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Continue reading →: Girl Greatness Awards – Put Yourself Out There
This post first appeared on our blog on July 2, 2014. I’ve been in Girl Guides of Canada for about four years. So far, it’s been an amazing experience. This was my first time applying for a Girl Greatness Award. I was not expecting to win as I thought that…
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Continue reading →: Girl Guide fun + chocolate = the perfect Valentine’s Day
The Quebec Chocolate Challenge! What’s more fun than making and eating chocolate? Sharing, of course! The 1st Valois Brownies created an event called “Chocolate Wonderland” to complete the Quebec Chocolate Challenge and in the spirit of sharing, invited the Valois Sparks in order to pass on some serious cooking (and tasting) skills. We…
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Continue reading →: Opening the vaults: The Maple Leaf Forever
On February 15, 1965, the maple leaf flag was first unfurled and raised across our country as our nation’s official flag. Designed by George Stanley, the beautiful red and white design is based on the flag of the Royal Military College of Canada. This February 15 marks the 50th anniversary…
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Continue reading →: What I learned as a girl, stays with me as a Guider
I Promise to share and be a friend. It’s the fundamental principle we teach our youngest girls, Sparks. The ability to share items, tasks and feelings with each other can be a scary thought for any member in Guiding no matter the age. And to be a friend – providing…
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Continue reading →: How one District’s Thinking Day event became a pretty big deal
Ten years ago I was a brand new, wide eyed Brown Owl of a group of 36 Brownies! I had been in Brownies as a girl myself but was new to the whole ‘leading’ thing. I had no clue what World Thinking Day was and even when I first heard…
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Continue reading →: Reading – a pastime, a passion, and a way to take action
Reading is one of my favourite things to do. I would probably say that I’m a bit of a fanatic about always having a hard-covered book to read. I have tried e-books (I commend everyone who can master that technology) and even paperbacks. But I always find myself coming back…
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Continue reading →: 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 summer. Bonus! We’ve made some great updates to the Girl…
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Continue reading →: The More We Get Together…
I recently had the opportunity to attend Ontario Council’s Guide Super Program weekend in Toronto in my capacity as National Program Adviser. My purpose in attending the event was two-fold: to see how Guiders and trainers are working with the Guide program, and to meet and speak with as many…
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Continue reading →: Wreaths Across Canada: Remembering our soldiers, and a dedicated Guider
Earlier this week, members of the 1st Dorothy Crocker and 1st West Ottawa Wanderers (WOW) Trefoil Guilds had the privilege of volunteering with Wreaths Across Canada. Ceremonies were simultaneously held at Ottawa’s National Military Cemetery at Beechwood Cemetery, Mount Pleasant Cemetery in St. John’s, and at the Brookside Cemetery in Winnipeg. After the ceremony, families,…
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Continue reading →: Guiding Mosaic, here I come: Getting your group on
Travelling is exciting – travelling with Girl Guides is amazingly exciting. Planning for Guiding Mosaic 2016 (GM2016, July 9-17, 2016) can seem daunting, exhausting and terrifying. Don’t panic, take up the challenge and enjoy the experience. Enjoy the view and go for it! Each GM2016 patrol will consist of Pathfinders…
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Continue reading →: Friday Night Guiding!
