FAQs
We’re making Pippins available to more girls around New Zealand! We’ve created a safe, fun, engaging digital Pippins option for girls who are unable to attend normal Unit meetings, but would still like to do the exciting activities that GirlGuiding members do.
Explore Pippins is a programme specifically designed for 5 and 6 year olds. In Explore Pippins, girls work independently with parental supervision to lead their own learning at their own pace. Girls receive 1-1 feedback from a Leader so it is an ideal programme for stimulating inquisitive young minds and growing independent learners. Explore Pippins can also be accessed at any time so makes for great school holiday learning and entertainment.
Explore Pippins is an extremely flexible programme designed to fit in with the busy lives of modern families. Explore Pippins can be enjoyed at anytime from anywhere with an internet connection. This makes it an ideal option for girls who may live far away from a Pippin Unit or who have other commitments on the local unit night. Explore Pippins is great for girls who may not be able to commit to the same time every week or who move between houses. Explore Pippins are also invited to events within the wider Guiding community.
Girls will take part in age-appropriate activities developed in accordance with the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) Educational Method. Activities include:
- Taking on experiments in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Maths).
- Learning to care for the environment.
- Learning how to be safe outdoors.
- Exploring the community and looking after it.
- Growing and caring for plants.
- Trying new outdoor activities and challenging themselves.
- Learning how to lead a healthy lifestyle.
- Learning about all aspects of diversity.
- Trying orienteering or geocaching.
- Experiencing new activities on wheels.
Girls who are involved with GirlGuiding develop confidence and learn many new skills. The girls are outdoors as much as possible, and they are encouraged to help in their community, learn about other cultures, and work on their motor skills. We believe that we are the only organisation in New Zealand offering such positive and confidence-building activities to girls, and we’d love to be able to make a positive impact in your daughter’s life. You can find out more about GirlGuiding New Zealand here.
Explore Pippins runs on a subscription model which renews every 90 days. As part of each subscription, the Pippin gains access to new activities as well as a Pippin Pack in the post with supplies to help her complete her new activities.
Your credit card will be charged each time the subscription renews. You can cancel your re-subscription at any time by logging into your Explore account profile. Please note that cancelling a subscription will prevent subscription renewal but you will continue to have access to your Explore account for the rest of your 90-day period.
Explore Pippins is designed to get girls more active and interested in their wider worlds. The online activities are typically a prompt for the girl to do something in the ‘real world’. We aim for girls to spend only a small portion of their time using the online component, and the vast majority of their time doing activities off-screen.
The internet has become an everyday part of life for children in New Zealand and Explore Pippins provides a safe, educational space for this. Because the online safety of your Pippin is of vital importance to us, our site is:
- Secure; with SSL encryption
- Specifically designed for Pippins
- Monitored by GirlGuiding NZ
- Free from external links and advertising pop-ups.
The internet has become an everyday part of life, and children are growing up with it, using it to learn and play more than any generation before them has done. It’s a wonderful resource but we need to make sure that we are safe online; the online safety of your Pippin is of vital importance to us.
Our site is:
- Secure, with SSL encryption
- Specifically designed for Pippins
- Monitored by GirlGuiding NZ
We have made sure that your Pippin will be safe on our site – within the activities there are no external links for her to click on and no advertising pop-ups.
All of our Leaders have been interviewed, police vetted and offered training for dealing with children. These helpful tips will help ensure a safe environment for your Pippin;
- Stay on the Explore Pippins website; do not go to any other website
We recommend that your Pippin uses the Explore Pippins programme in a family space rather than by herself in her room. This will allow you to monitor what she’s doing.
It’s important to emphasise that your Pippin should stay on the Explore Pippins website rather than clicking on anything else, such as apps that may be on the desktop of the device.
- Get help if you get stuck or are unsure about anything
It’s always better for a child to get help rather than trying to fix something themselves. If they don’t know what to do, they need to be able to get an adult to help them.
Your Pippin has a random username and password for this programme. We recommend that you change the password to something memorable but complex enough that someone else cannot guess it; a phrase can work well if you add numbers and capital letters to it.
Netsafe, New Zealand’s online safety organisation, has developed good resources around content risks. They have a Safety Button available for free download that can be clicked on if a child sees something distressing online. Clicking on the button causes the screen to be covered with an underwater scene and a message encouraging the child to get an adult.
These links contain useful information for parents about helping children with the internet:
- Your Child and the Online World: http://hectorsworld.netsafe.org.nz/parents/
- Netsafe tips for parents: https://www.netsafe.org.nz/online-safety-for-parents/
- Thinkuknow (UK website): https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/jessie-and-friends/
The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) Educational Method is a unique model of non-formal education to support the development of young people in diverse groups. It creates a learning environment where young people can take the lead and make choices about what they do. Read more here.
STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths. It is an important educational focus area needed to fill global skill shortages and ready young people for success in the 21st century. This is especially important for girls who are underrepresented in STEAM related careers. STEAM learning develops creativity, innovation, problem solving and curiosity.
Our first digital release is for Pippins, aimed at girls aged 5 – 6 years old. If you believe your older daughter would benefit from Explore Pippins, please get in touch with the recruitment team via the form below.
Explore Brownies, for 7 – 9 1/2 year old girls, is launching in June 2020 and we invite you to register your interest so you can stay up to date with new developments by entering your details in the form below.
Over the coming years we will be building digital options for our Guide and Ranger membership age groups too. In the mean time, older girls may join a local unit or our Aotearoa distance option. We also have community events (open to both non-members and members) happening around the country which you can find out about here.
If your question hasn’t been answered here, please contact us.