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If disaster
strikes and it pours with rain and you have access to some form of
wet-weather shelter, here are
some ideas to try besides your craft activities:
 Story Bag : Each Patrol is
given a bag with five or six assorted items in it and has to go away - to
their patrol tent, own corner of the wet-weather shelter or somewhere else
they can work together undisturbed - and prepare a short play
incorporating all of the items in their bag. Give a time-limit for
preparation - say half an hour - and then all patrols have to perform
their play for the rest of the assembled camp.
Beauty Salon : Popular with
Guides of all ages : an opportunity to do each other's hair - expert hair
braiding is much in demand - and indulge in facials, either home made
herbal preparations (oatmeal and egg-white face-mask, cucumber or used
teabag eye pads) or commercial preparations (e.g. Body Shop – usually very
generous with free samples). Lots of tissues, wipes etc. should be on hand
for cleaning off!
Board Games : A selection of
popular board games is useful : stick to well-known ones to avoid problems
with rules, but introduce a few new ones with supervision until the rules
have been learned. We have learned to avoid Monopoly (they call it
Monotony in my unit) – there are too many bits to lose.
Beetle Drive: Take plenty of
blank "Beetle" forms, spare dice and plenty of pens and pencils; give
prizes for highest and lowest overall scores. (Game description below)
Skipping: (also a fine -
weather activity!) - Many of the girls will not have had much experience
of "Long Rope" skipping so girls must be prepared to demonstrate. After
practice in running under, jumping over, and "keeping the pot boiling,"
try skipping a set number of jumps, coming in to join the skipping at a
signal - "birthdays," "initials," - and simple rhymes. After the girl's
have exhausted the girls' childhood repertoires, they might be able to add
some of their own.
Indoor Sports Day :
 1) Sock Wrestling : (long
pants recommended) two girls kneel facing each other, preferably on a
large mat, with shoes removed. Make a great show of "psyching out"
opponent, before commencing, at a given signal, to attempt to remove one
of the opponent's socks. WARNING - this can get very boisterous so make
sure pairs of girls are reasonably evenly matched, supervise closely and
be prepared to intervene if necessary, and ask for volunteers -
"Challengers" - rather than nominating. Some girls may enjoy watching and
encouraging rather than actually taking part.
2) Blow Football : An old
favorite - two girls kneel at opposite sides of a small table and try to
score goals by blowing through a straw to put a ball - either a ping-pong
ball if available, or a ball of crumpled foil - through a goal (or off the
table). Keep bouts short or the girls will get out of breath; a messier
variation is to have a shallow tray of water as the "pitch" - much
splashing will ensue! If everyone wants a go, organize a knock-out
tournament, with a prize for the overall champions.
3) Broomstick Walking : this
is deceptively difficult : hold a broomstick or similar with hands apart,
step over between hands and without letting go with either hand, bring the
broomstick up over the head and eventually return the broomstick to its
original position. If anyone actually manages this feat, time with a
stopwatch to find a champion!
4) Sumo : a pair of
protagonists faces each other, adopting the "Sumo Wrestlers'" stance and
each, without touching, tries to make the other girl laugh. The winner is
the one who keeps a straight face longest (difficult when all the
spectators are helpless!)
5) Penny race : they say the
simple ones are the best. (Only suitable if you have a flat floor.) Each
girl takes it in turn to roll a coin, either across a line or (better)
into a target circle. Nearest wins a small prize – could be the
coins if it’s a small camp and you haven’t got 100s of girls!
The Beetle Game
(referred to above)
This is an active game that can be played anywhere, by anybody. Each
"team" chooses a table to sit at. One person at each table will be staying
at the table throughout the game. The rest of the team will be
moving from table to table after each win. Each table has one dice, scrap
paper, pen or pencil that works, and a diagram of a "beetle" . (I use
scrap cardboard from cereal boxes and laminate). The beetle is a large
oval abdomen, smaller head, feelers/antennae, two eyes, four legs, and a
tail. Each body part has a number from 1-6, just like the dice has numbers
1-6. The abdomen is 6, head is 5, tail is 4, legs are 3, antennae are 2,
and eyes are 1. Number all the parts clearly on the body, although as the
girls get experience with the game, they remember quite well without
looking.
Each team is
playing at the same time. The one person at each table that stays (Beetleguise)
is the one that draws the parts on the paper. Each team member at the
table take turns rolling the dice. You have to be quick because the first
team to complete the picture first, hollers "BEETLE", play stops and the
teams move to the next table in a round-robin fashion. The rules are much
like a cross between parcheesi and hangman. The dice is rolled, and
you need a 6 to start. Makes sense, body first. As soon as a six is
rolled, Beetleguise will quickly draw a body on the paper, while the other
members frantically continue rolling the dice to get a five. Once the head
is on, then it doesn't matter which numbers come next, as long as you get
4-3's,2-2's, and 2-1's. Again, once the body is completed, holler 'BEETLE"
and play stops. Players move to the next table and on a signal, play
resumes again.
You can either
keep score and award applause to the team that had "BEETLE" the most
times, or you can use this game at snack-time at camp and hand out little
treats. Just make sure everybody gets something!! I find this game
can be quite crazy and noisy as the girls get older, but it is also
wonderful to use larger dice for 5 & 6 year olds to help them with
numbers. Of course, they won't play as fast.
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