I love all of my girls in Guiding, but sometimes a group of girls touches my heart in a very special way – and that was the case with 4th Dartmouth Sparks this past year. I was constantly amazed by their cohesion, their desire to be a team, and their limitless kindness and caring toward one another.
They did not utter a word of protest when placed in a cookie selling group that did not include their best friends. They did not ask if they could change teams when we randomly selected groups for games. They simply accepted the friend beside them and laughed and smiled together.
This group innately recognized that Sparks is a group of girls on a team who support one another, celebrate one another, and accept one another. The world could learn a lot by watching my girls. Their parents always thanked me after meetings and my response was always the same, “You’re welcome. It’s my pleasure.” And it was. I stood there some nights in disbelief at how a group of little girls could teach me so much about the power of this organization. They represented Guiding in a way that anyone who wears the uniform would be proud of.
When spending time with these girls, I experienced a special kind of peace that does not exist elsewhere in my life. They could be bouncing off the walls and yelling while playing an active game and my soul was soothed and calm. I was exactly where I was supposed to be. Exactly where I needed to be. Those girls took care of my heart, my sanity, and my soul. I was Giggles. And that is ALL I had to be. That is all they let me be. I wasn’t allowed to be a single mom who was worried about bills or a daughter who was concerned about her dad’s upcoming heart surgery. They made that all fade away with their smiles and laughter and magic. Such incredible magic!
At Advancement, we each had a tealight in a candle holder. I told them that the light represented the light of Guiding – that we shine that light on one another and it brightens our hearts even after it has moved on. My Guiding light truly shone brightly with these girls.
Guest post by Beth (a.k.a. Giggles), the District Commissioner for Banook in Nova Scotia, a Guider with the 4th Dartmouth Sparks and also for 1st Highfield Sparks/Brownies, and a Trainer with Dartmouth Shore Area. Beth has been in Guiding for 33 years and is the proud mom of an eight-year-old son.
tion of her efforts to bring attention to trans rights.
As you scroll through GuidePost, 
This year, the 3rd Guelph Guides put their lashing skills to use on a different sort of camp gadget – catapults! This activity also reinforced physics, teamwork, safety and leadership skills. And, the fun of water balloons!
The current 
Fast forward a few months, and we had the LFL built! The next step was to paint it. It took multiple coats of paint for the colour to come through strongly. We left the roof blank, and got each girl to leave her handprint on the library.
Don’t forget to log your actions for the current 
Tonight was advancement night for my Pathfinders. One of my Pathfinders wrote a speech about Guiding. How much she loves it, wish she had joined sooner (this was her first year) and thanked both my co-Guider and me plus the third-years for making this year so special.
I’m new to the whole Guiding thing. This year has been a great experience for everyone. We’ve accomplished multiple things as a unit, which make me regret not joining earlier. 
This year, I trolled through over 2,000 pictures. I’ve learned to sort and label them as they come in. And I’m diligent about image releases – we check before showing photos at our internal events and make sure that any member who is a “no” is not in an image that leaves our unit.
When the girls take the pictures, they get the most candid (and goofy, so the best!) pictures. They are at their most natural with each other.
There are definitely patterns in what the different branches like to do, and what we take photos of. Food. Dressing up. Being outside. Animals. Getting messy. Year over year, from Sparks to Rangers, these things seem to show the most delight in the girls’ and Guiders’ faces.
I feel like the sum total of those smiles and things we catch in the photos really is a window into the spirit of Guiding and the spirits of the girls. Maybe that’s why I will probably keep taking those pictures and making that slideshow – whether it’s 200 or 2,000 pictures.
For many of these Guides, it’s their first time getting an award and being recognized like this. Nova Scotia does a Youth Recognition event for Guides, Pathfinders and Rangers, in an auditorium with a photographer, flowers, a formal program, biographies being read, scholarships given out – whole bit. It’s a big deal.
To help them earn their award, our district holds a Lady Baden-Powell Camp for third-year Guides. Going to camp with only the older Guides makes them feel very grown-up and they love seeing their friends from other units. At camp, the Guides make a lapbook to learn about the life of Lady Baden-Powell, and a “story box” – a set of props to tell the story of Guiding. They also complete a service project by making something for our Spark and Brownie units (our biggest hit was sets of bean bags and a booklet of games and activities). After camp, the Guides visit the Spark and Brownie units to run a meeting, where they play games and tell them the story of Guiding. These moments of growth and leadership show their potential, and make me so proud.
Our district has created a certificate, which is signed by the girls in each Guide unit and presented at District Advancement. I also talk about the many things the Guides, Pathfinders and Rangers have done to earn their awards, and the beaming smiles on their faces tell me how much those words mean.
