Playing together builds friendship and teamwork.
Scouting is intended to empower girls by building their character, confidence and courage. Girl Scout meetings are a time to develop the bonds of friendship and teamwork among the girls in a troop. Introducing games during the meetings can be effective skill-building tools all the while having fun. The games in this article are appropriate for girls at the elementary school level.
Pass the Mirror
A strong, positive self-image can build a girl's confidence. The goal of this game is to encourage a positive self-concept and positive attitude. The girls form a circle and sit cross-legged on the floor. The leader passes a mirror around the group. As each girl receives the mirror, she looks at herself and states one nice physical feature and one nice personality characteristic she possesses. The mirror is passed around until each girl has complimented herself.
Rumors
Also known as the Telephone Game, "Rumors" teaches girls about the dangers of gossip. Gossip is unreliable because as a rumor is spread, it is changed a little in each telling. The leader asks the girls to form a circle and sit on the floor. The group leader should make up the sentence, write it down, and then tell it to the first girl sitting on her left. This girl whispers the sentence to the girl to her left. That girl whispers to the person on her left, and so on until the rumor comes back to the girl on the leader's right. This girl states the rumor aloud. The sentence will almost certainly be completely different. The leader should tell the girls what the original sentence was so they can hear how the rumor changed. A discussion should follow about how this type of behavior can impact an individual.
Group Hula Hoop
The Group Hula Hoop game is played with several small groups. The scouts should form groups of four girls each. Each group needs a hula hoop. Each girl holds the hula hoop with the first two fingers of each hand. The object is to set the hula hoop on the ground without anyone's fingers leaving the hoop. This game is great for team building and problem solving.
Trust Me Walk
Trust Me Walk requires blindfolds and an indoor obstacle course or maze. A maze can easily be made with small traffic cones or other objects placed around the room. Each girl chooses a partner. One partner is blindfolded while the other stands on the other side of the room. The girl who can see guides her partner through the maze using her words. This activity is great for building communication skills and teamwork.
Do as I Say
This game illustrates the need to match your actions to your words. The scouts all stand in a line at one side of the room. The leader stands in front of them. The leader calls out an action, but does something else. For example, she may say, "Hop on one foot," while she does jumping jacks. The girls try to follow the spoken direction and not the leader's action.
Tags: form circle, friendship teamwork, Girl Scout, girl whispers, girls form