When people find out I run a Guide unit on Friday nights, I often hear similar comments. “On a Friday? Really? Are you not tired at the end of the week”? Truth is, there are many advantages to running a unit on a Friday. Some, you might not expect. Last…
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Continue reading →: Moving Oceans: Working together to stop violence against girls
When Morgan Boyer, a Ranger in St. John’s, was invited to the Girls Speak Out at the United Nations for International Day of the Girl, she spoke out on the realities girls face in Canada. Morgan was invited after writing a winning poem when WAGGGS called for stories from girls…
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Continue reading →: Calming the Camp Nerves
We at Brownies know how stressful a first camp can be! Nerves and anxiety everywhere. To help, I’ve made a list of my top ways parents and Guiders can help to calm homesick and anxious campers. For Parents: Don’t transfer your own anxieties onto your Brownie! Sometimes our own nerves…
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Continue reading →: The Hair Petition
The World Centres are something you talk about in Guiding from a young age. You learn where they are, what they’re called, what kind of food they eat and what games they play in the countries where they are located. But last July, after two flights, two train rides, a…
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Continue reading →: Opening the vaults: Embarrassing moments
Ever have one of those moments where you find your old journal or a box of letters you wrote? Yeah, it can be kind of embarrassing. So imagine Guider Sarah Govan-Sisk’s surprise when a letter she wrote almost 20 years ago to national office was unearthed. Sarah had contacted the…
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Continue reading →: We will remember them
Remembrance Day – November 11, 2014 My earliest memories of Guiding are going to my Sparks meetings in a little church hall, on the Canadian Forces Base in North Bay, Ontario. I was excited to continue a family tradition. My mother, who was also my leader had been a Brownie…
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Continue reading →: Remembering our Guiding Roots on Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day is not just an opportunity to talk about peace, or what soldiers did during the First and Second World Wars or Afghanistan – it can also be a great opportunity to introduce our girls to our Guiding roots. One often overlooked piece of the Guiding story is that…
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Continue reading →: Get your Tech On
With over 10 years as a Girl Guide leader, it’s not surprising that some things have changed since I started. Here are some of my tips for using technology as a Guider. Email is your friend – I’m a big fan of email. I can write an email when I…
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Continue reading →: 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 day-long Iron Chef cooking competition for Pathfinders, Rangers, and adult…
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Continue reading →: Hanging with the Hong Kong Girl Guides
We arrived in Hong Kong after an 18-hour flight with our family, to a much warmer, much busier atmosphere then we are used to living in rural Ontario. Knowing we were missing the beginning of the Girl Guide year at home, we had reached out to the Hong Girl Guides…
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Continue reading →: Making new best friends in Peru
Imagine meeting a whole group of Pathfinders and Rangers for the first time at an airport. In a few short hours you will be travelling to Peru as part of Girl Guides of Canada’s Peru Adventure 2014. Up until now, everyone has just been a name or a quick Facebook…
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Continue reading →: We are all heroes
International Day of the Girl, October 11, 2014 Hero. Such a simple word that can mean so much. In comic books and Hollywood blockbusters, super heroes have extraordinary talents and superhuman powers that they dedicate to helping protect the world. While these kinds of super heroes may be imaginary, heroes…
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Continue reading →: A ditty bag by any other name…
Every Girl Guide knows a mesh bag is essential at camp to do dishes, but what do you call it? A mess kit? A ditty bag? A mess sack? Every unit uses different terminology but generally within the same region, terms are pretty much the same. But when you start…
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Continue reading →: What I got from my trip to the Sea of Cortez
This summer, I was fortunate to be able to participate in the Girl Guides of Canada Sea of Cortez trip. The trip description promised an exciting week aboard a ship in the Sea of Cortez with a patrol of Mexican Girl Scouts. Together we would be learning about marine life…
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Continue reading →: Ready for some adventure?
The applications and fact sheets for the Girl Guides of Canada 2015 travel opportunities are now online, and if you are eligible I hope you apply! I recently returned from the Newfoundland and Labrador Adventure 2014, my daughter has travelled to Ecuador and to Churchill, MB on the Arctic Adventure,…
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Continue reading →: One girl – and the difference Guiding made for her
When GirlGuidesCANBlog received this email from Guider Jeannette Thompson, we just had to share it with you: My daughter is a Guide, and she has written about her experience in Guiding. This was an assignment that was given to her by her resource teacher to help her with putting her thoughts…
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Continue reading →: Learning to Lead
I’m a big believer in life-long learning. I think it’s really important to look for ways to improve my skills and abilities, while also being a great example for both my own daughters, and for the girls in our unit. But with the busy lives most of us lead, it’s…
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Continue reading →: 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 crest program. Girls Count is all about introducing financial education…
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Continue reading →: How do I slice a cucumber?
