Philanthropy Badge

The girls donated 32 pounds of food to our closest foodbank.  We also got a great tour of the facility, and the near by family resource center.  

Pottery Badge

Hey everyone,

I'm setting up an activity for the girls to complete the pottery badge.  It will involve having a professional potter come in and teach the girls.  They will get to make a piece of pottery, glaze it, and then have it fired.  She suggested that they could make traditional bowls, to correspond with their study of indigenous people at schooo.  I think this experience is worthwhile, and will be popular.

My only hesitation is that the class costs $20/session/girl.  We will pay for one session out of our dues money.  But, I'd thought having two sessions would be beneficial, since our girls sometimes have a hard time completing something that complex in one session.

I wonder if anyone has comments on the following -
Should we a) do one session, for $20/girl, or b) do two sessions for $40/girl.  At the two session rate we'd be spending all of our dues money, so we'd probably want to ask for additional funds.  There may be an option c) do one session but expand our ending time for that meeting to 6pm.

Any commentary, suggestions, etc, are welcome.

Weekly meeting snacks

Hey guys,

Our new arrangement with snacks is working out awesomely.  It is really nice for Martha and I to know that they girls will have a snack, plus, the snack-bringer has generally been excited to be in charge of snacks and the girls have really liked the options.

Now that I have most of our forms in, I can re-affirm that we don't have any major allergies in our group, but we do have a number of vegetarians.

Here is a link to the sign up for future reference:

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f084eaea82ba7f94-weekly/5815497

Bug Badge

Our first troop outing was a success.  The Bug Badge activity at the zoo was well organized, and most of our girls could attend.  The activities were fairly basic, but did cover things in a more organized fashion than we had when we explored bugs last spring.

The day was incredible, though, and having the girls all digging around in the mud and wandering around the zoo was worth every penny.

*Girls who attended will receive their badge from the troop, at some point when we get to the store to pick them up.  Girls who were unable to attend can complete the badge on their own, if they wish.  This one is pretty doable with some time outside and some reference books.

44401 Third Grade

Martha and I have been working on our plans for this year.  I'm pretty excited about them.

Our girls - we have a full complement returning, plus three new girls (so far).  It should be a really great group.

Our first meeting is Monday, 9/21, and we will meet every Monday there is school after that.  On meeting days we will collect the girls out front directly after school and walk to the church.  We'll be looking for parents to pick up the girls at 5:30.

We are planning to collect $40 in dues from each girl.  This will cover materials for any meeting activities, and some of our extra activities.  We will also be using the money from last year so that we can work on big projects such as the pottery badge.

We are working on a plan to organize snacks.  This year we are asking parents to supply the snacks themselves.  Information on this will be forthcoming, but we are asking each parent to take a week or two and supply a simple snack.  These can be sent to school, or dropped off with Martha early.

During our first meeting we will focus on introductions and some ice breaker games.  During our second meeting we will be focusing on plans for the years.  The girls should be able to make a wish list, and come up with some plans.  This planning is Girl Led, so encourage your girl to speak up for her wishes.

For our first 'extra' event we are proposing that the girls earn their Bug Badge at the Woodland Park Zoo.  In this event zoo educators will work with the girls to complete the entire badge, and at the end of the day, we will award the badge to the girls.  I think this is right up their alley.  Since the day is coming right up, we'll be looking for an early RSVP.

Details -
Saturday, October 3., from 10am - 12pm, at the Woodland Park Zoo.  Extra adults at $10/, but the girls' cost will be covered with troop funds.

As always - questions, comments, speak up!!
 

Girl Scout rangers

I think we should keep an eye on this program, although I'm putting here as a placeholder until I can learn more about it.
http://blog.girlscouts.org/2015/05/5-steps-to-earning-your-ranger-badge.html

Nascent plans

I have been spending some time this summer lining up activities for the girls.  I'm pretty excited about some of them.

Today I have confirmed with a local potter that she can work with the girls this year to finish their pottery badge.  We still have the iron out the details, but, I'm happy we'll be able to let the girls do this badge with a real skilled artist.

I am anticipating that our first meeting will be on 9/21 or 9/28 (in other words, not quite the beginning of school).  I'm open to feedback on that.  I'd like to give new girls a chance to join our troop (although, if you are a potentially new parent, we are open to girls joining at any point during the year).

