06/12/18
This week we went to our local pottery painting place and all the girls got to paint a bauble. We spent the first 30 minutes drawing a rough design on paper first, and then we transferred the design onto the bauble using a felt tip pen. When the bauble is glazed and put in the kiln, the felt tip pen burns off so it is perfect for planning out a design before painting. We were then given a plate with a few colours on and lots of paintbrushes of different sizes. They recommended that the girls paint all the large areas with the paintbrushes and then they would come round with paint pens to help do outlines and fiddly bits. A few of the girls struggled to come up with ideas so the Leaders offered up a few simple suggestions (reindeer, santa, presents etc.) and then they were all happy getting on with it with limited assistance.
Once the girls had finished painting the large areas with the paintbrushes, they were allowed to use a paint pen to do outlines - basically a squeezy pot of paint with a needle thin point. A few girls had a lot of problems with using the pens as they couldn't squeeze them hard enough, or too much came out at once so they needed a lot more help then.
We left the baubles there to be kilned and glazed, we will pick them up in time to hand them out next week. I think the girls really enjoyed painting their baubles, even if some of the struggled a little bit, and they also enjoyed having some time to sit and chat with their friends.
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Monday, 10 December 2018
Monday, 3 December 2018
Christmas Cards
29/11/18
A year or so ago, one of our Brownie's Grandmas was clearing out some craft items and donated a lot of card making stuff to us. A lot of it was Christmassy, so we were going to use it last year and then forgot so we saved it for this year. We laid out all the stickers and coloured card and other items on a table at the front of the hall, gave each girl a blank white card, and then let them come up, a table at a time, to pick 2 items from the table to start with. When everyone had been up once, they could all start making their cards, and they could come up to the front table at any point to swap what they currently had for something different.
It was a perfect evening from a leaders perspective because we literally had to do nothing, short of peeling off a few stickers and stopping minor disagreements over who was using the scissors or the sticker sheet next. Which was probably a good thing because 2 of our leaders couldn't make it and we had to have a parent helping instead!
The girls absolutely loved being given free reign to do whatever they wanted to do on their card and would happily have carried on for longer than we gave them. I was also pretty impressed with the speed at which most of them helped tidy up at the end too - our Young Leader went round with a broom, but the girls put all their rubbish in the bin; pens, glue, and scissors in the correct boxes; unused stickers back on the front table; and their cards with their coats with very little prompting! Definitely an evening we will be running again, not least because we still have reams of card making stuff left over, and not all of it is Christmas themed!
A year or so ago, one of our Brownie's Grandmas was clearing out some craft items and donated a lot of card making stuff to us. A lot of it was Christmassy, so we were going to use it last year and then forgot so we saved it for this year. We laid out all the stickers and coloured card and other items on a table at the front of the hall, gave each girl a blank white card, and then let them come up, a table at a time, to pick 2 items from the table to start with. When everyone had been up once, they could all start making their cards, and they could come up to the front table at any point to swap what they currently had for something different.
It was a perfect evening from a leaders perspective because we literally had to do nothing, short of peeling off a few stickers and stopping minor disagreements over who was using the scissors or the sticker sheet next. Which was probably a good thing because 2 of our leaders couldn't make it and we had to have a parent helping instead!
The girls absolutely loved being given free reign to do whatever they wanted to do on their card and would happily have carried on for longer than we gave them. I was also pretty impressed with the speed at which most of them helped tidy up at the end too - our Young Leader went round with a broom, but the girls put all their rubbish in the bin; pens, glue, and scissors in the correct boxes; unused stickers back on the front table; and their cards with their coats with very little prompting! Definitely an evening we will be running again, not least because we still have reams of card making stuff left over, and not all of it is Christmas themed!
Wednesday, 24 December 2014
Home for the Christmas party
18/12/14
Tonight was the last meeting of the term for my unit back home and I was home from university so I went to the Christmas party. This year, instead of having each girl bring an item of food, as we usually do, we used up a lot of food that was left over from various other events (biscuits and sweets) and bought some grapes, melon and pineapple to go with them.
When I arrived, I helped set up all the food with the two Young Leaders and spoke to a few girls who were happy to see me! I was also introduced to the 4 new girls who've joined since I left.
