It is really difficult to show  you photos without showing all of the happy faces but here are two anonymous ones – and Snowy Owl. 

OH!  The giveaway winner is Siobhan Coulter.  Please e-mail me: brownowlcara <at> gmail <dot> com to tell me where to send it.  Happy Thinking Day everyone.

To win… leave a comment including where you’re commenting from (but not your address!) and your name below by Monday, February 20 at 6PM Eastern.  I’ll do a random draw and let you know on Tuesday who the winner is. All are welcome, not just Canada.  Happy 30,000 hits!

Here’s what we did:

6:00 – Guider arrival for setup – and final craft prep.  We put up some chairs.

6:30 – Girl and Parent Arrival. 

• Girl Game (while the parents got settled): Line Tag. 
• Then Group Game (including parents): Barnyard Tag.  I can’t find a link so I’ll describe it.  But I am not the author of the game.  Pair up.  Assign an animal sound to each pair.  Separate the pairs.  Close your eyes (or blindfold people).  On GO, everyone makes their sound and tries to find each other.  Hilarious.  Even more fun because the parents were in on it.  Very cute.

6:45 – Circle Time – one parent joins the groups.  Goal is to have the girls show the parent what they do in circles.  And teach them the song.

6:55 – Brownie Circle.  Parents join the circles.

7:00 – Program

• Parents Sit – Girls do their Highland Dance Demo.  This was very cool – thank heavens though that Starry Owl remembered the thing and could lead it. 
• Art By Hand – Girls have the option of showing what they made for the Art By Hand Project.  They were challenged to learn how to do something and make a project to show.  It is mostly geared towards needlework.  We had knitters, weavers, stitchers, embroiderers, a plastic canvas stitched heart, felters, a few handmade cards, and a paper mache animal (I don’t know if it was a donky or pig). 
• Craft - We made the Hand Stitched Valentine Card craft.  It was nice to have parents on hand to give one-on-one support to new stitchers.  You need:
  • Pre cut card stock.  I had white cardstock and used a paper slicer to cut it in half.
  • Pre cut pink hearts. 
  • Sharp tipped yarn sewing needles pre-threaded with dental floss (double folded and pre-knotted)
  • Markers to decorate the card
  • Optional – a glue stick or two may help with those struggling with keeping the heart on pre-stitch.
  • Instructions: Fold the card however you want.  Don’t forget to start the stitch from the back (so the knot stays inside).  Stitch the hearts onto the front of the card.  Easy peasy.  And we didn’t have any poked fingers so that was nice. 

7:30 – Campfire (we had some business to discuss about next week).  Fire’s Burning, Land of the Silver Birch (during which I spilled my drink – CLUTZ!), Buzzard Song. 

7:45 - Close, then snack and girls to show off their artwork - Masks and Art by Hand  to their parents

It was a nice meeting – some of the parents were a little reluctant to play along at first, but they did.  We had Circle Group with only Dads in it and the bunch of them skipping around the toadstool was a sight to behold.  Next Week is Thinking Day.

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/

Here are some Brownie friendly crafts and ideas:

• Hand Stitched Valentine Card craft.  We did this one year –  during a meeting called “Backward Day”.  We found out that when you make valentine cards on backwards day you may get a few “I hate you” cards.  Whoops.  Fortunately, the parents laughed.  I’ve got plans to make kits up for next week too. 
• Cross Stitched Heart Card – probably better for older girls.  But equally cool. 
• The Idea Room has photo cards (mabye for Brown Owl to make in advance) and a great list of activites (scroll to the bottom) like Valentine’s Bingo and Heart Yatzee. 
• From Guider Joanne… How about a Heart Healthy Game (of course!  why didn’t I think of that?)?  Or Valentines for Vets (BEWARE – you need to do this in December or January, but a really nice idea).

What do you do with Brownies for Valentine’s Day?

Our pre-meeting prep included making sure that the girls were properly dressed.  During the meeting, we needed to do a bit of crowd control, but other than that, we got to learn with the girls.  So much fun.

6:30 Arrival game
6:40 Brownie Opening circle, promise, and intro of our guests.
Program, which includes info about Scotland, a craft, and a lesson.
7:55 Grand Howl to say thank you. Then Taps.