Call for Volunteer:  I am looking for someone to coordinate snacks.  We'd like to have a sign up genius, so each family can choose some weeks during which they would be able to provide the snacks.  The coordinator position would help run the sign up genius, make sure each week has a contributor, and work with the parents to make sure the snacks can get to the church after school.  It is not a position where you would need to provide all the snacks or be present for each meeting.  Let me know if you think you could do this.

Woodland Park Day camp

Some of our girls got to attend the Woodland Park day camp last week.  It was a great camp, and the girls seemed to love it.  This camp is all run by volunteers, and they packed a lot into one well organized week.  Each day was an adventure.  (Heads up for next year; this seems like one to keep your eyes on.)  On the last day, some of our girls got to be the honor guard.  Great job, girls!

New Badge!

The Girl Scouts have announced their new outdoor oriented badges.  The Brownie one is here:

https://system.na1.netsuite.com/core/media/media.nl?id=841225&c=317771&h=3d545c95f0fc2a8277cc&_xt=.pdf&ck=2ECTIukCAvLkXPCt&vid=2ECTIukCAvbkXKct&cktime=131817&addrcountry=US&gc=clear

It looks great:

1. Play outdoors in a new way
2. Explore nature
3. Buddy up and play outdoor games
4. Learn a camp skill
5. Care for the outdoors

I think our girls would love this badge, and it fits right into some of our other goals for this year.  I'm excited about this.

In other news, GSWW is in the news because they turned down a rather large donation because it came with restrictions on what types of girls qualified.  (http://www.seattlemet.com/articles/2015/6/29/donor-says-girl-scouts-can-t-use-100k-gift-for-transgender-girls) 
I deeply respect that the Girl Scouts have remained committed, throughout the lifetime of the organization, to welcoming and supporting ALL GIRLS, and that they put their money where their mouth is.  I'd like every girl who joins our troop to feel celebrated for her own individual self.

Looking forward to 3rd grade!

Dear parents, and potential parents,

We are putting together our details for next year.  Returning parents may like this information, and new parents can look here to get an idea of what will be going on.

The basics:

*This troop is serving the 2015-2016 third grade class at APP at Lincoln.

*We will be meeting every Monday after school.  (There will be no meetings on weeks that there is no school.)  Meetings will start immediately after school, and end at 5:30pm.

Our leaders (Martha and Megan) meet the girls after school, and walk them to our meeting location (the Wallingford Presbyterian Church).  Parents can pick girls up at the church.  Some weeks we may arrange for a different pick up location, which will always be recorded on this blog.

*We will also be meeting some additional times.  This past year we had approximately five weekend meetings, including one two-night camping trip.  We will have more or less depending on the girls' interest.

Our Goals:

One of the major tenants of Girl Scouts is that it is Girl Led.  As such, our year next year will unfold as the girls in the troop desire.  They will be able to choose what projects they work on, and have some control over how those projects are accomplished.

That said, we have some goals for the year:

1.  Go camping.  The Girls had such a great time at this year's encamporee, it was unanimously requested as a repeat.  It seems like the girls would like more time outside in general.
2.  Do more 'big' things, like field trips or more involved projects.  The girls really enjoy this type of thing.
3.  Cookie sales.  We will sell cookies this year - it is part of the Girl Scout program to foster financial literacy, AND, it can cover many expenses for the troop activities.
4.  Badges - we'll work on some badges.  And learn some songs.
5.  I'd like to get the girls started thinking about how we exist in our community, and specifically how we can be good scouts by giving back to our community and being leaders.

To enroll (new girls only):

(Interesting fact:  'enroll' is spelled with two 'l's in the US, but only one in England, explaining why I appear to have spelled it incorrectly when I move to a new web browser....)

You can enroll your girl here:  https://gsusa.ebiz.uapps.net/vp/default.aspx?pid=9
I believe that, after you have enrolled, you can specify a troop to join.  You'll want to specify 44401.  (If you have difficulty, please let me know.)

It would be a good idea to let me know - comment here or send me email.

Adults may also wish to sign up as adult volunteers.  You can do that on the same web page.

Please ask any questions you have - either in comments on this web page or by emailing me.

For new AND returning girls: 

After your girl is enrolled this is not much to do until we start up again in the fall.  However, I strongly urge all new and returning parents to subscribe to this page with their favorite RSS reader, or by signing up for the email digest (on the right hand side of the blog).  Our primary communication will be through this blog, and it will be the place where you can see weekly plans.

