Tag Archives: meeting ideas

Rangers Take On Taxes

I’ve been working with teenage girls for over 20 years, the last four years with Rangers. In all that time, I thought I’d done it all, so I was not at all prepared when this year’s Ranger group started planning … Continue reading

Posted in Awesome Activities | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Touching Hearts – Valentines for Vets

Break out the markers and the red and pink construction paper! Valentine’s Day is just over a month away and it’s a great time to plan a Valentines for Vets activity with your unit. This Veterans Affairs Canada program distributes personal … Continue reading

Posted in Awesome Activities | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Finding my courage

As Girl Guides of Canada–Guides du Canada marks 16 Days of Action to Eliminate Violence Against Women, we’re giving voice to our members’ perspective on gender-based violence. Today, we’re sharing Morgan’s personal story of how she found the confidence and courage … Continue reading

Posted in Girls' Guides, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Say No to Violence

As we launch our Say No to Violence Challenge and mark 16 Days of Activism to Eliminate Violence Against Women, we’re  proud to re-post  this meaningful piece from  International Commissioner Sharron Callahan, who has volunteered in Guiding with victims of … Continue reading

Posted in Education | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Throwback Thursday: Are you a Swap-a-holic, too?

We know our members are a little, ahem, ga-ga for swapping. As many Girl Guides gear up for summer camp, we’re re-posting one Guider’s confession.   Hat crafts. Traders. Swaps. You can call them whatever you want. I call them … Continue reading

Posted in Awesome Activities, Camping & Outdoors | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Getting Dirty and Why it’s Important

Sure, we’re in the bone-cold middle of January, but who says you can’t daydream about spring and summer? Why not keep the winter blues away by working with your unit to plan a tree planting project for this spring or … Continue reading

Posted in Awesome Activities | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

A Feast Fit for Zombies

Learning all about outdoor cooking doesn’t have to be boring! Mix together some creepy zombies, yummy food, and fun – it’s a great opportunity to engage older girls and practice important skills. Last weekend, West Coast Area hosted our annual … Continue reading

Posted in Awesome Activities | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Girls Count… It Makes ‘Cents’

Last spring Girl Guides of Canada together with TD Bank Group piloted a new financial literacy program, Girls Count. Stretching from coast to coast and from Sparks to Rangers, 35  units together with 53  TD employee volunteers presented the pilot … Continue reading

Posted in Awesome Activities, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

The stars are bright on the Guiding Walk of Fame!

What happens when a Guider sees a photo on Facebook of a Hollywood birthday party theme? She turns it into a Guiding advancement ceremony, of course! Since we all know that every girl in Guiding is a star, we decided … Continue reading

Posted in Awesome Activities | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Hammers + nails = awesome Spark bird houses

It may have been our noisiest meeting night ever, but it was likely the most fun for each of the Sparks. Eight dads and one mom were on hand as helpers for building our bird houses. A couple of dads … Continue reading

Posted in Awesome Activities | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Designing T-shirts

It’s finally – finally! – almost T-shirt weather across Canada. And while we know that nothing beats the Girl Guide uniform T or your favourite camp shirt, there’s something pretty awesome about girls designing their own T-shirts. As we head … Continue reading

Posted in Awesome Activities | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Guiding Underwater

Sitting around the dining room table at one of our weekly meetings before the end of summer last year, our Pathfinders were discussing all the things we wanted to do the following year. To me as a leader we had … Continue reading

Posted in Awesome Activities | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Say cheese! Setting up a Girl Guide photo booth

I often forget to take pictures at Guiding events. At our recent Olympic sleepover we chose the scrapbook option in the Quebec Spin Challenge and I set up a photo booth to make sure some pictures were taken. I’ve seen photo booths … Continue reading

Posted in Awesome Activities | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

“Loom-y” for Girl Guide Cookies!

A lot of the kids I know are caught up in the loom bracelet craze. My daughter, her friends, the girls in our unit – all of them love making and trading them. So I thought:  “Why not combine two … Continue reading

Posted in Awesome Activities | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Why every Brownie unit should have a rubber chicken (or two)

Have you met our unit’s pals,  Mr. and Mrs. Chicken?   Here’s why we think you should have at least one rubber chicken in your unit kit, too: Chicken Games are Awesome!  Thank you Becky’s Guiding Resource.  Chickens can often … Continue reading

Posted in Awesome Activities | Tagged , | 2 Comments

How engineering could take you to Mars

March is National Engineering Month (NEM), which shines a spotlight on the role of engineering in society and (hopefully!) inspires future engineers to pursue engineering as a career path. As a soon-to-be mechanical engineering graduate at the University of Guelph, … Continue reading

Posted in Awesome Activities | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Beauty on a budget

