Creative ideas for kids ice activity wanted

[kiwiskater]

So 2011 is here & I'm swinging into business mode being back to work today...

I'm starting the planning for my Girl Guide group for the year, one of my 'wishes' for activity ideas this year is to make the district linking event an ice skating themed one... failing that I'll just take my girls skating in a public session

I'm looking for creative ideas (that I could hold onto until closer to the time) for how the event might run on ice, as an ice skating themed event (the linking won't be until mid-year - we do one in winter around June/July & one in summer at the end of the year)

~We want to do a private rink hire so that space isn't an issue.

~During this event there will be kids of all ages & varying levels of skill.... Pippins 5-6 years old, Brownies 7 - 9 1/2 year olds, Guides 9 1/2 -13 year olds & Rangers 13 - 18 year olds (though not often they come).

~This is an event where the kids who reach the age limit/completed all the challenges of their section move are 'linked' up to the next section (e.g. Pippins to Brownies, Brownies to Guides etc.).

~The parents can wait until the event is over & participate in a free skate afterwards, until then they are in the care of their leader (unless the child really needs parental assistance)

Tips & suggestions welcome!

[Isk8NYC]

The ISI had a good six-session basic skating/scouting lesson curriculum that I taught quite a few times, but the Boy and Girl Scouting programs changed their requirements to make skating less demanding.  The ISI sells a small booklet containing ideas and activities for scout outings, but I haven't read the newest version.  (I think I have a copy of the old version; if I do, I'll scan it for you.)
To order a new booklet: http://www.skateisi.com/site/contentPDF/PubOrder.pdf

The USFSA created their own program to fulfill badge requirements.
http://www.usfsa.org/Content/ScoutsIceSkatingMeritBadge.pdf

The Girl Scouts have a Brownie "Try It!" badge for ice skating, but it's mainly an outing and meeting.
They did publish a safety checklist for planning skating outings:
http://www.girlscoutssa.org/training-misc/Ice_Skating_Safety_Activity_Checkpoints_2010.pdf

The Boy Scouts have an actual badge program with listed elements. 
http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/BoyScouts/AdvancementandAwards/MeritBadges/mb-SKAT.aspx


Update: Feb 2009 article from US Basic Skills: http://www.usfsa.org/Content/Scouts%20and%20Skating.pdf

[kiwiskater]

Thanks - they might be useful for a badge that has no syllabus if any of the kids take up skating.

What I'm really looking at is a 1 off event where the kids get together and are symbolically passed from one level to the next - e.g. they farewell their brownie unit by walking up a line of people and are received at the other end by their new guide unit.

[Isk8NYC]

Are you saying you want to do a "graduation" of sorts on the ice?

Since you have a broad range of ages, the on-ice skating ceremony might not work out too well unless everyone can skate.

You can ask the rink to lay down mats for the officials and kids to walk on, but it's probably better to just use a big party room or the lobby for such a ceremony.

If they can skate, you can have the current groups form a double circle.  The kids that are moving up are in the outer circle, then split off to snake their way to their new unit and join their "inner circle."  Go from youngest to oldest group so that you can add to the drama of the kids' aging out of the program.


(OT: Does "1 off" mean "one time"?)

[icefrog]

What if you did the ceremony at a place. I'm not sure how its done in NZ (I'm guessing that where you're from) but when I was a girl scout in the US we always graduated in a church. Maybe because it was the south and churches are a bigger part of everyday life and my groups always met in churches. Anyway then you could do a party at the rink. I think that taking them to a pulic session and hiring a coach to do a beginner class and talk about skating and get them on the ice doing marches and maybe trying glides would be really fun.

[kiwiskater]

What if you did the ceremony at a place. I'm not sure how its done in NZ (I'm guessing that where you're from) but when I was a girl scout in the US we always graduated in a church. Maybe because it was the south and churches are a bigger part of everyday life and my groups always met in churches. Anyway then you could do a party at the rink. I think that taking them to a pulic session and hiring a coach to do a beginner class and talk about skating and get them on the ice doing marches and maybe trying glides would be really fun.

Some do meet in churches, but we get the whole district (that's all the Pippins, Brownies, etc in our local area) together and do this 'ceremony' - we usually get around ~50 kids turn up. We've done a church hall, the park, the swimming pools, the zoo,  and I think it'd be great to do it at the ice skating rink.

Since you have a broad range of ages, the on-ice skating ceremony might not work out too well unless everyone can skate.

You can ask the rink to lay down mats for the officials and kids to walk on, but it's probably better to just use a big party room or the lobby for such a ceremony.

While there may be many different ages & abilities it doesn't mean they can't have assistance, we wouldn't do anything complicated - there needs to be a simple but creative way of getting them from their old group to the new,  it could be something like a 'train' and they get dropped off.

