Confession time- when I have blonde moments, they are pretty massive (and usually a tad embarrassing). I will be the first to preach about how much I love Google Drive, yet this blondie forgot to use it for you all!
So, with that being said, I finally uploaded some files that many of you have emailed me about (please, keep emailing away! I love helping you and your girls out!).
First file, my original plans from our Daisy-Brownie sleepover (not included were the pages we read during the sleepover)
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B2L6gPq7RdP1b0F0X2M4aTY1LVE/edit?usp=sharing
Not listed- I took the Brownies and the Daisy and split them up in to two patrols each (so four patrols total), and we told them that once they transplant their take action, to please rinse and recycle their plastic bottles.
Second file, a little how-to guide that you may find useful
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B2L6gPq7RdP1X0QxWkVVZEJiNEE/edit?usp=sharing
Not listed- sample kaper chart (for those who don't know what a kaper chart is, it's like assigned "chores" during GS events. We used in ours things like help set up for breakfast, clean up after snack, clean bathrooms, mop).
In addition, check what resources your council may have. For example, I found on my council's website a handy form that can help you budget for any event and a helpful checklist to help you keep track of needs (mainly GS required things, ie: adult to girl ratio, extra insurance for specific activities, and more). And of course, Google! I'm not the only leader blogging out there. So many other awesome leaders have shared their own resources with us (that's what Girl Scouting is all about, sharing!).
Hope that helps!
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
End of the year trip, second year Daisies
Guess who's Daisies were among the top earners in their Service Unit? If you guessed mine, you deserve a Thin Mint (if you have any left). Seriously, my girls ROCKED cookie sales this year! I do, in part, credit the planning we did. It kept them focus and on the goal at heart. Our end of the year trip was 100% paid for by their cookie funds. The parents had to pay nothing. Yes, you read that correctly, our parents were on the hook for zero dollars!
Our fun filled day started out with a trip to the Birthplace in Savannah. If you ever have a chance to visit, plan in advance so you can reserve a spot at one of their programs (they have them for all levels). It was SO much FUN! The girls got to play a few games and took a mini-tour of the house. After the tour, they got to go to the carriage house to do a few arts and crafts. They wouldn't let us adults in though (it was a surprise). It did give me a chance to slip into the gift shop to buy some Birthplace pins and patches (still using cookie money).
Next up, lunch time! The girls opted to eat at Lady and Sons (Paula Deen's restaurant). It was sooooo good! We got there a little early, but it was ok since they have a waiting area for people about to be seated (by the way, make reservations in advance!). While the girls were waiting, I left my trusty co-leaders with them so I could slip into the gift shop to buy them some patches and pins.
The next activity of the day was a trolley tour of the city. It was fun, but it was also a nice break in the day (we had to leave our hometown at 7 AM and we didn't get on the trolley until nearly 3 PM). A few girls did snooze for a bit, but I was not about to wake them!
So, what do you when have a troop of awesome girls who raised SO much cookie money? Treat them Build-A-Bear, duh! It was a surprise though. I knew it was something all of them had wanted to do, but we simply said that after the trolley, we had a special activity for them to do. We all pilled into our cars and made our way to the mall. Once safely inside the mall, we had them close their eyes and we lead the way. We then told them to open their eyes, and we (the adults) had to hold our ears. I would have loved to let them get any bear they wanted, but we did have a budget. They all got a bear and all opted for the Brownie uniforms.
Our day was finished off with a meal in the food court, and very quiet cars (they all slept on the way home!). We didn't get home until 9:30, but, it was worth it. The girls all had a blast!
We still had cookie money leftover too! We used the leftovers buy the girls their Brownie vests (and all the necessary patches), re-register all of the girls and our troop product managers for next year, and saved the rest for a few activities for next year. Ok, I have to brag just one last time- my girls ROCKED it!
Our fun filled day started out with a trip to the Birthplace in Savannah. If you ever have a chance to visit, plan in advance so you can reserve a spot at one of their programs (they have them for all levels). It was SO much FUN! The girls got to play a few games and took a mini-tour of the house. After the tour, they got to go to the carriage house to do a few arts and crafts. They wouldn't let us adults in though (it was a surprise). It did give me a chance to slip into the gift shop to buy some Birthplace pins and patches (still using cookie money).
