocolate maltezer tray bake), and our BP girl gave a short talk to the unit about what she had done as part of her BP award, and what the BP Adventure Weekend was like. She had had a wonderful time - she said the 'best weekend ever' and had made lots of new friends.   As leaders, we were thrilled with this achievement, she had worked independently and been self-directed throughout. And as a result of the Adventure Weekend she now wants to look for a Ranger Unit to join -  fantastic news!

UM5 Decoupage Notebooks

This week was a crafty week at Guides, with a little bit of admin thrown in.

We made these Decoupage Notebooks, and it worked brilliantly!  The really great thing about decopatch, according to two of our Guides, is that even those with a bit less dexterity, or a bit less creative, or not quite so handy with craft, can come out with something that looks just as brilliant as the arty girls.  And even the ones who don't enjoy craft so much liked these as they had something usable at the end of it.  Several of the girls made them as gifts for friends.

Supplies for 30 (ish) girls

• 30 x A5 notebooks from Home Bargains @ £0.89 each
• 2 pots of 186ml Decopatch Glue @ £5.99 per pot from Baker Ross - but about 1/3 of each pot left over
• 10 x Decopatch Paper packs (3 sheets per pack) @ £1.99 per pack from Baker Ross (a few sheets left over, but not many)
• 5 x Gold Alphabet Letter packs from Home Bargains @ £0.70 per pack (loads left over)

From the cupboard

• Glue spreaders or paintbrushes
• assorted bits of glitter, stickers, ribbon, other left-over craft/collage type items that the girls just used for decoration

Instructions

1. Decopatch - We allowed 40-ish minutes for this.
1. Open the book out flat (covers upwards) on the table.
2. Tear up the decopatch paper into squares around 1" x 1" (any smaller and it'll take too long!)
3. apply a very thin layer of glue to a small area of the book cover, and stick on the paper square. Repeat, overlapping the squares slightly so there is no gap.  
4. As you go along, paint a very thin layer of decopatch glue over the top of the papers you ahve stuck on, to make it shiny and 'seal' the layer.  
5. It is REALLY IMPORTANT that you ONLY USE A TINY AMOUNT OF GLUE otherwise it won't dry in the time of the meeting
2. Drying Time - 10-15 minutes - clear up all the decopatch paper & glue, tidy up, go and play some silly games, or have drinks, or whatever, for 15 minutes. We did a Fire Drill!
3. Decorations - 15-20 minutes
1. decorate the notebooks with lettering stickers, ribbons or pipecleaners tied around the ringlets, stickers, ribbons, or whatever else the girls want to personalise their books.
2. You could also stick an envelope inside the front and/or rear cover.

The notebooks were all touch-dry by the time we added the decorations, and properly dry by the time they took them home (after taps/announcements for 5 minutes at the end of the meeting). The girls seemed really proud of their creations.  

The whole craft cost less than £2.50 per girl.

Young Leaders in a Guide Unit - how to support them?

What kind of support should we be giving to our Young Leaders at the guide unit?  They are not part of any other Senior Section/Rangers unit, so attending our Guide Unit as YLs is their only regular participation in the Girlguiding Senior Section, and in effect, we are their SS leaders.

These are the things that Girlguiding says should be part of the Senior Section Programme

• Follow the core Look Wider programme, including
• Understanding the octants, and phases of octants
• Ensuring the YLs have time to plan and do their Octant activities if requiredd
• Take on new responsibilities, e.g. become a Young Leader or even, work on the Young Leader Qualification
• Ensure the YLs are involved in unit planning sessions
• Ensure the YL's have time given and opportunities to complete their LQ clauses
• Ensure YLs are given dedicated leader time to help them through their LQ programme - appropriate mentoring.
• Participation in wider SS activities - ensure that SS opportunities from division, district, county, region and national level are offered to these members. This may mean Guide leaders attending these activities with the girls (if this is required at the event)

One thing that concerns me is that I am a Guide leader, not a SS leader.  I have completed my LQ with a module for the Guide Programme. I have not completed the module for SS Programme, yet we are encouraged to have a YL join us who isn't getting SS programme guidance anywhere else, other than with us.   This seems to be a bit of an anomoly in how this area works, and I worry that my SS YL girls may be missing out.  I regularly encourage them to join a local ranger unit, but with school and other commitments, they are understandably hesitant.

Also, as I am not a SS unit leader in Go!, I don't regularly get to hear about SS unit events going on and am not included on SS mailings. The girls (as SS members with email addresses on Go!) do get some of these emails, but if I don't get them as well, I can't encourage them to participate.  And everyone knows that teenagers aren't always particularly motivated to organise and plan things without a bit of a nudge in the right direction!

What to do?