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Continue reading →: Lead, by example and change the world
One year, I had a new member in my unit who was shy. Her father let me know that already by the age of nine, she had been through a lot. As a single parent he was doing what he could to help her, and had been recommended to enroll…
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Continue reading →: Calgary Floods and Girl Guides
On June 20, 2013 a life changing flood hit High River, Calgary and many other Southern Alberta areas. The next day and for weeks later, the Okotoks Girl Guides were drawn to help. Compassion overwhelmed us and we immediately jumped into action. Leaders either volunteered by doing laundry, taking care of children…
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Continue reading →: Training Benefits
There’s no better time than the present for Brownie Guiders in Ontario. Ontario Council in partnership with the Disney Institute presents SUPER PROGRAM, a training exclusively for Brownie Guiders. For complete details visit https://guidesontario.org/index.php/adult/unit-guider/brownies/26-adult-members/779-super-program —————————————————————- I have been a member of Guiding for over 40 years. I was a girl…
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Continue reading →: The Benefits of Camping without Parents
Every year, our Brownie unit takes a spring weekend camping trip. As I enter my seventh year as a Brownie leader, I have been reflecting on what I have learned about planning these camp weekends. There are some obvious things, like better food purchasing estimates (we had SO much leftover…
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Continue reading →: 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 sleepover.” In June, we asked our Brownies what they would…
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Continue reading →: Through Our Eyes: Two Girls, One Memorable Trip
Women Deliver 2013: Rukaiyah’s experience Attending the Women Deliver 2013 Conference in Malaysia granted me opportunities that I would have never been able to experience otherwise. Where else would I have been able to play a lead role in delivering a baby? AT PRONTO International’s exhibit booth, I participated in…
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Continue reading →: Celebrating Girl Guide Camp Bonita Glen
In late August, the usually busy Girl Guide Camp of Bonita Glen wasn’t filled with its usual campers. Instead of girls attending summer camp, a group of former campers from as far back as the 1940’s, were there to celebrate and learn about the camp they spent summers at as…
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Continue reading →: My Summer of Guiding
At the end of a long year of planning meetings, selling cookies, and going to numerous camps, many Guiders (and girls!) look forward to a summer break from Guiding. Normally I do too, but this year I had a summer filled with Guiding that I wouldn’t trade for anything. I…
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Continue reading →: Swinging along the road…
I’ve done a lot of hiking over the last few months – some with our unit, and some with my family. I’m always a little surprised when people express shock that I would even CONSIDER hiking with children, especially Sparks. “But kids are so slow! You never get anywhere! And…
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Continue reading →: Lifelong Guiding Friendships
My neighbour and best friend Ally got me involved me in Girl Guides. I was shy and would not do anything without Ally that involved Guides. We advanced up to Pathfinders together then she decided that she did not want to continue anymore. I made the decision to stay in…
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Continue reading →: Polar bears, beluga whales and Girl Guides
Girl Guides of Canada sponsors a variety of domestic and international travel opportunities for girls and adults. Our travel program offers amazing experiences for members to explore their sense of adventure, develop new friendships and discover something new about themselves. Our trips also provide amazing educational opportunities including unique cross-cultural experiences, service-learning…
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Continue reading →: Why Every Day Girl is a Star Girl
A friend of mine recently donated to Malala’s charity as the organization of choice for her annual giving. Then she asked me if I’d follow suit. Love the idea but no can do. I’m not of the same mind, the token one-off giving of dollars for en vogue super “gurls”…
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Continue reading →: Flashback Friday: Adopt a District: Twinning Challenge
The Guiding season is about to start up again. Looking for an interesting challenge to do with your unit? Here’s a guest blog post by Guider Shannon and her experience doing the Twinning Challenge. This is part of our Flashback Friday summer series. Enjoy! —————————- I have had the opportunity…
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Continue reading →: A “Little Hero” from Girl Guides
I have always thought my daughter Haley to be special. She truly represents a Girl Guide: she always does the right thing, and last weekend she proved to me how special she is. Below is the story as it was told by the victim that Haley helped save. It was originally…
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Continue reading →: Inspiration to Guiding: Following in the Footsteps of a Canadian Heroine
Flashback to 1813 On the evening of June 21, 1813, American soldiers knocked on the door of the Secord home in Queenston, Ontario, demanding food. As they ate, Laura Secord overheard their plans to attack the British and Canadian forces stationed at Beaver Dams. Although Laura was born in the…
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Continue reading →: Long Time Guider, First Time Parent
This post is part of our Flashback Friday blog post series for the 2013 summer months. Enjoy! ———————————- I was a Guide leader for years before my daughter Claire came along. I have confidently taken other people’s daughters camping, taught them how to use irons, drills and hot glue guns,…
