The Scouts Bunny Bash!

 This is being assembled Easter Day between some storm damage so things are a bit hetic.

Anyway many Scout groups around the world do have what I'd call whole events days that cover making Easter connected arts and crafts things like bonnets, bunnies (never can have enough bunnies!) egg decoration and various games.

This one poster from American Girl Scouts showing the sort of event day that can be done with a bit of planning and goodwill. Obviously you do have a "Plan B" should rain or be windy outdoors.

That to me sounds very much like FUN!

Ice!

Depending who you believe we *may* have more cold and snow toward the weekend although the last threat for here was something of a damp squid.

Something you may well find is iclicles as I did several days back where you have strips of often on structures such as roofs and windows and these beauties were found by a Vermont Girl Scout while on winter camp.

As ever, if you're going out in very cold temperature prepare and do wrap up well.

The past over The Pond

 Very much a vintage post looking more like late 50's, 60's at the array of uniform for that TransAtlantic species, the Girl Scout starting with the Brownie who isn't so far removed from UK Brownies of the era but soon moving more towards a womans's style where our Girl Guides looked nearer to a school type uniform in blue.

At least people of colour were features in this which was good going back then when segregation ruled vast swathes of the United States.

Back in time, American style

 

Ah, the 1970's eh? The period some of us remember so well from the things we did and the groups we belong to but while quite a few us remember the uniforms of the local Brownies and Girl Guides - perhaps you had a sister or female cousin who was one most of us never knew the American version, part of what there is Girl Scouts.

This is the american Brownies dress that can be worn with a narrow belt but note just the top right pocket and the button detail on top - no zips or anything like that.

Brownie Scout uniform

 

I don't usually have much to say regarding Girl Scout uniform not least for not being British or Commonwealth, it is an intereresting offshoot of the based and expanded across the modern Commonwealth GirlGuilding movement that kept some Anglophile program names like Brownies but created Girl Scouts rather than Guides.

Here we have some of the equipment an American Brownie would have wih her such as her green tunic rather than the brown until the early 1990's brownies had here, her purse, sash with badges, watch, headwear and branded swimsuit.

The sash is something you never saw in scouts over here where your jersey had your award badges on and as far as I'm aware Girlguiding here uses the sash.

At one level it does enable you to display them without needing a jersey and for somethings you probably don't need one on not least in summer but does add to the uniform item count.

Something for the girls

 

Although emblems do change and so does the World Map  thanks to geo-politics, this nice set does go to show the extent that girls around the world have thie own opportunities though dedicated organizations in Scouting be it GirlGuiding or as in the United States of America, Girl Scouts.

Although the relationship with Scouts in some parts of the world remains tetchy with the latter departing from the views of Baden Powell who favoured having seperate bodies for boys and girls with collaberation it is good to know GirlGuiding for Girls remains popular.

Why shouldn't girls have thier on spaces and programs?

Scouting for girls

While the focus of this blog is not on Girl Guiding (UK) or the Girls Scouts (US), nontheless they do play an important role within scouting as a movement and here is a vintage picture of a pack of girl guides well before the heavily criticized uniform changes of the 1990's and early 2,000's.

Girl Scouts USA - Cadettes, Seniors, Juniors, Brownies - 1970 again before the push into cargo type shorts or long trousers that keeps a clear separate identity for the female side of the movement.

Although Girl Guiding was clearly seen from the outset as the outlet for girls who wished to be in scouting, being the responsibility of Agnes and then Olive Baden-Powell in 1918 and currently is structured into Rainbows/Rainbow Guides for 5 to 7 year olds, Brownies/Brownie Guides for 7 to 10 year olds, Guides for 10 to 14 year olds and Rangers for 14 to 26 year olds, there is a difference in  the extent to which The Scout Association and BSA have by allowing females to join have undermined the role and purpose of Girl Guiding/ Girl Scouts.

The Scout Association and BSA today feel they need to be seen to be inclusive including gender inclusive whereas The Guiding Association and Girl Scouts feel very strongly that when girls increasingly share spaces at school and in sports there is a need for an all girl space lead by adult females to help raise girls. They also feel it is an attempt to bolster Scouting Association/BSA  membership and participation.

My own view on this are written naturally from a male perspective which is while I would agree sharing resources such as camps and taking part in joint activities makes sense as part of the same movement, I feel something is being lost and not just for girls in this trend to eliminate gender specific spaces.

I feel boys have a need to spend time together learning about and from each other and by doing this through the Scouting programs form powerful bonds that aid their transition in  capable young men in tune with adventure but also able to take care of themselves.

Boys let their guard down more and are generally less likely act up when in their own company supervised by men who know what boyhood is about cos they actually had one. Just the presence of a couple of females alters that whole dynamic in any group. 

I also agree with the Guiding Association/Girl Scouts that this clearly is muscling on their territory which was understood by all.

There has and is criticism from time to time that their programs are too timid, lack adventure and maybe seem stuck in a homely feminine environment but the answer to such concerns is for them to consult with the young people involved  and make the programs more rugged while keeping the all girl ethos.

