Badges get a boost in lockdown
With some creative thinking from their leaders, many girls are managing to complete badges at home – touring art galleries and mixing mocktails in the process
Badges get a boost in lockdown
With some creative thinking from their leaders, many girls are managing to complete badges at home – touring art galleries and mixing mocktails in the process
Brownie Tabitha makes Greek fava bean soup for her Languages interest badge, while Esther plants seeds for Grow your own
Even though the options might appear limited at first, it seems that both skills builders and interest badges can be achieved remotely – giving the girls who do them a welcome dose of energy and pride. It’s partly because the girls have extra time on their hands, but it’s also down to our leaders’ smart thinking and nifty adaptations. ‘The girls have had more time to complete badges than they normally do, so we’ve seen a real boom in enthusiasm,’ explains Caroline Kendall, Leader, 100th Streatham Brownies. ‘We kicked things off by holding an online badge assessment evening, which worked really well. We talked about where the girls had got to with their badges before lockdown started, and what needed to happen next. The girls could also sign up for ten-minute one-to-one slots to share their badge work and ask for advice.’
Leader Juliet Brown, 2nd Amersham on the Hill Brownies, feels that the choice of badge is particularly important right now. To help counteract any low mood her girls might be feeling, she suggested the Mindfulness interest badge. ‘We got a great response,’ she says. ‘Ten girls completed that, and created amazing pictures of Mindfulness rainbows – so fitting for the lockdown sentiment of hope and renewal. But they’ve also chosen to do other interest badges with contemplative appeal, like Baking, Grow your own and even Aviation. Well, why not – the sky’s the limit!’ Languages is another excellent badge for lockdown because it offers a lovely way for girls to connect with their families and their heritages.
Clara thinks about the things that matter most in life for her beautiful Mindfulness rainbow
More than making do
In Hockley, Essex, the 1st Belchamps Guides have been tackling badges in Upcycling, Backwoods cooking and Geocaching – all perfect home-based activities with some simple adaptations, as Leader Trudi Herlihy explains. ‘With Backwoods cooking, we suggested using a charcoal barbecue because it’s more practical, and we know our Guides can all light fires safely,’ she says. ‘Geocaching is also great because it gives the Guides something positive to do on daily walks with their families. The second task of the Upcycling badge has been a bit challenging because they can’t go out and buy anything big to change. But one of my girls built herself a balance beam from her dad’s leftover wood, so that she could continue her gymnastics in the garden. They’re really thinking ‘outside the badge’. Clever twists are popping up everywhere: an enterprising Brownie in Caroline’s unit completed her Performing badge by playing the keyboard to delighted relatives in Australia via Zoom! Caroline also encouraged her girls to tackle their Collecting badge by using Google Arts and Culture to virtually ‘visit’ the world’s most exciting museums and art galleries. Discovering masterpieces by Van Gogh and Monet is ideal inspiration for any Brownie wanting to create her own personal treasure trove – all without having to leave the living room.
Keeping an open mind
So, how do you ensure your girls are completing the tasks required? Juliet has been encouraging her Brownies’ parents to share photos of the girls’ badgework achievements by email or WhatsApp, and she sends back a supportive response to maintain momentum. And Trudi has been emphasising to her Guides’ parents that, even during lockdown, badge work should still challenge the girls, and make them think. Generally, the secret seems to be flexibility, fun and adapting the activities to reflect the current circumstances – particularly when it comes to the Skills builders.
At their most recent virtual meeting, the 2nd Amersham on the Hill Brownies began their Stage 2 Feel good skills builder badge. One task is ‘Use it to move it’. Instead of passing a balloon, Juliet came up with the idea of ‘virtually’ passing a scrunched-up ball of paper from frame to frame across the screen of the digital meeting. This was fun to do and required coordination as well as muscle movement – an interesting lesson in what it takes to be ‘sporty’. They also took part in a game of Simon Says to move different parts of the body, followed by a mini circuit with a series of exercises that used each muscle group, including sit-ups, running on the spot and planks. Other tasks, like ‘Super Girl’, needed very little adaptation. Instead of sharing the four things that gave them confidence in person, the Brownies were able to show their belts to each other online via webcam and chat about their ideas.
‘Super Girl Savannah’ with her belt for Stage 2 Feel good
Sophie, 2nd Chesham Bois Guides, has fun sleeping in the bathtub for #CampAtHome, which Leader Wendy turned into a challenge badge
Planning for success
It’s fair to say that badge work at home does benefit from a little forward planning. Trudi has been providing extra information about badges that her Guides might not be familiar with, while Juliet has been taking photos of the skills builder criteria and sending them to her Brownies’ parents via WhatsApp, to help them steer things when she can’t be there. However, she points out that, in some ways, skills builders can be more easily achieved as a group online: Brownies sometimes miss face-to-face meetings because there are competing priorities, whereas online attendance during lockdown tends to be more consistent. ‘Initially, I thought we might struggle to get the girls engaged online – especially when we did the ‘Super Girl’ challenge which involved thinking about emotional wellbeing – but I needn’t have worried,’ says Juliet. ‘The girls came up with some incredible answers, even though they’d had far less input from us than they would in a face-to-face meeting.’
It’s also worth thinking about creating some shared goals for when lockdown is phased out and it’s safe for us to meet up again. For example, when the 2nd Chesham Bois Guides realised that their July district camp couldn’t happen in person, leader Wendy Swann turned the #CampAtHome initiative (run by Northumberland Scouts) into a challenge badge, and has decided to wait until they’ll be together in person to award the badges for it. Meanwhile, Trudi has promised her Guides a special campfire party: ‘Some of the girls have been doing the Mixology badge so we’re going to try lots of mocktails and hand out all of their new badges then.’ Cheers to that!
Leader Juliet and daughter Maya, a young leader, chat to their girls about how to approach a skills builder remotely. Juliet says: ‘The skills builders and unit meeting activity cards are so clearly laid out, which makes it easy for leaders to explain and also for parents to understand at home. I really appreciate this aspect of the revamped programme’
For further guidance on how to adapt badge activities and other aspects of the programme, see Adventures at home.
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