We'd also like all girls to have some uniform - you can choose a sash or a vest (I recommend the vest, although many of our girls have sashes).   You do not need to get a full uniform, but, examples of all the pieces are shown here: http://www.girlscouts.org/program/basics/for_volunteers/where_to_place/brownie/

Each girl should have a guide book:  http://www.girlscoutshop.com/THE-BROWNIE-GIRLS-GUIDE-TO-GIRL-SCOUTING

You can buy these items on-line, or at the Girl Scout store in Bellevue.  Some people like to go with the starter kit, which bundles many of the necessary items together.

We are still trying to figure out snack and dues arrangements for next year.  Check back.

For more information:

Please feel free to ask any questions here, or to email meganursula@gmail.com directly.  You can find out more about Girl Scouts at http://www.girlscouts.org/.

Wrapping up our 2nd Grade year

Whew, its been a good year.  I feel like we've done a lot and our girls have learned a lot.  I am very grateful to have had this year with them, and I hope that they enjoyed all of their time with us.

Next Monday is our last meeting for this school year.  We will be finishing our inventor badge.  (If you have inventing materials - cardboard, paper tubes, rubber bands, dixie cups, whatever your girl likes to build with - please send them on Monday.)

At the end of our meeting the girls will each receive their Snack, Painting, and Inventor badges.

If your girl wants to plan events with her troop mates over the summer, we can advertise them here.  Its hard to get a full quorum because of travel and crazy schedules, but, that doesn't need to stop our girls from spending time together.  Feel free to contact me if you want to do something like this.

I've renewed all the girls who have already decided they want to continue with our troop next year, and we can add more girls as they decide they are interested.  I do look forward to continuing our Girl Scouting adventure next year!  Check back here for details as we firm them up.

Closing out the year

On Monday we talked a little bit about our experiences over the weekend.  Then we did some planning for the rest of the year.  Here is the proposed schedule for the rest of this school year:

5/18:  The girls wanted time to just play, so, on this day we are going to make cookies (with left over oatmeal from camping), and then free play.   We hope to be able to pass out the cookie rewards at this time, too.

5/25:  This is Memorial Day, and thus No School, and thus No Girl Scouts.

6/1:  The girls have decided to have an art show.  This will allow them to finish the Painting badge.  Each girl should bring in some art work to show.  They voted that it can be personal work, or pictures from favorite paintings done by professional artists.  Any pictures are allowable, but, not artwork such as sculptures.
We will put together the show, talk about what is inspiring in the artwork, and serve cookies.  ;)

6/8:  This day is the spring concert for 2nd graders currently taking music.  We will mostly take the day for free-play.  We will also bring the girls back to school for the concert, and parents can meet us at the school.  We will propose a final schedule for this when we see what the final schedule for the concert is.

6/14:  I believe Laural has sent you all email to save the date for a pony related end-of-year party.

6/15:  This is the last Monday of school.  The girls want to have an invention day, so they can finish out the inventors badge.    In order to do this day, we'll spend the next few weeks collecting paper-towel and toilet-paper tubes, cardboard, string... anything that can be used to craft an invention.

I can't believe how close we are to the end of the year.  On the last day of this year we should be able to give each girl a painting badge, a snack badge, and an inventor's badge.   I feel like it has been a productive year, and hopefully we have met our goal of giving the girls more big projects and more fun in Girl Scouting.

Looking forward - I am incredibly grateful that you are willing to share your girls with me.  I think each of these girls is really special, and I'm happy to have them in the troop.  Martha and I have been thinking about how we will proceed next year, and I will be writing that up soon.  We do hope to continue the troop, and we hope that all of our girls will choose to stay.  We will be splitting the two schools into two different troops, and we will welcome any Lincoln girls who wish to join the Lincoln patrol.

Encamporee

Yay!  Camping.  It happened, our girls did it.  Many boxes of cookies, a lot of taking, and one or two friendly hugs for girls who were unsure, but they thrived and had what I hope was a wonderful weekend.

Obviously, our first night involved S'Mores.  Because.  What a beautiful night to be out in the woods around a campfire.

 

Miss Martha read the girls stories every night before bed.  The girls really dug their big rooms, with bunk beds, and lots of friends.  The did sleep, at least a little.

The girls woke up fairly early on Saturday, and we were the first troop to breakfast.  This did mean we had some time to spare.  Here are the girls saying 'Good morning, Mom and Dad!' (except I couldn't find my email list to send it).

