Girls First Program: What Do You Think?
I jumped into the new Girls First program this year with both feet.
There are parts that I love about the new program, and some things I am hoping will change. What do you think?
I have held off publishing this blog post; edited and altered it to be able to share my thoughts in an honest manner. I also wanted to be able to give instruction on how to use the program (as I see there are still many Guiders confused about the format) and share files and cheat sheets or links to help make our Guiding lives easier.
If you remember, last April I was contacted by a member of Girl Guides of Canada's (GGC) National Office: Girls First program. My blog post was shared with her, and she reached out to help answer some of my questions about the new program.
So, I decided to get in touch with her a few weeks ago to review the program and some of my thoughts and questions.
She reminded me that the official launch of the Girls First (GF) program is in September 2019. The GF program is running right now, but the purpose of this transitory year is about collecting feedback, especially from girls.
GGC has had a lot of feedback from Guiders and units. They are continually adding new activities, challanges and instant meetings submitted from Guiders like you. One thing is for sure, Guiders are not afraid to speak there mind. GGC has had a lot of feedback and they are constantly reviewing it.
What I love the most is that the activities under the program themes are not mandatory. This means your unit can choose to create all of their own activities and do their own thing or use some or all of the activities, challenges or instant meetings in the new GF program, which are constantly being be added and updated. The freedom to choose your own activities and adventures is the real selling point here.
If you are unsure how the new program works check out my new page Girls First: How the Program Works!
Online Platform
I think that the biggest issues Guiders are facing is that our children have too much screen time and so do we. It may seem difficult with the new online platform to present the program to girls with everything being online.
I have not had one girl from my Guide unit use the online platform, including my own daughter. My parents registered their daughters to get their girls outside and off of technology, and that is OK!
Girls do not have to access the program online. But how to teach them about the new program?
I have to admit, I love books. However, it is easy to understand that with the new program constantly being updated it is almost impossible to keep an updated book. So what can we do? Here are a few resources to help with program presentation.
GGC has provided cards to each unit with the program areas and themes. You can also download them here
You can also order a USB of the platform from GGC, especially for areas that are lacking reliable internet
You can also find Guider reformatted Cheat-Sheet printable booklets on my Girls First Printable Files page
Each unit will choose to present the program differently. You may use technology at your meetings, you may not.
use the GF cards &/or Cheat-Sheet Booklets
try a board with the program areas and themes on it, discuss what topics can fall under each theme, and brain storm ideas and plans for each theme
ask the girls what they want to do and learn
ask them how they want to do it
have them vote
suggest activities and games from the GF platform or create your own
Do you have a unique way of presenting the program? If so, please share it with me!
Online Platform
So far, there have been many changes to the digital platform. Guiders made suggestions, and the GF team made the changes.
There is even a little chat box on the bottom right of the screen. During business hours they respond almost instantly, or will email you back soon. You can get technical support here, share activity ideas and ask questions.
There have been some bugs in the new platform, as expected. They are definitely working out all of the kinks. I have been quite pleased with the quick support I have received so far.
I find the most difficult thing has been having the time to log the activities and keep track of what activities have been done and going back to see what badges are completed.
Logging Activities
There are printable individual girl logs for activities provided by GF, in addition to the Unit Achievements section. You can also find Guider made logs on many of our unofficial Girl Guiding Facebook sites.
However, they were not what I was looking for. Most are individual logs that only check off how many activities or challenges each girl has completed without noting what activities were completed.
I have created Printable Activity logs for all branches (colour coded for each branch) that have room to place girls names, and then write a quick note of what each activity was. It is helping me keep track of attendance and who participated in what.
If you are like me, you will have a meeting planned and then add activities and discussions ad hoc based on the girls. For example, on one of our hikes we decided to talk about the stages of hypothermia and exposure or discussed the benefits of wild conifer teas and how to identify them. Why, because the opportunity presented itself on the trail. A quick note in my logs made sure that I did not forget to log the activities eventually on the platform.
I have also created Program Area badge logs that help keep track of what badges are completed and awarded, which definitely helps when ordering badges and keeping track of what we have done. I find the platform screen is hard to see everything that has been completed and awarded.
The activity logs will take up a bit of paper and ink. However, they are an easy hard copy log to track what was do and who has done what even while hiking.
Hopefully you find these useful. They are available for all branches on the Girls First Printable Files page!
Printing
Guiders tend to print a lot. Nothing has changed. However, I have found that if I am using activities from the platform I tend to make notes to minimize the amount of printing. I only print resources and such when needed.
The platform also offer black and white printing. Make sure your unit purchases a good stack of paper and saves money on ink from suppliers like Zulu Inks on Amazon.ca. They offer non-generic ink cartridges for most printers for a fraction of the cost!
Badges
I love that the new program allows us to choose our own adventures whether by using our own activities or by choosing from the digital platform. I appreciate that the themes build on the topics as you move along in branches.