I expect the tiny ones & though se that can't competently skate may need towing or another person to lend them a hand

(OT: Does "1 off" mean "one time"?)

Yes

[Isk8NYC]

You could have the oldest kids assist the ones who need help.

[retired]

(lifetime girl guide member here)

It's almost always called flying up here and done at the usual meeting hall although there are golden footsteps, and random gnomes and elves popping out with challenges and points along the way that they have to recite mottos and such.  Then there is food!

You're making it a challenge to do it on ice.  We have so many risk forms to fill out for any activity that we'd never do that here.  If girls do the skate badge they have the skate club sign off on it as they would be taking lessons there. It's always a question to my LTS kids, anyone in brownies, guides, scouts?  And I make them bring me their book, it's an easy badge.

Anyway you need a magical ice castle experience.  Think of it as an ice show and dim the lights.  Put mini Christmas tree lights to highlight the ceremony area, drawn paths or stepping stones on the ice to that spot
and several strong skaters to drag along the non-skaters.  You could make arches of lights with flexpipe and rink cones.

Slusher ... humming ta-wit, ta-woo. ....

[Isk8NYC]

You HAVE to post a video afterwards - we all want to see what you come up with, too!

[Isk8NYC]

If girls do the skate badge they have the skate club sign off on it as they would be taking lessons there. It's always a question to my LTS kids, anyone in brownies, guides, scouts?  And I make them bring me their book, it's an easy badge.

I never thought to ask students if they're scouts.  What are the badge requirements for Girl Guides?

[kiwiskater]

(lifetime girl guide member here)

It's almost always called flying up here and done at the usual meeting hall although there are golden footsteps, and random gnomes and elves popping out with challenges and points along the way that they have to recite mottos and such.  Then there is food!

You're making it a challenge to do it on ice.  We have so many risk forms to fill out for any activity that we'd never do that here.  If girls do the skate badge they have the skate club sign off on it as they would be taking lessons there. It's always a question to my LTS kids, anyone in brownies, guides, scouts?  And I make them bring me their book, it's an easy badge.

Anyway you need a magical ice castle experience.  Think of it as an ice show and dim the lights.  Put mini Christmas tree lights to highlight the ceremony area, drawn paths or stepping stones on the ice to that spot
and several strong skaters to drag along the non-skaters.  You could make arches of lights with flexpipe and rink cones.

Slusher ,  humming ta-wit, ta-woo. , .

Yours sounds like a traditional enrolment & link - they don't have make their promise at this stage, only transfer. We are always encouraged to come up with new ideas and ways of celebrating achievement & linking. It's also a very big thing that you should take your group into the public a min of 2x year.

We do have lots of paperwork to cover these events but as long as you show that you realise there are risks & you show that you have taken steps to minimise them, then you're OK to do an activity such as this.

Your idea sounds great, might need some modifying to suit our local conditions but a really good base to work from!!

[retired]

I never thought to ask students if they're scouts.  What are the badge requirements for Girl Guides?

I'm in Canada so just know the  Girl Guide program.   I've never been involved with scouts which is co-ed.

Brownies   1.  plan a skating party.  2.  learn a new skill.       As a group, we plan the party and then go skating, they definitely learn a new skill and the whole unit gets the badge.  We go to the outdoor rink.

Guides:   http://ggcgirls.girlguides.ca/ggcgirls/all_about_me/badges/guides/being_healthy/skating.gif
 the big ones are forward one foot glide, skating backwards and crossovers.  It would be Canskate badge 4,  Idk for basic skills/ISI  Because of the level of skill and practice needed, most units don't do this badge in a group.    So I make sure to ask my LTS kids, but not too many do Guides anymore.  

This hasn't changed much from when I was a kid.

Edit:  I went and found the Scouts Canada one.  It looks tough  http://scouter.wikidot.com/skater-badge because it has backward crosscuts but they only have to do 5 of the 10 listed skills.  So any Canskate badge 3 skater would get this.

[kiwiskater]

Guides:   http://ggcgirls.girlguides.ca/ggcgirls/all_about_me/badges/guides/being_healthy/skating.gif
 the big ones are forward one foot glide, skating backwards and crossovers.  It would be Canskate badge 4,  Idk for basic skills/ISI  Because of the level of skill and practice needed, most units don't do this badge in a group.    So I make sure to ask my LTS kids, but not too many do Guides anymore. 

This hasn't changed much from when I was a kid.

Hmm that's quite a dedicated period of time they put in to pass -that would roughly be 6 months for a faster learner to pass, sounds like it would be Kiwiskate Basic (which is my current level).

The programme has changed 2ce since I was a girl and is about to undergo another revamp - they fiddle with it every 10 years or so