Stuff Your Own Scarecrow

Find a local garden center or nursery that has a stuff your own pumpkin day.  We brought our own shirt and pants.  The garden center provided straw, string and burlap pieces for the face. It was a great time and the scarecrows look cute outside our house.

Valentine Cell Phones

 

 

 

We made the cute cell phone valentines for our girls scout party. We just cut cell phone out of paper and attached candy buttons on the inside.  Inside the message says "U R G8" , very cute idea and easy to do. 

1st Meeting 2013-World Thinking Day, Sleepover and Badges

We met yesterday after having the summer off.  It was great to have all the girls back together.  We have combined with another troop so out troop has increased by three girls. Yesterday was just a talking meeting.  The girls voted on what country they wanted to do for World Thinking Day.  They decided on Australia. So anyone with ideas please comment.  We are also planning a sleepover for our next meeting.  We are going to work on two cadette badges: Night Owl and New Cuisines.  These badges looked interesting and ones I think we could accomplish in one night. We off to a great year!!

Make You Own Gingerbread House

For the base we used a box and covered it with foil

For the house we used a box and covered it with frosting and stuck graham crackers to it.

Then we used the left over candy we had from Christmas to decorated it.

The blue and pink sand is candy from pixie sticks

Tour Your Local Fire Department

Our local fire department always welcomes the scout troops.  We had an informative demonstration on how the firefights get their uniform on, when the alarm goes off.  The girls got to climb on the firetrucks and sit in the drivers seat. Everyone went behind the scenes to the kitchen and t.v. room. Our 911 facility is attached to the fire station, so we got a peek at that too. The highlight of our tour had to be the cute pink fire hats for the girls.

 

Have a Tea Party

We are lucky enough to have a great tearoom near where we live.  The Pickwick Society Tea Room in Frankfort, Illinois.  We called and they set up a wonderful party for our girls.  When we arrived, the tables were not set but they had plates, silverware, and teacup set out.  First we learned how to introduce ourselves to each other when you go to a party.  Then the girls set the tables the correct way.  After the table was ready it was time to sample the tea.  A lot of the girls never drink tea at home, so most of them really didn't like it.  Next they served a fruit platter with strawberries, watermelon, and grapes. The little tea sandwiches of cream cheese and jelly and grilled cheese were a big hit.  Finally desert was served on really fancy platters. There was a big selection of rice krispie treats, cookies and cupcakes.  After eating the girls had to clean up the tables. This was a fun idea and great way to learn manners.

Sit-Upons For Our Meetings

I remember making sit-upons when I was a girl scout.  We used to tie them around our waist and where them at the campground.  It sounds a little weird now.  We made them for our meetings, so the girls can use them more often.  We took vinyl and punched holes on three sides.  They put newspaper in the middle and laced them up with yarn.  After them were done, they decorated them with sharpies. They turned out really cute.

Tie Dye Shirts

Our last meeting of the year, we wanted to do something fun.  One of our great moms came up with the idea of tie dyeing shirts.  They were easy to do and the girls had fun making them.  This is a picture of the completed shirt. 

Western Theme Park

Every year our association has a Mother Daughter dance.  It is held in the same country club but every year the themes are different.  This year is was a western theme.  The girls all looked cute in their cowgirl attire.

Shadows

 

 

 

 

Shadows, shadows and more shadows.  We started the evening by looking at our shadows.  We marked where we were standing with chalk.  Then we put another piece of chalk at the top of the shadow.  We set the timer for one hour and came back to see what happened to the shadows.

Clean the Park

Our association sets up a clean the park event every spring.  The girls really learn not to litter after picking up people's garbage. It is a lot of hard work but they have fun too!

Tour a Pizza Restaurant

 

 

 

We took the girls to a local restaurant that has a large menu but it is known for its excellent pizza. The owner gave us a great tour of the kitchen.  First he showed up how to make meatballs from scratch.  Then he showed us how to put dough through their pizza machine. After the dough is done we saw our pizzas being made. When we were done with the tour we had pizza and pop.  The girls had a great time and it fun seeing a how a restaurant works behind the scenes.

 

 

 

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Paper Bag Girl Scout Puppet

Our girls love doing crafts, so we incorporate crafts into almost every meeting.  These paper bag puppets turned out really cute.

Simple Crafts

Sometimes the simple crafts are the best.  We made this cute heart project for Valentines Day.  The girls practiced their weaving and it was easy to do.  Sometimes we try projects that are to hard and everyone gets frustrated. 

Multi-Cultural Holiday Party

Girls in our troop practice different religions.  We like to acknowledge everyone when it comes to holiday season.  This cute centerpiece is one way to make sure no one feels left out.