 The weather was really nice, which makes camping life easy.  We waited for opening cermonies in the sun, and all the girls got to enjoy Saturday activity in the sun.

 

Not pictured on this day, our girls helped a Daisy troop bridge to Brownies, by talking to them about Brownies, teaching a couple of songs, and doing a craft with them.  Pretty much everyone agreed that this was a high-light of the weekend, and I think it is a great example of what a great community scouting can be.

We were also lucky that, on Saturday night, our 'big sister' troop (well, a troop with some of our girls' big sisters in it, who helped us bridge to Brownies last year) came by for our fire in the evening.  They were really great leading songs and eating marshmallow treats and 'being a sister' to all of our Girl Scouts.  Thanks, Guys!!

Of course, we couldn't have done it without these awesome girls.  I, personally, am grateful that our girls have their leadership team.  (Some of whom were inside shushing whispers instead of getting photographed.)

I'd love to hear more feedback from your girls, and a pictures if you have them...

The girls have already agreed that we're going back next year!

Sit-upon crafts!

Lynne has offered to help the girls make a Girl Scout sit-upon—a waterproof cushion to sit on outside—on Monday. The sit-upon will be used at Encamporee when the girls sit outside. Before we pay for supplies out of our dwindling dues, we would like you to dig into your closets and see if you have any of these items to donate toward the project:

  - picnic cloths (vinyl with a cotton or flannel backing; we'll cut 14" squares, so if they have damaged spots, we can cut around them)

  - old towels (for filling; we'll cut 12" squares to fill the cushions)

  - duct tape. The more colors we have, the more choices the girls can use to personalize their sit-upon. We can return any unused tape if you would like the rolls back.

If you have any of these supplies, please email with a note on what you can donate. Any savvy Goodwill or bargain shoppers, please be on the look out for these items as well.

Lynne would like to have the squares cut before the 4pm meeting on Monday so the girls can focus on assembling their cushions. Anything that can be sent with your girls on Friday to school, on Saturday if your scout is attending the Brownie Bite camp, or Monday at drop off can go to Lynne or Addison in Mr. Hamby's room. (And if you are handy with the scissors or pinking shears, we welcome your precut 14" picnic cloth squares or 12" towel squares!)

Thanks!

Recent activity...

Although the updates on this blog have been sparse, we have been continuing to do fun things in our meetings.  The girls are closing in on finishing another couple of badges before the end of the year, and, we are spending time discussing the upcoming encamporee.  

We have finished all but one of the painting activities, using puffy pain to 'paint our emotion'.  The puffy paint (made with shaving cream and food coloring) was a pretty big hit, and the girls got creative making peaks and shapes.

 One day we had snack straight from Pike Place market - two kids of apples, a pear, some star fruit to try, and a kumquat.  About half of the girls really like their kumquats, the other half didn't care from them.  I was surprised the the pear was the least popular fruit.

We have spent two days working on the insect badge.  One day we went to the playground, and found bugs.  The following we we learned something about the bugs we had found, and also made a bug craft out of paper plates.  There were some creative insects, including ones with multi-part bodies or moving designs.

Monday play-day

We took advantage of the beautiful weather to give the girls a plain-old playdate.  We spent the afternoon at the playground, for some free interaction.

I think the girls have been working hard on cookie sales, and our recent badge completions, and I think this day really benefited them.  How did your girl feel about it?

In the mean time, I was proud of my snack idea:

We made 'bugs on a raft' -- sort of the old 'ants on a log' recipe, but we invited the girls to put peanut butter and dried cherries on Trefoil cookies.  I was pleased with how well it worked, and how many of the girls enjoyed all three components of the snack (or at least tolerated their less favorite when they got to add the extras).  

Encamporee!!!

I have been talking about the encamporee for a while, and it is time to settle down and get some real information out there.  So, read on:

What is this thing?  Well, the encamporee is a weekend that our service unit (our group of Girl Scouts representing North Seattle) rents out an entire girl scout camp, and any troops within the service unit are welcome to attend.

Why is that cool?  I don't know how many of you were Girl Scouts, but most Girl Scouts remember camping as one of the highlights of their time.  Participating in the encamporee gives our troop a first experience with camping with a relatively easy environment.  It also offers the opportunity to experience singing songs in the dining hall, and doing projects and games with older scouts.