The evening was run, as it usually is, by a group of the older girls who has organised a game of pass the parcel, wrapping up a girl as a snowman in toilet paper, and a game of Honeypot (instructions here). The game of pass the parcel didn't go particularly well because the CD player they had brought wasn't loud enough for us to distinguish between the end of a song and it actually being paused.
While the girls wrapped a couple of girls up in toilet paper, the Leaders took it in turn to go into the kitchen and sign the Christmas cards for the girls. I then sat in there putting them into the envelopes while catching up with a Young Leader for a bit.
We then had the food and so I stood by the table, making sure the girls weren't taking more than their fair share and eating some food myself! I also ended up on spillage duty as 3 girls spilt their drinks (one right next to me while I was cleaning up her friends'!).
We ended the meeting with our circle and gave out cards to the girls and a few presents for the leaders before wishing them a Merry Christmas and letting them go.
It was a very relaxed evening and meant I could catch up with some Leaders and a couple of girls and I am looking forwards to the meetings and trips I am going to be able to go on in the New Year as my 2nd semester timetable still doesn't allow me time for Brownies at university.
Tonight was the last meeting of the term for my unit back home and I was home from university so I went to the Christmas party. This year, instead of having each girl bring an item of food, as we usually do, we used up a lot of food that was left over from various other events (biscuits and sweets) and bought some grapes, melon and pineapple to go with them.
When I arrived, I helped set up all the food with the two Young Leaders and spoke to a few girls who were happy to see me! I was also introduced to the 4 new girls who've joined since I left.
The evening was run, as it usually is, by a group of the older girls who has organised a game of pass the parcel, wrapping up a girl as a snowman in toilet paper, and a game of Honeypot (instructions here). The game of pass the parcel didn't go particularly well because the CD player they had brought wasn't loud enough for us to distinguish between the end of a song and it actually being paused.
While the girls wrapped a couple of girls up in toilet paper, the Leaders took it in turn to go into the kitchen and sign the Christmas cards for the girls. I then sat in there putting them into the envelopes while catching up with a Young Leader for a bit.
We then had the food and so I stood by the table, making sure the girls weren't taking more than their fair share and eating some food myself! I also ended up on spillage duty as 3 girls spilt their drinks (one right next to me while I was cleaning up her friends'!).
We ended the meeting with our circle and gave out cards to the girls and a few presents for the leaders before wishing them a Merry Christmas and letting them go.
It was a very relaxed evening and meant I could catch up with some Leaders and a couple of girls and I am looking forwards to the meetings and trips I am going to be able to go on in the New Year as my 2nd semester timetable still doesn't allow me time for Brownies at university.
Saturday, 18 January 2014
Catch Up Time..!
Apologies for the lack of posts over the last 2 months... Things just got busier and I couldn't find time to write. Here is what we did for the last few weeks of term and the first two weeks of this term will follow in the next day or so.
28/11/13
This week we made 3D foam Christmas trees. We bought kits which contained all that the girls needed; the tree, a star, baubles, snowflakes and candy canes. Each kit came with enough for 4 trees so we had to cut up the sheets of baubles so the girls could have 4 of each colour bauble which left me with a lot to do at the beginning of the meeting because we'd forgotten to do it before the meeting. The girls seemed to enjoy themselves and there were quite a few really detailed trees.
Once they had finished they could chose a colourful sheet of paper and make paper chains. We had loads of really long chains by the end of the evening and it was definitely a big hit with the girls!
5/12/13
This week we did some more Christmas crafts - baubles and cutlery holders. The baubles were made from clear plastic balls and the girls made a snowman from polystyrene balls. They had cardboard hats and scarves and beads on needles for eyes and noses! Each bauble also had a small amount of fake snow at the bottom. It was quite a tricky craft so we had one table making them with Brown Owl (who invented the craft!) while all the other girls did Snowy's craft; cutlery holders.
