My troop is full of wild, crazy and spunky girls. They are also kind, smart and funny. Like me, sometimes they lack a filter and sometimes say the most out there things we can't think of! But, I really did miss them over the summer. A couple I did get to see because they live so close to us.
This year is going to be so exciting for us! We are a MULTILEVEL troop! This crazy leader has taken on Daisies all the way up to Cadettes this year. No, I have not lost my marbles (though we're not sure if I ever had them to begin with). BUT, this would not be possible without my incredible team that I have on board this year! Really, they are spectacular.
So, what do you do when you have 4 levels of girls, girls with the same or similar names, and ones that are close to their leaders names? Go by your camp names! This year, you'll hear me talk about myself (Lima bean) and my three co-leaders, Firefly, Jelly and Twinkie. I really mean it when I say that if it weren't for them, this crazy troop would not be possible this year. I really do miss my old co-leaders, and wish they were both still with us, but I think the 4,000 mile commute might be a little too much on them.
First meeting of the new year, lots of new girls, and even more returning scouts. We "inherited" another troop this year. Some of the girls I had many, many years ago in my first troop in this area; and we also got to welcome in a few scouts who moved here from another state. In a way, it was like a blending of a new family, and it really could not have gone more smoothly!
Let me start by talking about an "unspoken tradition." It doesn't matter if you are a Girl Scout, Girl Guide or even a Boy Scout, this happens to us all- the first meeting of the year usually runs very late. This is because we're all "getting back in the habit," almost like it is at the beginning of the school year. How we managed to finish three minutes early is beyond me. I am also certain that this will never happen again. Ever.
Over all, it was a good meeting. As the girls were coming in, we had them each do a Flat Juliette that we're trading with a Troop in England. Once we finished up, we did snacks (early, yes), since it gave us a chance to go over some "troop business," mainly what's going on this year. We spent the rest of the meeting playing some simple get to know you games.
It was a simple meeting, but it went over very well! Stayed tuned for more adventures of this wild, and crazy troop!
Showing posts with label brownies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label brownies. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Brownie Quest..... in less than 24 hours!
Recently I facilitated an adult session on how to plan a journey event/sleepover/camp out. The heart of the lesson was how to "properly" address earning a journey in a very short period of time. Someone asked why this was something they should learn. There are a number of reasons why. The first one that comes to mind is the fact that for many things (mainly the Bronze, Silver and Gold awards), earning specific journeys are a prerequisite. Another reason could be that your troop simply does not have the luxury of being able to do all three journeys in two (or in a Cadette's case, three) years- not all of us meet weekly, so there's a lot we have to cram in during our few meetings. However, this is not a recommended method to earn all of your journeys- this is a "band aid solution" if you need to squeeze in one for whatever reason. Many of the journeys are designed to go hand in hand with the supplemental badges (in the badge activity sets), so they are great to do during the span of several meetings. But, going back to those pesky prerequisites, we understand that this needs to be done.
So, what happens you need to squeeze in one more journey? Have a sleepover! Or a long day.... or a camping trip (take your pick!). This is South Georgia in November though, so the weather is very unpredictable, so sleepover it was! Here's how we did Brownie Quest:
So, what happens you need to squeeze in one more journey? Have a sleepover! Or a long day.... or a camping trip (take your pick!). This is South Georgia in November though, so the weather is very unpredictable, so sleepover it was! Here's how we did Brownie Quest:
Overview:
Drop off, Friday, 5:15-5:45 PM
Pick up, Saturday, 11:30 AM
Friday:
5:15-5:45 PM, arrivals.
Check in, parents turn in permission slips and scouts receive name tags
(name tags color coordinated by patrols)
5:30-6, stragglers check in
6-6:45, Dinner- dinner activity- explain healthy eating
habits (why we have no soda or junk food at the sleepover)
7-8:35, Journey activities
7-7:45
Activity 1/2/3
7:50-8:35
Activity 2/3/1
8:40-9:25
Activity 3/1/2
9:25-9:45, clean up from journey activities, set up snack
table
9:45-10:00, Late night snacks
10:00-10:30, Clean up, get out sleeping bags
10:30-? movie
? lights out
Saturday:
7:30 AM, wake up
8:00, breakfast
8:45, clean up breakfast, prepare for Take Action workshop
9:00-11:00, Take Action workshop and planning
11:05, clean up
11:30, depart
Dinner menu/activity: healthy foods and drinks, discuss
importance of, ect.
Patrol activity 1: team games- Brownie Blob, human knot, blind
fold tent
Brownie blob- girls stand in a tight circle with arms around
each other. A path is outlined that they
have to walk across (path can be marked with masking tape for first try, second
try should be “blind”). However, they
have to work as a team so that while walking this path, they never break
apart/separate. The point of this
exercise is to highlight basic leadership skills.
