13 Over the Rainbow- Girlguiding opens the doors to four year olds

Over the Rainbow

Girlguiding – the leading charity for girls and young women in the UK has announcesd on International Day of Th e Girl, that they are offi cially opening the doors to four-year-old girls nationwide. Rainbows, the charity’s youngest section, will now welcome girls from the age of four up to seven years old, providing more opportunities for more girls to experience the fun, friendship and adventure of Girlguiding. Rainbows has been running for 35 years and to celebrate this achievement, Girlguiding has collaborated with award-winning portrait photographer Emily Stein on a photo series entitled ‘Girls Are Made Of…’, celebrating the true face of four-year-old girls, challenging the dated stereotype that little girls should be ‘sugar and spice and all things nice’. Launched to coincide with the annual International Day of the Girl, selected images from the series will be on display at Girlguiding’s London headquarters on Buckingham Palace Road, both in the windows and a gallery open to the public. Th e bold images perfectly capture what girls are made of, from strength and joy, to mischief, courage, and curiosity. For the photo series, Girlguiding invited existing Rainbows and girls keen to start their own Girlguiding journey to a photoshoot, designed to showcase their individuality — representing the many faces, qualities and quirks embraced by the organisation Photographer Emily Stein is known for her bold aesthetic and documentary approach to shooting children and young people; capturing authentic emotions and real ‘moments’ that bring a sense of intimacy and honesty to her subjects. Emma Guthrie, Assistant Chief Guide, said: “Four-year-old girls have spent a huge portion of their lives in a pandemic, missing out on essential play, exploration, confi dence building and friendships, and parents are keen for them to make up for lost time. “Too often girls are still expected to be sugar and spice and all things nice, but working with girls and young women for over 100 years, we know they are made of so much more. We’re extremely happy to

To mark International Day of the Girl, Girlguiding collaborated with award-winning photographer Emily Stein, to celebrate girls now being able to join Rainbows from four.

welcome four-year-olds to the organisation and start them on their Girlguiding journey – opening up a community where girls can always be free to be themselves. Free to be four.” Rainbows focuses on developing self-confi dence, building friendships, learning new things and having fun through games and activities. When asked what they enjoyed about Rainbows, four-year-old MiaBelle, said, “We get to play, play, play!” - a sentiment echoed by Neylah, also four, who added that she “loves going to Rainbows” because “we play fun games”. Adah-Rose added that she “can’t wait” to be a Rainbow and is “really excited” that she can now join her local unit. Girls can work towards badges throughout their Girlguiding journey, with Rainbows and the other sections following a diverse and engaging programme built around six themes1 off ering girls a broad range of experiences. In Rainbows, girls are encouraged to gain skills in areas such as exploration, story-telling, construction and nature, and even explore at a young age what it means to have a healthy mind. Rainbows is all about developing self-confi dence, building friendships, learning new things, and having fun. Members get their hands dirty with arts and crafts, get in touch with nature and play games. It's all about learning by doing. Emily Stein, Photographer, states: “For this special collection of images, I really wanted to capture all the behaviours, contradictions, energy, purity, beauty and emotions of being four. It’s a really signifi cant time in a girl’s life; sitting between the ‘toddler’ years and just before the structure of school begins, with the world opening up a little more every day, in all of its exciting glory. It’s a magical year in time, that was truly a joy to document.”

You can follow the #GirlsAreMadeOf… campaign, view the online gallery or share a picture of yourself at four by visiting Girlguiding on Instagram.com/girlguiding, and at facebook.com/ girlguidinguk. For more information, and to register your daughter’s interest in joining, please visit: girlguiding.org.uk/joinus/