Trying out the new programme

Since the launch of the new programme last year, Rainbows, Brownies, Guides and Rangers across the region have all been trying out some of the new activities and planning which ones they want to take part in next.

3rd Tonbridge Guides, in Girlguiding Kent Weald county, have jumped straight into the new programme this term. Before Christmas, the Guides spent some time looking through some of the new activities on offer, and after a group discussion decided that they wanted to start off with some activities from the Express Myself theme.

First was a Skills Builder from Communicate stage 3. Beat the Butterflies is all about building confidence before talking in front of a group, eliminating any pre-performance nerves and practicing techniques to help feel more comfortable when put on the spot. In their patrols, the Guides each talked about the things that made them nervous before having to talk in front of a group of people, and then discussed as a group some ways of eliminating these nerves. After some activities to feel relaxed, each Guide spoke in front of the rest of their patrol.

After the activity the unit discussed how they'd found it. There was a lot of agreement that they'd picked up some useful skills to use next time they had to do a presentation at school. Sophie, new to Guides last year, said that although she found it scary to do she felt like she'd accomplished something afterwards.

3rd Tonbridge Guides have also made use of the new Unit Meeting Activities, with Guides in our unit completing Stor-elay, part of Express Myself, HELP, part of Have Adventures, and Mastering the Moves, part of Be Well. The great thing about the new programme is that there are a range of activities that take different lengths of time, so if one patrol finishes an activity quicker than everyone else there will always be another one for them to choose from.

Some of the Guides have also been working on their Media Critic interest badge, also part of the Express Myself theme.

Ella, Patrol Leader of the Polar Bear patrol, said that she liked that the new programme was more interactive, meaning that they spent more time discussing topics and themes within the patrol group. Scarlett agreed, saying that this gave them a good opportunity to get to know each other, especially when there are new Guides in the unit. All the Guides felt like they had more say in the sorts of activities they took part in, with Maisie saying it was great that they can choose their own themes.

You can see what 3rd Tonbridge Guides get up to next on their Twitter feed: @3rdTonGuides.