FUNDAMENTALS
There are seven fundamentals in the Australian Guide Program, which are:
- Promise and Law
- Outdoors
- Service
- World Guiding
- Guiding Traditions
- Leadership Development
- Patrol Systems
These are some ideas for activities which fall within each fundamental. Many of these activities are aimed at a 10-14 age group, but some can be adapted for younger girls.
Promise and Law
Learn each Guide Law and its number - have a quiz to see who can match the number with the Law.
Play Promise Duck Duck Goose - one girl walks around the circle, tapping players on the head. When they are tapped, the girl must say the next word in the Promise. The girl who says the last word gets up and chases the other girl back to her place.
Pretend that your patrol is ship-wrecked on a desert island - come up with 7 laws that will govern life on the island. How similar are these to the Guide Laws?
Have a race to see who can write out the Promise so that it can be read when reflected in a mirror.
Draw pictures that represent each Law and get girls to match up the picture to the Law.
Learn the Promise in Auslan.
Pretend your patrol will interview a Guide Leader. Come up with 10 questions that you could ask her about how she has kept the Promise and Law in her life.
In patrols, make up a play or mime that involves one of the Guide Laws. Incorporate a random object into your play.
Think of a colour which represents each Law. Can you come up with a colour for each Law?
Learn the Promise and Law in different languages. There are some examples here.
Cut out the words of the Promise from newspaper - like a ransom note.
This document has a variety of further ideas.
There are more great ideas on these websites:
1st Castlegar Girl Guides Promise & Law
Sandra's Law Activities
Outdoors
Make rubbings using crayons - try it on bark, leaves, bricks, etc.
Have each patrol set up a tracking trail for another patrol to follow. The tracking signs can be downloaded here.
Play the Elements game (see Games section).
In patrols, make a map of the area immediately outside the hall.
Do some Little People activities (explanation here).
Watch the clouds overhead, and see what types of shapes you can find.
Throw a ball into the air and see how many times you can clap before catching it. See if you can improve your score.
Make a nature collage using at least 7 different natural objects.
Invent a sport and write down its rules.
Talk about the amount of exercise that each girl has done in the past week and discuss what can be improved.
Park in the Dark - find a local park and play Spotlight or Sardines (see Games section).
Go on a Penny Hike (explanation here).
Go outside, close your eyes and listen for natural sounds. See how many different sounds you can hear.
Make a list of things that would be required for a day in the bush. Explain why each item would be necessary.
Do some outdoors cooking. There are some different ideas you can download here.
Here are lots more ideas for outdoor games for Kids Aged 6-10.
Service
Participate in Clean Up Australia Day.
Hold a fundraiser to collect money for a good cause.
Knit trauma teddies.
Practice fire drill and fire safety in the hall.
Participate in MS Readathon.
Do a letter writing campaign to local government, or a state or federal representative about an issue that concerns the girls.
Collect tinned food donations.
Participate in Operation Christmas Child.
Make bright and cheerful cards for children in hospital.
Collect books and toys for a homeless or womens shelter.
Learn sign language and increase disability awareness.
Practice making emergency calls, providing information and following instructions.
Initiate a system of increased service at home.
Participate in Jump Rope for Heart.
Have a visit to your local children's hospital.
Perform a concert at a retirement village.
There are a variety of emergency and safety skills available from Girl Guides of Canada's Emergency Preparedness page.
World Guiding
Bringing International Into The Program is an excellent resource, containing recipes, crafts and games from all over the world - and it has recommendations of what ages are suitable for each activity.
Write pretend pen pal letters to girls in another country - describing Australian life and Guiding.
This download has a variety of games and crafts from Kenya.
There are some international crafts here.
This Canadian 5 Region Challenge includes many interesting international activities.
This Girl Scout resource has the Promise and Law in different languages.
This download has the names and ages of Guide 'sections' from every country.
Use the WAGGGS website to learn about Guiding in different countries.