Human knot- girls stand in a circle and put their arms/hands
in front, into the circle. They then
must grab someone’s hand. They cannot
grab their neighbor’s hands, and they cannot grab the same person’s hands (so
they should be holding two different hands).
Once this is done, they then must figure out how to “undo the
knot.” They cannot let go of hands. The girls can end up standing backwards,
sideways, ect. As long they do not let go.
The point of this exercise is to highlight communication skills.
Blind fold tent- girls are broken into smaller teams
(recommended 2-4 per team). One person
volunteers to be the “eyes,” while the others will be the “builders.” The builders will be blindfolded. The eyes can instruct the builders on what to
do, but may not physically participate.
The builders will be given a sheet and 4 chairs that they will have to
make into a tent-fort, under the direction of the eyes. The point of this exercise is to highlight
communication and leadership (apply what they learned in the previous two
games).
Patrol activity 2: Family circle map, family member’s key
roles (expanded into community)
Family circle- this activity, the girls will essentially
create a depiction of their immediate family circle. They will then use personal observations to
describe what everyone’s role is. For
example- Mom cooks dinner, Dad mows the lawn, sister sweeps the floors and
brother cleans the toilet. In this
example, each family member has a role that is important- without one, the
others cannot function. This will then
be brought over into the Saturday activity regarding community mapping (this
will essentially set them up to better understand it).
Patrol activity 3: The great elf adventure- adopt an elf and
decorate it, discuss needs and wants of the elf. Discuss clothes for the weather, healthy food
options, good sleep habits, good hygiene habits and good study habits. Relate this all back to the Elf about how you
can make the Elf happier by living a good life.
Take Action workshop (for further questions, consult the Challenge to Change workbook- this is what we used)
1: Community mapping- learn about community resources,
identify community needs and wants. Assist girls in mapping out what our community
has to offer (ie: library, United Way, state park, ect), and then identifying
what each “resource” can potentially “provide” to the community (ie: library
has books and research material, United Way has access to volunteers and
grants, and the state park has natural resources).
2: After the community mapping, discuss issues within our
community. Ie: lack of famer’s market,
lack of clothing resale stores. Assist
girls in identifying the root of the issues behind these problems.
3: Choose and plan Take Action project based on community
needs/issues.
4: Take action- set a date to do together OR give the girls
a way to complete it on their own OR leave it to the troops to complete the
project on their own. On a Girl Scout’s
honor, they have not completed the badge until they complete the Take Action
project.
***Take Action project will then be completed by the girls, on their honor, after the sleepover (individually or as a troop)
Supplies:
Brownie elf outline copies (from Making Friends)
Crayons or markers
Large sized construction paper
Scissors (SU storage)
Pens/pencils
Oversized paper pads
Water cooler
Masking tape
Large, top sheets (to be returned)
Food:
Carrots
Celery
Ranch dressing
Ketchup
Chicken nuggets (to be baked)
Orange Juice
Apple Juice
Grape Juice
Milk
Triscuts and/or Wheat Thins
Paper bowls
Paper plates
Napkins
Windex
Bleach (for cleaning floors and sinks)
Spoons
Paper cups (for backup)
Cheerios
Life
Vanilla yogurt (large)
Strawberry yogurt (large)
Bananas
Apples
Oranges
Granola
Trail mix (late night snack)
I am sure that many of you have questions about the Take Action component. The Challenge to Change workbook is a great method to assist girls in learning how to properly choose and execute a take action project. I highly recommend it! In the end, our group choose to do a project regarding endangered animals in our area. They want to create a Facebook page (that they will contribute to through us adults), create awareness signs to put out and create educational pamphlets to distribute. We only just had our sleepover a few says ago, so I can't say yet how well the afterwards of the take action will work out (so far so good though!).
Overall, though, the sleepover was a success! The girls had a blast and they got to earn a journey!
Saturday, November 2, 2013
Brownies, year 1, meeting 4
In the course of Girl Scouting, there are so many important moments. Most will agree that the single most important moment is when a scout receives her Gold Award (from experience, I can tell you, that really is a big deal!). But, before the Gold Award, there are plenty of other important moments as well. When a new scout comes into scouting, they are often "brought into" scouting through an investiture ceremony. The short is that this ceremony welcomes the new scout into the sisterhood of Girl Scouting. Many leaders also hold at the beginning of the year a rededication ceremony, where returning scouts reaffirm their commitment to scouting. Often times, we hold these two ceremonies simultaneously, as they hold near identical meanings (and because we often have a mixture of new and returning girls).