This said the one criticism I would make of modern guiding is a preoccupation with 'girl power' and trying too hard to be a trendy campaigning feminist organization which I don't honestly feel most girls really are that into and says more about the current leadership than traditional scouting for girls.

Animal Habitats Badge

The following is actually a part of the American Girl Scout  program but nonetheless does give a good idea of what is required to earn a badge.

Purpose: Once you complete this badge you will know more about animals and how to protect their homes

Requirement 1: Find out about wild animals

Choices:

• Observe a pet or tame animal for at least 15 minutes.  Write three things about how it behaves.  Then watch a show about an animal related to the one you observed.  (If you watched a dog, you might watch a show about wolves.) Which behaviors do the wild and tame animal share? Which are different?
• Make a skit or puppet show about the wild animals at a campground or on the trail. Include what to do if you encounter them so that both you and the animals stay safe!
• List wild animals near your home meeting place, or school. Survey the area with an adult and your Junior friends. Then pick three animals you saw and learn more about each one. Why do they live here? Do they interact with humans?

Requirement 2: Investigate an animal habitat

Choices:

• Visit a zoo or animal sanctuary. When there, choose a particular habitat, like a beach, jungle, or desert. With help from the staff answer these questions for each of five animals that live in that habitat.
• In what country is the animal naturally found?
• How does its fur or skin help the animal live in this habitat?
• How does it stay clean?  
• How does it get around in this habitat?
• What kind of food can it find in this habitat?
• Explore an animal habitat near where you live. It could be part of a park, forest, beach, or desert. Figure out what the animals you see have in common. First, make a list of each one’s features. Circle the things the animals share, then, trade ideas about why they have each feature with your friends. Some features you might list: type of fur or skin, paw, tail, coloring, kinds of legs, mouth, and ears.
• Make a habitat collage. Scientists use habitats to group animals by things they all share. Cut out 15 – 20 pictures of wild animals from old magazines. Group the animal by habitat. Then group them by how they look, how they move, or how they bear their young. Did your groups change? Discuss the groupings with your Junior friends - and make up ways to groups animals.

Requirement 3: Create an animal home

Choices:

• Check out baby-animal habitats. Find out how different animal parents care for their babies and make “homes” for them. You could read about how Emperor penguins hold a chick under a special flap in chilly Antarctic temperatures or how an orangutan mother builds new nests for her and her baby every day. Draw or paint a picture of your favorite animal pair 
• Make your own animal house. Meerkats live in large underground burrows with several entrances. Beavers make dome-shaped homes called lodges with branches and mud – and they usually have an underwater entrance. Research these animal homes and try sketching your own meerkat burrow or building your own beaver lodge from sticks and mud. Share your “home” with others and explain how and why it works.
• Insulate your own “nest.” Many animals use insulation to keep their homes cool in hot temperatures or warm in the cold. They may line a next with feathers or burrow into snow or mud to hold in body heat. Try this experiment: 

1. Mix a package of Jell-O. Before it sets, put part of the liquid into a small container with a lid or sealed top, like a baby food jar or resealable plastic bag. Pour the rest into a mixing bowl. 
2.  Insulate the small container the way an animal might insulate its nest. You could bury the container in leaves and sticks in the yard or use materials in your house, like socks, to burrow it. 
3.  Keep the container in its warm, insulated place while the mixing bowl with the rest of the Jell-O stays out in the air – in the same area as your “nest” container. 
4.  When the bowl of Jell-O has set (gotten firm), uncover and check your “nest.” If it’s still liquid, you’ll know your insulation would have kept the animals inside warm. If it set, try building your animal home again! 
5.  Share what happened with your Junior friends, and talk about the “warmest” nest designs. What made them work well? What materials didn’t work as well? 

Requirement 4: Explore endangered habitats

W: hen the animals no longer have their habitat, they have to adapt to a new place to live. Some animals can’t change, and end up becoming endangered. Answer these questions about one of the endangered animal habitats below. 

• Why is it in danger?
• What is happening to the animals? 
• What are people doing to help the habitat? 
• Are the animals able to adapt? 

Choices: 

• The Arctic Circle
• The Gulf of Mexico
• The Amazon Rainforest

Requirement 5: Help protect animal habitats

Choices:

• Wildlife awareness party. Choose an endangered animal. Dress up like the animal for a party with your Junior friends and tell your story: where you live, why your home is endangered, and how others can help. If there’s an organization that protects your habitat, share its name and mission. It’s a party because it’s positive: The more you know about how to help, the more you can do! 
• Create a background habitat. Get permission from your family to make a habitat in your yard, or ask a school, neighbor or someone who owns land nearby to allow you to create one. Research and then carry out a landscape plan that is best for wildlife in the area. Record the wildlife you attract and their behavior. (The Audubon Society has some good resources to get you started.) 
• Help clean up an animal habitat. Many times trash and litter destroy animal habitats and harm animal. With your Girl Scout sisters ask an expert to recommend an area that needs cleaning – woods, stream, beach, city park. Get permission to spend a few hours making it nicer for our animal friends. 

Source:  The American Girl Scout (on Tumblr)