Hobbies And Interests
Linda Lemon
This ice-breaker game allows girls to get to know each other's names and includes a fun memory component. With girls sitting in a circle, the group leader will instruct the girls that they are going to the market to purchase a product they like that starts with the same letter as their first name. They will go around the circle and state their name and the object that they are going to purchase. For example, the first girl might say "My name is Linda and I'm going to the store to buy a lemon." The next girl states her item plus the item of the girl that came before her. She might say "My name is Amanda and I'm going to the story to buy an apple and a lemon." The game continues until the last person has named everything that the group is going to buy. If you have a big Girl Scout troop, this can be quite an extensive list.
Polaroid
This interesting take on a group story-telling activity involves the entire group in building an image. The idea is to develop a clear and detailed picture. Each girl takes a turn at contributing one element of the image, which evolves over time just like a Polaroid photograph. One girl starts the story with anything that comes to mind such as "a penny." The next girl adds a detail such as "a 1925 penny." The next girl adds another detail, such as "on a yellow carpet."
Psychiatrist
With one girl out of the room, the remaining girls decide on a rule to follow when answering the psychiatrist's questions. For example, they might decide to tell a lie when their legs are crossed and tell the truth when their legs are uncrossed, or begin all sentences with a vowel. Once the girls have agreed on a rule, the girl that left the room returns. This girl will act as the psychiatrist and will begin asking questions to the others, trying to figure out what the pattern is. The psychiatrist has three guesses. Once the three guesses are used up or the psychologist guesses the rule, her turn is over and someone else gets a turn to be a psychiatrist.
Toss the String
This game is used to teach the importance of teamwork and cooperation. All the girls sit in a circle. One girl is given a ball of yarn. The girl holding the ball of yarn begins by calling out another girl's name and tossing the ball of yarn to her, while holding onto the end of the string. The girl who catches the ball of yarn then calls out another girl's name and tosses the ball to her, while holding onto a piece of the string. In the end, the middle of the circle will look like a spider's web. The group leader will ask one girl to pull on her piece of string. Everyone else feels the pull but has to hold on to the string. This game demonstrates the importance of working together and how an individual's contribution, the pulling of the string, can affect the result for the entire group.