Extra Crazy Fashion Runway

Gather up as many old costumes and dress-up clothes that you can find. Then add hats, sunglasses, scarfs. purses, crowns and other fun accessories. Let the girls mix and match everything, to come up with their unique style. It is so much fun to see what they come up with.  If you have a large group pair them up to walk down the runway. For small groups have them walk down the runway by themselves. 

Christmas Plate Craft

     This is a great idea for a Christmas gift. The plates are really reasonably priced at IKEA.  All you need is brown, red and green paint.  Use black, green and red Sharpies for the words and names.
The girls use the brown paint for the fingerprint reindeer.  Use a paint brush or a pencil eraser to paint the dots around the circumference of the plate. 
    After everything is dry.  The leaders  should write the names of the scouts family members and Merry Christmas. Very simple to do and cute.

Making Noodle Necklaces

At our Christmas party the girls made noodle necklaces.  We used food coloring to dye the noodles red and green. This was done before they got to the meeting. Then we strung the noodles on a piece of green yarn. This was fun and easy to do.

Fun with Balloons

Who new balloons could be so much fun!, They tried to volley them and see how many times they could go back and forth.  The girls also played another game were they all sat on the floor and we tried to see how long they could keep the balloon up in the air.  These are simple but fun activities.

Halloween-Fairness Activity

We are always trying to be fair in our troop.  Sometimes it's not easy with girls that want all the same things.  They always want to be called on 1st when we are asking question.  They want to be in groups with their best friends.  Sometimes, it helps build character when they don't get everything they want.  We don't want the girls to be upset or not like girls scouts but it is all a learning experience.
This activity we came up at our Halloween party.  We put all the candy the girls brought with in the center and then they got to pick what they wanted.  We picked one girl and just went around the circle.  Each girl got to pick 10 pieces of candy and we continued around the circle until all the candy was gone.
When the activity was done, all the girls were happy with their candy bags!

Camping Bingo

At the campsite we go to we have a really nice nature center.  A few years ago a troop revamped the nature center to get their silver award.  The nature center is filled with activities for the girls to do.  One of their favorites was camping bingo.  The sheets were printed out and placed in plastic covers so they could be reused again.  There was a big bin of scrap pieces of paper cut into squares that were to be used to cover you square.  The girls really liked this game and it can be used over and over for anyone who comes to the nature center.

http://www.getcreativejuice.com/2013/08/tips-to-keep-your-kids-hydrated.html



Great posting about keeping kids hydrated, I think we need to remember this on our campouts.

Birthday Poster

This is a cute poster made by a classroom for the school's birthday.  I thought is was a cute idea with the balloons and the real strings.  This could be used for a leader's birthday, girls birthday or Juliette Low's.  What other ideas can you come up with?

Cute Garbage Can

We just bought a plain garbage can in white and decorated with stickers.  A cute way to make it your own.

Unplanned Fun

Some of the best times we have had in girl scouts are the unplanned moments.  While the leaders were getting ready for the meeting. The girls found this remote control car and came up with a great obstacle course.

Duct Tape Balance Beam

    This summer was a creative one, my daughter and her friends picked up the duct tape again after having it sit around all winter.  When they go to each other homes, it looks like they are moving out. They take all their crafting supplies with them.  The big question is always what to make. They have made pens, bracelets, bows, and purses.  I try and give them a few ideas but I love it when their imaginations start flowing.  Here is a good example of a project she did yesterday.
      We started with a large roll of wrapping paper and took the remaining paper off the roll and used the cardboard.  What should we do with it? First we thought in would be funny to make a cane for Dad's birthday but then it would just get broken.  So then the moment came when we decided to make a balance beam for my daughter's American Girl Doll. 
      She came up with the rest by using one wrapping paper roll, two toilet paper  rolls and two empty duct tape rolls.  She wrapped everything with duct tape and put it together.  It turned out so cute and know I know it will be used with her dolls.

Birthday Mail

   I stumbled upon a website with some good ideas.  The website is Dosomethinggood.org.  The more I looked at it they really didn't want me to be on it because it is for people under 25.  Since, I am a girl scout leader and am always looking for service projects to do, I thought they had some great ideas.  This is the one that I am going do this year is Birthday Mail. The idea is to make homemade cards for children staying in a homeless shelter.
    First these are Birthday cards, so the card should be fun, creative and not gender specific. You can use markers, crayons, colored pencils, stickers, or glitter.  The inside should be left blank so whoever uses the card can personalize this.  On the website there is a creative guide with ideas or you can come up with your own.
    The website has a list of shelters in almost every region of the U.S. and they are expecting the mail and know what to do with it.  The girls will really like this project and I think we can do it in one meeting.  What a difference it will make to one special Birthday boy or girl.
   