Next up, lunch time! The girls opted to eat at Lady and Sons (Paula Deen's restaurant). It was sooooo good! We got there a little early, but it was ok since they have a waiting area for people about to be seated (by the way, make reservations in advance!). While the girls were waiting, I left my trusty co-leaders with them so I could slip into the gift shop to buy them some patches and pins.
The next activity of the day was a trolley tour of the city. It was fun, but it was also a nice break in the day (we had to leave our hometown at 7 AM and we didn't get on the trolley until nearly 3 PM). A few girls did snooze for a bit, but I was not about to wake them!
So, what do you when have a troop of awesome girls who raised SO much cookie money? Treat them Build-A-Bear, duh! It was a surprise though. I knew it was something all of them had wanted to do, but we simply said that after the trolley, we had a special activity for them to do. We all pilled into our cars and made our way to the mall. Once safely inside the mall, we had them close their eyes and we lead the way. We then told them to open their eyes, and we (the adults) had to hold our ears. I would have loved to let them get any bear they wanted, but we did have a budget. They all got a bear and all opted for the Brownie uniforms.
Our day was finished off with a meal in the food court, and very quiet cars (they all slept on the way home!). We didn't get home until 9:30, but, it was worth it. The girls all had a blast!
We still had cookie money leftover too! We used the leftovers buy the girls their Brownie vests (and all the necessary patches), re-register all of the girls and our troop product managers for next year, and saved the rest for a few activities for next year. Ok, I have to brag just one last time- my girls ROCKED it!
Meetings 22-32
Boy did I manage to get behind in blogging! The new scout year is just around the corner and I haven't finished blogging about this year, oops! I'd hate to leave you all hanging, so you're about to get the Cambell's version. But fear not, I promise not to leave out important details!
Meeting 22
Today we continued on with our journey, Between the Earth and Sky. Since we started our Blue Bucket of words activity, this was the first meeting where I did not have to remind the girls that were writing down positive words to stick in the bucket (spoiler alert: they wrote down a few funny things). Once we read and discussed the latest chapter, we headed back out to our "old" garden to get some work started on it. It was great being back in the garden!
Meeting 23
Today's meeting was very much last week's meeting. The biggest difference was that our garden time was more aimed at getting out some nasty stuff we found. Ok, time for a pet peeve of mine- so called "weed prevention" tarp. Let's get real for just a moment here. The stuff does not work and most of them can actually pollute the soil, which in turn can pollute the overall environment. We happened to find this in the garden (we had finally gone deep enough to find this plastic ickyness). So the majority of the day was spent ripping it all out. It was a good lesson for the girls though.
Meeting 24
GIRL SCOUT BIRTHDAY! Fact- on March 12, 2013, GSUSA turned 101 years old! Crazy, right?! Well, the even crazier part was what did today- a whole lotta relaxing! No, really, we had a meeting where we kicked back and just relaxed. Of course we had some cake first, and then we watched Brave (it's Girl Scouts, you have to throw in those good female role models wherever you can, right?).
Meeting 25
Today was much like 22 and 23- wrote out blue bucket words, read a chapter in our journey, discussed it, and worked on out garden. I know, boring, but the girls really enjoy getting out there and getting dirty.
Meeting 26
Earth Hour (not to be confused with Earth Day) happens every year on March 29. During Earth Hour, people, even whole towns and cities, pledge to "power down" for one hour (this usually begins around 8 or 8 :30 PM). By power down, I mean go off the grid, as in turn off anything and everything electronic, or anything that uses electricity to charge its batteries. Earth Hour may only be one simple hour observed every year, but it's a precursor to something much bigger! As such, with Earth Hour just a few days away, we all talked about it and pledged to power down. Most of the girls are already in bed that late at night, so with it being a Saturday, we decided to observe it as a troop earlier in the day. It was a challenge, but most of the girls made it happen. We discussed what we do while not using electricity. We could read a book, play outside, play a card or board game, or even take a nap. This discussion was also part of us working on the Global Action award (which is similar to the Global Action Theme badge from WAGGGS). BUT, the even bigger picture here, we, as a troop, took the Forever Green pledge and committed to help the environment. But, more on our project next year!
