Thinking Day 2016!

Happy Thinking Day!

Every year the local guiding units in my area of Don Mills get together for Thinking Day. This has become a tradition for about 5 years and we all agree that is a fabulous way to bridge with all of the units (from sparks to rangers) and really share in the sisterhood of guiding. This year we chose to complete the WAGGGS 2016 Thinking Day badge that challenged us to connect both locally and globally. 

We began our night by all learning the song and dance "Hey There Neighbour." The Sparks and Brownies already knew this song so they had a great time teaching the older girls. Once learned we did this as a whole group activity with over 80 guiders!

After singing and dancing with everyone, the girls got together in groups to create happiness superheroes. The Sparks graciously volunteered to be the superhero models and the groups loved sharing their superheroes' happiness powers!

After a tasty snack the girls got back into activities. The Pathfinders ran some games native to the world guiding centre Our Chalet and the Rangers helped the younger girls create their own paper guiding dolls we are calling "Flat Stellas". Michele, our Pathfinder/Ranger guider is heading to Guiding Mosaic this year and will be bringing along our Thinking Day Stellas. If you see them around take a picture and tweet it out with the hashtag #DonMills Guiding telling us who you are and where your from. We hope to connect with as many people from across Canada as possible!

What did your unit do for Thinking Day?

Introducing Guider Bot!

Today is my birthday and I'm turning 25. Even though I have been "officially" an adult for many years, I'm one of those "always going to be a kid people." And since my wife Ashley knows me so very well, she planned an awesome day of birthday activities including toy robot painting! There is a local toy store/painting studio in our area called Mindzai. There you can buy all sorts of adorable, collectable toys as well as design and paint your own! 

After many hours and coats of paint I want to introduce to you Guider- Bot!

Ashley and I had an awesome time. I really feel that my little robot encompasses my love of toys, guiding and fun! 

  

The Brownies Take a Trip to Home Depot!

401st Toronto Brownies Showing off the Birdhouses they made at the Home Depot

This year our unit has been working on our Key to I Can program badge. In addition to learning about cooking, sewing and household safety we thought that woodworking skills were something the girls should have the opportunity to develop. We were so fortunate that our local Home Depot location also highly values girls learning to use tools and we were able to partner with them to give the girls this wonderful opportunity.



We started our visit with a tour of the Home Depot store. Our tour guides showed the girls various tools such as drills, saws, tool boxes, hammers and screw drivers. They also learned about the different kinds of safety equipment one might need when working with tools. We learned that cutting and putting together wood can be very loud and dusty so gloves, goggles, ear plugs and a dust mask are a must!

The project our Brownies worked on was a wooden bird house. The girls learned how to follow wood working plans, line up wood pieces for joining, hammer nails and screw in screws. They learned that building something takes a lot of patience and perseverance. They also discovered that working with a partner makes the job easier and way more fun! 

Although it took a lot of work the girls all persevered and were able to complete their birdhouse! In addition to gaining lots of new skills, each of my Brownies earned their Tool Girl Badge! We were so happy that Home Depot was able to accommodate us we will definitely be doing more building projects in the future!