Happy Holidays!

From our troop to you -- Have the best of holidays!

Caroling...

We were supposed to sing tonight at the local senior center but just one problem:

we got 18 inches of snow!

The blizzard even closed the schools for two days -- we will have to rebook this for AFTER the holiday.

{sigh}

Ringing The Bells...

There are TONS of "fun patches" available.... but everything we do doesn't have to equal one.

Sometimes, it is just OK to have fun together and learn a little about doing something for others - like a simple, one hour shift with a red kettle for the Salvation Army.

That is what we did today, as a troop. We passed out mini candy canes to all who put some money in, no matter what the amount. We also practiced the five songs that we are going to sing next week at the Senior Center. It was truely a fun time, as you can see -

 

Meeting Number 6: Butterflies!

Early Bird Activity: Still working on coloring the boxes for December's Senior Center Visit

Ha Ha Game: The girls lay down, in a circle, with their heads on the tummy of the next girl. One starts and says "ha". The next girl says "ha ha"... and it gets passed along like a friendship squeeze but more "has" are added to each person. I have yet to see anyone get to the end without cracking up...I was down on the ground with them, and it was a HOOT!

Circle Time

·Review Caper Chart. Leader Helper sits on my right
 

·Girl Scout Promise

Petal Award Pass out (our first year Daisies are doing an independant study to earn their petals) The 2nd year girls applaud them!

Birthday Award Pass out (A card from me with a patch)

Have a Good Trip: Bon Voyage: Buen Viaje:

Living the Law, and So Many Seeds

-What do you say in Chinese to people taking a trip? (Yi lu shun feng)
They were to read up to page 29 in their books

In the story, Lupe tells Clover that every place is special.

What special places do you know? What makes them special?

When the flower friends got to the Morning Glory Inn, they enjoyed some blueberry pancakes!
Have you ever had them for breakfast?

What did you have for breakfast today?
How did it make you feel?

What do you think makes a good breakfast that gives you lots of energy for your day?

At the last meeting, Zinni was worried about her seeds blowing in the wind...who has ever blown a dandelion?

What happened?

Can you see how, if we are careful with seeds, we are helping to take good care of Planet Earth?

Seeds are just baby plants, waiting to grow and are spread by the wind, rain, animals and bugs - like butterflies!Craft time.

We made butterflies from empty toilet paper rolls. VERY simple craft. Toilet paper tubes, paper, chenille stems, gluesticks.:)

Craft helper passed out craft bags.

Snack Time

·Hand Sanitizer Helper --spritzes, Snack and beverage helpers pass out treats. It was the birthday of a girl, so we let her bring cupcakes.

Circle time

·Christmas Song: review: Daisy song, Rudolph, Jingle Bells, Mr Snowman, Echo, We Wish You A Merry Christmas, and the Snowflake Song for singing at the Senior Center in two weeks. We coached them with how to stand, smiling, and all starting at the same time. We also talked about not getting all flustered if one looses their spot, just to jump in where everone else is.
:)

·What is next ?
We ring the bells for the Salvation Army next week! They are going to practice their songs again.

Singing for the Senior Center.
Investiture Cermony in January...if the cookie awards are in. If not, we will push it to February. We want to do both presentations at the same time.
Squeeze helper helped us close.

Clean Up helpers help pack up cart...

Take home: their craft

Cookie Booths: Direct Sales

This year, it was Direct Sales for cookies.

I.N.S.A.N.E.

I can't tell you how many times I went to the Service Center to get cookies, or TRIED to get cookies. At one point, they had 106 troops on the list and were waiting for the baker to deliver to the warehouse so they could get cookies for all of us.

I know it is the best fundraiser for my troop - but it took SO MUCH of my time this year that there simply has to be a better system for this.

It was their first year trying it -- and I KNOW the girls sold more by having them in hand for instant delivery but the suppliers simply couldn't keep up.

A tad frustrating...

However, the girls ROCKED it. They learned about customer service, making change, patience and even how to set up an eye appealing booth. (they colorized the cookies, LOL)

We had seen a lot of other booths set up --no table cloth, messy tables, girls standing in store displays or in their outside flower gardens - all things that made me cringe!

A simple tablecloth makes such a HUGE difference! Add a little seasonal decoration and it really draws the eye....
Our signs were in frames from the local dollar store - for a neater presentation.
Never underestimate the power of pigtails, lol!
They brought their "a' game, used their manners and "worked" on their 2 hour shift. (I split the troop up).
I couldn't be prouder of them!

We made enough troop money for all the things we want to do: service project - events - awards and more...but I already dread this for next year, LOL!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Meeting Number 5: Blue Bucket!

We started with Turkey Hand Art!

I made a sheet that had an old poem on the top of it:

This isn’t just a turkey, as anyone can see…
I make it with my hand, which is part of me.
It comes with lots of love, especially to say …
I hope you have a VERY happy Thanksgiving Day!

Then, we painted the girls hands with Tempera Paints and they made a giant, colorful, Turkey hand print on it.
We did this FIRST so they could dry as the meeting progressed.I know from experience that there is nothing more fun that getting a wet, painted item to take home.{not!}

 

THEN... on to the regular meeting...

 

Circle Time

·Review Caper Chart. Leader Helper sits on my right

Girl Scout Promise

·How do we think the gal on our left feels today? Go around the circle and ask - as we are working on feelings (Blue Bucket)

Independent Petal Pack Award Pass Out.

Theme of the day:  You, Me, How Different We Can Be - where they learned about other people’s feelings. I went to the board and asked them to describe me. I am a hefty gal and was hoping for someone to hit on that... and they said everything BUT that, I had to prompt them, LOL!
That opened up the door to explain WHY I am a larger woman. I have been cut out of not one, but TWO major car accidents. I have had 18 broken bones, have more arthritis than my grandmother. I was on crutches, had casts, braces and more on my legs. That led into a great explanation on how we are ALL different.
Then, I held up a paper heart... crumpled it up... opened it up again. This was to show how the words you say to someone can hurt them and even, after you say "I'm sorry", the marks can still be there.

Yes, I love visuals.

They already understood this because none of them wanted to pull the fat/chubby card with me. They are AWESOME girls.

{grin}

THEN -- back to our journey books! They were to finish chapter 1 before coming back to a meeting, and they did.

Talk about nature’s colors and how we made the Handprint Turkey Craft.

They earned their Blue Bucket Award.

 

Time to Finish our Safety Badge training!

We tested them on their address and phone number. It was the LAST thing that they needed to know for this. If they passed, they got their pin. They all DID pass and you could see how proud some of them were to get their awards!
-->It was SUPER cute!

Snack Time

·Snack and beverage helpers pass out treats. It was Root week... the snack helper brought in little plates of carrot sticks with dip and the beverage helper had juice boxes. Simple and easy -- healthy and still working with our "plant" theme.

Circle time

·Christmas Songs: Rudolph, Jingle Bells, any others?  We came up with "We Wish You A Merry Christmas, Mr Snowman (from kindergarten) and an "echo" song.
That gives us a grand total of 5 songs for our caroling at the senior center in December...that we will practice at the next meeting and sing while they ring bells for our Salvation Army shift.

Clean Up helpers helped pack up cart and clear the message board... A LOT of girls helped clean up - it was super!

Take home: Their craft, The Blue Bucket patches, Safety pin and reminder for the next meeting. It was a lot of fun!
:)