Here are some international activity ideas from Girl Guides of Canada.
Have the girls write down their 3 main hopes and fears. Then ask them to think about what the hopes and fears of a Guide living in a particular other country would be.
Learn useful phrases in different languages - here is some information to start you off.
There are some more international games here, here, and here.
Design a Guide uniform for the country of your choice - taking climate, local customs into consideration.
Guiding Traditions
Guiding history
Make a stained glass trefoil - download instructions here.
Use this candle activity as part of a Thinking Day ceremony.
Explain that in some countries in the past, Guiding had to be hidden from the government. Each patrol must pick which 6 items you would hide that would keep the Guiding spirit alive.
Play Kim's Game.
Campfire
The Campfire Challenge is a fantastic resource for campfires.
Discuss campfire rules - here are some rules to think about including.
This website will give you a lot of help to light the ultimate campfire.
Knotting
Here are good animated instructions for tie a reef knot, a clove hitch, a sheet bend and a packing knot.
These sheets can be downloaded for clove hitch and sheet bend instructions.
Organise a knotting relay (see Games section).
Complete the knotting challenge.
Be able to tie a reef knot using only feet, or with eyes closed.
Tie a reef knot with a partner, using only one hand each.
Learn square lashing and make a ladder that will support a Guide. Go here for some instructions.
Knot Games for Teaching has some more ideas.
Becky's Guiding Resource also has some knotting games.
There are also knotting games here from the Girl Scouts.
Compass work
Here are some instructions for using a compass.
Do compass drawings to help teach the points of the compass.
Becky's Guiding Resource has some great compass games.
There are some other compass games here.
Codes
The pigpen code is a great code to use - here are the instructions and a message to decipher.
Learn morse code and have patrols pass messages using torches.
Learn semaphore and have a race to see which patrol can send and receive a message fastest.
This website will translate a phrase into a variety of different codes.
This South African Scout page has a lot of information and examples of codes.
There is a good overview of codes and ciphers here.
Tracking
Here are the basic tracking symbols.
Leadership Development
In patrols, take turns being the leader and arranging your group into the following shapes: knife & fork, tree, table & chairs, toothbrush & toothpaste, car, fridge, dog, bicycle, house, bed, playground slide, clock, bridge.
Brainstorm a list of leaders (famous people or people that you know in leadership positions). Identify what makes each person a good or bad leader.
Play Simon Says.
In pairs, sit back to back. Have one girl draw a picture, then give verbal instructions to her partner to draw the same picture. The partner is able to ask questions.
Have girls take turns to teach a game to the others. There are instructions and ideas here.
In pairs, both stand on a piece of newspaper - no part of either girl can be touching the floor. Then get off, fold the newspaper in half and try again. See how many times you can fold it and still both stand on it.
Have everyone in the group stand on a groundsheet. Make half the group close their eyes and the other half put their hands behind their backs and keep them there. They must now turn over the groundsheet, while still all standing on it.
In groups, have everyone hold part of a long piece of rope. Everyone must close their eyes and try to form the rope into certain shapes (triangle, square, rectangle, diamond).
Try the Following Instructions Quiz.
There are other ideas for leadership training activities here and here.
Patrol Systems
This is quite an easy fundamental to cover if the girls do generally work in their patrols during meetings. But there are always times when some extra team-building comes in handy.
Have 10 minutes of patrol time each night and have each patrol pick an activity to do for that time period. There are some ideas you can download here.
Play team Noughts & Crosses (have a quiz, where the getting the right answer means one patrol can put a person in a giant Noughts & Crosses board).
Try some of these Team Building Activities.
Do an Egg Drop Challenge (patrol must create, using a any available materials, a container for holding a raw egg that will then be dropped from a great height).
Here are some Team Building Games for Kids and Teens.
Here are a variety of Outdoor Team Games.
Do a Spaghetti Bridge Challenge.
Make Patrol Co-operation S'mores.
Here are some Active Team Games.