Whether learning about environmental issues facing each other’s countries and how climate change affects us all, sharing games we play in Guiding back home, or singing a campfire song in six different languages during Earth Hour, they reminded me just how powerful and meaningful Guiding is. One day as part of the seminar we went to the adventure park and were zip-lining and abseiling (rappelling) in the Swiss mountains. It was terrifying but I never once hesitated because I had my fellow Guides cheering me on. Attending the seminar and learning about leadership and advocacy made me challenge myself and realize that I shouldn’t hold myself back, that each small action collectively has a big impact, and that I am capable of so much more because of the support I have in this incredible global sisterhood.
Our unit is just starting the Key to Me, and being the end of the year I really wanted to find something special for our girls to do. I knew it was recently Mental Health Week in Canada, and there were many related 
The first step was to paint the canvases and right from the start the girls’ creativity and individuality shone through. I had assumed the girls would just choose one colour for their canvas, but most went with a rainbow of colours and patterns with some abstract painting thrown in as well.
Most of the time, being a mother to Ella, who is six and has down syndrome, is just like being a mother to my son or younger daughter. That being said, every child is different. Every child progresses at their own pace and in their own time. Some children are better at music while others are more physically inclined.
Earlier this spring, Sparks in Regina packed their sleeping bags for a night at Regina’s Guide building. But this wasn’t just any sleepover – it was a celebration of the 25th anniversary of Pax Lodge, one of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts’ World Centres.
As a craft, the Sparks made birthday cards for Queen Elizabeth’s 90th birthday, which Guiders mailed to the Queen. Imagine their surprise when the Queen cordially responded with a thank-you card:
This year, our programming has been focused on trying new things. Our unit brainstormed ideas of things that girls should know how to do but might not traditionally learn. Most of the girls had participated in a tool or building night in Sparks and Brownies, so that led us to the idea of car maintenance. Lucky for us, the automotive team at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) embraced our idea and developed an amazing hands-on evening. This dad-and-daughter programming night ended up as one of our favourite field trips of the year.
A few weeks ago, I was at a community breakfast for volunteers when a woman across the table spoke of how her organization had recently partnered with a local youth organization. I immediately mentioned my involvement in Girl Guiding and how I would love to pass on her organization’s information to local Guiding groups. This triggered other women at the table to talk about their years in Brownies as a girl or similar stories. One of the men at the table decided to say that Guiding is an organization that tries to keep women and girls in the home. This false statement made me think of all the experiences in my life I have had because of Guiding.
The best part of setting up this unit was that the girls developed our whole program themselves with guidance from the volunteers. They decided that we would have multi-level unit meetings instead of separate ones, how we would begin and end our meetings, and what badges and activities they wanted to complete over their first year. They were sure to include a snack responsibility rotation, and quickly decided on their patrol leader, circle leader and circle second.
As successful as our literacy packs were, it was our book drive that had not only the biggest impact on our community, but on our girls as well. Our community is fairly large, and it is difficult to have events where all the girls can participate. To bridge the gap, Melody, another literary agent, collected books from other cities to bring to our book drive, collecting 229 books in the weeks ahead of the event.
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 their year and asked me for a crash course in ‘Adulting 101.’ That alone wasn’t shocking, but when I asked for examples of what they wanted to learn in such a meeting, I was taken aback (and silently very proud of my girls). They listed everything from changing a tire on a car to how to find a doctor when you move out and find yourself in a new town. In fact their list was so long, we had to break up the items over multiple meetings throughout the year.
I’ve been a parent volunteer for the last three years, since my daughter joined Guiding as a Spark.
Week in and week out, we know just how much our volunteers give to girls in Guiding. You contribute on so many levels – as Unit Guiders, Trainers and Advisers, Commissioners and Treasurers, and Trefoil Guild and Link members. Thank you for sharing your skills, your passion and your time as a member of Girl Guides–Guides du Canada (GGC).
Thank you – for allowing the voices of Canadian girls to be heard loud and clear, and for your incredible contributions and commitment to Girl Greatness. Thank you for all that you do for Canadian Guiding.
Guiding encourages girls to try new things, learn through playing, and to challenge themselves, all while earning badges along the way. You can tell a unit meeting is going well by the sound of fun, the sound of laughter and chatter. Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) can be an exciting part of our activities if Guiders are comfortable preparing a meeting based on this theme. But sometimes, we need a little help to spark our imagination.
Our second task was forming a mechanical hand from cardboard, straws, elastics, and string. In addition to following the instructions, we had to figure out how to make the fingers bend while keeping the elastics in place after repeated use. Our third challenge was building our Lego robot and driving it through a circuit. We analysed and corrected the direction of the wheels and added balance and stability. Marion regularly guides her grade 5 and 6 classes through this same robotic challenge. We certainly sounded like her classes as we laughed and chatted and tried to maneuver our Lego robots around the pop cans.