Meeting 27
Guess what we did today? We finished up Between the Earth and Sky. To celebrate, we held a classroom vacation! Between the Earth and Sky depicted our favorite flower friends taking a fun trip around the country, many of the destinations being places most of us had not yet been to. So help bring their journey to life, I helped the girls out by pulling up a bunch of photos of where they went. We then reflected on the journey and the many lessons we took from it. We finished up the day by finishing our garden. Knowing that we may not meet at this school again next year, we planted several lovely perennials (grasses and flowers) so the school would have something lovely.
Meeting 28
Today was not Earth Day, but it was just a few days before. Like our meeting before Earth Hour, we talked about the meeting and more things we can do to help the environment. Ok, so, uhm here's there thing..... though I am not a natural blonde anymore, I still tend to have massive blonde moments, and don't remember what activity we did next. In my old meeting planner I had written down "recycling activity," but I'm sure we did more than that (this is also what I get for being so behind on blogging!).
Meeting 29
For today's meeting, we invited Emily Post, figuratively that is. We had a manners lesson that started with all of us wearing skirts or dresses (me too!). We learned about proper manners seeing as how we would be soon be visiting some important places in Savannah (our end of the year trip!). We did have some really goodblackmail leverage for the girls though. They had asked that for their trip, we have lunch at The Lady and Sons (Paula Deen's restaurant in Savannah). We just happened to mention to them that occasionally she was actually in the restaurant. So, if they were acting up and using poor manners, it would embarrass Miss Paula to bits! Ok, so the chances of her actually being there when we were, were slim, BUT, it was a good motivator for them to pay attention. They learned the basics and more- chew with your mouth closed, don't talk with food in your mouth, use your silverware, and more I have forgotten by now. However, the fun part came next- our semi annual "blind" taste test. The one where I tell them I know exactly what each and every one of you are allergic too, and this ain't it, so you have to try it! As usual, my kid ate everything without question, while the rest were a little iffy. I was nice this time and got a few "normal" things this time. One of them was dried, candied strawberries,which was a hit. The fun one though was my cupcakes. It was chocolate based, but it also had in it coconut and zucchini. Yes, I got my girls to eat a GREEN VEGETABLE! Yes, I do have a bit of an evil streak in me. I really do love sneaking in these taste tests because it gives the girls to broaden their culinary pallets.
Meeting 30
Remember our top secret project from last year? We did one again this year, only better! Well, not really better so much as it was different. Random useless trivia for the day- one of the very few things our illustrious founder, Juliette Gordon Low, could not do was sew. Hey, guess what my Daisies now know how to do? SEW! Ok, now I'm just bragging, but seriously, we taught them how to sew today so they could make small pillows as a part of their Mother's Day gifts. That pretty much took up all of the meeting!
Next up is our end or year trip, but that I will make a separate blog for because it was AWESOME!
Meeting 31
The first part of today's meeting was spent finishing our pillows. All the girls had left to do was stuff them and sew up the enclosure. After that, we made some cute pinwheel looking flowers with toilet paper rolls that we attached to some mason jars. The jars were used to make bath salts (epsom salt, a little baking soda and a few drops of essential oils of their choosing). We finished that off with some pretty ribbon and tada! All of their Mom's loved it!
Meeting 32
Today was not only our last meeting of the year, but it was our last meeting as Daisies! We did two things today. The first was a quick rehearsal for our bridging. I purposely had put off learning the Brownie Smile song until the end of the year just so they could sing it at our bridging. After that we did something very important- we planned out next year. I put everything on a table for the girls (journeys, badges, supplemental badges) and told them to take some time and read it over. After that, we spent a few minutes voting on what all they wanted to do, and so now we have our year one Brownie plan!
Bridging
Our bridging wasn't anything grand, but it was special. Our girls began all in their Daisy tunics, and for one last time, we sang the Daisy song (after the pledge and promise of course). One by one, the girls took off their tunics and crossed our bridge where they received their Brownie vest and bridging certificate. Once all of the girls had crossed, they gathered up to sing the Brownie smile song!