For the past two years, the leaders of the 3rd Bowmanville Guide Unit have been teaching girls all about natural beauty on a budget. It’s important to us because our own children have gone away to college and one has … Continue reading

Posted in Awesome Activities | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Girlfriends Through Time: Bridging the Distance between Guiding Generations

This year, our unit was looking at new ways for doing things. As a multi-branch unit, some of our Guiders  have been with the unit (and in Guiding!) for many years, as have  a number of our girls.  After a … Continue reading

Posted in Awesome Activities | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Our Guiding Tradition

Guides love crafts! So for their Christmas party, we decided to make a cute elf of felt and cardboard rolls.  I was new to this unit and checked that we had glue guns, but didn’t realize we were really short … Continue reading

Posted in Awesome Activities | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Violence against Women and the Role Guiders Play

During the 16 Days Campaign for the Elimination of Violence against Women, we decided to ask our members some tough but equally important questions about the role Guiders play (or can play) in stopping the violence. Below are some of … Continue reading

Posted in Girls' Guides | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Ideas Worth Sharing

First off, a confession: I’ve loved TED for a long time. I’ve watched in my car and on my computer. Who’s TED, you ask? TED is a what, not a who – it is a conference; an acronym for: Technology … Continue reading

Posted in Awesome Activities | Tagged | Leave a comment

The Lure of Trackables

Recently on my personal blog I wrote about why geocaching is so great for kids (and for parents, too). What’s not to love? It’s a digital treasure hunt requiring a few basic supplies, a sense of adventure, and the ability … Continue reading

Posted in Camping & Outdoors | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

The Promise Bunting Relay Race

The activity has been modified for Girl Guides of Canada. It was originally posted on  Guider Snowflake’s blog. ——————————————————————————————- I can’t really claim the credit for this activity — it is a variation on an activity featured in Guiding UK magazine. However, every … Continue reading

Posted in Awesome Activities | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Girl-Centred Planning

“I wish we could pick berries or go to the apple orchard.” “I would like to have a haunted house.” “Let’s visit the Sparks again!” “We should plant seeds in an egg carton.” “I wish we could have an extra … Continue reading

Posted in Awesome Activities | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Night Caching: More Than You Know!

Note: Geocaching is “…an outdoor recreational activity, in which the participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or mobile device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called “geocaches” or “caches”, anywhere in the world.” — Wikipedia … Continue reading

Posted in Camping & Outdoors | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Getting Dirty and Why it’s Important

At the beginning of this Guiding year, we sat in our Brownie ring and talked about community service.  We all agreed that community service should be one of our themes for the year.  The girls came up with ways that … Continue reading

Posted in Awesome Activities | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

The Longest Play Day

June 21st in Canada is the day with the most daylight hours of the year! Here’s what  ParticipAction’s had to say on their blog about this special opportunity to get out and play! —————————– As a child who loved to … Continue reading

Posted in Awesome Activities | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

In Defence of Crafts

A few weeks ago one of my fellow Guiders was telling me about her latest Guide meeting.  One comment struck a particular chord:  “Last [night] one of my Guides was stressed that she hadn’t finished her craft. When I offered … Continue reading

Posted in Awesome Activities | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Sparks Score Big at Local Science Fair

Recently, the 404 Winnipeg Sparks competed in the annual Youth Encouraging Sustainability Showcase science fair. Last year, the girls won bronze for their “Local Food” project and they were really excited to come back for a second time. This year … Continue reading

Posted in Awesome Activities | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The Value of Chaos

Just like in most Brownie units, our 90-minute meetings are pretty packed! We have circle time to discuss the theme of the night, then we do an activity, games, crafts, and wrap things up with our closing. Some girls thrive … Continue reading

Posted in Awesome Activities | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

The “Right” Answer

On a trip to a Veterinary Clinic, I first realized my bad habit. I had been nervous going in about how our girls would behave, even though they are usually pretty good in meetings. I was hoping they would set … Continue reading

Posted in Awesome Activities | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

A Step Back into a Brownie Time Machine

In planning for learning a bit about the history of Guiding, I wanted to do something different this year. Then I remembered that someone tried to pawn off a bag of old Brownie badges on me years ago. Are you … Continue reading

Posted in Awesome Activities | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

This Earth Day Build a Bat House

Program planning starts with an idea – a spark that with a little time and effort can quickly become a heart-warming campfire.  This is exactly what happened with the bat house project for the 157th Guide unit in the Calgary … Continue reading

Posted in Awesome Activities | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Are you a Swap-a-holic, too?

