Neat Idea: DIY Jewelry Stand

I saw this tutorial on www.ebot.com (via http://craftzine.com/) this morning: How to make a pretty jewelry stand from 2L Pop bottles and some hardware. This is probably more suitable for a Guide unit or higher but it could work into a Tool Girl type of badge – requiring safe use of snips, using unfamiliar tools, listening to instructions, [...]

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Key to I Can: Teaching Brownies to Knit

I will say from the beginning of this that I am a knitter and I’m on a bit of a crusade to get kids interested in knitting – or any needle art.  But I’m not crazy either.  From experience, most kids don’t have the motor skills and coordination for knitting until they’re eight or nine [...]

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Key to I Can: Sewing Magic

Do you sew with Brownies? The Purl Bee posted a pattern for a universal adjustable apron that might be a little tough for seven and eight year old Brownies but might be great for Guides or older – or as a one-on-one project.  http://www.purlbee.com/unisex-apron/

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Key to I Can: Brownies Build Birdhouses

This is a great idea to use as part of Key to I Can: Tool Girl.  A Brownie Unit in England bought Birdhouse kits and had parents come in to help with the assembly.  The Birdhouses were then donated to their school – this would need to be pre-arranged – but what a wonderful combination of using tools, learning [...]

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Brownie Camping: Chocolate cake in a mug

This looks like a neat camping or sleepover activity that Brownies could make (as long as there is a microwave).  Baking demonstrates neat stuff like chemistry, measuring, and patience.  http://allrecipes.com.au/recipe/9198/print-friendly.aspx

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Key to Me: Character Building

52 Character Building Thoughts for Children http://kellybear.com/TeacherArticles/TeacherTip52.html is something I found through www.stumbleupon.com.  I can see using it as part of Key to Me: I feel Proud and Respecting Others.

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Craft Ideas: Craft Camp

I’m looking forward to seeing what the people at Skip to My Lou (Sept 18/11 updated with new link) come up with.  They’re promising 30 days of 30 crafts for kids.  The first one (by Zakka Life) looks like a sewing craft that Brownies could do (Key to I Can – Sewing Magic, or Key [...]

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Key to … Everything!

Some meetings don’t have one single objective and tonight’s meeting is definitely one of them.  We’ve got four things to accomplish… Finish Key to I Can Sewing Magic.  We were working on sewing books in early January and, what with a meeting cancelled and a lot of other stuff to do, we haven’t been back [...]

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Tours and Visits

As I said in my previous post, we’re taking advantage of the Ottawa Girl Guide Archives to provide our meeting tomorrow night.  But there are lots of other neat (and often free) things available to book. Police Station Tours – The Ottawa Police Service offers evening tours of their facility for kids 8 years of age [...]

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Key to I Can: Party Planner (Ice Cream!)

This meeting is a big effort to squash the winter blues.  We’re using the “Party Planner” portion of Key to I Can to have some fun.  And we get to make Ice Cream! Where we got the idea: We relied on Girl Guides of New Brunswick’s “I Scream Meeting” for this entire program. I love meetings in a [...]

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