Quick and Easy Activities for Girl Scout Week

It’s Girl Scout Week! That time of year that we celebrate the founding of Girl Scouts on March 12, 1912. Today, we are “stuck” at home along with a good part of the East Coast. So when you can’t go outside and have Girl Scout fun? Stay inside and have Girl Scout fun!

Sunday was Girl Scout Birthday (and also Girl Scout Sunday) and Monday was Take Action Day. If you didn’t celebrate you still can “catch up.” Read a book about Juliette Low and the Girl Scout movement or just break out your Girl’s Guide to Girl Scout. Each level has a handbook in the front of their level’s Girl’s Guide. This includes the Girl Scout Promise and Law, and an age appropriate story of how Girl Scouts got started. The Brownie Story is also included in the Brownie Girl’s Guide, it’s also great reading for Girl Scout Week.

Take Action – This is something that comes up over and over when leaders are doing Journeys with their troop. Taking Action doesn’t need to be complicated. It can be as easy as you want! A Take Action project can be a community food drive, or a troop food drive, or it could be your troop making posters to tell your community about existing food pantries.

As a troop of Daisies, and then Brownies we have done a number of “simple” Take Action projects including making valentine cards for senior citizens, doing cards for soldiers, making braided dog toys, and my favorite, Color A Smile. Color a Smile is a group that take donated drawings and gives them to senior citizens, nursing homes, and military troops. Their goal is to put smiles on peoples faces and remind them that someone is thinking of them.

EXPLORE STEM – It’s Pi Day

For those that don’t know, today is Pi or Pie Day. So celebrate by doing some math activities and eating some Pie!

• Bake a pie! Did you know that bake is really a math lesson in disguise? Baking is really about measuring and ratios. Not only do girls get to work on their knife skills but also their measuring and fractions. And don’t just focus on the sweet stuff, there are many savory pies too, including everyone’s favorite, PIZZA PIE!
  • BROWNIE SNACKS/JUNIOR SIMPLE MEALS Badge
    • #3: Try a sweet snack/#4: Create a delicious dessert – If a whole pie seems to much try a hand pie.
    • #2: Make a savory snack/#3: Fix a healthy lunch or dinner – Ideas: pizza pie, meat pies, hand pies
  • CADETTES NEW CUISINES Badge
    • #1: Make a “pie” from another country – Ideas: Australia meat pies, English cottage pie, Cornish pasty, Greek spanakopita, apfel maultschen, torta di mele, sharlotka, gateau aux pommes.
    • #2: Create a pie from another region of the United States – Ideas: Key Lime pie, Boston cream pie (Yes, I know its a cake, but its called pie and I love it!), shoofly pie, chess pie, Mississippi mud pie
    • #3: Whip up a dish from another time period – Ideas: chocolate tart, apple pie
• Read Sir Cumference And The Dragon Of Pi or have it read to you via YouTube. Can’t get to the library? Check out if your library is part of HooplaDigital and read it as an eBook.
• Watch Donald in Mathmagic Land, a fun journey into a world of fantasy AND math. Read more about the history of the film: https://d23.com/doing-the-math-donald-in-mathmagic-land/

 

 

 

 

Brownie WOW! Wonders of Water Journey

Need to know what’s going on? Want to plan out your Brownie WOW Journey? Look no further, here’s the schedule:

Introduction

Session 1: Loving Water (Thursday)

Session 2: Science of Water & Green Tea for a Blue Planet (Friday)

Session 3: Field Trip to the Wetlands (Saturday)

Session 3 & 1/2:  Water for All (Sunday)

Session 4: Underwater World at Your Local Aquarium (or Zoo) (Tuesday)

Session 5: Advocate, Communicate & SAVE (Wednesday)

Session 6: SHARE (Friday)

Session 7: WOW! Look at the Hydroelectric Dam! (Saturday)

It’s Summer! Time To Get Outside!

It’s summer and time to get outside. That means we’ll again be focusing on the It’s Your Planet – LOVE IT! journey series. Up this summer the Brownie WOW Wonders of Water journey. We will learn about water cycles, water around the world and take some field trips to the Wetland, the Zoo and a Hydroelectric Dam.

So what do need to follow along and do this journey at home? Not much. You will need the  Brownie WOW! Wonders of Water Journey Book and Adult Guide which can be purchased online or at any Girl Scout Store. Otherwise you need access to a kitchen (not 100% required) and access to the outdoors (100% required!), access to a stream, creek or other waterway is helpful even if you have to drive to get there, it makes a nice field trip.

So what happens first? Tomorrow will be the first session: Loving Water, but first we took a trip to the movie theater for the Finding Dory movie.

 

If weren’t planning on seeing Finding Dory in theaters, Finding Nemo (on DVD and Digital HD) is a great alternative. See how it all started, and get your Girl Scout interested in learning about the Wonders of Water.

So go outside and play then when it gets too hot, come inside for a little movie watching. See you tomorrow for our first WOW session.

It’s Girl Scout Week!