“How do I slice a cucumber?” “I need ¼ teaspoon but all I have is a ½ teaspoon measuring spoon – what do I do?” “Can we just make a box of macaroni and cheese?” Three years ago, those were the questions I heard from some of my Pathfinders while…
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Continue reading →: Why math rocks
In elementary school I wanted to be a teacher because it seemed fun to work with kids and help them the way my teachers helped me. When I got to high school I wanted to be a doctor because I watched Grey’s Anatomy and thought dissection was the coolest thing…
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Continue reading →: My Year as a Spark Guider
I have been a Guide Guider for 10 years now, and have also worked with Pathfinders during that time. I love working with the Guide and Pathfinder age groups, the girls are keen and capable, they have a developing world view and are not afraid to voice their opinions. It’s…
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Continue reading →: How I spent my summer working at national office
Sarah Biggs started in Guiding as a Spark. Since then she’s transitioned through all the branches to achieve her Canada Cord, received a national scholarship, joined Link and has recently spent the summer working for Girl Guides of Canada as a Social Media Assistant. As someone so entrenched in Guiding,…
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Continue reading →: Opening the Vaults: Retro camp pics
Who needs Instagram to give their camp photos that nostalgic vibe? At Girl Guides of Canada, we’ve got lots of classic camp photos with that great hazy look that can only come from the 1970s and 1980s. Our archives sometimes receives donations of photographs with very little accompanying information ,…
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Continue reading →: Camp packing tips
1. Girls should know their stuff. If you really need to ‘help,’ choose the clothing and items to pack, lay them out and have the camper pack them. This gives her the opportunity to know what she has packed. More often than not, the items in the Lost & Found…
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Continue reading →: Why every Brownie should have a camp blanket
On this edition of Throwback Thursday, we’re revisiting a blog post on favourite topic – camp blankets! When I became a Brownie leader, right before we went to camp, I always brought my camp blanket to a meeting. This was a great way to start a conversation with the girls…
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Continue reading →: Let them sing!
One of the highlights of Guiding for me as a youth was the feeling I got singing at a campfire. Community or campfire singing lifts our emotions; it encourages a sense of inclusion and group spirit. I wanted to provide an opportunity for girls to have this experience. I found…
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Continue reading →: Throwback Thursday: The Benefits of Camping without Parents
If you’re involved in Guiding, you know how amazing the camp experience is. For girls, it may be their first exciting taste of freedom as they head out into the world without mom and dad. Here’s a Throwback Thursday post on going to camp sans parents. ____________________________________________________________ Every year, our Brownie unit…
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Continue reading →: Guiding North
What are you doing this summer? For eight girls and two Guiders, the answer to that question is: Why, going on a Guiding adventure to Churchill, Manitoba, of course! These trekking Girl Guides of Canada members are part of one of our awesome national travel experiences this summer. Their ten-day…
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Continue reading →: Making the global Guiding connection
Girl Guides of Canada (GGC) took to Hong Kong this past week to attend the 35th World Conference of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS). The conference is held every three years and is the primary decision-making session for the member organizations (MOs) within WAGGGS. Here’s…
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Continue reading →: 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 to celebrate this fact at our multi-unit advancement ceremony. We…
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Continue reading →: Girl Greatness Awards – Put Yourself Out There
I’ve been in Girl Guides of Canada for about four years. So far, it’s been an amazing experience. This was my first time applying for a Girl Greatness Award. I was not expecting to win as I thought that so many girls would be nominated and have a better submission…
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Continue reading →: Now my family understands why I’m a Guider
There we were…pouring rain, middle of May chill in the air (not quite spring, not quite winter), camping 100 km from anything – running water, power and even cell phone service. What was I going to do with 14 cold and wet souls? Our fire area was covered and it was…
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Continue reading →: Rain, Rain Go Away – or maybe not!
Why bad weather is a good thing in the run-up to a major camp Preparing eight girls and two Guiders for a week-long summer camp is not an easy task. There are the group dynamics to decipher, patrol gear to purchase and borrow and personal gear to figure out. Throw…
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Continue reading →: Girl Guide Camp Blanket vs. Camp Poncho
For today’s Flahsback Friday installment, we’re re-posting one of our most viewed blog posts of all time. ——————————————————————————————- In today’s post, we’re entering into some pretty turbulent waters, opening up a seriously contentious debate, if you will. No, I’m not talking about chocolatey mint vs. chocolate and vanilla classic cookies.…
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Continue reading →: Doing it all – and then some – at camp
What can you do at camp? Pretty much anything. Our friends at Caddy Lake Camp in Manitoba outline just some of the amazing experiences campers can expect this summer. When can we start packing?! Did you know going to camp is a simple and fun way to earn Guiding badges?…
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Continue reading →: 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 purchased special smaller hammers for their daughters to use. They…
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Continue reading →: Celebrating 90 years of service – a first for GGC!
This year’s Québec Council Annual General Meeting was a momentous occasion – we presented 99-year-old Honorary Life Member Daphne Sebag-Montefiore with Girl Guides of Canada’s very first 90-year service pin. Indeed, national office had to have the pin specially minted for her! What made the evening extra special was that…
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