Tag Archives: Guides

Why letting girls lead was the best thing to happen to our Guide unit

Last year, the Guiders of the 26th Orleans Guides stopped leading the horseshoe, the campfire, or organizing games – and it was the best thing we ever did. We had started our year with four Guiders and a productive planning … Continue reading

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The moment this Guide learned to ride a bike will give you all the feels

Have you ever had a fear of trying something new? Not this Girl Guide, who tackled learning how to ride a bike. Continue reading

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A positive egg-sperience in responsibility

Warning: Some eggs may have been cuddled in the making of this post The theme for one of our recent unit meetings was understanding responsibility. The girls brainstormed ways to be responsible in Guides, create kit lists and set goals for … Continue reading

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What girls have to say about mental health

“I think mental health is  more normal than people think. If more people talked about it, it would become normal.” – 10-year old Guide  Girls have a lot to say about mental health, and we’re giving them the space to … Continue reading

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Work hard. Be kind. That is all.

“You’re not good enough.” “You don’t try hard enough.” “You don’t fit in.” These are messages that girls hear not only from society, but often from each other and themselves as well. I volunteer with a Guide and Pathfinder unit … Continue reading

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Spicing up the program

At a recent unit meeting, we tapped into our Guides’ creativity by having them design and market their own potato chip flavours. I made a trip to the store to buy all the spices and flavourings and went a little … Continue reading

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Helping the Bees

Earlier this spring, the 2nd Cedar Park Guides in Quebec took an environmentally friendly action for the 3rd years to complete their Lady Baden-Powell Challenge and to help the bees. They also invited the 3rd Cedar Park Brownies to partake … Continue reading

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Proud of ‘My Girls’

This past weekend, I had the absolute pleasure of watching ‘my girls’ receive their Lady Baden-Powell awards. Were you there? Did you see that person hiding in the back with a box of Kleenex? That was me. Yup, I cried. … Continue reading

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Guides learn the nuts and bolts of auto mechanics

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 … Continue reading

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Words in Action: It’s more than just collecting book donations

When we started off the 2015-2016 Guiding year, we asked our Guides what they thought Guiding was about and what they wanted to focus on this year. To our surprise, the number one answer (tied with camping) was community service. … Continue reading

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When compliments are contagious

Like most great things, it happened as an accident. The craft group wasn’t quite done and the Guides I was working with couldn’t handle another running game. So we sat in a circle and caught our breath. “I have an … Continue reading

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Dear Lego….

When we heard how the 70th Toronto Guides celebrated International Day of the Girl (October 11), we had to share their story with you: We shared with the girls the story of a female scientist who asked Lego to create … Continue reading

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Teaching camp skills….indoors

Teaching camp skills to a group of 30, mostly new, inexperienced Guides before a fall tent camp that will be three-hours away from home can be a very rewarding experience. Teaching these skills that are to be applied outdoors during … Continue reading

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Girl Guide camp blanket vs. camp poncho

As units gear up for fall camps, we’re sharing one of our most popular blog items 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 … Continue reading

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Practicing for Guiding Mosaic 2016

With one year to go until Guiding Mosaic 2016 (GM2016), we decided to hold a Mosaic practice camp for the girls registered in our patrol. So, in mid-July we headed out, looking to get to know our girls better and … Continue reading

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This is why I volunteer with Girl Guides: How one girl changed my unit

This story all began when Girl Guides of Canada reached out to me to say that a parent had called looking for a unit for her Guide-aged daughter. Her daughter has Asperger’s and some other disabilities and wanted to make … Continue reading

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We can be the change

Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”  With this statement as a foundation, we challenged our Guides to have the courage to speak out and take action on important issues to make the … Continue reading

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Welcome to my world: How I made my unit more accessible

To me, Girl Guides is having a safe, fun place where everyone is included and everyone fits in no matter how different they might be or the limitations they might face. When I was 9 I was diagnosed with a … Continue reading

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Every girl should be able to…

Earlier this spring, our Guide unit found ourselves with extra time at the end of our meeting, so girls were allowed to do extra badge presentations for the group. Enter S.T., a girl who has been in Guiding from the … Continue reading

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Guide friends, Girl friends, Mom friends

Writing about friendship is tricky. The first time I took a crack at writing this blog post, I started writing about my daughter Karley’s transition through Brownies, with the end paragraph talking about how she made this new awesome best … Continue reading

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Heritage and History Around Us

Sometimes you read through the badge requirements and find a badge that really “fits” your unit. This is what happened with my Guide unit when we worked on our Heritage badge. The Guide Heritage badge is generally about learning of … Continue reading

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Girl Guides Make their Case

“All rise! Girl Guide Court of the Northwest Territories is now in session.” Those words opened one of the most unusual court sessions ever seen North of 60 — or maybe anywhere — as girls aged 9-11 were selected as … Continue reading

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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 … Continue reading

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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. … Continue reading

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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 … Continue reading

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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 … Continue reading

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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 … Continue reading

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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

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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

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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 … Continue reading

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Girl Guide Camp Blanket vs. Camp Poncho

This is the first of our Flashback Friday blog posts for the summer months! Every Friday we will re-share a post previously shared on GirlGuidesCANblog, that related to the summer months (camping, outdoor fun, family time). Enjoy! ———————————————————————– In today’s … Continue reading

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What to Do When Girl Guide says “I’m Bored”

A year ago, my 10-year-old daughter discovered Girl Guides. Since then, she has been committed to attending the weekly Unit meetings quite faithfully, whether homework was or was not completed. Her initial excitement stemmed from the fact that the meetings … Continue reading

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Why Girls Need National Membership Week

Tomorrow is the start of our National Membership Week that runs from September 10 – 18 all across Canada! It’s a time for Guiders and Units to showcase what Guiding has to offer new girls and women who join Guiding. Need inspiration … Continue reading

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