Winter Activities

Winter Solstice

June 21st is the shortest day. Why not celebrate the event with an outside evening for your unit. Talk to the girls the previous week about coming prepared for an outdoor event (wear a jacket, good walking shoes, warm clothing and bring a torch). If you have a large unit of younger girls, please make sure that you have enough adult supervision and think about dividing your girls into groups of about six. Bring a cellphone in case of emergencies and perhaps a small first aid kit or plaster or two in your pocket, just in case.

Ideas:

• Simply go out on a walk in the dark. Surprisingly such a simple activity is really enjoyed by the girls. How often do they get the opportunity to explore their neighbourhood by walking, let alone walking in the dark? You could make it more interesting by:
  • having previously laid a trail of clues or follow map/compass directions
  • giving out a sheet of things to spot or bring back
  • making it a coin toss walk, ie at each corner, take it in turns to toss a coin (heads go straight ahead/tails, turn the corner – vary this how you please).
  • find the local police station, post office, etc/find as many road signs as possible
• Plan a visit to the local park. Going on the swings at night time always seems a bit more adventurous.
• Make lamps or candle holders. Hold a ceremony (enrolment/campfire) outside.
• Always the best bit of going outside is coming inside again! Provide Milo with marshmallow treats as a winter warm up.

Mid Year Christmas

What better way to add some winter cheer! Ideas:

• District Team: have a pot luck Christmas dinner.
• District AGM: a winter theme night (incorporate some of the unit activities below and warm the “tummies” with soup, hot chocolate, etc).
• Units: enjoy the excuse for Christmas and wintry activities
• Make snowmen out of a framework of chickenwire. Challenge sixers/patrols to decorate the best snowman. Use toilet paper wrapped around for snow and then decorate snowman with cardboard, etc. with nose, eyes, mouth and hat and scarf + buttons.
• Have sleigh race. Provide cardboard boxes, rope, string, etc and get each sixer/patrol to design their sleigh. Chose Santa (provide with red hat & sack of “toys” screwed up newspaper) to sit in the sleigh and other patrol/sixer members can be the reindeer. Have chimney (bucket) at other end of hall. When race begins, reindeer must pull Santa in the sleigh to their chimney. Santa will get out, place the toys in the chimney, return to the sleigh and race back to the starting point.
• Ice hockey tournament: rolled up newspaper for hockey sticks and a pair of socks folded together as the ball.

Winter Crafts

Snowglobe

Materials: Glue gun, a jar + lid, small plastic animal, white rocks/small pebbles and white or silver glitter, water and food colouring if desired.
Method: Glue rocks and animals to the lid. Fill jar with water, colouring & glitter. Glue lid to jar.

Chocolate Spoons

Materials: Heavy plastic spoons, milk chocolate, white chocolate, chocolate sprinkles, coloured sugar, wax paper, cellophane, curling ribbon
Method: Melt chocolate in 2 separate bowls.
Dip half the number of spoons in white chocolate and dip the other spoons in milk chocolate. Dip them as far as the base of the spoon bowl. Place on waxed paper and let set completely.
When the chocolate is set dip the white spoons in milk chocolate, and vice versa, but this time only did half way up the bowl of the spoon to create a layered effect. Place back on waxed paper to begin setting.
Let chocolate set only partially (about 5 minutes) then gently dip spoons in chocolate sprinkles or coloured sugar.
Wrap in cellophane and tie with ribbon. You can add a tag (“stir me into your coffee”).

Make a Paper Snowflake or a Snowflake Card

Make simple snowflakes from paper. You can tape these snowflakes to a window for a nice winter decoration or paste them onto a piece of folded construction paper for a great winter card.
Materials: White paper, scissors
Optional: A protractor, glitter or glitter glue
Method: For a card: A piece of coloured construction paper and glue.
Fold a piece of paper in half. Fold over one side, then the other, to make two 60 degree folds. You can do this by eye, or you can use a protractor.
Cut off the edges of the paper in an arc.
Cut a lot of the paper away.
Unfold your snowflake carefully.
Optional: Decorate your snowflake with glitter or glitter glue.
Glue your snowflake onto a folded piece of construction paper for a great winter card.