Last week our second year Brownies went to visit Guides and the first year girls invited Sparks to be honourary Brownies. The split is necessary in our neighbourhood because the Guide unit here is huge and their space isn’t big enough for all of the Brownies to go to Guides. We also like that it gives our younger girls a chance to be the leaders.
Here is a two meeting plan for a really nice Sparks visit Brownies bridging meeting:
Meeting One (Key to Active Living – Say No, Key to Guides – Moving up (2nd year girls), Key to Guides (1st year girls) – Helping Sparks)
One week before the bridging meeting we all had a lesson on teaching. The idea is that the first year girls would hone their knowledge on an activity, and then work out how to teach it.
6:30 – arrival game
6:40 – Brownie opening activities
6:55 – Program
- Say No discussion – how can you say no to someone who suggests you do something that is wrong or that you don’t want to do? Girls into 4 groups 6 each. Each group gets a skit to act out. Practice. Remember to face the audience and speak clearly and loudly. We did this as “on the spot” no practice skits.
- Some kids are playing at the playground. Your friend tells you that you should go and push one of the kids off the monkey bars. What do you do?
- You and your friends are getting popsicles at the store. One of your friends tells you to steal a chocolate bar. What do you do?
- You and your friends are playing outside. Everyone decides to go into one friend’s house, but you don’t have permission. What do you do?
- You and your friends are selling cookies in the neighbourhood. Someone you don’t know asks you to come inside to wait while they get some money to buy some cookies. What should you do?
- 2nd Year Program – go through the Moving up bit of the book – when you’re done, join the first year girls as stand-in Sparks.
- 1st Year Program
Group 1 – Teach a Game (they picked Ladders- even though the Brownie teachers did a good job, the wiggly Sparks had trouble sitting still while they explained it)
Group 2 – Teach a craft - Hawk Owl provided an option for a paper weaving craft and a glue and drawing craft. The paper weaving won. (I’ll have to ask her for instructions)
Group 3 – Teach a song – My group chose to teach Sparks Quartermaster Store.
The girls explained the song “This is a song about a man who goes into a store without his glasses – spectacles are what glasses used to be called – and he sees some strange things”
Then then sang the verse – sang it line-by-line, then invited everyone to give it a try.
7:40 – Everyone plays the game – finish with the song. Campfire.
7:55 – closing
Meeting Two
6:30 – Arrival game – once everyone was there, we did a round of Brown Owl’s Rules.
6:40 – Brownie Circle activities – split Sparks into the circles. Have the first year girls teach the Sparks their circle songs.
6:55 – Program – Learn a Song and Learn a Craft (we’ll do the game for everyone at the end). Sparks are split into two groups. They’ll get to do both activities – 15 minutes per activity. Craft and Song teachers split up, game teachers join a group of Sparks.
7:30 – Learn a game – As I said above, Ladders was a little tough for the Sparks to sit still and learn. But there are always lessons in failure – and our girls know that sometimes it doesn’t work.
7:50 – Short campfire – everyone sings Quartermaster Store together. “Owls…eating paper towels” is our favourite one.
7:55 – Closing with Grand Howl for the Sparks.
And that’s it. It is a simple program, but it really works!
Our neighbourhood Campfire last year. (because it was a shame to not have a photo with this post).