There is a recommended number of activities, challenges and instant meetings from GF to complete badges, but it also allows for Guiders and units to decide when they feel that they have explored a theme sufficiently.
The new badges are a modern woven style. The artwork is pretty on the badges and the should remain relevant for some time in terms of design evolving with the topics. Example: under the theme of How To, girls can explore topics from first aid, mechanics, sewing, cooking, woodworking.... there is not a badge for each of these themes anymore. Girls can choose multiple activities to explore a theme. Therefore, the hope is badges will not become outdated.
As a Guider, and former Girl Guide I do miss the beautifully embroidered badges for each of the topics. However, my Guides are not as concerned, and are are excited to earn a badge. Although, they seem to be lacking the memory of which badge was for learning what. The older style were more indicative in regards to artwork what skill or task they were earned for.
The badges can be worked onto a sash or camp blanket in many different patterns. We have been told that the sash will no longer be mandatory next year with the uniform change. I think a lot of girls will still wear them as a symbol of pride.
Looking for different ways to arrange the badges? Check out these ideas from some amazing Guiders on my Girls First Printable Files page!
Program Content
In general, GF has taken parts of the old program and some of the most popular crest challenges and worked the information into the program.
I am pleased to see a greater exploration of topics like mental health, inclusiveness, body awareness and confidence, gender rights and identity, money and budgeting skills, feminism, human rights, entrepreneurship....
I am still very disappointed that Camping and the Great Outdoors is only one theme under a program area.
Yes, we can do any of the topics outdoors on a hike or while camping. We can hike and discuss mental health or feminism. However, I am quite the advocate for actual outdoor skills. As it was, I thought that the old program did not have enough outdoor skills. Although, the new program does not have much in the area at the moment it does not mean your unit does not have the chance to learn outdoor survival skills or camp.
I would also like to say that it is not about the badges or crests. My girls love badges. They also love crests. I get asked if we 'will be getting a crest for that'? This is not to say that they only work or do an activity for badges and crests.
In my experience, our girls take pride in the badges they have earned. Badges and crests are a testament that they earned something or attended an event. When they are wearing their sashes or camp ponchos they start up a conversation with anyone who inquires about a badge or crest. It is a blast to watch their eyes light up! It is like a photo of the memory. 'This crest? It was a camp 2 years ago when we used slingshots' or 'I earned this for learning how to set up an emergency shelter'....or our most recent 'I got this crest at Guides when we went dog sledding....it was awesome. I want to become a musher, but my mom said I was not allowed to have dogs'!
I would love to see more outdoor skill themes in the new GF content. I know that may girls and groups do not enjoy camping.
I was reminded when I was speaking with the Girls First member that for some girls, especially those who come from other countries camping may bring back horrible memories of living in refugee camps, or perhaps they may have been homeless.
I take this as a challenge. How can you - as a Guider make these activities fun? Perhaps, start with overnight 'glamping' in a cabin? Turn knot skills in to bracelets for Brownies? Hitches to tie a sofa to the roof of your car safely for Rangers? Fire-making about fire safety? Hunting and fishing about eating organic and local?
These skills should be fun, but girls should also see the possible and realistic applications of these skills outside of outdoor survival. Especially, for those girls who may have bad memories or experiences associated with the outdoors. As a Guider, you need to gauge your group and approach these themes from different angles.
Camping and outdoor skills is part of the Guiding tradition. Perhaps, we need to take a more modern take on how to teach these skills. We also need to ensure that our meetings do not become so obsessed with a curriculum that it mirrors a classroom.
Perhaps, it is due to our unit being rural. Or perhaps, due to my being an insane outdoors-woman. I have lived in a tent, yet I still love camping? But I do not want to see these outdoor skills and love of the outdoors disappear.
Just because there is not a lot of program content about the outdoors, this does not mean we are not encouraged to continue this tradition. If your unit is hardcore camping, then continue! If your unit does not like camping, them maybe start off slow and find out why they do not like it.
The parents in my unit have registered their daughters in Guiding to get them outside.
They do not want their girls online or even crafting too much. They want hard outdoor skills. Maybe, getting girls interested is all in presentation?
I look at my girls, and want to make sure they develop into the most well-rounded women. I want them to be able to budget their paycheck and do their own taxes, snare and clean a rabbit, change their own oil in their car, bake a soufflé, sew a dress, draw up engineering plans for an addition on their house, and build it themselves.
GF is still reviewing feedback and badges...They will communicate any changes or additions by they end of the Guiding year. Remember that this program will continue to evolve and expand based on unit feedback.
Thoughts
The message I have taken away from Girls First is that your unit needs to do what is right for them. Girl Guides has always been about being girl driven and pushing our girls to learn and experience and perhaps try things a little outside of their comfort zone.
We are all so passionate about Guiding and want to provide the best experiences for our girls. I just hope that units will continue to keep our outdoor traditions.
Don't forget to subscribe, comment, like and share!