While learning about camp theory is great, this weekend was all about getting immersed in a true winter camping experience. We met at Camp Ademac near Port Perry, Ontario, Friday evening. Although we had a heated building for a base and emergencies, we were set up outdoors until Sunday morning. Friday night was learning about each other and the gear. In true Guiding fashion we all became great friends and a fantastic team very quickly! As one of the trainers, my job was to help the Guiders learn skills in a safe environment. This became very easy as everyone set about immediately helping and looking out for each other.
We went for a short walk to warm-up and continue to get to know one another. Many lessons were learned Friday night: ways to keep warm; how much more difficult camp skills were in the cold and while wearing bulky gear; how much better warm drinks such as friendship tea taste when you only have a small stove and limited water. It was cold Friday night, -10 C °, and gear was adjusted Saturday morning in preparation for our trek and second overnight.
One of my favourite meetings unfolded in a most unlikely way. It was a bridging evening for our multi-branch unit in early spring. The third-year Guides were with the Pathfinders, and the Sparks, Brownies and remaining Guides were going to go cookie selling in the neighbourhood. The girls would be in groups according to their next branch. I think we were all looking forward to an ‘easy’ meeting – few supplies and little advance planning required. Maybe we all thought someone else would think to check the weather. Or have a back-up meeting idea ready to go. No one did. We had no plan B. It was cookie selling or bust.
I was recently a delegate with the 
This is now my 14th year in Guiding and I am currently a first-year student studying at Simon Fraser University. I have gone through every branch of Guiding and I am now a transitioning member. As a transitioning member (a member who has not yet reached the age of majority in their province), I help out a Sparks unit in my district with their regular meetings and with their special events. I also participate in planning meetings for the unit to help plan out wonderful activities for the girls.
Sometimes, I find it challenging to balance university life and Guiding but I always manage to leave some time for Guiding. Even though I am so busy with school, I decided to continue my membership with this wonderful organization because of the many positive experiences it has given to me. I want to be able to pass on these experiences to the next generation of girls so that they have the same opportunities as I did. Guiding has allowed me to expand my leadership skills which will definitely help me in pursuing my goal of becoming a teacher.
Guest post by Eliesse Harpaz, a transitioning member with the 1st Burnaby Mountain Sparks in B.C. Eliesse has been in Guiding since she was 5 years old and is now completing a degree in French and in Education at Simon Fraser University. She was the recipient of the West Coast Area Bursary, the BC Council Bursary and the CIBC National GGC Scholarship.
Just before Christmas our unit sat down to talk about our Going Global service project. The girls had a lot of suggestions, from international pen pals to collecting items to send overseas. We talked about the Syrian refugees that were arriving in Canada and realized we could “think global and act local” by doing something to support these newcomer families. The girls were familiar with the many community fundraising efforts underway in Victoria to sponsor refugee families, but we knew we’d have to do something a bit different as a Guiding project. After some investigation, we decided on a school supply drive, knowing that many of the Syrians would be children, eager to attend school after many months or years of interrupted education. It would be a useful welcoming gift for any family, and fun to collect, too!
Kayaking lessons may not seem like the most obvious kind of activity to do in the grips of a Canadian winter. But for a group of eager Girl Guides and some anxious parents, it was the perfect way to learn outdoorsy skills… indoors.
When I was part of the 
Ever notice that when people start telling stories about their Guiding memories that there are a lot of tales of that time when something went wrong? Mine’s the time when I was at Guide camp and it rained so hard we were flooded out from our tents and had to sleep in the picnic shelter. For a Spark I know, it’s the time that the Guides made cookies for a party and got the recipe terribly wrong, resulting in very salty cookies. Oh, and several of my Brownies won’t let me forget that time we told them we were serving apple juice for lunch but got the container wrong and had half of them drink unsweetened sumac juice.
As busy Guiders, we all spend occasional weekends doing Guiding activities, sleepovers, camps, cookie sales and outings. But what about having your weekly unit meeting on a Saturday? Could this be a way to engage girls and families who aren’t available on weekday evenings? Guiding encourages flexibility, and units meetings are one place to start.
Guest post by Sunita Mathur, a Guider with 1st Toronto Spark/Brownie/Guide unit and a member of the Board of Directors of GGC. Check out her previous post: 
When I moved two years ago from Mississauga to Barrie, Ontario to do a year of post-graduate studies at Georgian College, I wanted to continue my volunteer work in Guiding so I joined a French language unit near campus. This was an amazing experience and I really loved the practice time I got for my French. When I moved back to Toronto, I missed my unit and wanted to continue with the French. So, I signed up to be the Guider of a bilingual unit at a French school near my house last April and waited patiently for girls to join it.
We started out by alternating between French and English. The first thing I noticed was that not all the girls had the same level of French. Out of 11, only about three spoke French at home. Most of the girls are still learning basic verbs and need to keep building their confidence with the language. I thought to myself, this is great, we will take it easy and they can all help each other.
Nominations for our 