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Continue reading →: What it Means (to me) to Be an Owl
This post originally appeared on Guider Cara’s blog Brownie Meeting ideas ——————————- If you were a Brownie as a girl, you likely have fond memories and impressions of your Brown Owl, Tawny Owl, and Snowy Owl. I sure do. But when I got to thinking about it, I couldn’t remember…
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Continue reading →: What to Do When You Don’t Know What to Do
[This post is part of our Flashback Friday blog post series for the 2013 summer months. Enjoy!] ———————————- This was my third year as a Guider and my first year as a contact Guider with two other ladies who were parent helpers the year before. I definitely learned a lot…
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Continue reading →: Being Creative in More Ways than One
For the last few years the Winnipeg Grand Pines Area has supported a unit in a Manitoba Housing Complex. They met once a week in the Woodydell Family Resource Centre, but it was always very stressful on the Area’s resources, both financially as well as involving volunteer Guiders. We had…
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Continue reading →: Mentoring Members
We are having a beautiful summer here in Canada; and if you are reading this Guiding post during it – you are quite the dedicated Guider. You are the member I want to speak to today. All Guiding members are dedicated and great – you won’t find yourselves a louder…
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Continue reading →: Flashback Friday: Why Volunteering is Like the Mafia
[This post is part of our Flashback Friday blog post series for the 2013 summer months. Enjoy!] ———————————- Volunteering is many things – selfless, altruistic, but like the mafia? Yeah, it kind of is. Because as a Dad commented to me at Sparks the other night, “Volunteering is like the…
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Continue reading →: The Best Things I Learned from Girl Guides
As an organization that loves camping, going places, and doing things, I can’t imagine that there’s a Girl Guide out there who hasn’t had to pack for a trip away. Packing is an experience that we all go through, and it certainly can be a trial. I remember well that…
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Continue reading →: 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 ———————– What could be more fun than geocaching with Pathfinders? …
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Continue reading →: Flasback Friday : Bandanas and Things I Have Learned About Them
This post is part of our Flashback Friday blog post series for the summer months. Enjoy: ——————————————– This post was originally shared on Guider Kaarina’s blog Guider Sunshine. Thank you Kaarina for allowing us to share this awesome idea! ——————————————– Our Ranger helper last year Butterfly (a.k.a. Brittany) came up with a wonderful…
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Continue reading →: Things get EXPLOSIVE at Girl Guides!!
On a dreary Tuesday April night, 2nd Eastern Passage Girl Guides were having a BLAST! The girls were the first ever Girl Guide Group to go on a tour of the Canadian Forces Ammunition Depot in Bedford. They got a quick briefing about the history of the Depot, what ammunition…
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Continue reading →: Girls in Media
In this age of invasive media, teaching our daughters how to weed through the onslaught of sexual imagery directed at them is not easy. All around them are examples of young women, not that much older than themselves, being used as sexual objects to sell product. An obvious example is…
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Continue reading →: Flashback Fridays: Bumbling [Brownie] Badges
This post is part of our Flashback Friday blog post series for the summer months. Enjoy: ————————————————————————- Badges can be the bane of a Guider’s existence, can’t they? Although they provide satisfaction and joy, they are small and easily lost. They like to hide in every nook and cranny of…
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Continue reading →: You had me at Sparks
This post was originally shared on Guides Québec’s blog post on June 18, 2013. We thought it was so inspiring that we asked for their permission to share it with our audience on GirlGuidesCANBlog. ——————————————————- [Editor’s Note: This text is being printed with permission from Daphne S., who presented this…
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Continue reading →: Friendship Bracelets: World Record Attempt
Girl Guides – New Brunswick Council is hosting an all branches provincial camp this summer called Bridging Friends Forever (BFF). Some people go to the beach or visit Paris on vacation … but lots of fantastic women (a lot of you, I expect) volunteer time and talent to pitch in…
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Continue reading →: Let’s Be Less FrugalI follow a plethora of “saving” websites, blogs and Facebook groups. Okay, maybe not a plethora, but enough. What I keep seeing is, “buy in bulk, when it is on sale.” Okay, that’s great, but what happens when I buy SO much that I can’t possibly use it up before…
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Continue reading →: 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 we could serve our local, national and global community –…
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Continue reading →: 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 play outdoors, play started early and ended late. I used…
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Continue reading →: 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 to give her supplies to finish it at home, she…
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Continue reading →: Be the Change
What does advocacy mean to me? I think for some perhaps, at first a red flag shoots into their mind, picturing the girls picketing the streets, but for me, I picture advocacy a little differently since my recent international travel experience. This past March I had the amazing opportunity to…
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Continue reading →: I “Bee-lieve” in Camp!
