Monthly Archives: November 2016

Horsing Around in Brownies

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Over two 2-hour sessions these past few weekends, girls from the 24th Brownies participated in the Horsemanship Program at the Burnaby Equestrian Centre, which is also run by volunteers. Girls got to learn a lot about some amazing animals and how to take care of them.
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In the first session, the girls learned about colourings and markings, and got to meet most of the horses in the three barns, applying what they had just learned by identifying the colourings and marking on each of them.
They were divided into two groups, taught about safety around horses, and each group got to groom a horse. They fed horses, and they met a horse who plays fetch and smiles on command!
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At the next session they started off by sitting in on the rehearsal for the drill demonstrations that will be held around 10:30am and 1:30pm next Sunday at the Open House.
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Then the girls were split up again and groomed different horses than they had before. The rain had let up, so they went out to the Round Pen and they got to lead horses, and learn about the different gaits.
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They practiced imitating those gaits and had a short race that way. After that everyone went back to the barn and the girls learned more details about the horses’ feed, and the riding tack (gear). They put the tack on one of the horses, and by then it was already time to go.
The girls really had a great time at the equestrian centre. The volunteers were super friendly and knowledgeable. The fee covered an Associate Membership, which will enable girls to pursue further horsemanship opportunities if their parents so choose.
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Consider checking out the Equestrian Centre’s Open House, Christmas with the Horses, happening this Sunday, December 4th. Info is available here.

Remembrance Day Meetings

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This week at Girl Guide meetings across the country, girls and their leaders have had tough, but important conversations about remembering. One of Burnaby Mountain District’s leaders wanted to share what they did to honour to Remembrance Day in the 24th Brownies:

We had a good talk about the poppy and its symbolism, Canada, our flag, our national anthem, the geography of our history/presence in wars, and our veteran family members, and we did some singing. Then we made Christmas cards to send to military personnel overseas. The girls were pretty into that. Take a look! It was a fun meeting despite the density of the subject matter.

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Way to go, girls! Those look great. These cards are sure to bring cheer to some who really need it this holiday season. This meeting, complete with service project, is a great example of how the Guiding program connects girls with the world around them. These activities helped fulfill part of the Brownies’ My Community program area.

Halloween Sleepover

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On Halloween weekend, Sparks and Brownies from four different units got together at Camp Capilano to enjoy some spooky fun and friendship at a super fun sleepover. The girls had a great time making new friends from the different groups, and everyone got along great. Everybody was kept busy with lots of fun activities.

The girls got to make a variety of crafts including their very own jack-o-lantern candle holder. These were made by gluing tissue paper to mason jars, and lighting them up with a battery operated tea light. This is a special keepsake that girls will be able to remember this sleepover with for a long time.

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Other crafts included pom-pom aliens, and a popular Halloween mask colouring station.

After a supper of mummy dogs and spooky veggies, the group was lucky enough to have nice weather for a wonderful campfire. They each got to take turns making s’mores. For some of the girls this was their first time roasting marshmallows over a campfire! They sang lots of fun campfire songs before going back to the cabin.

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Before bed the girls had a dance party featuring great Halloween music like “The Monster Mash” and theme songs from Ghostbusters and Spiderman. The common room was decorated with awesome Halloween decorations including the jack-o-lantern candle holders the girls had made earlier that night. The disco-style party lights made the atmosphere perfect for dancing.

The next morning early risers got to watch the movie Hotel Transylvania 2, and once everyone was up they all enjoyed a hearty breakfast of pancakes with turkey bacon. A few more festive activities, including the ever-popular pumpkin bowling, kept girls entertained until it was finally time to be picked up.

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Over all it was a very successful sleepover. The leaders were all impressed with how well the girls got along, and everybody was very well behaved. For most of the Sparks it was their first sleepover with Girl Guides, and everyone did great!