When is it?  This event is from Friday evening, May 8 through Sunday after breakfast, May 10.  It should be possible for girls to stay for only one of the two nights, if that is necessary.

Where are we staying?  The encamporee is at Camp River Ranch (https://www.girlscoutsww.org/Things-To-Do/go-to-camp/explore-our-camp-properties/Pages/Girl-Scout-Camp-River-Ranch.aspx), which is one of the amazing properties of GSWW.  Our troop has been assigned Troop House 1.  This is an indoor, winterized unit:  (The troop houses have electric lights and heat.  There is also a wood burning stove.  The unit has a kitchen with range and refrigerator, unit cooking equipment and place settings.  One single bathroom with toilet, sink and shower and one bathroom with 2 toilet stalls, sink and shower.  Microwave and coffee makers are provided.)

We requested this type of unit not only because it can accommodate our size, but also because it should offer an easy first experience for our relatively young girls.  We will not need to worry about requiring the proper equipment for outdoor temperatures, or introducing out-door privies, but we will be able to offer the girls a camp fire, and outdoor daytime experiences.

How much will it cost? The cost for encamporee is $10 per participant, plus the rental fee for the troop house ($250 = ~$10/participant), plus extra food we have.  So, a total of about $20 on the weekend, plus some meals.  We will have a better estimate of how much the meals cost after we have been able to do our meal planning with the girls.  As of right now we know that there are two meals in the lodge, included in the $10 fee, and we are responsible for the others.  Some troops have their girls eat before arrival on Friday night, so we anticipate needing to plan 3-4 meals, snacks, and, of course, S'Mores.

What does my girl need? Our girls will need normal sleep-over type supplies, but appropriate clothes and gear for a couple of days of out door activities.  Your girl will also need a sleeping bag, and a mess kit.  (Or mess-kit replacement such as a plastic plate and silverware set.)  We can discuss an exact supply list in more depth, but, for now, here is a sample:

• ONE carryall, duffel, gym bag or backpack
• ONE bedroll or sleeping bag 
• extra blanket 
• small pillow 
• (optional) air mattress or (optional) foam pad 1
• sit upon 
• Rain gear 
• Boots or extra shoes 
• Warm Sweater 
• jacket 
• slacks or jeans (extra pair) 
• Socks (extra pair) 
• Shoes (sturdy & comfortable) 
• Toilet articles 
• Small towel, 
• washcloth, 
• soap 
• Pajamas (warm sweatsuit with hood) 
• Hat (knit cap) 
• Flashlight, extra batteries 
• Dunk bag (stuffed with…) - drinking cup - plate, bowl - knife, fork, spoon 

How can I help prepare my girl?  We will do our best to make sure the girls know what to expect.  one thing you can do is to make sure your girl has had the opportunity to spend the night away from home, perhaps at one of her fellow girl scouts' houses.

How can I help the troop get ready?  We will be giving you more information as soon as we can.  We will need help with the planning and getting our equipment prepared, as well as getting our meals planned and prepped.

In the mean time, you can go take this survey:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PP9X8TX

C is for Cookie (again!)

Thanks to Miranda for the picture!

Our girls are so awesome; they make me proud.  Good job selling today, in some chilly wind.

(We also worked on homework, and then worked on a badge activity.  The badge activity is for the financial awareness badge, and we used our supermarket location to price and discuss the finances for some potential meals that we can take camping.  In this way, we got some experience with finances, and some experience with meal planning.)

Upcoming news

For February 23:

We will have a normal meeting.  Our meeting plan is to work on some Thank You cards, and some prep for next week's activities.

Please bring all the cookie money you have collected so far to the meeting.  We need to deposit as much as we can before the first withdrawal by the council.  Please count your money and mark the total on an envelope - Martha will be writing receipts.

For March 2:

We will pick up the girls after school as we normally do.  We will proceed to the Wallingford QFC where we will set up the cookie booth.  The booth runs from 4-6pm, so we ask parents to pick up their girls at 6pm.

We plan to split the girls into three groups, and at any give time, one group will be selling cookies, one group will be working on homework, and one group will be working on a badge activity.

We need an additional parent volunteer.  Please let us know if you can come help with this event.

General:

A reminder that booths are starting up soon.  Please keep track of your schedule so your girl can do her best at any booths.  Also, track down your uniform; your girl should be wearing at least a sash and brownie pin to sell at a booth.  If your girl is still looking for a booth time we might still be able to add a time, so let us know.

