Okay so girlguiding have changed their strap line to Discover and Grow - so perhaps this blog is a little passé! I think not - Girls in the Lead will still, and should, remain part of good guiding!
Time after time I keep coming back to the image I have selected for this blog - why? For me it sums up what makes guiding special. The night its self was rather chaotic (someone tell me when its not), listening to the views of 15 eager rainbows as they selected activities for the following term is never going to be easy, but good guiding isn't always easy!
Putting the girls in the lead really does enable them to grow and discover (see I am not passé). From voting with counters in Rainbows, to planning themes and activities for Pack holiday with Brownies, through to Guides running their own programmes in patrol time, and Young Leaders taking the lead with younger girls; its amazing how they travel along the journey!
As a leadership team we have thought about what skills we would like to develop in each section, so that they are ready to meet the challenges of the next. Rather like a set of building bricks, they may stumble, things might not go as planned, sometimes we have to explain why going to Lego Land Windsor on a Wednesday night isn't practical ( we live in the north east), but that is all part of it! These are skills which girls need to be successful young women who can make empowered choices and decisions. Although we are now leaders, I very much see the adults role to guide the girls rather than always be leading from the front!
Have a look at your programme and see how you can give girls the opportunity to lead once in a while.
Time after time I keep coming back to the image I have selected for this blog - why? For me it sums up what makes guiding special. The night its self was rather chaotic (someone tell me when its not), listening to the views of 15 eager rainbows as they selected activities for the following term is never going to be easy, but good guiding isn't always easy!
Putting the girls in the lead really does enable them to grow and discover (see I am not passé). From voting with counters in Rainbows, to planning themes and activities for Pack holiday with Brownies, through to Guides running their own programmes in patrol time, and Young Leaders taking the lead with younger girls; its amazing how they travel along the journey!
As a leadership team we have thought about what skills we would like to develop in each section, so that they are ready to meet the challenges of the next. Rather like a set of building bricks, they may stumble, things might not go as planned, sometimes we have to explain why going to Lego Land Windsor on a Wednesday night isn't practical ( we live in the north east), but that is all part of it! These are skills which girls need to be successful young women who can make empowered choices and decisions. Although we are now leaders, I very much see the adults role to guide the girls rather than always be leading from the front!
Have a look at your programme and see how you can give girls the opportunity to lead once in a while.