GIRL GUIDE NOTES

Evening Star, Issue 21503, 30 August 1933, Page 3

GIRL GUIDE NOTES

[By Guides.]

BROWNIE BITS. How can a Brown Owl provide her pack with exciting handwork that does not cost anything? That was the question I asked myself, and 1 found an answer. I rescued every sale catalogue 1 could find, from spring fashions to furniture, and began by cutting out a “ lady ” and an “ armchair.” 1 stuck props of stiff paper at the back with stamp paper, and they stood up beautifully. The lady was stronger on her feet, I found, if her legs were strengthened with stamp paper before cutting out, and the prop was best when cut m a T shape, with the cross-piece at the bottom. Of course the figures are better if chalked first, and the pack can make lovely “ rooms ” this way if they use cardboard boxes, papered or otherwise, as a frame. A well-finished “ room ” makes a lovely present for a hospital or sale of work. 1 have found that Brownies love wiiat we call “ silent calls.” The more turbulent the pack the more they like it, and it can bo a great relief to a hoarse Brown Owl. Brown Owl stands with her back to the Brownlies and holds up one finger. The pack creeps forward without a sound and gets into one line. Brown Owl may not turn round until a given signal. Two fingers means two lines, thumb and first finger joined, a ring. Moving all the lingers very quickly, “ run to your corners.” The calls, of ' course, vary according to the requirements of the pack, and are easy to invent. , Teaching a pack to darn' is sometimes rather unhill work, i found that this game really taught them something, and was a complete change. Wo join together a very long length of red tape and another of black. The Brownies then pretend to be needles. The first Brownie holds the end of the red tape and the next carries it in a ball across the room and stands facing her with the tape wound round her neck forming the loop that should always be left. A third Brownie then takes over the ball and runs with it back to the side of the first Brownie, then faces inwards with the tape again at the back of her neck. The next carries it back to the side of Brownie No. 2, and so on, until the red tape is ended. Then Brown Owl holds the end of the black tape and another Brownie runs under the red tape, threading the black in and out, until she gets to the end of the line where she faces inwards with her black tape round her neck. Another “darns” it back, and the game continues until the lattice is complete. If any Brownie makes a mistake in darning the first Brownie to notice it may take her place, or it might be played as a six competition. This sharpens their observation. My pack sing 1 Pop Goes the Weasel ’ until a mistake is made, using these words: — Up and down tho magic hole, In and out my needle, That’s the way a Brownie darns. Pop goes tho Weasel! BROWNIE MAGIC. It was a dark, wintry evening. An icy wind swept round the . corners of the streets and whirled the snowflakes through the air in a wild and frenzied dance. As Brown Owl hurried along the dirty, ill-lit streets that abound in many places south of the river, to pay some long-postponed visits to Brownie parents, she thought regretfully of the warm, fire-lit room that she had left behind her, and some of the darkness and gloom of her surroundings seemed almost to overwhelm her,' and fill her with sad and cheerless thoughts. Then as she penetrated still further into narrow alleys, so narrow that from one door to another one could touch the opposite house, she thought how difficult! it was to help these children by introducing the right amount of Brownie magic into the weekly meetings, so that for one brief hour they might play at being elves, sprites, and fairies and forget tho darkness and drabness of theii lives, and enjoy a little of the joy and loveliness of imagination. At this point in her reflections Brown Owl paused for a few seconds to discover here whereabouts. A sound of singing from childish voices reached her from near by, and she crept a little nearer, to hear the words. As she turned the corner the light from a . hawker's cart piled with oranges, apples, rabbits, and a medley of other strange things, and lit b'y flares, illuminated the scene, and showed her the figures of three palefaced, ragged children, one with a mop of golden hair, one m a bright red cap, their hands clasped and eyes shining, as they danced in a fairy ring, singing with the greatest possible gravity of demeanoui the familiar words: “ Weave the magic in and out, in and out, in and out, for we are the Brownies. ” A fourth and somewhat supercilious member of the party, cried in shrill tones: “ It don’t go like that—you’ve got the wrong tune!” and as Brown Owl gazed fascinated by the scene, suddenly her presence was discovered and her reverie broken. “ ’Ere’s Brown Owl! This ain’t the way to Minnie’s ’ouse! I’ll show yer.” And so, surrounded by Brownie magic—for by this time the party had grown considerably—she went on her way.

WEIGHTS AND NUMBERS

How many of our captains, I wonder, really spend time preparing their Guides to pass tests in judging weights and numbers? Too many of us either take it for granted that the ability needed ia instinctive or else we say that it can be gained only through experience. I agree with those who grant the necessity of experience, but I believe that the captain must provide ways by which the Guide can get experience. Constant practice is needed. Why wait for the Guide to be ready for her first class tests before giving her that practice? •' First of all, get your girls to lift packages of known weight whenever they enter the kitchen at home. In this way they can gradually acquire the feeling of certain weights, such as a pound, a half-pound, a few ounces. Have packages of known weight at your company meetings. Vary these weights to include five ounces or less, a pound, five pounds, and ten pounds. Play relay races in which unmarked objects are passed around. Let each girl find out about how much weight she can hold with her arm held out straight; how much her middle finger will support in that position. Try the name of a court trial, in which the accused is being tried for giving short measure. The packagewhich are of short weight are passed t j the jurors, each of whom estimates the weight. Finally, the packages are actually weighed before the verdict is given. Certain standard capacities, as pint, quart, gallon, can be learned in the same wav.

The judging of numbers is also a case of practice. Estimate the number of letters in street signs or on billboards. Guess the number of trees in a given area, .or of leaves on a branch, when hiking, or the number of people at the theatre or in public gatherings.—The 1 Guider.’