Each girl had a piece of red card from which they cut out the main shape using a template Snowy had made. They then folded it up and stapled the edge together. They had to cut out a square of white card and then cut out two slits in it for the belt buckle and then they had to thread sticky black felt through the buckle before sticking it round the main body. This was extremely tricky for the majority of girls and, if we did it again, I would use regular felt and glue instead.They also had the option of putting a parcel label on it with a name on (for use on their table at Christmas). Snowy had provided enough material for each girl to make 4 but they started to get bored after one so I think she needed to have chosen something else too. Luckily we still had paper from last week so the girls made even more paper chains!
12/12/13
This week we had gingerbread cookies to decorate so 5 girls at a time went into the kitchen with our 2 other adult helpers and decorated stars with icing and sprinkles. Surprisingly, the girls didn't go excessively overboard with this as they usually do - some of the cookies leaving at the end of the meeting were actually really good quality!
Unfortunately, I can't remember what we did this week other than the cookies... I really need to keep on top of this...
19/12/13
This week was party week! Two girls who were leaving this week organised the evening for the other girls. It was a Christmas colours or onsie theme so naturally most girls showed up in their onsies - I mean, who's going to turn down the opportunity to go out in their pyjamas at that age!? They started off by playing coaches (instructions here) and then fishes (instructions also here) while the other Young Leader and I set up the food on the tables ready for when they were done. We then had to stand by the tables making sure they didn't run into it though..!
Once they were done playing, we let them loose with the food. Before a party, we send home a slip of paper with each girl telling them what food to bring. That way we can have some say over the amount of savoury and sweet items we have (and that we don't end up with 24 lots of the same food!). We let the girls sit on the floor or chairs with their friends so naturally we have a few drinks spillages but it's generally a good atmosphere.
At the end of the meeting we gave each girl a Christmas card and the two girls who were leaving got their certificates and teddy bear keyring before the girls all went home.
It's been a good term with lots going on. I feel I've deserved this rest though! Bring on next term... :D
28/11/13
This week we made 3D foam Christmas trees. We bought kits which contained all that the girls needed; the tree, a star, baubles, snowflakes and candy canes. Each kit came with enough for 4 trees so we had to cut up the sheets of baubles so the girls could have 4 of each colour bauble which left me with a lot to do at the beginning of the meeting because we'd forgotten to do it before the meeting. The girls seemed to enjoy themselves and there were quite a few really detailed trees.
Once they had finished they could chose a colourful sheet of paper and make paper chains. We had loads of really long chains by the end of the evening and it was definitely a big hit with the girls!
5/12/13
This week we did some more Christmas crafts - baubles and cutlery holders. The baubles were made from clear plastic balls and the girls made a snowman from polystyrene balls. They had cardboard hats and scarves and beads on needles for eyes and noses! Each bauble also had a small amount of fake snow at the bottom. It was quite a tricky craft so we had one table making them with Brown Owl (who invented the craft!) while all the other girls did Snowy's craft; cutlery holders.
Each girl had a piece of red card from which they cut out the main shape using a template Snowy had made. They then folded it up and stapled the edge together. They had to cut out a square of white card and then cut out two slits in it for the belt buckle and then they had to thread sticky black felt through the buckle before sticking it round the main body. This was extremely tricky for the majority of girls and, if we did it again, I would use regular felt and glue instead.They also had the option of putting a parcel label on it with a name on (for use on their table at Christmas). Snowy had provided enough material for each girl to make 4 but they started to get bored after one so I think she needed to have chosen something else too. Luckily we still had paper from last week so the girls made even more paper chains!
12/12/13
This week we had gingerbread cookies to decorate so 5 girls at a time went into the kitchen with our 2 other adult helpers and decorated stars with icing and sprinkles. Surprisingly, the girls didn't go excessively overboard with this as they usually do - some of the cookies leaving at the end of the meeting were actually really good quality!
Unfortunately, I can't remember what we did this week other than the cookies... I really need to keep on top of this...
19/12/13
This week was party week! Two girls who were leaving this week organised the evening for the other girls. It was a Christmas colours or onsie theme so naturally most girls showed up in their onsies - I mean, who's going to turn down the opportunity to go out in their pyjamas at that age!? They started off by playing coaches (instructions here) and then fishes (instructions also here) while the other Young Leader and I set up the food on the tables ready for when they were done. We then had to stand by the tables making sure they didn't run into it though..!