   

Back to School and Scouts

It's that time of year again. Yesterday, I went shopping for school supplies.  Every is looking forward to who is in their classes and who is their teacher.  Today I got the new girl scout catalog in the mail.  I get very excited about looking at it and seeing what is new for the girls. Even my daughter likes to to look at the catalog.  We were looking at the outfits and she got to the official style leaders outfits and she said " I am never wearing that!!" , I told her that was for the leaders. Then she said "you would never wear that either" and she's right.  Our  troop is very casual, we have a lot of fun but we will probably never get that formal. They must sell the formal outfits but I wonder who really buys them.  If anyone does post a comment.

Autumn woodland treasure sculpture

I love these, next time the maple seeds start falling, I collecting these for our girl scout troop to make.





Autumn woodland treasure sculpture


I

Carbon Footprint

      We spent part of our meeting discussing our carbon footprint.  Most of the girls and parents really didn't understand what this meant. The choices one person makes impacts our environment.  We use energy in everything we do.
       An example we used is food we eat. We use all types of energy in order to eat everyday.  We live in a suburban area so we have to go to the grocery store to get our food.  Our cars use gas to get to the store and back. The store uses energy to keep the food fresh either in refrigerators or freezers.  There are lights in the store so we can see what we are buying. The cash registers are all electric. Heat and air conditioning keeps the store comfortable.  Employees use gas in their cars to get to work.  The food has to be manufactured or grown and transported to the store. Once we get the food home we use energy to keep the food cold in the refrigerator or freezer.  Then we need a stove or microwave to cook our food. All this energy is used just so one person can have food on their table to eat.
      People in the United States use more energy per person than any other country in the world.  How can we reduce our carbon footprint?  The girls came up with a lot of great ideas, car pool, farmers markets, turn of light when not in the room, turn t.v. off when not using.   Parents can plan outings carefully,don't make a lot of trips to the same place in the same week.  Recycling and reusing can also save energy.  A good idea the girls thought of was to use library book or e-books instead of buying books.
       Can anyone else think of any good ideas to reduce our carbon footprint?

Valentine Bag

Cut bag we made for Valentines

1 white bag
pink, red and white paper
foam hearts
googly eyes
glue


Pre cut the heart, arms and feet.
Have the girls put together the heart lady
and decorate any whay they want to

Looks really cute when finished

Valentines

We made these valentines by cutting out four hearts, fancy flowers, circles, leaves, name tags out of card stock.  Then we punched holes in the middle of the circles and flowers. Next, we punched holes toward the ends of the hearts, leaves and name tags.  Then just layer them on the stick of a Dum Dum lollipop.  They turned out so cute and the girls loved them.

Christmas Ornaments

 

 

We made these cute ornaments for the tree we decorate in our downtown area.

We used clothespins, markers,string, and pipe cleaners, it was a very easy craft and it looked cute.

The garland was just strips of foam cute into strips and stapled together to for a chain.  The tree looked great!! Thanks girls!!

Domino Cookies

Fun to do, we used pre-made sugar cookie mix and then added chocolate chips to make the dominos.
Ours turned out a little big but they look cute don't you think so?

Girl Scouts Trexler and D'Anna Earn Silver Awards

Girl Scouts Trexler and D'Anna Earn Silver Awards


Link to a great idea for silver award

Surviving Camp in Minnesota

Surviving Camp in Minnesota

I love this video, but don't think I could eat the bugs. What do you think?

Go see a play

Check out your local High School for plays.  We saw a great play about Laura Ingalls Wilder at a high school near us.  It was put on by a professional touring company.  The ticket price was very reasonable.  As a bonus, after the play we were able to tour backstage, the girls loved it.

Duct Tape Clipboard

I love this idea!!

we used a piece of cardboard, two clips and duct tape.  Just attach the bottom of the clips with duct tape. Decorate anyway you want to.  Easy and fun!

Digital Camera Scavenger Hunt

Digital Camera Scavenger Hunt

1.  Prepare a list of items that you want the girls to photograph.

2.  Send the girls out in teams to search for the items on the list.

3. Once the girls find an item they are to take a picture of it.

4. Give a time limit-example: one hour

5. When the girls get back, check to see has the most correct photos

6. Who ever has the most wins

Research a city

Kids research states and countries but it would be fun to research a city.

1. Is this city located close to where you live?

2. What is the history of the city?

3. What historical sites are located there?

4. Is the city known for any special foods?

5. What fun things are there to do for kids in the city?

6. Are there any famous people from that city?


Girls or groups can give a presentation on the city and if is close enough, maybe you can visit it.


Fun Cities

1. Savannah, GA
2. San Antonio, TX
3. Chicago, IL
4. Orlando, FL
5. Anaheim, CA
6. Santa Claus, IN


I'm sure that the girls can think of even more.  Does anyone else have any recommendations?

Technology

A day without technology!

Do kids need to watching tv, pushing buttons or listening to music all the time?

On campout should kids have phone or I-pods?

What do you think?