First order of today's meeting was to practice for our investiture and rededication ceremony. I found a cute ceremony online that I adapted for our girls, but more on that later. Once we had our practice out of the way, we continued work on the badge My Family Story (the one that we sent supplies home with the girls at our previous meeting so they could created family trees). The abbreviated version- we went over our family trees and the remaining requirements for the badge (sorry, preggo brain has forgotten them, but this is why I always keep the badge pamphlets with me at meetings!).
Now, onto the important part of the meeting! The ceremony began with the girls standing outside in the hall, and knocked on the door. We asked who was there, and they responded some Girl Scouts. We opened the door and asked them what they wanted. Their response was, to become Brownie Girl Scouts! They then filled in, and we sang the Brownie smile song (a classic!). First, we gave all of our returning girls their Brownie insignia tab and pin. We saved our new girls for the end and read a poem to them about becoming a Girl Scout. After everyone had their pins, we also used this as a chance to hand out our first batch of earned awards. We finished off by reciting the Girl Scout promise (a little backwards, but it worked for us). It was very touching to look at the troop and see all of them wearing their new Brownie pins. Some of our girls have been with us since the very beginning. I hope that all of them will stick with us to the end and one day, we may have the honor of giving them their Gold Award.
First order of today's meeting was to practice for our investiture and rededication ceremony. I found a cute ceremony online that I adapted for our girls, but more on that later. Once we had our practice out of the way, we continued work on the badge My Family Story (the one that we sent supplies home with the girls at our previous meeting so they could created family trees). The abbreviated version- we went over our family trees and the remaining requirements for the badge (sorry, preggo brain has forgotten them, but this is why I always keep the badge pamphlets with me at meetings!).
Now, onto the important part of the meeting! The ceremony began with the girls standing outside in the hall, and knocked on the door. We asked who was there, and they responded some Girl Scouts. We opened the door and asked them what they wanted. Their response was, to become Brownie Girl Scouts! They then filled in, and we sang the Brownie smile song (a classic!). First, we gave all of our returning girls their Brownie insignia tab and pin. We saved our new girls for the end and read a poem to them about becoming a Girl Scout. After everyone had their pins, we also used this as a chance to hand out our first batch of earned awards. We finished off by reciting the Girl Scout promise (a little backwards, but it worked for us). It was very touching to look at the troop and see all of them wearing their new Brownie pins. Some of our girls have been with us since the very beginning. I hope that all of them will stick with us to the end and one day, we may have the honor of giving them their Gold Award.
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Brownies, year 1, meeting 3
I love that my scouts want to try and so everything. I'm the same way, I wish I could do and try everything, but with limited amounts of time and resources, we have to pace ourselves. During our end of the year planning meeting last year, I felt like the girls wanted to try and do two years worth of programming in a year!
Last week we worked on the My Best Self and Snacks badge, which lead us right into the start of week's badge, My Great Day. Before we did our sit down activity, we played a little game. I call it the human blob. The girls stand in a tight circle, shoulder to shoulder, and put their arms around each other. Without letting go or breaking the circle, they have to work together to walk across a predetermined patch. It sounds simple and easy, but it's really quite complicated! The whole point of the exercise it to teach them about good communication skills and basic leadership concepts. Yes, in scouting we are teaching our girls to be the leaders of tomorrow. Therefore, this exercise, in essence, allows them to hone in on specific leadership and communication skills. It took them a while to get the hang of it, but eventually they seemed to get it. I know we'll do this exercise again in the future as it's such a great learning tool!
After our little game, we sat and asked, what's your routine like? I used my daily schedule as an example- get up with my daughter, get her on the bus, accomplish a slew of things around the house, errands, filling orders for my Etsy shop (if I had any that day), get my daughter off the bus, help her with homework, then some rest time (hahaa!), cook dinner, clean up from dinner, get my daughter in bed, and then, maybe, some TV or a book before bed. We all have some sort of a routine, so the girls were asked to put it onto paper. Even at school they have a routine. Putting it on paper gave them all a chance to realize that they do have some form of a routine and how important it is in their daily lives.
We're going to be finishing up this badge later on, but to end the meeting, we gave the girls some materials to take home (thank you back to school clearance and coupons that stocked up our troop for pennies!). Each girl was given two, large pieces of construction paper and a box of crayons. We explained to them what a family tree was. They were asked to make a family tree and go at least as far back as their great grandparents. They will then have to bring this back for our next meeting when we will then work on the badge My Family Story.