What is Girl Scout Week, you ask? Girl Scout Week is the week leading up to or surrounding “Girl Scout Birthday” or the date Girl Scouts was founded, March 12. This year Girl Scout Week is March 6-12, meaning you have a whole week leading up to Girl Scouts 104th Birthday.

Why do we celebrate the Girl Scout Birthday? On March 12, 1912, Juliette “Daisy” Gordon Low assembled a group of eighteen girls from Savannah, Georgia for the first ever Girl Scout meeting. Low believed that all girls should have the opportunity to develop physically, mentally, and spiritually. She organized service projects, outdoor adventures, and enrichment programs to get girls out of the house and into the community. To me that’s worth celebrating!

What should you do for Girl Scout Week? As much or a little as you like. Each day has a theme and I encourage my girls to do at least one activity for each day’s theme. But your birthday week activities can be as simple as you want. Who doesn’t love a cupcake (or cookies!) and reciting the Girl Scout Promise and Law.

We use the following themes but check your local council and service unit because some do things slightly different.

So what kind of activities should you do each day?

I’m way ahead of you! Check out What to Do For Girl Scout Week!

On Sunday, we worked on the Your Faith and Girl Scouts: Make the Connection, this is the foundation of the My Promise, My Faith Pin, which we will work on at Easter time. We also attended our council Cookie Jam for higher earning cookie sellers. It was a very nice way to start off Girl Scout Week.

Today, we plan to go to my parents house and cook dinner for them. A nice thank you for having us over and cook dinner for us so many times.

We haven’t yet planned for the rest of the week except my girls will toss their bird seed feed into the trees at my parents house as part of Service to the Community/Service to the Environment.

Remember Girl Scouts are girl-led and Girl Scout week is a good way for your girl to show some leadership. Let her decide what she wants to do and then help her achieve it.

What To Do For Girl Scout Week?

Girl Scout Sunday – Sunday March 6

• Wear your Girl Scout uniform and take part in a service at your place of worship.
• Complete “Your Faith and Girl Scout: Make the Connection”
• Earn the My Promise, My Faith Pin
• Think of three different ways you can serve God or your country. Do one of them.
• Do a good deed for someone.
• Think of three different ways you can serve God or your county. Do one of them.

Service to Family and Friends – Monday March 7

• Say “Hello” and smile to as many people as you can today.
• Do something to help someone without being asked.
• Visit with an elderly friend or family member.
• Write a note to a family member or friend about how much you appreciate them and why.
• Do something extra special for your family or a friend and leave them a note.
• Make a friendship gift for someone special.
• Be extra nice to your siblings. Do a good deed for them.
• Plan a route and take your family on an evening walk.
• Help your family today by doing a chore that helps take care of your home.
• Cook something special for your family, or help a family member with meal preparations or clean up.
• Make a family tree.
• Make a family photo album or photo book.
• Send mail to a relative you have not seen recently.
• Daisies: Earn your Sunny, Friendly, and Helpful or Zinni, Considerate and Caring, Petals.
• Brownies: Check out the My Family Story or Making Friends Badge and complete at least one activity. On the last page of each badge, you’ll find three ways you could give service with your new skills.

Service to the Community – Tuesday March 8

• Check out the Citizen Badges (Celebrating Community, Inside Government, Finding Common Ground, Behind the Ballot, Public Policy) for your level and complete at least one activity. On the last page of each badge, you’ll find three ways you could give service with your new skills.
• Help clean up an area in your community or at school.
• How can you improve your neighborhood or community? Create your own small service project.
• Think about people in your neighborhood or community that might not have homes. How can you help people who are experiencing homelessness? Consider donating clothes and hygiene products to a local shelter.
• Donate nonperishable food items to the local food bank.
• Donate toys or clothes you have outgrown to charity.
• Bring supplies to an animal shelter.
• Read a book to someone.
• Write a Thank You note to a community helper.
• Donate to a community organization. You can make something, buy something, or give something you no longer need.
• Daisies: Earn your Sunny, Friendly and Helpful, or Zinni, Considerate and Caring, Petals.
• Brownies: Check out the Philanthropist or Give Back Badge and complete at least one activity. On the last page of each badge, you’ll find three ways you could give service with your new skills.

Service to the Environment – Wednesday March 9

• Put some bird food outside for our feathered friends.
• Recycle as much as you can today.
• Do a science project that explores the environment.
• Clean up a local park or outdoor area.
• Research energy saving tips and educate your friends and family about ways to conserve energy.
• Beautify an area of your home or community by planting a small garden.
• Go on a nature hike and pick up trash along the trail.
• Create a craft with a recycled Girl Scout cookie box.
• Daisies: Earn your Clover, Use Resources Wisely, or Rosie, Make the World a Better Place, Petals.
• Brownies: Check out the Household Elf Badge and complete at least one activity. On the last page, you’ll find three ways you could give service with your new skills.
• Juniors and Up: Check out the Animal Habitats, Animal Helpers, or Voice for Animals Badge and complete at least one activity. On the last page of each badge, you’ll find three ways you could give service with your new skills.