Get off the energy grid!!!!!!!!

Look what I found a really nice memory box for your girl scout stuff.  My girl scout wants to make this and put her photos inside.  Once she has finished making I will post the pictures.  We bought this at Michaels, they have a lot of cute girl scout crafts.

Send me your ideas

The main ideas of this blog is a sharing site, I will post other peoples ideas or pictures.  I'm sure we all have cute ideas that were a big sucess with our scouts.  We always need help with meetings, outings, journey ideas, badge ideas and other fun things with scouts.  If I can get more people involved, I think this will be a great blog...

Make your own photo booth

I think making your own photo booth is a great idea and I want to try it this year.


1. Gather fun props-Silly glasses, hats, balloons, necklaces

2. Have the girls make a fun background or put up a plain sheet.

3. Use a digital camera to take pictures or use an instant camera

4. If using digital print out pictures to take or have them available for the next meeting.


I think this sounds like so much fun.  I wonder if there is a way to print out strips like a really photo booth. Does anyone know if there is a website that can print out photo strips?

Explore wetlands or a marsh

Find new areas to explore.  How about wetland or a marsh?  Make a list of questions to talk about when you are there.

1. Are there plants in the marsh?
2. What grows here?
3. Can people eat the plants in the wetland or marsh?
4. Which animals live here?
5. Is it safe for the animals?
6. Is there a lake, creek or swale nearby?
7. What is the difference between a lake,creek and a swale?
8. Are there any old nests around?
9. Are the animal camouflaged?
10.  What do you know about a food chain?
11.  What kind of food chain do you think takes place in the wetland or marsh?


While you are exploring take some photos, bring note paper.  You might want to jot down some questions that need to researched a little more. 

At the next meeting look at the pictures and discuss what your finding were.  Follow up with any research that someone might have done on their own.  

I might be the poster queen. We are always making some type of poster. You don't have to use the expensive poster boards. We use regular inexpensive copy paper or the backs of paper that have already been use. Posters let the girls get creative and get them talking. I always perfer to have them work together or in groups.

 

Fun poster about the Trumpet

Meetings

In Daisys we always sing the same song...

Make new friends but keep the old
one is silver and the other is gold
A circle is round and has no end
and that is how long I'll be your friend.


Does anyone know any good songs for older girls to sing at their meetings?

Meetings

Picking fair groups.

 I don't like when girls pick their own partners or groups.  They usually end up running up to each other and then start jumping up and down.  The girls in the troop that don't have any of their best friends there are usually standing there looking sad.  So, whenever we do group I always draw random names so different girls work together.  This way no ones feelings get hurt.  Who knows they might even find a new best friend.

Bridging Ceremony

For our daisy bridging ceremony we kept it very simple, we had a small bridge in the backyard.  The girls crossed the bridge and got their certificates and trefoil pin.  The girls played  in the backyard and we had brownies for dessert.  The girls a had fun.

Meetings

Make the girl scout promise fun to learn....

Every girl can make a poster with their line on it.  During the opening ceremony have them get in order and lift up their poster and say their line. Every meeeting should be the same after awhile everyone will remember the girl scout promise.  I'm sure the girls will still like to use their posters.
If you have a smaller or larger troop adjust according to the size.  Big troops can have teams or partners, smaller troops, the girls can make more than one poster...

Meetings

Post the Girl Scout Law at the meeting and remind the girls what it is..

I will do my best to be
honest and fair
friendly and helpful
considerate and caring
courageous and strong, and
responsible for what I say and do
and to
respect myself and others
respect authority
use resources wisely
make the world a better place and
be a sister to every girl scout


I think this should be part of the opening ceremony.  It reminds them of what it is go be a girl scout at meeting, school and home. 

Meetings

Our meetings are twice a month.  They start in September and end in May.  It seems to work out this way but by the end of the year we always start canceling them because everyone gets too busy.  I think we should stop in April this year and just end with a party...

Did anyone see the article that showed Camp Low Country in South Carolina being auctioned off?  One of our favorite parts of Girl Scouts is the campouts.  Just wondering if anyone else feels the same way

Camp Palos

Our friendship circle...

Meetings

After the opening ceremony the leader will talk about any updates from the previous meetings, what we are doing that day, future meetings and events. Usually this gets the girls talking because they are excited about what we are doing.

Consistency-Start every meeting the same way....

         1. Friendship Circle
          2. Girl Scout Promise
           3. The Girl Scout Law
            4. Song
             5. The Friendship Squeeze

The girls love the opening ceremony, their favorite part is the squeeze at the end.  We stand or sit in a circle with arms crossed holding each others hands.  Pick one person to start, the scout squeezes the persons hand next to her. Then that person squeezes their neighbors hand and we continue until it makes it around the circle. 

Make new friends but keep the old....

Summer project for making Troop 61114 the best troop ever