Last week we worked on the My Best Self and Snacks badge, which lead us right into the start of week's badge, My Great Day. Before we did our sit down activity, we played a little game. I call it the human blob. The girls stand in a tight circle, shoulder to shoulder, and put their arms around each other. Without letting go or breaking the circle, they have to work together to walk across a predetermined patch. It sounds simple and easy, but it's really quite complicated! The whole point of the exercise it to teach them about good communication skills and basic leadership concepts. Yes, in scouting we are teaching our girls to be the leaders of tomorrow. Therefore, this exercise, in essence, allows them to hone in on specific leadership and communication skills. It took them a while to get the hang of it, but eventually they seemed to get it. I know we'll do this exercise again in the future as it's such a great learning tool!
After our little game, we sat and asked, what's your routine like? I used my daily schedule as an example- get up with my daughter, get her on the bus, accomplish a slew of things around the house, errands, filling orders for my Etsy shop (if I had any that day), get my daughter off the bus, help her with homework, then some rest time (hahaa!), cook dinner, clean up from dinner, get my daughter in bed, and then, maybe, some TV or a book before bed. We all have some sort of a routine, so the girls were asked to put it onto paper. Even at school they have a routine. Putting it on paper gave them all a chance to realize that they do have some form of a routine and how important it is in their daily lives.
We're going to be finishing up this badge later on, but to end the meeting, we gave the girls some materials to take home (thank you back to school clearance and coupons that stocked up our troop for pennies!). Each girl was given two, large pieces of construction paper and a box of crayons. We explained to them what a family tree was. They were asked to make a family tree and go at least as far back as their great grandparents. They will then have to bring this back for our next meeting when we will then work on the badge My Family Story.
Brownies, year 1, meeting 2
This whole being pregnant and being a leader thing is NOT easy. I laid down last night around 8 to read a book, thinking I could get in a few chapters. Instead, my husband woke me up at 9:45 to tell me to put away the Kindle safely. My troop wore me out! And, I completely forgot a few things we needed for the meeting. For example, I forgot the list of how to earn Brownie Bucks and the new food pyramid (luckily I had a "back up" I could use in the badge pamphlet).
The start of our meeting today, we wrapped up the requirements for the badge Making New Friends (which we started last week). After that, we began work on the Healthy Habits badge. We normally have snack time at the end of the meeting, but as a change today, we did snack time first since it had a hidden agenda there. I purposely signed my daughter up for snacks this week to make sure we would have a good, healthy and teachable snack. Ok, I know, many people hear healthy and automatically think something that tastes like cardboard. The chef in me says shame on you! It is very possible to have tasty, yet healthy foods. To simplify it for the girls, our snack was 100% fruit juice (no junk added) and "natural" granola bars (meaning no processed sugars in them- the ones I bought have honey, dried fruit, some nuts and oats in them and are very yummy!). We also got a chance to learn about a balance meal, the food groups and other healthy eating habits.
Our next activity was very fun, and a little bit silly. We had each girl come up one at a time and we asked them each where a specific organ in their body was. Some we knew they wouldn't know (for example, where is your large intestine, or where is your esophagus). Once we had asked all of our girls where these organs were, we then asked them about some common pains they have felt before. We related it back to those body parts, and what to do if it hurt. Of course there was that old mom saying- if your stomach hurts, try pooping first. Yeah, we went there, but we know it holds true so often!
In the end, we covered good hygiene practices, how long we should be sleeping at night and a few other things along those lines. Our hopes was that they would keep all of this in mind until our next meeting, but the next badge we would be working on worked into this one as well (which all of these will work into our upcoming journey sleepover).
The start of our meeting today, we wrapped up the requirements for the badge Making New Friends (which we started last week). After that, we began work on the Healthy Habits badge. We normally have snack time at the end of the meeting, but as a change today, we did snack time first since it had a hidden agenda there. I purposely signed my daughter up for snacks this week to make sure we would have a good, healthy and teachable snack. Ok, I know, many people hear healthy and automatically think something that tastes like cardboard. The chef in me says shame on you! It is very possible to have tasty, yet healthy foods. To simplify it for the girls, our snack was 100% fruit juice (no junk added) and "natural" granola bars (meaning no processed sugars in them- the ones I bought have honey, dried fruit, some nuts and oats in them and are very yummy!). We also got a chance to learn about a balance meal, the food groups and other healthy eating habits.
Our next activity was very fun, and a little bit silly. We had each girl come up one at a time and we asked them each where a specific organ in their body was. Some we knew they wouldn't know (for example, where is your large intestine, or where is your esophagus). Once we had asked all of our girls where these organs were, we then asked them about some common pains they have felt before. We related it back to those body parts, and what to do if it hurt. Of course there was that old mom saying- if your stomach hurts, try pooping first. Yeah, we went there, but we know it holds true so often!
