Rebus messages

If you have ever visited my website, "Lee Ann's Girl Guide Notebook", you may have already seen this Rebus activity.  I had originally scanned it from the Friendship Flyer that once was distributed to Guiders years ago around Thinking Day or as an insert in the Canadian Guider magazine.   I did not see a date on the flyer but it refers to Canada's 125th Birthday so I am guessing it was distributed around February 1992.  Guide, Pathfinder, and Senior Branches {now Rangers} are the suggested age groups for this activity but Brownies and Sparks can do it too!  I can see many possibilities with this activity.  

It would be great for a gathering activity or as a Guide Patrol activity. Guide Patrols could make a Rebus then exchange it with the other Patrols.  

First explain/show what a Rebus message is. {a puzzle consisting of pictures representing syllables and words. For example in such a puzzle the word hear might be represented by H followed by a picture of an ear}.  

Provide catalogs, magazines, stickers, clip art etc for each Patrol...or they can just draw the pictures themselves.   Allow about 15 minutes for making the Rebus message. {Advise them to choose short messages otherwise it will take the entire meeting! You could assign certain Guide laws for each Patrol to turn into a rebus message...or anything else relating to Guiding...the possibilities are endless}.

Then switch Rebus messages with other Patrol groups..allow 5 minutes to decipher.  Provide each Patrol with a blank piece of paper and pencil so they can write down the deciphered message.  Then gather all Patrols together and take turns reading the messages. 

Here are the answers for the above Rebus if you can not make out the writing on the bottom:
A) You are my friend.
B) I can't wait to go to my Guide meeting.
C) Will you take me to a Pathfinder meeting?

Here are a couple of Rebus messages that I made...I just have way too much fun making this stuff! This one has a lot of words to decipher so read the rows carefully from left to right as best as you can. {It is a little crowded since I wanted it all on one page}