Band-Aids and Handwashing

This week my coleader and I tackled handwashing, wound tending and how to put on a band-aid.

We started by having all our little Sparks wash their hands for the right amount of time.  We used a version of "twinkle twinkle".

Twinkle twinkle little star

Look how clean my two hands are

Soap and water rub a dub

Scrub scrub scrub scrub scrub scrub scrub

Twinkle twinkle little star

Look how clean my two hands are.

The girls then were able to practice cleaning a wound, putting on Polysporin and then a band-aid.  Being always careful to not touch the pad in the centre of the band-aid.  We had them bring stuffies from home to practice on, but the girls didn't want to put the band-aids on them, so we had them put a band-aid on my coleader's arms.  

We sang a song called twinkle twinkle little Spark, and talked about how a good night's rest helps us the next day by not being a grump.

We wrapped up the night with a craft.  It's a bird.  It's a plane!  It's band-aid man!

Water water everywhere!

We learned about clean, dirty and water that is dirty but looks clean.  

After a rousing sing along of listen to the water and Sparks Can Jump we learned about the water cycle and how water makes its way into our homes.  Yay!

Since today was the last meeting where we were working on our In My Community keeper we pinned them onto the girls as they left.  There were a whole lot of very proud Sparks that went home :)

Lest We Forget

It's that time of year again, Remembrance Day.

My coleader and I (since our meeting day falls on a Monday) decided that we would encourage the girls to go to the town's Remembrance Day ceremonies.

If they went, in uniform, they got a special crest - the girl guide crest that has three poppies on a field of blue, with the words Remembrance Day.

The girls got to help lay a wreath at the foot of the cross as well as get a photo taken with 10 mounties in full red serge.


We only had about half the girls show up - the school made this into a five-day long weekend - but I hope those that did can keep remembering.

Enrollment

In Sparks, as with in all levels of Guides, the enrollment ceremony is a big deal to the girls.

For our enrollment ceremony, we built a long rainbow out of Bristol board, and taped it together.  We trimmed the sides with hot pink, and built clouds to go on either end.

We made cute clouds with blue paint, sparkles, and each girl's name on our side of the rainbow.  New Sparks sat at the other end.  We called them over the rainbow to play with the Sparks one by one, and recited a little poem as they walked along the rainbow.

As she walks to Rainbow's end

We hope that she will find a friend

Promise to share with all her heart

She is ready to be a Spark.

The girls then recited their promise, got pinned with their 1-year pin and Sparks enrollment pin, got handed an enrollment certificate as well as a small piece of paper with their earned badges on it, got a photo taken, then sat down on their cloud in Rainbow's End with the other Sparks.

It took a bit of time, but the kids were impressed with themselves, and the parents really liked it.

The badges they got were the "Being a Spark" Keeper, the "Cookie Raising" 1 (or 2) keeper, and, if they attended the District Camp,  the Alberta Camp Challenge with Summer and Fall as well as three of the five WAGGGS Regions Challenge Badges and the Send them to Sangam Challenge Crest.

Each year, a new beginning....

Hi!  I'm a guide leader in Alberta - I deal with the smallest guides - Sparks.

This is just a blog talking about some of our ideas, meeting ideas, and field trips.
If you're looking for more ideas, don't forget to check out the Leader's Guide and the Girl's Guide to Sparks.  There are some fabulous ideas in there.