The big lesson in this is to ask for help.  Ask around to see if there are resources that can help you out.  The girls benefit when they have someone else to listen to.  Guiders get to take a break from planning.  Everyone wins.  Thank you Sarah, Heather and Annie for this awesome meeting.

For Guiders, sleepovers are pretty neat too.  We get to see how the girls react to being away from their parents without being too far away from a pickup if necessary.  It is a nice safety net that can prep us for camp.  We also like to schedule the sleepover on Friday night.  Yes, you work all day on Friday, then have a restless sleep overnight, but by 8AM on Saturday morning, you’ve still got your entire weekend ahead of you. 

My goal for these things is that it is fun for the girls, but that we’re not up all night in sleepless chaos. 

Last night we slept over in the train room at the Canada Science and Technology Museum (Ottawa) and followed the Puzzle Hunt program.  There are other programs – we’ve done the Astronomy Night before, and Sparks did Scavenger Hunt.  We LOVED the Puzzle Hunt program.  The girls were active and busy the whole night.  In fact, they were so pooped by the end that they were mostly asleep by 10:15!  Huge Success! 

Things to think about:

• Cost – when you’re planning this sort of thing, don’t forget to account for cost of admission for the Guiders. You’re a volunteer.  You should not pay for admission.
• It isn’t cheap.  Plan to figure on about $40 per girl for the night we just had.  Don’t forget tax in your calculations!  You can fundraise, use cookie proceeds, or get parents to pay for it.  Or some combination of all three.
• Planning – It is usually a Yellow Level Safe Guide event, but pretty easy to get permission for if you’ve got enough supervision. 
• Sleeping in buildings that aren’t usually occupied – In Ottawa we’re required to advise the Ottawa Fire Service  of the fact that girls are sleeping in a building that isn’t usually occupied overnight.  The idea is that they will prioritize rescue differently for a building with nobody in it than they will if they know there are children inside.
• Options – For younger groups, think about doing a Mom and Me.  But the cost of extra adults is pretty big (extra adults at Science and Tech is $15 each)so that might be better suited for a church hall.  The neat thing is that supervision is covered and younger girls get to try things with the security of a trusted adult on hand.
• Bedtime- enforce it.  You parents (I am not a parent) already know how important it is to handle bedtime properly.  I’m not saying  this is the only way, but here is an amalgamation of all the strageties I’ve learned to help the girls to sleep. 
  • The girls are going to giggle, whisper, and maybe worry.  Reassure them.  Have a Q&A so they can get things out.
  • The Museum offered us the option of a movie before bed.  We declined.  The girls were drooping anyway, and TV tends to energize some of them. 
  • Let them know the rules… boundaries, how to handle bathroom trips in the night (the rules change from place to place), when and how they can use flashlights (no beaming people in the face), etc.
  • Start using quiet voices.  Require them to do the same.  Everyone into PJs, teeth brushed, and into bed.
  • Have a quiet song campfire.  (Make New Friends, Land of the Silver Birch, Barges).
  • Read a couple of stories (NOT ones they’re familiar with – look for a legend or something that they wouldn’t have heard before – I have a copy of Campfire Activities (GGC 1993) that always comes with me to this sort of event and last night I read Lee Piddle Thrigs and Why we have day and night) .  Rules during stories… you may listen to my stories, you may read your own book with your flashlight, and you may fall asleep.  You may not talk to each other.  When my stories are done, anyone who is still awake will quietly sing the Brownie closing, then it is time for lights out.
  • Then you have to supervise the whispering.  A sharp but quiet PSST usually stops a whisperer … and if they need to ask you a question, they can do that too.  It usually works.  (Note, this only works until girls are about 8.  After that they can wait you out.)
  • Lastly…  pick the most no-nonesense of the Owls to make this happen.  The bedtime owl needs to be compassionate, but they also need to have the ability to be stern to shut down silliness. 

Sleepovers are great ways to have a pre-camp preview of how your girls are going to handle being away from home.  They can be pretty expensive… but there are ways to do it on a budget.  Just make it fun.