Gail's Girl Scout Resources

 

PEOPLE KNOT

 

Try getting all the girls to stand in a circle, each putting in first their left hand, and grasping that of someone else’s, then doing the same with the right, making sure that they are holding two different people's hands. Challenge them to undo themselves into a circle. I've done this with Brownies, Guides and Young Leader groups here in the UK, and it always seems to go down well. If you have more than about 10, split them into 2 groups, but there does need to be an even number, which occasionally means that you have to get involved too!

Debbie, (England)

 

 

RESCUE BARBIE

Ask the girls to bring in a doll or a small stuffed animal. Pretend that Barbie has fallen over a cliff and you have to rescue her. Have them do a rescue knot (Bowline) on the doll and rescue her from over the cliff. (small one under arms and long ones under legs)

I also have the actually tie a Bowline to a toy dog to demonstrate that the knot is used to tie up a dog or a boat.

Wendy Baker

 

BOWLINE GAME

Need:

a fork for everyone

placemat, napkin, apron, oven mitts, knife, wrapped chocolate bar in many

layers of newspaper.

2 dice and a rope
Numbers of girls 8 - 10

Girls are in a circle sitting on the floor with the equipment in the center. The object of the game is to pass the dice around and the first person to roll doubles gets the rope from the leader, ties the required knot (Bowline) and it is checked by the leader to make sure it is right, then she puts on the apron, oven mitts, places the napkin under her chin, on the place mat she must pick up the knife and using her own fork tries to get into the present. BUT....at the same time the dice are still going around and as soon as someone else rolls doubles they tie the knot and if it is correct the first person must take off the stuff and go back into the circle and so on. Great fun. Make sure you take two chocolate bars because they will want to do it again, but twice is enough and the chocolate should be shared.

Wendy Baker

BEAN GAME:

Give each girl a rope and a beans and divide them into pairs. Say "Go" and they have to see who can be the fastest to tie a reef (square) knot (or any assigned knot). The first person to do it is the winner and receives the bean from her partner, the winner finds a partner with two beans and begins again. The loser gets another bean from the game leader to play another one bean person. The game goes on with partners always having as close as possible the same number of beans. They do this by calling out the number of beans they have until they find a person with the same or nearly the same number of beans.

Wendy Baker

CLOVEHITCH RELAY

Patrols go in relay formation using a long rope each girl ties a clovehitch around her ankle and when all are roped try to beat the others to the other end of the room.

poem: For Clove Hitch:

Around the post cross over behind
The post duck under a head, legs arms
What do you get:
A Ballet Dancer's Pirouette.

(If you tie this knot with a pipecleaner it does look like a ballet dancer!)

Wendy Baker

CATS CRADLE

Using a very large rope which is tied into a circle and using people for your fingers try to do a cats cradle. We have made it to the third part. (Hint) have two people actually doing it on the fingers and a third person directing the people how to do it. Lots of fun for an outdoor rally.

Wendy Baker

SHEEPSHANK

Each patrol is given a 15 foot rope. 2 girls per patrol stand about 10 feet apart each holding one end of rope on signal the rest of the girls tie sheep-shanks in the rope The winners are the first group to get their rope absolutely taut. THE GIRLS WHO ARE HOLDING THE ENDS MUST NOT MOVE.

Wendy Baker

FLAG SAYING

To remember what knots you tie when you hoist the flag:

Clove Hitch on toggle (It's almost there....)
Sheet Bend with stop....let it rise in the air.

Wendy Baker

SHEET BEND POEM

Use two different colored pipe cleaners:

Peek up the hole, around the trees
Chase your tail and pull
Form two wings and in the sky
You flutter like a Butterfly.

Wendy Baker

REEF KNOT POEM

Left over right and under
Right over left and under
(Form a head and squeeze a tail
and then just like a swan you'll sail).

Wendy Baker

WHIPPING

The ends of that rope are looking pretty hairy-
Whip them into shape and they won't be so scary.

Wendy Baker

RIDDLES:

Make up cards that say:
1. I am the king of knots because - if I am used correctly - I never slip, and I am put to use in a variety of rescue operations.
2. I am sometimes known as the Weavers' knot. I am used by sailors in rigging the ship. I join two ropes different thicknesses.
3. I must be female, because I love tying up loose ends! I hate to see rope ends fray so I sit very snugly and hold them firmly- and, My don't they look neat when I'm used?
4. I am constantly used. I'm used to tie the ends of bandages in First Aid, because I lie flat, and do not hurt, I don't slip or slide, and I can be undone easily, I'm square, but I'm very popular!

Answers: 1. Bowline, 2 Sheetbend 3. whipping 4 Reef

Have the girls do it as a relay where the 4 cards are on a chair at the end of the room with a rope. I have 4 different colored cards and a set of 2 for two teams. They must one at a time run to the chair, pick up blue, green, yellow, orange card in order I tell them and tie the knot that is described the leaders stay near the chairs to make sure the knot it right.

Wendy Baker

   

TIE THE KNOT

This is a variation on "drop the hanky" for those who remember that popular childrens' party game. The group sits in a circle with their hands behind their back. One person walks around the outside with a piece of rope; they select someone, place the rope in their hands and say a knot. They then continue around the circle; the challenge is for the knot to be completed correctly before they return to the same place. If the knot is not finished or not correct, the person tying it changes place with them and goes around the circle with the rope. The game can be adjusted according to the knotting skills of participants; either by the range of knots that may be specified or if they are more competent with their knots by requiring the knot to be tied with hands kept behind the back.