Once they were done playing, we let them loose with the food. Before a party, we send home a slip of paper with each girl telling them what food to bring. That way we can have some say over the amount of savoury and sweet items we have (and that we don't end up with 24 lots of the same food!). We let the girls sit on the floor or chairs with their friends so naturally we have a few drinks spillages but it's generally a good atmosphere.
At the end of the meeting we gave each girl a Christmas card and the two girls who were leaving got their certificates and teddy bear keyring before the girls all went home.
It's been a good term with lots going on. I feel I've deserved this rest though! Bring on next term... :D
Monday, 25 November 2013
Christmas Fayre Crafts
21/11/13
This week we gave the girls a choice of two crafts they could do in preparation for the church's Christmas Fayre which is this Saturday. One of the leaders is attending and a few of the girls will go and help her run a stall, open to the local community. Some years we make cards or tree ornaments and other years we have some games for people to play. This year we decided to run two games, 'Fish for Stockings' and 'Where Has Santa Been?' which are two that we've done previously relatively successfully.
The girls were given the choice of colouring in cardboard stockings or cardboard houses. With the stockings we then put a paper clip on the top of each with a folded up piece of paper saying either 'win' or 'lose'. People then use a magnetic fishing rod (left over from a game I had when I was younger) to pull one out of a box and will get a sweet if their paper says 'win' on it. The houses started off flat although some of the girls asked for theirs to be stuck together to make it easier for them to see what part of the house was what. They coloured them in and then each one would have a piece of paper under it saying either 'yes' or 'no' and a prize would be given for all the 'yes's. Some of them didn't really seem to enjoy it though as we had a few houses which had to be sent back to have windows and doors added! A couple of the girls though got very engrossed in it and drew chairs and tables inside the house. One girl even drew a full set of rooms, including upstairs and downstairs, in hers which looked really nice when it was done!
Unfortunately, we had under anticipated how many girls would want to colour in stockings and therefore didn't have enough which caused a bit of friction from the girls who had been last to chose but they were then told they could make the posters advertising what the games were instead which solved the problem. One of the older girls was also given the privilege of drawing a road map for all the houses to stand on to look like they were in a village which she seemed quite proud of.
We finished off by playing a quick game of fishes (instructions here) and then all the girls went home.
It was quite a relaxed evening although I didn't get to sit and talk to the girls because I spent most of the time sticking houses together!
This week we gave the girls a choice of two crafts they could do in preparation for the church's Christmas Fayre which is this Saturday. One of the leaders is attending and a few of the girls will go and help her run a stall, open to the local community. Some years we make cards or tree ornaments and other years we have some games for people to play. This year we decided to run two games, 'Fish for Stockings' and 'Where Has Santa Been?' which are two that we've done previously relatively successfully.
The girls were given the choice of colouring in cardboard stockings or cardboard houses. With the stockings we then put a paper clip on the top of each with a folded up piece of paper saying either 'win' or 'lose'. People then use a magnetic fishing rod (left over from a game I had when I was younger) to pull one out of a box and will get a sweet if their paper says 'win' on it. The houses started off flat although some of the girls asked for theirs to be stuck together to make it easier for them to see what part of the house was what. They coloured them in and then each one would have a piece of paper under it saying either 'yes' or 'no' and a prize would be given for all the 'yes's. Some of them didn't really seem to enjoy it though as we had a few houses which had to be sent back to have windows and doors added! A couple of the girls though got very engrossed in it and drew chairs and tables inside the house. One girl even drew a full set of rooms, including upstairs and downstairs, in hers which looked really nice when it was done!
Unfortunately, we had under anticipated how many girls would want to colour in stockings and therefore didn't have enough which caused a bit of friction from the girls who had been last to chose but they were then told they could make the posters advertising what the games were instead which solved the problem. One of the older girls was also given the privilege of drawing a road map for all the houses to stand on to look like they were in a village which she seemed quite proud of.
We finished off by playing a quick game of fishes (instructions here) and then all the girls went home.
It was quite a relaxed evening although I didn't get to sit and talk to the girls because I spent most of the time sticking houses together!
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