Hat crafts. Traders. Swaps. You can call them whatever you want. I call them “my addiction”. My name is Alana, and I am a swap-a-holic. It started innocently enough. When my daughters were Sparks, a fellow Guider showed up at … Continue reading

Posted in Awesome Activities | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Hands-On History

I admit it – I’m a history geek. I love visiting historic sites, I search out the history section in the book store, and I regularly PVR shows on the History Channel. I have a degree in History, and training … Continue reading

Posted in Awesome Activities | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Community Counts – And So Do You!

As a Brownie (Leader), I am honest and kind. I help take care of the world around me. One of my favourite badges to work on with our girls is the Community Counts badge. For us, it has taken many … Continue reading

Posted in Awesome Activities | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Adopt a District: Twinning Challenge

This post was originally published on Guider Shannon’s website Girl Guides For Change. Thank you Shannon for allowing us to share this with our audience! —————————————— I have had the opportunity to be a part of a really cool project … Continue reading

Posted in Awesome Activities | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Craftastrophy

If you ever looked up the word “craftastrophy“ in the dictionary, I imagine you’d find a photo of me with my hair glued in chunks, paint dripping off my shirt, stickers randomly stuck on my face and my hands covered … Continue reading

Posted in Awesome Activities | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Bandanas and Things I Have Learned About Them

This post was originally shared on Guider Kaarina’s blog Guider Sunshine. Thank you Kaarina for allowing us to share this awesome idea! Do you have a craft or idea to share with other girl or adult Members? Pitch us your … Continue reading

Posted in Awesome Activities | Tagged | 3 Comments

Picture This Badge

This is a great post by photographer Désirée and how one person can volunteer their time and expertise with a girl guide Unit in a personal and very meaningful way!  The post was originally published on Your Eye & Company … Continue reading

Posted in Awesome Activities | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The Guider Behind “Becky’s (Dragon’s) Guiding Resource Centre”

Our Who’s Who in Canadian Guiding blog column offers our Members and volunteers a place to share their favourite stories from their own Guiding experiences, and their own take on why they continue to promote the organization’s mission. Today’s post … Continue reading

Posted in Girls' Guides | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Online Resources: Guiding in the Cloud

This post originally appeared on Ottawa Guider Cara’s own Brownie Meeting Ideas blog. Cara offered it to us for re-posting as its description of online file sharing and collaboration may interest many of you. Thank you Cara! We hope you … Continue reading

Posted in Girls' Guides | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

The GREEN of Red, Orange, Yellow and Gold Leaves

This post is part of an ongoing GREEN series on GirlGuidesCANblog. The series highlights a variety of environmental issues and activities that affect girl and adult Members in Guiding. Today, guest blogger Joyce Shanks shares some great activities around composting! … Continue reading

Posted in Camping & Outdoors | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Persons Day 2011

Every year in Canada we celebrate Persons Day on October 18th to commemorate the day when women were made persons under Canadian law following the Persons case. As an organization dedicated to enriching the lives of girls and women Girl … Continue reading

Posted in Awesome Activities | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

This Guider Asks: What Activities Are You Planning This Year?

I love the start of the Brownie year – everyone is so excited! Our Unit gets almost an entirely new group every two years. This year, we have nine new Brownies and four returning Brownies. Since most of our Unit … Continue reading

Posted in Awesome Activities | Tagged , | 3 Comments

North of 60: Guiding in Canada’s Far North

There are few of us who live North of 60, and even fewer members of Girl Guides. Living in Whitehorse has its advantages though – it’s got a road out! Thinking outside the box has always been easy for me … Continue reading

Posted in Awesome Activities | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Confessions of an ‘Urban Guider’

Update: This post was voted as a 2011/2012 GirlGuidesCANblog Big Deal Seal winner in the Growing Guiding category! Bravo blogger Tammy! ———————————————— I am an Urban Guider. I used to almost be ashamed to admit it but as time has … Continue reading

Posted in Camping & Outdoors | Tagged , , , | 14 Comments

Special Post for GGC Fathers on Father’s Day

It’s Father’s Day and we’ve heard lots of great stories about some supportive ‘GGC Dads’. Check out these brief stories showing the various roles fathers can play in a girl or adult Member’s life! Did your dad or partner help … Continue reading

Posted in Awesome Activities | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Friendship Pins for Japan

Look what one girl can do! Faith is a Brownie who was concerned about the situation in Japan, so she decided to make her own friendship pins to raise funds. In her words: “When I heard Japan had a tsunami I … Continue reading

Posted in Awesome Activities | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Girl Guides – Action starts here

Sure, Wonder Woman may be making her comeback in a new T.V. series, but we’ve got our own super hero right in Canada. Meet 17-year-old Amanda M. from St. Albert, Alberta. Through her program to give birthday supplies to kids … Continue reading

Posted in Awesome Activities | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment