Brownies are girls aged between 7 and 10.
What do Brownies do?
Brownies have fun! They take part in indoor and outdoor activities as part of their programme called the Brownie Adventure. Their meetings are full of games and activities which provide challenging opportunities for Brownies to think for themselves and take an active part in unit decision-making.
The Brownie Promise
All Brownies make this Promise at a special occasion called the Brownie Promise Celebration.
"I promise that I will do my best to love my God: to serve the Queen and my country, to help other people, and to keep the Brownie Law"
Brownies wear a special Promise badge and are given a Brownie Promise Box, a keepsake box which is the ideal place to hold her Brownie books, certificates and treasures. The Brownie Law is:
"A Brownie Guide thinks of others before herself and does a Good Turn every day."
What do Brownies wear?
Brownies choose what to wear from a range of stylish and practical clothes.
The Brownie programme is called the Brownie Adventure. It is a bright and modern framework of activities designed to help each girl to develop through doing a variety of activities which are fun, interesting and challenging. It covers 3 areas – You, Community and World:
You
This encourages each Brownie to discover about herself, her skills and achievements, self confidence, values and her relationships with family and friends.
Community
This encourages each Brownie to learn develop her awareness of the community in which she lives and to take part in it.
World
This encourages each Brownie to develop a knowledge and interest in the world, both within Guiding and more generally, and to use her skills to benefit the wider world.
How does the Brownie programme work in practice?
Each new Brownie receives a Welcome Card which invites her to join the Pack. She is teamed up with a Brownie Buddy who will look after her for the first few meetings. She will work through a special book to prepare her for her Promise Celebration and she will then start on the Brownie Adventure.
Each Brownie chooses activities from the 3 programme areas of the Brownie Adventure and tales part at a level which is appropriate to her personal development. Over time she will develop in all these areas.
The Brownie Pow-Wow
Pow-wows take place when there is something important to discuss, decide or share. They involve everyone on the Pack, including the leaders. Each person has an opportunity to speak and be listened to, and they often have a special signal for the Brownies to use when they want to speak. Pow-wows can include a vote on a decision. This process enables each Brownie to participant in the Pack’s decisions, and to develop her self confidence.
The Brownie Six
Brownies usually play and learn together in a Six, a small group of ideally 4 to 6 girls. Each Six has a different name and badge to match. Each Six has a Sixer who helps the Six to work together, helps new Brownies to settle in, and organizes the Six for activities and games. This helps her to develop leadership skills.
Interest Badges
Brownies can also choose from a wide range of Interest Badges. Sometimes they get a taster of a new skill or idea as part of the Adventure and want to develop it further by doing a related badge. Interest Badges can be done by an individual or as a group, at home or during weekly meetings.
Go For It! Guides
Towards the end of her time in Brownies she can work on Go For It! Guides, a special challenge to give her the chance to be more independent and to find out about Guides and how they operate. BY choosing and completing 4 activities she will receive a mini certificate which she can put into her G-File if she decides to go to Guides.
Perhaps the biggest adventure for a Brownie is to have a residential experience. It is hoped that every Brownie will have the opportunity to go away as a Brownie at least once during her time in Brownies. Brownies can have Sleepovers, holidays and/or camps. Brownie Guiders take a special qualification to run residential events.
A residential event gives the Brownies a chance to:
• Get to know each other better
• Get to know their Leaders better
• Increase their self confidence
• Gain a sense of independence
• Have lots of fun
• Learn new skills
Pack Holiday is often the highlight of the Brownie year. In Cambridgeshire West many Brownie Packs spend a weekend at our County holiday home, Ripton Lodge.