Outdoors Day – Thursday March 10

• Get outside today! Play games, go on a hike or have another outdoor adventure for at least 30 minutes.
• Check out the new Outdoor Badges and complete at least one activity.
• Go to a park!
• Do a rubbing on a leaf, tree bark or any other thing in nature.
• Take a scavenger hike. Find something in nature that starts with each letter of the alphabet.
• Plant a vegetable, flower or herb in a pot to enjoy.
• Identify three different plants in your neighborhood.
• Create a nature collage by using only things found in nature.
• Learn to tie a knot or practice the ones you already know.
• Learn a new outdoor activity with your family (i.e., fishing, archery, hiking, etc.)
• Go on a bug-hunt outside your house with a magnifying glass. Draw one of them.
• Check out the Naturalist (Bugs, Flowers, Trees, Sky, Water), Outdoors (Hiker, Camper, Trailblazing, Adventurer) or Adventure (Letterboxer, Geocacher, Night Owl, Traveler) Badges and complete at least one activity.

Girl Scouting Around the World – Friday March 11

• Did you know you have Girl Scout sisters in 146 countries around the world?! Check our the Girl Scout Global Action Award.
• Learn what WAGGGS stands for (see wagggs.org). List and locate all four World Centers on a map.
• Learn to say “Hello, Good-Bye, Please and Thank You” in another language.
• Learn how people in other cultures celebrate birthdays.
• Make a collage of all the places you would like to visit or have visited.
• Learn about a country you would like to visit, and cook/prepare something from that country. Share your creation with your family.
• Learn a Girl Scout song or game from another country.
• Daisies: Earn the Vi, Be a Sister to Every Girl Scout, Petal.

Happy 104^th Birthday, Girl Scouts!

Today is the Girl Scout Birthday! On this day in 1912, Juliette “Daisy” Gordon Low assembled a group of eighteen girls from Savannah, Georgia for the first ever Girl Scout meeting. Low believed that all girls should have the opportunity to develop physically, mentally, and spiritually. She organized service projects, outdoor adventures, and enrichment programs to get girls out of the house and into the community.

• We’re 104 years old today! Host your own Girl Scout Birthday Party to celebrate.
• Check out the Girl Scout Way for your level and complete at least one activity. On the last page, you’ll find three ways you could give service with your new skills.
• Recite the Girl Scout Law to your family.
• Read or re-read the Juliette Low story.
• Learn about when Girl Scouting first started.
• Learn a new Girl Scout song and teach it to a friend.
• Spend time working on a Girl Scout Award (Petal, Badge, Journey Book or Pin)
• Do a service project.
• Design a future Girl Scout uniform and share it with someone.
• Do something fun or learn something new on ForGirls.GirlScouts.org
• Think about what Girl Scouts means to you and write a letter rededicating yourself to Girl Scouts.
• Daisies: Earn the Amazing Daisy Promise Center or the Vi, Be a Sister to Every Girl Scout, Petal.

Girl Scouts, American Girl and the Outdoors, Oh, My!

It’s Girl Scout Week 2016 as I write this, which makes this fitting. This blog started as an idea during a cross-country road trip. Our road trip was dedicated to earning the Daisy Journey, “Between Earth and Sky” and American Girls Josefina and Saige. Surely I can’t be the only one who’s girls love America Girl and Girl Scouts. Join as we complete Brownie Journeys, learn about American Girls, and try to earn every Brownie Badge available. Yes, really, every badge, that’s the goal. Also we will be pushing everyone outside, because both Girl Scouts and American Girls need to spend some time in the great outdoors.

In Which We Meet Our Cast Of Characters

Hello everybody, I’m the NotSoCreativeMama, or just Mama to my twin girls. I’m love playing and teaching my girls but my house is messy and my creative skills are severely lacking. My crafting efforts look more like a seven-year olds’ than Martha Stewart’s.

I love crafty blogs and all those super creative birthday party printables but that’s not me. However I can print, laminate and “organize” with the best of them. I know how to use google to find the best ideas in the most random places and I can adapt ideas for different ages and different group or individuals. AND every once in a while I get creative and come up with an original idea.

My girls:

Ballerina and Princess are my 8 year old twins. Disney princesses are a BIG thing at our house, as well as the more generic princess.

Princess earn her name because she has never met a dress or skirt she didn’t like. Pants are an accessory to wear under a skirt or dress. She is also my little princess who requires a little more hand-holding and nurturing than her sister, but she likes to cuddle more too. Princess is a do-er, ready to do something check it off her list and move on to the next. She’s also a reader and just like her Mama always happy to curl up with a good book.

Ballerina earned her name because she lives for ballet. She practices her ballet routines until she knows them perfectly. In a spare moment you can find her practicing her moves or inventing new ones. She’s my little independent child. I might not get as much cuddling from her but I know she’s gonna gonna be fine where ever she goes and what ever she does. Ballerina is a perfectionist, she’ll dive into a project and work at it until it’s just right; crafts, art projects, new inventions, anything her mind dreams up.