Let us know if you have questions or if we can help you make this a positive experience for your girl.

Also remember - if your girl has sold more cookies since pre-sale, you can let Martha know and we will add them to our first Cookie Cupboard order.  You girl can take more orders (but should not be setting up any booths on her own) to do this.

Long term:

Encamporee Mother's Day Weekend.
Keep an eye out for upcoming information about a hiking trip, the encamporee, and an end-of-year activity.

Booth Information

Cookie booths must be done at council approved locations, and with space reserved through the council.  At booths girls sell boxes directly to the customer, collecting money at the time of the sale.

Booths are Girl Led:  Eg., the girls should take the lead in approaching and attracting customers, selling and making change, and thanking the customers.  The girls are great; let them do their job.
(As Ainsley says:  If someone needs change for a twenty, you can always suggest they buy five boxes to 'make it even'. )

Parent volunteers are for support:  Parent volunteers ensure the safety of the girls, hold the money (this is for safety), and facilitate smooth running of cookie distribution and money collection.  Parent volunteers will also need to ensure that all the accounting is correct, and that supplies are passed on to the next booth or returned.

Booth supplies:

(per booth - we are working towards getting together 'kits' with these materials for the girls to use)

1 folding table     

2 posters            

1 multi pocket cash envelope   

Pen and/or Pencils

sales worksheet

first aid kit

cookies; must be checked out

petty cash for change; must be receipted and noted

In case of inclement weather

Umbrella? 

waterproof tarp?

(per girl)

water bottle

snack

comfortable shoes

appropriate clothes

as much of a uniform as they can muster

Other miscellaneous rules:

Stores usually have a preferred location, and possibly other guide lines.  Please adhere to these.  If it is not clear what the rules are, you can speak with the store manager to find out.  Every booth location has been pre-approved through the council, so the store should be aware of their participation.

Girls should be wearing as much of their uniform as they can.  Girls are representing GSUSA, and looking the part shows respect, and also usually helps sales.

Direct donations are not allowed, but purchases of Operation Cookie Drop cookies are (and this looks like a donation).

Booth worksheet from the council:
https://www.girlscoutsww.org/cookies-and-more/Information-for-Girls-Volunteers-And-Families/Girls%20and%20Families/C15-Forms-Booth%20Sale%20Worksheet.pdf

C IS FOR COOKIES!

Its a lot of work to deal with the cookies.  Thanks to Eric, Laural, Martha, Jonathan, Agnes, Alexa, Camden, Kathleen, and Eleanor!!!

March 2nd Cookie Booth

We are pretty excited to announce that we have reserved a cookie booth at the Wallingford QFC for March 2nd, 4-6pm.  We're hoping this allows the Lincoln girls to sell to their friends, teachers, staff, etc, at school, in a fair manner.

Who:  All the Lincoln girls for troop #44401
What:  Selling cookies at the Wallingford QFC booth
When:  March 2, 4-6pm*  (We WILL pick up the girls from school this day as we do for a normal meeting.)
Where:  Wallingford QFC on 45th
Why: So the girls can sell cookies to our friends at Lincoln Elementary school.

Details:

Who - the girls, AND, we need some additional parent volunteers to ensure that we have great supervision and support for the girls.

When - this is during a normal meeting time, on Monday after school.  We will pick up the girls  and supervise them for the time period.  The booth ends at 6pm, instead of 5pm, and we hope that most girls will be able to stay for the additional hour.

What - we have reserved the cookie booth space.  However, we plan to divide the girls into three groups.  At any given time one group will be selling cookies, another group will be doing homework, and the third group will be working on a badge-related activity.

We plan to allow the girls to advertise this to their teachers and other staff members at school, and to announce it in the Thursday note, so hopefully we'll get a good turn out.  All sales from this time will be split evenly among the participating girls.

Please let us know if you have any questions or requests.  Also, please let us know if you are able to help supervise for part of the time.

First Aid Badge

For the last two weeks our troop has been working on the First Aid badge.  We were lucky enough to have a guest speaker, Nurse Jaime.  The girls really enjoyed talking with Nurse Jaime about her experience as a Girl Scout, about working on Tall Ships, and about First Aid.  

The first week of this badge we talked about what constitutes an emergency, how to avoid accidents and emergencies, calling 911, when to ask for help, and how to ask for help, we talked to Nurse Jaime about her experience working as a nurse practitioner.  

