Every year I work with my Brownie Unit I try to make things better. Sometimes this means a new craft, a way to structure meetings or a new system to track the girl's progress through the program. I have learned so much from networking with other people and looking at other Guider's blogs that I wanted to give back in the same way. Whenever I come up with something that I think is too awesome to keep to myself I'll post it below. Hopefully you find a couple of things that will help your unit too :)
Brownie Meeting "Command Centre"
I am always looking for opportunities for my Brownies to develop leadership skills and take responsibility of how our meeting run. Right now my girls are split up into their fairy circles and are responsible for taking attendance and helping to set up/clean up our toadstool and craft supplies each meeting. Next year were are going to be bringing back weekly dues and becoming a little more strict about who's turn it is to help (as right now i have the same 3 girls doing it every week). As a way to help the girls become more independent I have come up with this "command centre" that will be brought out at each one of our meetings.
The Brownie board features what the current date is (for attendance and dues), which fairy circle is responsible for clean up and choosing the week's game, the Brownie Promise, Motto & Law (in case girls need a reminder) and a section where the girls can see what badges we are currently working on. I'm hoping that this will be a great addition to our meetings and help with any confusion the girls currently have.
Brownie Badge Keeping Record
Over the years i've tried a few different ways to keep track of the girls badge work. Last year my girls weren't really interested in earning badges on their own but this year we changed our approach and many have been inspired to try out some interest badges. The following badge record is what I use to keep track of my girls progress through the program. Each page is glued inside of a file folder and kept in our mobile file keeper. When we do badge testing I just pull the file folders of the girls who've prepared something and go from there. I like to write the date in the space next to the interest badge and I add a check mark when I physically give the badge to the girl. So far its been working great! Click below to grab a copy for yourself.
Over the years i've tried a few different ways to keep track of the girls badge work. Last year my girls weren't really interested in earning badges on their own but this year we changed our approach and many have been inspired to try out some interest badges. The following badge record is what I use to keep track of my girls progress through the program. Each page is glued inside of a file folder and kept in our mobile file keeper. When we do badge testing I just pull the file folders of the girls who've prepared something and go from there. I like to write the date in the space next to the interest badge and I add a check mark when I physically give the badge to the girl. So far its been working great! Click below to grab a copy for yourself.
Brownie Notebooks / Interactive Journal
My first year as a Brownie Leader I had the great idea to get all of my kids a notebook that they could keep their interest badge work in. I explained to the girls where to find the badge requirements, showed them how to use the notebook to store photos, writing and drawings from their badge work and waited hopefully.
Over the course of the year one or two girls earned an interest badge on their own, but really the notebooks went unused. When asked the girls why they weren't interested in earning the badges they all told me the same thing. They wanted to earn the badges but didn't understand HOW to get them. (despite my best efforts)
Over the summer I racked my brain trying to think of another way I could help the girls make the most of their Brownie program. I am now happy to introduce my unit's Brownie Notebook and how we use it to enhance our programming weekly.
Instead of having the girls pick the badges from the orange Brownie Program book I came up with another option. I typed up the requirements for each badge and separated them into strips. Some the girls prefer to glue a strip into their book and check off the requirements as they work through it. The nice thing is that once they share their badge work with me they can pick a new badge strip to glue into their book and work on. Girls are still welcome to work on any badge they like (they don't NEED a strip) but I have found a HUGE increase in individual badge work using this system. (I've included a downloadable version of the Brownie interest badge strips in the "Resources for Download" section)
In addition to interest badge work, the Brownie Notebook is the place that keep activities and crafts attached to program work. Some of the Brownie Key activities are enhanced by work we have the girls do at home (such as helping a neighbour or having them keep their rooms clean). I've created various pages that we glue into the book to help get at these program requirements.
Whenever I send crafts and the girls' work home from Brownies I always wonder what happens to it. I asked the Parents last year and they said that they want to girls work to be saved but often it gets ripped, crumpled and ultimately thrown out. To combat this we have now tried glueing any paper crafts that are completed during Brownies into their notebook. This has worked out super well and the girls love to look back in their book and see all of the crafts they had done in the past. Below is an owl Brownie promise craft we made at our second meeting and a Canadian flag collage craft we did for the Key to my Community badge.