We had an extremely successful year two. Something that I am extremely proud to say is that 100% of my girls are registered and will be returning next year. Sadly though, one girl had to move, so she will be in a new troop in a new state next year (we will miss her dearly!). I can't wait for next year! The girls planned out a REALLY fun year!
Meeting 22
Today we continued on with our journey, Between the Earth and Sky. Since we started our Blue Bucket of words activity, this was the first meeting where I did not have to remind the girls that were writing down positive words to stick in the bucket (spoiler alert: they wrote down a few funny things). Once we read and discussed the latest chapter, we headed back out to our "old" garden to get some work started on it. It was great being back in the garden!
Meeting 23
Today's meeting was very much last week's meeting. The biggest difference was that our garden time was more aimed at getting out some nasty stuff we found. Ok, time for a pet peeve of mine- so called "weed prevention" tarp. Let's get real for just a moment here. The stuff does not work and most of them can actually pollute the soil, which in turn can pollute the overall environment. We happened to find this in the garden (we had finally gone deep enough to find this plastic ickyness). So the majority of the day was spent ripping it all out. It was a good lesson for the girls though.
Meeting 24
GIRL SCOUT BIRTHDAY! Fact- on March 12, 2013, GSUSA turned 101 years old! Crazy, right?! Well, the even crazier part was what did today- a whole lotta relaxing! No, really, we had a meeting where we kicked back and just relaxed. Of course we had some cake first, and then we watched Brave (it's Girl Scouts, you have to throw in those good female role models wherever you can, right?).
Meeting 25
Today was much like 22 and 23- wrote out blue bucket words, read a chapter in our journey, discussed it, and worked on out garden. I know, boring, but the girls really enjoy getting out there and getting dirty.
Meeting 26
Earth Hour (not to be confused with Earth Day) happens every year on March 29. During Earth Hour, people, even whole towns and cities, pledge to "power down" for one hour (this usually begins around 8 or 8 :30 PM). By power down, I mean go off the grid, as in turn off anything and everything electronic, or anything that uses electricity to charge its batteries. Earth Hour may only be one simple hour observed every year, but it's a precursor to something much bigger! As such, with Earth Hour just a few days away, we all talked about it and pledged to power down. Most of the girls are already in bed that late at night, so with it being a Saturday, we decided to observe it as a troop earlier in the day. It was a challenge, but most of the girls made it happen. We discussed what we do while not using electricity. We could read a book, play outside, play a card or board game, or even take a nap. This discussion was also part of us working on the Global Action award (which is similar to the Global Action Theme badge from WAGGGS). BUT, the even bigger picture here, we, as a troop, took the Forever Green pledge and committed to help the environment. But, more on our project next year!
Meeting 27
Guess what we did today? We finished up Between the Earth and Sky. To celebrate, we held a classroom vacation! Between the Earth and Sky depicted our favorite flower friends taking a fun trip around the country, many of the destinations being places most of us had not yet been to. So help bring their journey to life, I helped the girls out by pulling up a bunch of photos of where they went. We then reflected on the journey and the many lessons we took from it. We finished up the day by finishing our garden. Knowing that we may not meet at this school again next year, we planted several lovely perennials (grasses and flowers) so the school would have something lovely.
Meeting 28
Today was not Earth Day, but it was just a few days before. Like our meeting before Earth Hour, we talked about the meeting and more things we can do to help the environment. Ok, so, uhm here's there thing..... though I am not a natural blonde anymore, I still tend to have massive blonde moments, and don't remember what activity we did next. In my old meeting planner I had written down "recycling activity," but I'm sure we did more than that (this is also what I get for being so behind on blogging!).
Meeting 29
For today's meeting, we invited Emily Post, figuratively that is. We had a manners lesson that started with all of us wearing skirts or dresses (me too!). We learned about proper manners seeing as how we would be soon be visiting some important places in Savannah (our end of the year trip!). We did have some really good
Meeting 30
Remember our top secret project from last year? We did one again this year, only better! Well, not really better so much as it was different. Random useless trivia for the day- one of the very few things our illustrious founder, Juliette Gordon Low, could not do was sew. Hey, guess what my Daisies now know how to do? SEW! Ok, now I'm just bragging, but seriously, we taught them how to sew today so they could make small pillows as a part of their Mother's Day gifts. That pretty much took up all of the meeting!