The second week we made first aid kits, and talked about some basic first aid practices (like stopping bleeding, or treating a minor burn) and how to use the supplies in our kits

The emphasis on this badge work was on using proper safety equipment and procedures to avoid having use first aid, knowing how to use hand washing and gloves to avoid exposure to germs, and knowing when and who to ask for help in various situations.

At the end of the second meeting each girl was awarded their first aid badge.  If your girl missed one of the two meetings, please discuss the pertinent material with her at home.

During our next meeting (2/23 since 2/16 has no school) we will be writing Thank You cards to Nurse Jaime, Karen Woodmansee (who donated many band aids and other supplies), and the Wallingford Presbyterian Church (who donates our space).  

Outdoor Overnight Training

I recently complete two training modules for Girl Scout leaders.  The first was a two hour 'Day Trip' session, and the second was the two-day 'Outdoor Overnight' session.  I wanted to write up some of my thoughts, and this is my more meta analysis.  (There will be more information about the actual camping experience, as it pertains to what we are doing in the troop.)

Girl Scouts is an interesting  organization.  It is not just a loosely organized set of fun activities, but rather an organization that has done deep research and thought about how to make a difference in our society, and how to support girls, in particular, in becoming all the can be.  Girl Scouts is actually very serious about their mission:  Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place.  It sounds cheesy, but when you get into it and see how well thought out and research the program is, and how study after study show results, its hard not to drink the cool-aid.

So, there is part of every training module that I've done that addresses these issues.  We talk about the goals, and how to help the girls achieve the goals.  Over last weekend I learned, for example, that 70% of all female US congressional representatives were/are Girl Scouts.  All female Secretaries of State are Girl Scouts.  The average Girl Scout is in the top 10% of high school graduates nation wide.  Girl Scouts is an organization that crosses divides, state divides, social divides, race divides, etc.  The organization is deliberately very inclusive (Be a Sister To Every Girl Scout!), and the goal is to help every member achieve and succeed.  Part of every training module that I have done emphasizes that it is my job, as a leader, to give the girls space to do all of these things, EVERY girl.  Its a lot of pressure.  Its also inspiring, and I'm grateful that they at least give us some tips on how to do it.

These posters look exactly like the ones on the walls of my Girl Scout Camp 30 years ago, and the material is probably as timeless.  I particularly enjoyed the 'Troop Garden'.  

Another part of the training includes talking about what things we do to help the girls achieve their goals.  For example, we say the Girl Scout Promise:
On my honor, I will try:To serve God and my country,
To help people at all times,
And to live by the Girl Scout Law.

And the Law:
I will do my best to behonest and fair,
friendly and helpful,
considerate and caring,
courageous and strong, and
responsible for what I say and do,
and torespect myself and others,
respect authority,
use resources wisely,
make the world a better place, and
be a sister to every Girl Scout.

And then we discuss how we enable the girls to live up to the promise, and in doing so, achieve those ideals of having Courage, Confidence, and Character.  The theory of Girl Scouts is that we do this by first creating a Safe Space.  In that space the girls Discover, Connect, and Take Action, and, if we do it right, we do it by letting the scouts be Girl Led, Learn by Doing, and engage in Cooperative Learning.

I suppose that one of the things that I am struck by is exactly how much being a Girl Scout leader encourages me to grow, and do better, and basically be a better human being.  It is interesting to me how much this resonates with everything I'm doing in my life - I can apply this theory and this skill every time I teach, or parent, or otherwise volunteer.    How can I challenge myself to reach the Girl Scout ideal?

It is only within the context of all of that theory that we engage in the specifics of the training.  Every thing we learn has the over tone of  how do we make it Girl Led, Learn by Doing, and engage in Cooperative Learning.  But, it does bring us to the next part of training.  Every training session I've been to covers basics, and details, and the mundane - what paper work do we need?  What are the safety guidelines, and where can we find them?  Where are the camps associated with our council, and how do we reserve them?  What types of supplies do we need to bring on a trip?  How do we know if our girls are ready for this?  And since, ideally, we will be stretching their comfort zone at least a little, how do we make sure that it is a Safe Space and a pleasant ushering into the next skill?

More posters, more of the applied theory this time.

