Keys to Brownies Enrolment
Thanks very much to Wendy Baker, who shared this enrolment she created with the Guiding Mailing List!
Props:
- Keys (large cardboard cut outs) with Law, Promise, Motto, Sign & Handshake, Toadstool, Magic Pool written on them
- Padlocks - Law, Promise, Motto, Sign & Handshake, Toadstool, Magic Pool
- Invitations in shape of lock with key inside
The Ceremony:
Brownies being enrolled have the keys, one each. If you have more than 6 being enrolled you might just have extra keys for each item that would have to be double unlocked, e.g., you'd need two keys to open the lock. Brownies already enrolled are the holders of the locks. As each lock is unlocked, an action or reading is done, as appropriate.
Leader: Welcome to our Brownie enrolment. The new Brownies all have keys that will open the locks to show the magical things that Brownies must know.
Key to the Brownie Promise:
Leader: Brownies all make a special Promise when they are enrolled. (Brownie puts her key in the Promise Lock. All the Brownies make a Promise circle and say the Brownie Promise - "I promise to do my best, to be true to myself, my God/Faith and Canada, I will help other people, and keep the Brownie Law.")
Key to the Brownie Law:
Leader: Our Brownie Law is to be kept at all time, not only when we are at Brownies. (Brownie puts her key in the Brownie Law Lock.)
Keeper of the Lock says: "As a Brownie, I am honest and kind; I help take care of the world around me."
Key to the Brownie Motto:
Leader: Our Motto is like a secret code that only Brownies know. (Brownie puts her key in the Brownie Motto lock.)
Keeper of the Lock says: "Lend a Hand means helping others when we can."
Key to Brownie Sign and Handshake:
Leader: Brownies have a special Sign and Handshake that they must learn. (Brownie puts her key in the Brownie Sign and Handshake lock.)
Keeper of the Lock says: "Hold you right hand as high as your shoulder, then hold your first two fingers upright like this. Don't let your fingers flop, hold them up straight. Now using your left hand, shake my hand."
Key to the Toadstool:
Leader: Now come to the Toadstool and we will tell you a story. Unlock the lock and we will have a little skit! (Brownie puts her key in the Toadstool lock.)
Read the Brownie Toadstool on Page 22 only to the first sentence of the last paragraph, "Lend a Hand" to the group. Have the Brownies place the different items around the Toadstool as the story is being read.
Key to the Magic Pool:
Leader: We now come to our enrolment. All new Brownies, please come and line up near the Toadstool. (Brownie puts her key in the Magic Pool lock.)
All the other Brownies form a ring around the Toadstool, singing: "We're the Brownies, here's are aim, Lend a hand and play the game!"
Brown Owl then does the "Twist me, turn me..." for each Brownie, saying: "There is magic in the pool, when a Brownie lends a hand and helps others, she can look in the magic pool and see herself and say: (Brownies say their names)."
Once all the Brownies are enrolled, give each girl a little gold key on a ribbon and tell her that the key is the key to the Grand Howl.
Key to the Grand Howl:
Leader: The Grand Howl is a special way to welcome a guest or show appreciation to a new Brownie, or to a special helper. All the new Brownies have a key to the Grand Howl. Let's unlock the Grand Howl together! (See Page 26 in the Brownie Program book for how to do this if you don't already know.)