Children & Education
Girl Guides
Once Again Girlguiding Rises To the Challenge The pandemic has been described as being like the war for community spirit and resilience. Girl guides were very active in both World Wars, helping and supporting within communities. In this pandemic, girls in guiding aged from 5-18 have been ‘Doing their Best’. In Amber Valley units of Rainbows, Brownies, Guides and Rangers have kept in contact virtually and through activity packs. They have joined virtual camps and sleepovers, camping in the garden or building indoor dens or pillow forts. In May 2020, Derbyshire Girlguiding organised a countywide virtual camp, with 6000 girls from around the globe participating! There has been much fundraising for the NHS, the British Legion’s 11/11 Appeal, sponsored miles challenges to help maintain the Guide Garden and for numerous individual charities. Girls have helped to cheer up local communities, from the youngest Rainbows creating daffodil pictures for windows and Brownies making green hearts and painted
pebbles to decorate community spaces, through to Guides and Rangers making cards, bookmarks, gifts and tree decorations for Cheer Hampers delivered to local homes. Briefly, outdoor Guiding resumed in the early autumn with socially distanced activities including campfire cooking, archery, tennis, town and country trails, as well as Duke of Edinburgh’s Expeditions. When lockdown returned, girls joined in a virtual camp/sleepover and went back to virtual meetings, enjoying murder mysteries, escape rooms, Window Wonder and recycle challenges. One unit had a goat attend virtually! Local Guides joined with other girls in the Midlands Region to experience a virtual international activity weekend with myriad activities from line dancing, yoga, Zumba, exploring with the Navy and Army, to cooking and learning how to care for hedgehogs. Adult volunteers also enjoyed sessions including laughing yoga, crafts, advent calendar making and learning to cook an Indian meal via a Zoom link to the International Guide Centre in Pune, India. Girlguiding is the leading charity for girls and young women in the UK, with over 500,000 members. It is great fun for everyone, including the volunteer leaders. If you are looking for a new direction for volunteering as we come out of lockdown, think of Girlguiding. There are currently spaces for girls across all the age groups. For more information go to www.girlguiding.org.uk or message @GirlguidingAmberValley.
Poem Zoom in for Fitness! Well computer, so far this year,
but can my legs stretch that far?
you’ve felt my frustration and my fear.
My favourite, Cha Cha Swing,
But there’s laughter and joy too,
now what problems will the signal bring?
keeping fit is the thing to do.
Ah, here comes Jive Bunny
Online Zumba has me in a spin,
and soon I’m feeling Sunny, Sunny!
with so much exercise, I should be thin!
An after Zumba chat? But I’m still muted.
Warming up to Zumba High,
Me and computers just aren’t suited!
picture perfect I give it a try. Lost the sound for Lovergirl, oh dear, I’m in a whirl! Back on track with Tell Me Ma
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Written by Anne Palmer from Little Eaton
To advertise contact Ruth: T: 01332 883140 M: 07545 261034 E: ruth@allthingslocal.co.uk