The interest badge pages that I give out to the girls are ones that directly relate to our meeting programming. Sometimes we cover parts of an interest badge requirements in a meeting but don't have a chance to cover everything. When this happens I make up a page and let the girls know that if they want to do the extra work to earn that badge that its available. I don't make everyone take a page but it does give them the opportunity to earn a badge fairly easily.
My first year as a Brownie Leader I had the great idea to get all of my kids a notebook that they could keep their interest badge work in. I explained to the girls where to find the badge requirements, showed them how to use the notebook to store photos, writing and drawings from their badge work and waited hopefully.
Over the course of the year one or two girls earned an interest badge on their own, but really the notebooks went unused. When asked the girls why they weren't interested in earning the badges they all told me the same thing. They wanted to earn the badges but didn't understand HOW to get them. (despite my best efforts)
Over the summer I racked my brain trying to think of another way I could help the girls make the most of their Brownie program. I am now happy to introduce my unit's Brownie Notebook and how we use it to enhance our programming weekly.
The Brownie notebook lives in each girls Brownie bag and is brought back and forth to every meeting. We made it part of the uniform requirements and the girls are very good at bringing them int. The notebook is still the place that I ask my girls to put all of their interest badge work in. In addition to badge work, the notebook has become a place to keep all to the girls paper crafts and program work. It really helps keep everything in one place and I've had many parents tell me that they love having a keepsake of their daughter's time in Brownies.
Instead of having the girls pick the badges from the orange Brownie Program book I came up with another option. I typed up the requirements for each badge and separated them into strips. Some the girls prefer to glue a strip into their book and check off the requirements as they work through it. The nice thing is that once they share their badge work with me they can pick a new badge strip to glue into their book and work on. Girls are still welcome to work on any badge they like (they don't NEED a strip) but I have found a HUGE increase in individual badge work using this system. (I've included a downloadable version of the Brownie interest badge strips in the "Resources for Download" section)
In addition to interest badge work, the Brownie Notebook is the place that keep activities and crafts attached to program work. Some of the Brownie Key activities are enhanced by work we have the girls do at home (such as helping a neighbour or having them keep their rooms clean). I've created various pages that we glue into the book to help get at these program requirements. Whenever I send crafts and the girls' work home from Brownies I always wonder what happens to it. I asked the Parents last year and they said that they want to girls work to be saved but often it gets ripped, crumpled and ultimately thrown out. To combat this we have now tried glueing any paper crafts that are completed during Brownies into their notebook. This has worked out super well and the girls love to look back in their book and see all of the crafts they had done in the past. Below is an owl Brownie promise craft we made at our second meeting and a Canadian flag collage craft we did for the Key to my Community badge.
 |  |
The last two things we've started to include in the notebook are memory pages and interest badge pages. The memory pages we put in the notebook when we start a new key. We've found that it shows the girls what interest badges are available in that key and they like to circle the ones they've earned. During the wrap up meeting for a particular key we take some time to reflect on what we did and the girls draw a picture of their favourite activity.
For example: We built bird houses during a meeting when we went to Home Depot. The requirements for the Bird Watcher badge requires girls to make a bird house/feeder and then do a few other activities to identify birds. The page I made up allows the girls to easily finish those last few requirements to finish up the badge as they had already made the bird house.
We are constantly changing and adapting the ways we use our Brownie Notebooks but I feel like it will remain an important part of our program. Want to implement the Brownie Notebook in your own meeting? Feel free to check out the "Resources for Download" section of my blog for links to the various pages i've created for the Brownie journal or feel free to contact me if you have any questions!
OCD question: what size notebook (or where did you purchase) are you using that will fit an 8.5 X 11 print out?
ReplyDeleteThats a great question! The notebooks are a standard 8.5 x 11 size. I make all of my pages with a small boarder (about 1/2 inch on every side) then after they are printed i just take a paper cutter to the stack to trim the edges. I find this method still works WAY better then handing out full sized sheets, they need to be glued into something for the girls not to loose them.
DeleteForgot to thank you for your reply, so THANKS!
DeleteI am having a hard time with the link for the Interactive notebook. Is there another way I can get it from you?
ReplyDeleteComment with your address and I can email them to you :)
Deletecptroop1206@gmail.com THANKS!!
ReplyDelete