Next up is our end or year trip, but that I will make a separate blog for because it was AWESOME!
Meeting 31
The first part of today's meeting was spent finishing our pillows. All the girls had left to do was stuff them and sew up the enclosure. After that, we made some cute pinwheel looking flowers with toilet paper rolls that we attached to some mason jars. The jars were used to make bath salts (epsom salt, a little baking soda and a few drops of essential oils of their choosing). We finished that off with some pretty ribbon and tada! All of their Mom's loved it!
Meeting 32
Today was not only our last meeting of the year, but it was our last meeting as Daisies! We did two things today. The first was a quick rehearsal for our bridging. I purposely had put off learning the Brownie Smile song until the end of the year just so they could sing it at our bridging. After that we did something very important- we planned out next year. I put everything on a table for the girls (journeys, badges, supplemental badges) and told them to take some time and read it over. After that, we spent a few minutes voting on what all they wanted to do, and so now we have our year one Brownie plan!
Bridging
Our bridging wasn't anything grand, but it was special. Our girls began all in their Daisy tunics, and for one last time, we sang the Daisy song (after the pledge and promise of course). One by one, the girls took off their tunics and crossed our bridge where they received their Brownie vest and bridging certificate. Once all of the girls had crossed, they gathered up to sing the Brownie smile song!
That's me and my new little Brownie! (And a preggo trying desperately not to bawl her eyes out!)
We had an extremely successful year two. Something that I am extremely proud to say is that 100% of my girls are registered and will be returning next year. Sadly though, one girl had to move, so she will be in a new troop in a new state next year (we will miss her dearly!). I can't wait for next year! The girls planned out a REALLY fun year!
Monday, April 29, 2013
Daisies, Year 2, Meeting 21
Confession time- I am jealous of everyone who gets to spend Thinking Day at any of the World Centers. After seeing this year's celebration photos online, I felt a little bummed that I wasn't around. BUT, in a few years, I figure I can get sneaky and convince the girls to save for a trip during Thinking Day (I know, I'm terrible!).
Sticking with the theme, and having little party shakers, I downloaded a bunch of music from this year's focus countries for the girls to listen too. We basically had a listening party before we prepared for our Thinking Day feast. Everyone brought in foods from a country they had relatives/ancestors from. But before we could eat, we had to sing a song we had been working on for literally the past 6 months:
It's a hard song, but hey guess what, MY DAISIES SANG IT!!!!! We sang this song during our opening at Girl's World Forum with the fabulous Melinda Caroll. I knew it would be a challenge, but I brought it back for the girls and they learned it. They knew it so well that instead of having us call out the first line, they called it out and had their families repeat it!
Before we ate, our new girls received their WAGGGS pins. It took everything in me not to cry! I'm so proud of them all though. It was something they will remember for a long time, and because I promised I wouldn't make them sing Babala Gumbala again until next year (they have made sure I remembered every week before we sang a song). As for that food, we tasted foods from Egypt, Turkey, Poland, Sweeden and a few others I have already forgotten (sorry!). No surprise, they all came back for seconds.
Though the focus countries for next year's Thinking Day have not yet been announced, I can tell you that the focus MDG is number 2, achieve universal primary education for all. After that, it leaves one more MDG for us to cover in 2015!
Sticking with the theme, and having little party shakers, I downloaded a bunch of music from this year's focus countries for the girls to listen too. We basically had a listening party before we prepared for our Thinking Day feast. Everyone brought in foods from a country they had relatives/ancestors from. But before we could eat, we had to sing a song we had been working on for literally the past 6 months:
It's a hard song, but hey guess what, MY DAISIES SANG IT!!!!! We sang this song during our opening at Girl's World Forum with the fabulous Melinda Caroll. I knew it would be a challenge, but I brought it back for the girls and they learned it. They knew it so well that instead of having us call out the first line, they called it out and had their families repeat it!
Before we ate, our new girls received their WAGGGS pins. It took everything in me not to cry! I'm so proud of them all though. It was something they will remember for a long time, and because I promised I wouldn't make them sing Babala Gumbala again until next year (they have made sure I remembered every week before we sang a song). As for that food, we tasted foods from Egypt, Turkey, Poland, Sweeden and a few others I have already forgotten (sorry!). No surprise, they all came back for seconds.