Grant O'Neil

 

KNOT DODGE

Two teams are numbered off. The leader of the game calls out a number and a knot. The person with the corresponding number from one team has to go to a designated point and tie the knot; the person from the other team with the same number has to go to another point and try to hit the person tying the knot by throwing a ball (or a beanbag) at them. So the person tying the knot has the double challenge of tying the knot correctly while also dodging the throws. We used to play this on a basketball court; a length of rope was tied hanging down from the stand behind the backboard, and the knot was tied with a second length of rope onto the first. The person tying the knot would signal they had completed it by swinging on the joined ropes. The person throwing the ball had to throw from behind the free throw line (with older scouts who can throw harder and more accurately this may even need to be inside the center circle) They can go anywhere to retrieve the ball after a throw, but cannot throw it again until they have returned to the free throw line.

Grant O'Neil

 

NEWCOMER'S KNOT GAMES

I've used two games for knots that work well. The first one is for learning the knots: instead of using rope, use Twizzlers or licorice whips or other "whip" candy. When the girl gets the knot right, she can eat it. Now, you have to be careful with this one - - don't use a "whip" that's really soft or sticky, especially in hot weather. The Twizzlers are just right, they don't stick to themselves and they don't melt readily - - and more girls like the flavor than do licorice.

The other game is for drill, after you've learned the knot - - a relay race. You have two "judges" with short lengths of rope. The girl runs up to the judge, ties the knot, and if it's right she runs back to the back of the line and the next girl runs up. If it's not right, she tries again. If it's not right in three tries, she can run back to her team and get help, and then she can come try again.

Sandy L Keeney

 

BEDROLL GAME

 

Two teams. Each team has one set of each item.
Throw a die to receive each item as follows

• 6 = groundsheet
• 5 = air mattress
• 4 = sleeping bag
• 3 = pillow
• 1 = rope
• 2 = blanket

When all the items have been collected, the bedroll must be rolled correctly with the proper knots.

Wendy Baker

 

FIRST AID CARRYING RELAY

Carrying an injured person.

According to the number of players, arrange Guides in groups of two or three "bearers" and one "patient". Put a cup of water on the patient to make sure she is treated gently. On the arrival of the bearers at the goal, their speed and the amount of water remaining in the cup are taken into account.

Variations:
a) An injured ankle must be bandaged correctly.
b) The injured person must be carried on a "four handed seat". etc.

Barb Garber

 

SHOPPING CONTEST

In the center of the circle are placed pebbles, leaves, pieces of bark or wood. The players are numbered in two's or three's. The leader of the game calls out a shopping list and a number. For instance: 4 pebbles, 2 leaves, 1 stick - Number 2. The Guides whose number is called run around the circle, go inside by the "doors" which they left vacant in their own spots and do their shopping. They go back to their places, put their shopping down in front of them, kneel down and raise their hands. The Guide doing her shopping correctly and the fastest wins.

Barb Garber

 

COMMUNICATION GAME

Equipment: An envelope per team of two children. When you are preparing the equipment, cut two of each shape in each size of each color. i.e., two large yellow circles, two small green triangles, 2 medium blue squares. One of each shape goes in each envelope, so that the two team members could make an identical picture.
Category: Indoor, quiet
Ages: Brownies on up
Numbers: An even number of kids, because you need to divide them up in two's.

The children sit down on the floor, back to each other, with their envelopes in front of them. One girl is the designer, and she opens her envelope and makes a design or picture with her shapes. Then she describes her picture to the person who is back to her, so that she can make an identical picture. No one is allowed to look at their partner's pictures!! After the two are done, using only their voices to pass the information back and forth they may compare their pictures. Allow about 10 minutes for this game.

Don't make too many shapes, or too many small pieces as you will want to use this game again (it is too much work to set up to only use once!) Ask the children to be careful when they put it back in the envelopes because you don't want to find one green triangle on the floor after you have all the envelopes put back in their box!

This is quite fun. You may want to allow them to switch designer and copier and try it again.

Jane Maddin

 

DRAWING BOARD

Equipment: A picture on a large piece of paper stuck up on a wall somewhere outside the meeting room. The picture that we had was a picture of a face with long curls and a crown with points and jewels on the crown. It was drawn with a marker on white paper. A piece of paper and a marker for each team.
Number of Players: In teams of at least 4. One person is the drawer.
Category: Quiet, indoor.
Age: 9 and up.

In the first variation, one person is chosen as the drawer for each team, and that person is not allowed to talk at all. One of the members of the team goes out to the hallway to look at the picture, but she is not allowed to say anything except yes or no, to the rest of the team, who must ask her questions about the picture. The person with the piece of paper must draw the picture, as they hear it described to them, without asking any questions herself.

In the second variation, each member of the team can go look at the picture except the drawer, one at a time. Then the drawer can ask each team member one question, and they can only answer the question yes, or no. This continues until the picture is drawn. (I'm not sure I have explained this well, so I will provide an example. Kathy is the drawer and she has Natasha and Heather on her team. Heather goes to look at the picture. Kathy asks her if it is a picture of an animal, Heather says Yes. Natasha goes out to look and Kathy asks her if it is a dog, Natasha says No. Kathy asks Heather if it is a person, and Heather (who can remember this) says Yes. Kathy asks Natasha if it is a boy, and Natasha can't remember, so she goes to look and then comes back and says No. And so forth until Kathy feels she has enough information to start drawing - she might then ask if it is a whole body, just a face, in profile or straight on, long hair, curly hair, smiling, etc.)

This game in either version tends to take awhile. And you can change versions part way through if you'd like. Hope the instructions are clear! This makes for some interesting pictures.

Jane Maddin