In the end, we covered good hygiene practices, how long we should be sleeping at night and a few other things along those lines. Our hopes was that they would keep all of this in mind until our next meeting, but the next badge we would be working on worked into this one as well (which all of these will work into our upcoming journey sleepover).
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Brownies, year 1, meeting 1
You'll have to excuse me for a moment while I turn into a Mom here for just a moment..... my little girl is a Brownie this year!!! Yes, I had already seen her in her Brownie vest back in May at our investiture, but it didn't really hit me until today. On top of that, I have some exciting news- we recently found that I am having another Girl Scout! I know my awesome membership representative is silently thinking something along the lines of oooo yay, a new member, more numbers for us! Let's face it, girlie #2 will be in Girl Scouts one day just like her big sister and mom!
So, new year, "new" troop. Sadly, we had one girl move out of state, and another had to transfer to another troop that met at a different time. However, we did gain two scouts from a troop that disbanded, and two completely new scouts. I had no doubt in my mind that our four new scouts would fit with our special group of girls (they fit in perfectly- you would have never known they were new!). Like all first meetings of the year, it took us a while to get back in the habit, but once we got started, the girls were quick to remember.
Our first order of business after our openings- a new kaper chart! We all loved our Daisy kaper chart, but it was obviously a kaper chart for Daisies, with Daisy kapers. We're Brownies now, so we need a Brownie kaper chart! We all know that we all need to help clean up and set up, so those we did not list specifically. We also are no longer in need of one person each to pick out a song, a grace, lead us in the pledge, promise and law, and start the friendship squeeze. Instead, we have someone to lead our opening, and someone to lead our closing. We still have our snack person, but no specific snack helper. Also listed on our new kaper chart is pet rock duty and elf shop duty (more on those two later). We also have a "general" spot for helpers, and one blank spot. The girls haven't decided yet what to list as their last kaper, but hopefully they will decide soon.
Well, what do you do when you have new scouts in your troop, and not everyone knows each other? You go grocery shopping! Ok, you don't actually go to the grocery store, but you do get to play a fun game. The premise is that as you go around the circle introducing yourself, you then have to say, "and I am buying _____ at the grocery store." The item you are buying has to start with the same first letter as your name. For example, when it was my turn, I said, "hi, I'm Lindsay, and when I go to the grocery store, I am going to buy some limes." Here's the hitch- you also have to list what everyone before you is buying, and their names. So if you're last to go, you need to pay close attention! It's a fun game, and a great way to learn new peoples names.
Ok, back to that kaper, elf shop duty. Back in May when we had our planning day, the girls found the Brownie Elf paper doll at the back of the guide book. They asked that we find something to do with it this year. I told them I would come up with something, and that I did! After I flipped past the Elf and another page of clothes, I found a few pages of items with prices on it, and a few pages of pretend money. Oh, and more thing, the girls voted to do the money manager badge at our planning meeting. After some copies were made, a quick shopping trip to the back to school section at Target, so came the Elf Shop. All of the girls were given a Brownie Elf, the Brownie uniform, a pouch to store them in, and were started out with 17 Brownie Bucks (what we're calling the pretend money). Then we had a discussion about needs vs. wants, and things that the girls would need to "provide" their elves with. For example, even though it's still blazing hot here, it will get cold eventually, so they'll need to buy a sweater, warms socks, or a hat for their elf. We then got on to food, and our elves need to eat just like us. However, we need to feed our elves good, healthy good before they eat "junk" food. The Brownie Guide book provided us with the perfect example- Girl Scout cookies and broccoli. We need broccoli, but want the cookies (unless it's Girl Scout cookie season, at which point it's ok to tell our customer that they need the cookies). We also touched on how the girls would earn Brownie Bucks, but said we would go over that in detail at our next meeting.
Next order of business, the pet rock. Yes, I know at first glance this may sound cheesy, but it actually is one of those "bigger picture" sort of things. That's about all I'm going to say because it's also one of those secretive things we like to do in my troop. Don't worry, it's really, really cool!
Well, that was our first meeting! It went really well, and, we actually finished ON TIME! Shocker, right?!
One more thing- Zumba! The weekend following our first meeting, we got to participate in a special Zumba class that was put together just for our Service Unit. One of the local Zumba instructors is certified to teach Zumba to kids, and she did an amazing job. The girls had a blast, and I hope we get to do it again!
So, new year, "new" troop. Sadly, we had one girl move out of state, and another had to transfer to another troop that met at a different time. However, we did gain two scouts from a troop that disbanded, and two completely new scouts. I had no doubt in my mind that our four new scouts would fit with our special group of girls (they fit in perfectly- you would have never known they were new!). Like all first meetings of the year, it took us a while to get back in the habit, but once we got started, the girls were quick to remember.
