Learning Look Wider Game

The Look Wider program can be a bit complicated for the new Rangers to get their head around, especially when they are expected to plan, undertake then record their own achievements themselves.










The Octant Beetle game was fun and helped last year but I wanted to try something different again this year.

I went for board game style with each square representing a section of the chart.  Some squares give examples of what does count like "Phase 3 out of doors, you camped in all four seasons, well done"

But more were like "Phase 1 leadership, write one example in the chart"

Every Phase 2 was miss one turn. Every Phase 3 was miss 2 turns.  This was to demonstrate that they take longer to achieve.

The chart for the game they had to write on was a badly drawn (by me) octant sheet on flip chart paper.



















To add some fun in I bought a large soft dice, which they enjoyed throwing around the room and at each other.

There was also the all important and numerous 'Take a Biscuit' squares.  They kept the Rangers fed (an absolute requirement for every meeting it would seem!) and also allowed me to talk about how getting all the phase 2 octants means you have achieved your Chief Guide Challenge.

The game went on for a while but came to a natural end as they started to ask questions like "I'm doing a coaching course at swimming, does that count?" "I'm doing this and that, do they count?" "can I have my record sheet to write so and so in?"

I think sometimes the mood for the evening has to be right and the enthusiasm from the leader must be there too, but I was really pleased with how entertaining they found it, the banter it generated and how fired up they were about getting on with completing their phases of the octants.

But mostly they were aiming for the 'take a biscuit' squares!



I have uploaded the Game Squares and full instructions.  You can Download them to use.

My basic instructions are:

I laminated all the sheets
Bought a large dice from Amazon
Drew an octant chart on flip paper (example on slide 2)
Bought biscuits

Lay the squares out on the floor, I did a circle. A block of them with a walk order might work in restricted space.
Make sure the biscuit squares are spread out.

Rangers pick their own starting point, throw dice and do what it says on the square they land on.

You might say they have to go around the board fully once to win but they will probably decide on their own rules for themselves.

*We played this again recently and it didn't have the same energy as the last time.  I came to the conclusion with the girls I have now I should have put them into teams.  One on the board, one throwing dice and one writing and  create competition between the 2 teams, perhaps by giving them a chart each and be the first team to fill it in completely and to totally ignore all the 'miss a turns'.

Read more...

Octant Beetle - 2nd Edition

You may recall we played Octant Beetle before and the Rangers asked to play it again this term.  I was pleased as it is an opportunity to go over the Look Wider Program.  But I felt the last time we played it, it got a bit swallowed up in Rangers asking whether they could use this or that for their own Look Wider journey and I felt it got bogged down a bit. So I decided to approach it a new way:

I started by drawing the usual octant chart and getting them to add the categories.

Community Action
Leadership
Creativity
Fit for life
Independent Living
Out Of Doors
International
Personal Values

Then I drew a second one and labelled it 'Park it'.

I explained that the idea was to fill in as many ideas as they could on the look wider chart but if anyone asked  'can I' questions I would write them straight onto 'Park It' and we would come back to them later.

My example was 'go to the moon' could be used for a phase 3 out of doors or if they went alone maybe Independent living!!!

I told them to think outside of the box if they could.


They did a Beetle chart.

They had access to a lot of sweets and biscuits!

I gave them all chop sticks and an oversized dice.

I think the large dice and chop sticks make a difference because it makes it different.  The chopsticks helps them learn a new skill, so they are phase 1 internationalling whilst playing and  I also think the chop sticks help with hygiene as they take the sweets and biscuits out of the packets using them.


When they threw a number they could get something for (standard beetle rules e.g. you can't had a head until you have a body etc) they had to write something on the chart, anything, to be able to get the biscuit or sweet.  I didn't question whether what they wrote was right or wrong, or even what it was, they just filled it in.  They started to talk amongst themselves about what qualified as what but I didn't get involved at all.

And only twice I needed to write anything on 'park it'.

They got on with playing and they enjoyed it.  Much more than last time I think.

At the end of the evening I quickly ran through what they had written down and only one thing got a straight 'no, you can't use that' everything else was ok on it somewhere even if it was in the wrong level, which we discussed.

They did well.







They do really enjoy just playing but I think it's a bonus if that can pull in 'with a purpose' at the same time.

Read more...

Chief Guide Challenge and a Chinese Raffle.

2 girls of my Senior Section unit received their Chief Guide Challenge Award at a special presentation.  Our county are very good at recognition and celebrating acheivements.  The High Sheriff presentated the awards to all the Baden Powell, Chief Guide Challenge, Duke of Edinburgh and Queen's Guide award achievers.  There were only 10 Chief Guide Challenge Awards in our county this year so I am especially happy that 2 of those are from my unit.

The girls work hard for these awards, they are not a walk in the park by any stretch.  On a previous evening at Rangers we 'celebrated' Ranger style with cakes.  I'm not a great cake maker but I was pretty pleased with my effort.  (Especially as I had to make them on the Sunday night after Brownie Pack Holiday. Rangers was the next evening and I had to go to work during the next day!)

We also had a 'Chinese Raffle' which wasn't really a chinese raffle at all but the idea is based on it.

I wrapped up a lot of 'things', some were lovely nail varnishes or makeup, some were sweets, some were washing up sponges and dish cloths.  Mostly you couldn't tell what they were. 

The Rangers threw a dice in turn and followed these rules:

6 - take a gift from the pile
5 - pass one gift left
4 - pass one gift right
3 - steal a gift from someone
2 - unwrap one of your gifts
1 - put one gift back in the middle

A person may have a maximum of three gifts in their possession at one time.
If you need to pass left or right and the person to your left or right already has three gifts, give it to the next person in that direction who does not have the maximum number of gifts.
You cannot steal a gift from the person who took it from you.
Once you unwrap a gift, you keep it, and are out.
All other gifts in your possession are put back into the middle.
When everyone has unwrapped a gift, everyone is back in, and the game continues with the remaining wrapped gifts until all gifts are unwrapped.

The Rangers really enjoyed it, we had enough gifts for 2 full games and as there were still some gifts left they carried on for a part third and finished it off by playing with the remaining cakes!


A fun party(ish) night to celebrate achievement and it has motivated the others to look a bit harder at what they would need to do to finish the award.

I've also given them each one of the new Look Wider record books to help them along the way.  Fingers crossed for a few more 'finishers' another year.

Read more...