Of course, as a last note, some of it is fun.  I really had a great time on my weekend training.  The camp was beautiful (I can't wait for our girls to go to camp!  They will love it!).  We we blessed with good weather, so we could enjoy it a little.  Camping is fun!  I enjoyed all of the people engaged in the training with me (not exclusively female, by the way, since Girl Scouts is inclusive), if not in terms of expecting long term friendships, at least in terms of respecting their skills and their passion for the work they do.  I got great advice from folks all over the map, and sometimes from unexpected directions.  We also participated as the 'troop', with our teachers as the 'leaders', so we got to do the things - sleep in Adirondack shelters, cook breakfast for 20, make S'Mores, learn some new songs, take a hike.

As much as Scouting may have some high falutin' ideals for goals, an awful lot of scouting should be just that; enjoyment in taking an active part in the world.  When I feel at sea about whether I can do a good job for 'our girls', I fall back on that - my goal is that every girl in my troop goes home and feels joy about her participation, is excited to come back on Monday, and is inspired for more activity.  A real measure of my success is how many girls come back, and better, come back with smiles on their faces.

Early Saturday Morning, waiting for the bus with my backpacking pack on.  (I didn't use most of the stuff, but was prepared for 40 degrees and raining all weekend.  I did use the mess kit that I carried to camp when I was 8.)  I am embarrassingly bad at selfies, but I'll pretend this was an artistic attempt to capture the trepidation I felt embarking not only on the training, but on a journey to lead our girls in something I hope they love.

Monday 1/26

During this past meeting we worked on another Painting badge exercise:  The girls painted murals together.  We broke the girls down to small groups, and each group painted a unique mural that can also work as a cookie-booth sign, or a parade banner, or what have you.  Martha and I were really pleased with how well the girls were able to compromise and create really nice murals in a short amount of time.

For the next two weeks we will be working on the First Aid badge with a Children's Hosptial Nurse/Girl Scout alumna.  I am super excited about this because the girls will get to work with an expert, and because we have some nice donations to help make affordable first aid kits as one of the activities.

I'm guessing the week after that will be time to write Thank You notes....

REMINDER:  please bring your cookie pre-order sheets on Monday.

Cookies!

Last Monday we did our cookie kick-off.  Thank you so much for our families that were willing to participate, and made it a success.  Please feel free to ask questions or for help.

Just a heads up - Jan. 19th is MLK day, and there is no school.  As a result, there will also be no GS meeting that day.

Monday

On Monday my goal was a low-key meeting to come back from break.  We completed the inventor badge #3 - Make a needs list.  If your girl missed this meeting, the exercise was to go through a normal day and regular activities.  The second part of the exercise was to come up with an invention that might help with those activities.

We had at least three math-homework helping machines....


REMINDER:  next week we have our cookie kick-off meeting.  We will pick the girls up after school and bring them to the church, per normal.  However, we are planning activities for the girls until 6:30.  We ask that a parent show up at 6pm, so we can go over the information that the parents need to know.  We will be bribing you with cookies samples...

Welcome to Troop 44401 2015 edition!

I trust that all of our families had good holidays this year.  (Well, I know a number of us were hit with the flu, but, aside from that, I hope they were peaceful and thankful holidays for everyone.)

Looking forward into 2015 --

Jan. 5:  We'll be working on some of the inventors badge
Jan. 12:  We'll be kicking off our cookie sales, and the girls should earn one of the Brownie Cookie badges (getting to know your customers).  Please note that this is an extended meeting, and that parents are asked to spend approximately half an hour at the end learning about their roles in cookie sales.
Jan. 19:  MLK day.  I do not plan a meeting this day, as there is no school.
Jan. 26/Feb. 2:  I hope the girls will earn their first aid badge.  I am waiting on confirmation from our special guest on the dates.

Cookie sales are active between Jan. 16th (when girls can start presales) to March 15 (when all of our deliveries should be complete).

As always, please let me know if you have questions or suggestions regarding our troop.

Dec. 15

Hi Parents,

Right before break, on December 15th, the girls made holiday cookies.  I hope this was fun for the girls.  It also allowed them to complete one of the snacks badge activities - Trying a sweet snack.

Generally speaking, we have been making progress on a number of badges.  It is our intention to award every girl in the troop a badge when we have completed all five steps for that badge.  However, sometimes a girl needs to miss a meeting, and that usually means she misses one of the activities.  If your girl has missed any meetings, I encourage you to work with her to fill the badge requirements at home - most of them have accessible and fun options for the girl to do.