Our first order of business after our openings- a new kaper chart! We all loved our Daisy kaper chart, but it was obviously a kaper chart for Daisies, with Daisy kapers. We're Brownies now, so we need a Brownie kaper chart! We all know that we all need to help clean up and set up, so those we did not list specifically. We also are no longer in need of one person each to pick out a song, a grace, lead us in the pledge, promise and law, and start the friendship squeeze. Instead, we have someone to lead our opening, and someone to lead our closing. We still have our snack person, but no specific snack helper. Also listed on our new kaper chart is pet rock duty and elf shop duty (more on those two later). We also have a "general" spot for helpers, and one blank spot. The girls haven't decided yet what to list as their last kaper, but hopefully they will decide soon.
Well, what do you do when you have new scouts in your troop, and not everyone knows each other? You go grocery shopping! Ok, you don't actually go to the grocery store, but you do get to play a fun game. The premise is that as you go around the circle introducing yourself, you then have to say, "and I am buying _____ at the grocery store." The item you are buying has to start with the same first letter as your name. For example, when it was my turn, I said, "hi, I'm Lindsay, and when I go to the grocery store, I am going to buy some limes." Here's the hitch- you also have to list what everyone before you is buying, and their names. So if you're last to go, you need to pay close attention! It's a fun game, and a great way to learn new peoples names.
Ok, back to that kaper, elf shop duty. Back in May when we had our planning day, the girls found the Brownie Elf paper doll at the back of the guide book. They asked that we find something to do with it this year. I told them I would come up with something, and that I did! After I flipped past the Elf and another page of clothes, I found a few pages of items with prices on it, and a few pages of pretend money. Oh, and more thing, the girls voted to do the money manager badge at our planning meeting. After some copies were made, a quick shopping trip to the back to school section at Target, so came the Elf Shop. All of the girls were given a Brownie Elf, the Brownie uniform, a pouch to store them in, and were started out with 17 Brownie Bucks (what we're calling the pretend money). Then we had a discussion about needs vs. wants, and things that the girls would need to "provide" their elves with. For example, even though it's still blazing hot here, it will get cold eventually, so they'll need to buy a sweater, warms socks, or a hat for their elf. We then got on to food, and our elves need to eat just like us. However, we need to feed our elves good, healthy good before they eat "junk" food. The Brownie Guide book provided us with the perfect example- Girl Scout cookies and broccoli. We need broccoli, but want the cookies (unless it's Girl Scout cookie season, at which point it's ok to tell our customer that they need the cookies). We also touched on how the girls would earn Brownie Bucks, but said we would go over that in detail at our next meeting.
Next order of business, the pet rock. Yes, I know at first glance this may sound cheesy, but it actually is one of those "bigger picture" sort of things. That's about all I'm going to say because it's also one of those secretive things we like to do in my troop. Don't worry, it's really, really cool!
Well, that was our first meeting! It went really well, and, we actually finished ON TIME! Shocker, right?!
One more thing- Zumba! The weekend following our first meeting, we got to participate in a special Zumba class that was put together just for our Service Unit. One of the local Zumba instructors is certified to teach Zumba to kids, and she did an amazing job. The girls had a blast, and I hope we get to do it again!
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Sleepover! AKA, how to do a journey in a day....
The Girl Scout curriculum was carefully designed to go hand in hand with the school curriculum (Common Core Standards). For example, the financial literacy leaves for the Daisies. Right about the time we began the first leaf, our girls had already completed learning the basics about money in school. We then took that concept and expanded upon it. In other words, that means that each level in scouting is going to be different than the other since it corresponds with school work. That also means that planning a joint sleepover with a journey is a little tricky, but totally doable with the right planning (good thing I'm a planner!).
The three Daisy journeys introduce the girls to scouting, teach the girls about the basics of traveling, and teach the girls about the importance of caring for animals (and themselves and others). The three brownie journeys teach the girls about planning and doing a take action project, how to enjoy and conserve water, and how to engage in the world around them through stories and imagination. In other words, these six journeys are so different! First step for me was to read (and re-read) all of the Daisy and Brownie journeys. I also got the leader guides to see if this was even doable. The leader guides were another must on the reading list. Those things are often a lifesaver when planning your meetings! They have so many wonderful ideas, which was great to build upon my planning for this sleepover.
After reading everything, there were a few things that I saw. The first one was that there were several elements of the journeys that really needed to be done over time, in a troop setting. Some of the journeys advocate doing a take action project, which is something that really can't be done overnight. Another aspect is the portions that literally take the scouts on journeys (field trips/outings/camping). I started comparing the journeys within their categories. By doing that, I discovered similarities in the It's Your Story- Tell it! aspect.