Though the focus countries for next year's Thinking Day have not yet been announced, I can tell you that the focus MDG is number 2, achieve universal primary education for all. After that, it leaves one more MDG for us to cover in 2015!
Daisies, Year 2, Meeting 20
Even though this week's meeting involved zero glitter, it still haunted us. Glitter on my GS bags, glitter still on the floors, glitter everywhere. I am never working with glitter again, and this time I mean it!
Today was a bit low key. We read chapter 2 of Between the Earth and Sky and tied it into a field trip we were about to take. With cookie season in full swing, and the girls working so hard, they deserved a break. Our schools had a 5 day weekend during President's Day. We used that Tuesday off for a fun day out with the animals. But, we had to establish ground rules because we most certainly were not going to act like animals in front of the animals. And what a perfect opportunity to sneak in another money lesson! We talked more about our goals and what we want to do with our cookie profits. Disney is a very real goal for next year, but this year's tangible goal can have many fun things to do around it. When we went to zoo, the girls were given an option- have a snow cone or ride on the train. We couldn't afford to do both (they were the same cost). So they all had to vote, BUT, the hitch was that they all had to agree. No surprise, they choose snow cones.
It was a good lesson though. Cookie booths had only just begun, but showing them that if they don't meet all of their set goals, they will have to pick and choose which activities they want to do. I can let you on this much (because I am writing this after cookie season ended)- the girls knew that just for their basic goals, everyone needed to sell 150 boxes of cookies. I can proudly say that my Daisies averaged 267 boxes per girl! And our top earners sold over 600 a piece! So yes, they earned enough to visit the birthplace, have lunch at Paula Deen's and more!
Today was a bit low key. We read chapter 2 of Between the Earth and Sky and tied it into a field trip we were about to take. With cookie season in full swing, and the girls working so hard, they deserved a break. Our schools had a 5 day weekend during President's Day. We used that Tuesday off for a fun day out with the animals. But, we had to establish ground rules because we most certainly were not going to act like animals in front of the animals. And what a perfect opportunity to sneak in another money lesson! We talked more about our goals and what we want to do with our cookie profits. Disney is a very real goal for next year, but this year's tangible goal can have many fun things to do around it. When we went to zoo, the girls were given an option- have a snow cone or ride on the train. We couldn't afford to do both (they were the same cost). So they all had to vote, BUT, the hitch was that they all had to agree. No surprise, they choose snow cones.
It was a good lesson though. Cookie booths had only just begun, but showing them that if they don't meet all of their set goals, they will have to pick and choose which activities they want to do. I can let you on this much (because I am writing this after cookie season ended)- the girls knew that just for their basic goals, everyone needed to sell 150 boxes of cookies. I can proudly say that my Daisies averaged 267 boxes per girl! And our top earners sold over 600 a piece! So yes, they earned enough to visit the birthplace, have lunch at Paula Deen's and more!
Daisies, Year 2, Meeting 19
As I write this post, cookie season is long over (thank GOODNESS!). Cookie season this year was exceptionally stressful, but it was well worth it.
Last year we used a lot of cookie based recipes on our booth posters. The girls loved that, so I made sure to print those out before today's meeting. Being a little more than a week away from cookie booths, and just days before cookie delivery, we used today's meeting to prep all of our booth posters. I'm that crazy leader who lets the girls dictate what they want to use for their materials. Long story short, so much glitter everywhere! And that glitter followed us around for all of cookie season. Anyway, the girls made 2 tri-fold poster and 4 hand held signs. We ran out of time to do our cookies from home donation jars, but they told me what they wanted I did that once I got home (again, all the glitter, oh my goodness!). Everything looked cute, but if I can, next year, I fully intend on discouraging the glitter (though knowing these girls, they will insist on more glitter).