I spent a lot of my time as a youth member in Girl Guides at camp. Going to Guelph ’93 as a Pathfinder was one of the defining moments of my youth, and one of the main things that kept me in Guiding when friends were drifting off to other…
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Continue reading →: Your Top GirlGuidesCANBlog Guest Bloggers Are…
We are so excited with the results of our 2nd Annual GirlGuidesCANBlog Big Deal Seal initiative! With your help, we have identified the top five posts, and reached more readers, received more pitches, and raised awareness about Guiding across Canada! We hope that you’ve already read many of the Big…
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Continue reading →: Online Guiding: Keeping Connected
Last summer, I had the fantastic opportunity to volunteer at the National Jamboree in Iceland for Scouts and Guides. It only rained twice (while I was setting up and taking down my tent), the Icelandic food was delicious, and I made amazing friendships! I’ll never forget struggling to understand the…
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Continue reading →: A Storm to Remember!
We REALLY want your vote! It’s time for the 2012/2013 Big Deal Seal! We’ve ranked all of the 2012/2013 blog posts (posted May 1, 2012 – April 30, 2013), according to views on the day they were posted. Now we’re looking to you, our audience, to help us identify the top…
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Continue reading →: I Travel Not to Go Anywhere, But to Go
We REALLY want your vote! It’s time for the 2012/2013 Big Deal Seal! We’ve ranked all of the 2012/2013 blog posts (posted May 1, 2012 – April 30, 2013), according to views on the day they were posted. Now we’re looking to you, our audience, to help us identify the top…
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Continue reading →: Kenza’s Goal: to go to Our Chalet
This post originally appeared on Guides Quebéc’s blog in French. We have translated it and included the French original copy below. ————————————————————- Once upon a time… This is the story of Huguette Deschenes and her daughter Kenza Deschenes-Kherchi. Kenza is 20 years old and has Asperger’s Syndrome (an autism spectrum…
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Continue reading →: The Cost of Procrastination
This is actually a slightly painful post for me to write. I tend to write about my own experiences, and this is certainly one that I have to own. A few weeks ago, I cut my hair. I had grown my hair for about 2-1/2 years, so that when I…
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Continue reading →: 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 their project was called “Keeping Our Creek Clean.” They spent…
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Continue reading →: 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 on this structure; others have to be coaxed from one…
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Continue reading →: 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 a good example for Guiding. They were attentive and always…
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Continue reading →: Trainings
I was asked if I would be interested in writing a blog post on the latest Alberta provincial training I went to. Absolutely I said. When I first signed up for the conference I had to figure out what sessions I wanted to take. All the sessions were based on…
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Continue reading →: Geo-What??? Or How to Hunt for Treasure in Your own Backyard
When I first heard about something called Geocaching through a friend, I was intrigued. It combines some of my favourite things: hiking, exploring, history, environmental awareness, and just a little bit of mystery! What is geocaching, you might ask? Essentially, it’s a giant treasure hunt, played all over the world!…
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Continue reading →: Figuring Out Your Feelings
May 6 – 10 is Mental Health Week in Canada. This is a great time to consider how you deal with your feelings, or how you can help a child identify what she’s feeling. —————————————————————————————– This post is about your regular feelings that crop up on a daily basis. If…
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Continue reading →: Geocaching with our Travel Bug
Remember how fun it was to go treasure hunting as a kid? Did you know there are real life treasure hunts taking place all around you – and all over the world? Did you know you can go with Girl Guides as part of a badge? Well, you can! Explore…
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Continue reading →: May Book Club Choice: City of 1,000 Dolls
Welcome to She Said/She Said, where GGC Members from across Canada are our book reviewers who share their opinions about this month’s book choice: City of 1,000 Dolls by Miriam Forster (published by Harper Collins Canada). She Said: Alexis Maartman-Jones Victoria, British Columbia I won’t ever look at cats the…
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