The three main elements of 5 Flowers, 4 Stories, 3 Cheers for Animals! include caring for animals and yourself (respect myself and others), how to do this, and how to advocate in caring for animals. The four main elements of A World of Girls are interpreting clues in stories, empowering the girls, advocating for each other and how to reach people all over. I don't know about you, but once I started with that outline, I thought my head was going to burst.... but it didn't.
The actual logistics of our sleepover were very well planned out ahead of time. We had a group of older girls who came out to help run this too (and they rocked it!). The girls were divided into four patrols- two of Brownies, two of Daisies. Each patrol had a few adults with them, and the older girls manned the journey stations. Four activities (two Daisy, two Brownie) were done Friday evening, and the remaining four were done Saturday morning.
To start out our sleepover. everyone made terrariums out of recycled bottles. We told them that once their seeds have sprouted enough, they need to ask an adult to help them transplant it somewhere, then recycle the bottle. That took care of the Take Action component. It's not something big and extravagant, but with 60+ girls there, if only half of them remember to do it, that little bit can make a big difference!
The Daisies were asked to bring a used (empty and cleaned) milk or juice container (the quart size) to make a bird feeder. Before doing this, they read a passage from the journey book. On Friday evening, they then got to do a fun activity of making pipe cleaner crafts. It really didn't have anything to do with the journey, but they did learn to make flower rings, and it was fun.
For the Brownies, we created a "storybook" theme. We asked the brownies to bring with them an empty cereal box. On Friday evening, they created their journal. We gave them a lot of freedom with it, since it's their journal. The only requirement was that they put several pieces of construction paper in it, and the copies of GS mad libs we made, and decorated it anyway their hearts desired. Next, they read a passage from the journey book and created positivity "globes." It started out like our Mother's day vases (plastic bottles decoupaged with tissue paper). Before they finished, they all took small scraps of paper and wrote encouraging words/phrases on them and stored them in the bottles.
It's time for a lesson learned. After we cleaned up from Friday's activities, we had snack time. I bought ice cream for the girls. I thought this would be a good idea because they would get so excited, gobble it up, and then be tired. Yeah, no. They were all a little wound up. We played a movie before bedtime thinking that would calm them down too, but when it was over, at least 90% of them were still up (and it was after 11 when the movie finished!). I am never serving ice cream at a sleep over ever again!
Saturday morning started out with a bang! It was something fun, but was also some creative juice to fill the Brownies heads for what they would be doing next. We gave the girls crazy hair! They had the choice of getting Cindyloo Whoo hair (Whooville hair) or Pipi Longstocking braids. The end results were incredible. I was afraid I would have angry parents calling me later, but I didn't, thank goodness. The girls hair did give us some great photos though!
Saturday morning, the Daisies learned some basic first aide skills after reading a journey passage. This didn't take up the entire time slot we had planned, but the smart cookies that they are, the older girls took the groups and used the rest of the time to play games. Then, the Daisies read another passage from the journey and learned some basic yoga and origami.
The Brownies used their journals all of Saturday morning. In the first station, they read a passage from the journey, and then paired off to work on the mad libs. They had six total, and the girls came up with some very funny stories! For the next activity, the girls were asked to write/draw some comic strips based on what we did at the sleepover, and anything else they wanted to do based on Girl Scouting. I didn't see all of them, but the girls came up with some awesome stuff.
So, how long did this take you ask? We arrived for setup at 4 PM, and the girls started coming at 5, with dinner at 6, and activities starting at 7. Lights out were at 11 PM. Breakfast on Saturday was at 8 AM, with activities starting by 9 AM, finished up by 11 AM, and then we all cleaned up, telling the parents that pickup was at 11:30 AM. So yes, you read that correctly- we did two separate journeys in less than 24 hours and did some fun stuff. It's completely doable, really! I'm doing this again in the spring for the journeys, so I will tell you all about it then!
If any of you want my plans for this sleepover (and I have it all typed out in details/times), please feel free to email me at troop30426(at)gmail(dot)com and I will be more than happy to send them! I know that journeys take up a lot of time that we don't always have, and the girls just love sleepovers!
The three Daisy journeys introduce the girls to scouting, teach the girls about the basics of traveling, and teach the girls about the importance of caring for animals (and themselves and others). The three brownie journeys teach the girls about planning and doing a take action project, how to enjoy and conserve water, and how to engage in the world around them through stories and imagination. In other words, these six journeys are so different! First step for me was to read (and re-read) all of the Daisy and Brownie journeys. I also got the leader guides to see if this was even doable. The leader guides were another must on the reading list. Those things are often a lifesaver when planning your meetings! They have so many wonderful ideas, which was great to build upon my planning for this sleepover.