Last year we used a lot of cookie based recipes on our booth posters. The girls loved that, so I made sure to print those out before today's meeting. Being a little more than a week away from cookie booths, and just days before cookie delivery, we used today's meeting to prep all of our booth posters. I'm that crazy leader who lets the girls dictate what they want to use for their materials. Long story short, so much glitter everywhere! And that glitter followed us around for all of cookie season. Anyway, the girls made 2 tri-fold poster and 4 hand held signs. We ran out of time to do our cookies from home donation jars, but they told me what they wanted I did that once I got home (again, all the glitter, oh my goodness!). Everything looked cute, but if I can, next year, I fully intend on discouraging the glitter (though knowing these girls, they will insist on more glitter).
SU Thinking Day Event
So, if Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Jesus, then Founder's Day (Juliette Gordon Low's birthday) is like Girl Scout Christmas. With that being said, Thinking Day is to Girl Scouts what Purim is to the Jews (well, not really, but it was the closest analogy I could think of). Thinking Day is a special Girl Scout holiday where all of us Girl Scouts and Girl Guides pause to remember and celebrate our Scouting/Guiding sisters world wide.
This year our focus countries were Venezuela (that we helped represent), Ireland, Jordan, Pakistan and Malawi. Seeing as how we are in the middle of the Millennium Challenge, we have also added in the aspect for a focus MDG the past few years. This year was the twin theme of MDG 4 and 5, reduce infant mortality and improve maternal health. To make it easier on the troops, we split up the responsibilities Take for example us and Venezuela. My troop created the board/presentation. Another troop made SWAPS and a third troop made food from Venezuela. A few of the larger troops did all of it for one country or MDG, but most of us teamed up. It went over fairly well. We also had a station where the girls could make friendship bracelets to donate to the Sangam's store where they sell them to make money for programs. We had so many activities, but the best part was in the end, we fulfilled the requirements to earn the WAGGGS Thinking Day patch which the girls can put on the front of their uniform!
This year our focus countries were Venezuela (that we helped represent), Ireland, Jordan, Pakistan and Malawi. Seeing as how we are in the middle of the Millennium Challenge, we have also added in the aspect for a focus MDG the past few years. This year was the twin theme of MDG 4 and 5, reduce infant mortality and improve maternal health. To make it easier on the troops, we split up the responsibilities Take for example us and Venezuela. My troop created the board/presentation. Another troop made SWAPS and a third troop made food from Venezuela. A few of the larger troops did all of it for one country or MDG, but most of us teamed up. It went over fairly well. We also had a station where the girls could make friendship bracelets to donate to the Sangam's store where they sell them to make money for programs. We had so many activities, but the best part was in the end, we fulfilled the requirements to earn the WAGGGS Thinking Day patch which the girls can put on the front of their uniform!
Daisies, Year 2, Meeting 18
So much to do, so little time to do it! Looking at today's meeting in black and white, you would think it was boring, but it was far from it!
Thinking Day falls in the middle of our cookie season. So we held our SU Thinking Day event at the beginning of February. Our troop was tasked with creating a board about Venezuela. So it gave us the chance to learn about this country. Venezuela is such a beautiful country with a very rich and interesting history. Like last year, I printed out several maps and a bunch of pictures. We talked about what everything was and learned about the country. Once that was done, I handed them over to the girls and let them go nuts with a board, some glue and a few markers. It turned out really well. Once they were done, I added the Venezuelan flag and national flower on the side of the board to stick out a little. They did an amazing job!
Thinking Day falls in the middle of our cookie season. So we held our SU Thinking Day event at the beginning of February. Our troop was tasked with creating a board about Venezuela. So it gave us the chance to learn about this country. Venezuela is such a beautiful country with a very rich and interesting history. Like last year, I printed out several maps and a bunch of pictures. We talked about what everything was and learned about the country. Once that was done, I handed them over to the girls and let them go nuts with a board, some glue and a few markers. It turned out really well. Once they were done, I added the Venezuelan flag and national flower on the side of the board to stick out a little. They did an amazing job!
Daisies, Year 2, Meeting 17
When the journeys were introduced, I was out of the loop of Girl Scouting. When I finally got back in the loop and learned about them, I was honestly a little jealous that we didn't have them when I was scout!
Today we began our final Daisy journey, Between the Earth and Sky. This is such a neat journey because it centers around a trip the flower friends take. We purposely planned to do this journey right now because the girls are in the middle of cookie season. They did the basic planning work for their cookie reward/end of the year trip, but since we don't have cookies in hand yet, it's a little hard for them to grasp what exactly it is they are working towards. Listening to this story was exactly the boost they needed to keep them on track for their final goal (which as I write this months later, we are currently days away from our trip!).
