Marupe Brownies and Unit 66

Post by Katie

Mary Poppins would be proud of us, as on Wednesday we got round to some flat-cleaning, washing clothes and stocking up our fridge and cupboards. We also planned for our first Brownie meeting, which was held in a school in Marupe, only a short bus ride from Riga.

We held an international themed evening for the girls, their Leader and a couple of Young Leaders, to help them learn about the World Association of Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting and the fact that Guiding happens all around the world. 

We first played 'Name someone and throw them a ball' but this time with our inflatable globes, and then an international version of 'Connect' (My name is.... and I want to visit....a country) to link us all together. We then went outside to play corners, where the girls had to run and choose a corner, and then sit out if their corner was called. We made each corner into a World Centre, and were also able to include the 5th World Centre, newly named as Kusafiri, which roams around Africa.

Finally, we played the WAGGGS world badge beetle drive, complete with a die made by Net. (Mum, I used maths!-Net) The girls really enjoyed drawing the badge and learning what the different parts of the badge mean.

On Thursday we travelled by tram to the outskirts of Riga, where Unit 66 meets in a Youth Centre. We met the Guides and Scouts and started off with a different name game, where you have to say someone's name before the person in the middle of the circle slaps your hand. Next we played True or False? for facts about the World Organisation of the Scout Movement (WOSM) and WAGGGS. For the main activity, we asked the Guides and Scouts to plan a 2 night trip away, thinking about budget, the aim of the trip and the logistics of going away. We shared our experiences of preparing for trips such as our GOLD trip, and were happy to hear them say it had been useful afterwards. To finish, we played stomp, where everyone takes one step at a time, all at the same time and tries to stand on someone else's foot. There was much laughter and some competitiveness (including from myself). 

Tomorrow is a day off before Saturday, when we will be getting up very early for a day's training in Valmeira.