After reading everything, there were a few things that I saw. The first one was that there were several elements of the journeys that really needed to be done over time, in a troop setting. Some of the journeys advocate doing a take action project, which is something that really can't be done overnight. Another aspect is the portions that literally take the scouts on journeys (field trips/outings/camping). I started comparing the journeys within their categories. By doing that, I discovered similarities in the It's Your Story- Tell it! aspect.
The three main elements of 5 Flowers, 4 Stories, 3 Cheers for Animals! include caring for animals and yourself (respect myself and others), how to do this, and how to advocate in caring for animals. The four main elements of A World of Girls are interpreting clues in stories, empowering the girls, advocating for each other and how to reach people all over. I don't know about you, but once I started with that outline, I thought my head was going to burst.... but it didn't.
The actual logistics of our sleepover were very well planned out ahead of time. We had a group of older girls who came out to help run this too (and they rocked it!). The girls were divided into four patrols- two of Brownies, two of Daisies. Each patrol had a few adults with them, and the older girls manned the journey stations. Four activities (two Daisy, two Brownie) were done Friday evening, and the remaining four were done Saturday morning.
To start out our sleepover. everyone made terrariums out of recycled bottles. We told them that once their seeds have sprouted enough, they need to ask an adult to help them transplant it somewhere, then recycle the bottle. That took care of the Take Action component. It's not something big and extravagant, but with 60+ girls there, if only half of them remember to do it, that little bit can make a big difference!
The Daisies were asked to bring a used (empty and cleaned) milk or juice container (the quart size) to make a bird feeder. Before doing this, they read a passage from the journey book. On Friday evening, they then got to do a fun activity of making pipe cleaner crafts. It really didn't have anything to do with the journey, but they did learn to make flower rings, and it was fun.
For the Brownies, we created a "storybook" theme. We asked the brownies to bring with them an empty cereal box. On Friday evening, they created their journal. We gave them a lot of freedom with it, since it's their journal. The only requirement was that they put several pieces of construction paper in it, and the copies of GS mad libs we made, and decorated it anyway their hearts desired. Next, they read a passage from the journey book and created positivity "globes." It started out like our Mother's day vases (plastic bottles decoupaged with tissue paper). Before they finished, they all took small scraps of paper and wrote encouraging words/phrases on them and stored them in the bottles.
It's time for a lesson learned. After we cleaned up from Friday's activities, we had snack time. I bought ice cream for the girls. I thought this would be a good idea because they would get so excited, gobble it up, and then be tired. Yeah, no. They were all a little wound up. We played a movie before bedtime thinking that would calm them down too, but when it was over, at least 90% of them were still up (and it was after 11 when the movie finished!). I am never serving ice cream at a sleep over ever again!
Saturday morning started out with a bang! It was something fun, but was also some creative juice to fill the Brownies heads for what they would be doing next. We gave the girls crazy hair! They had the choice of getting Cindyloo Whoo hair (Whooville hair) or Pipi Longstocking braids. The end results were incredible. I was afraid I would have angry parents calling me later, but I didn't, thank goodness. The girls hair did give us some great photos though!
Saturday morning, the Daisies learned some basic first aide skills after reading a journey passage. This didn't take up the entire time slot we had planned, but the smart cookies that they are, the older girls took the groups and used the rest of the time to play games. Then, the Daisies read another passage from the journey and learned some basic yoga and origami.
The Brownies used their journals all of Saturday morning. In the first station, they read a passage from the journey, and then paired off to work on the mad libs. They had six total, and the girls came up with some very funny stories! For the next activity, the girls were asked to write/draw some comic strips based on what we did at the sleepover, and anything else they wanted to do based on Girl Scouting. I didn't see all of them, but the girls came up with some awesome stuff.
So, how long did this take you ask? We arrived for setup at 4 PM, and the girls started coming at 5, with dinner at 6, and activities starting at 7. Lights out were at 11 PM. Breakfast on Saturday was at 8 AM, with activities starting by 9 AM, finished up by 11 AM, and then we all cleaned up, telling the parents that pickup was at 11:30 AM. So yes, you read that correctly- we did two separate journeys in less than 24 hours and did some fun stuff. It's completely doable, really! I'm doing this again in the spring for the journeys, so I will tell you all about it then!
If any of you want my plans for this sleepover (and I have it all typed out in details/times), please feel free to email me at troop30426(at)gmail(dot)com and I will be more than happy to send them! I know that journeys take up a lot of time that we don't always have, and the girls just love sleepovers!
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