The leader's guide and guidebook has several great activities that fit in with what we are doing. The first one is really neat. The leader's guide calls it the big blue bucket of words. The original lesson intrigued me, but we changed it up a little. But, first things first- our official club house. We were getting ready to talk about feelings and emotions. This is touchy with any age group. So we created Daisy's club house. Daisy's club house has a few rules- this is a safe space, so anything we talk about stays in the club house. We won't talk about it outside of our meetings because we want to trust each other (something we will build upon over the years). After we had that established, we asked the girls, what are negative words that you have heard that can be hurtful? I won't repeat them, but they came up with some very good answers. We wrote them all down on the chalk board. We took a good look at them and then erased them from our vocabulary. We all promised that we would never use these hurtful words again, in and our of meetings. With those sad words still in our heads, we then began talking about happy words, or as we named our own blue bucket of words, Words of Affirmation. We all took a slip of paper and secretly wrote a happy word down, but we didn't read them. We all folded it up and stuck it in the bucket.
I read my word out loud though, and this was the only time I did this. I had a very good reason too. We hadn't been out to work in our garden in a while. Even though we walk past it every week when we walk to our meeting spot, sometimes we forget to look left. The garden was our responsibility, and had gathered some weeds of the past few weeks. It had also been trampled in one part. We were very honest with the girls about it, but did not want it to dampen their spirits. So my word of the week was perseverance. Though it may seem like such a small word, when put into the context of our garden and take action project, it was such a big, positive word that lifted everyone's spirits.
We finished out the meeting doing some role playing and learning how to properly deal with play ground bullies. Everyone was asked to act out some scenarios. They did a great job and learned how to handle things without getting in trouble, getting peoples feelings hurt and where to go for help.
Daisies, Year 2, Meeting 16
Can I take a moment here to yet again recognize the awesome power of Girl Scouting/Guiding? Seriously, thanks to my awesome "sisters" literally all over the world, today's meeting was a great success! AND, today's meeting was extra special because we had two very special guests who came to visit all the way from New Jersey!
We started out the meeting reading our answered questions. We heard back from ladies in India, Ohio, Australia and more! The girls loved hearing about everyone from all over. We did have Heather and her sister there, which was wonderful, but I did desperately wish to have a guest who was from another country. The girls learned about hearing about scouts and guides from all over.
I haven't done one of these in a while, but our next activity was definitely a "lesson learned" activity. There's a neat little activity that teaches about water sanitation, that we did. The lesson learned today..... yeah the Daisies weren't really "ready" for it just yet, BUT, with a bit of help, they did well.
So, the water exercise. To set this up, you'll need a bottle of water with a little bit of dirt mixed in. You'll also need a charcoal filter (which you can get at a pet supplies store), a funnel, a measuring cup, cotton balls, coffee filters, baking soda, salt peter and a plain sponge. If you Google this, you can find other ways to do this. The key is figuring out the "easiest" or best way to teaching this to whichever age group you have. This took up literally the rest of our meeting and we barely finished it. The girls had fun though!
We started out the meeting reading our answered questions. We heard back from ladies in India, Ohio, Australia and more! The girls loved hearing about everyone from all over. We did have Heather and her sister there, which was wonderful, but I did desperately wish to have a guest who was from another country. The girls learned about hearing about scouts and guides from all over.
I haven't done one of these in a while, but our next activity was definitely a "lesson learned" activity. There's a neat little activity that teaches about water sanitation, that we did. The lesson learned today..... yeah the Daisies weren't really "ready" for it just yet, BUT, with a bit of help, they did well.
So, the water exercise. To set this up, you'll need a bottle of water with a little bit of dirt mixed in. You'll also need a charcoal filter (which you can get at a pet supplies store), a funnel, a measuring cup, cotton balls, coffee filters, baking soda, salt peter and a plain sponge. If you Google this, you can find other ways to do this. The key is figuring out the "easiest" or best way to teaching this to whichever age group you have. This took up literally the rest of our meeting and we barely finished it. The girls had fun though!
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