CEREMONY CELEBRATION

Girl Scout Ceremony Celebration.

Thank you Leader, Lisa for taking all the photos that were used in this slideshow presentation!

Our troop meeting this week entailed a combination of ceremonies to honor our girls from last year and our new girls from this year. It is a Girl Scout tradition to hold ceremonies for special events~ Flag Ceremony, Bridging, Investiture, and Rededication. This troop meeting was the first time our troop had any of these ceremonies and the girls did great!

Bridging Ceremony

The bridging ceremony marks a milestone in the lives of a Girl Scout. It is symbolic of the change of rank from one level to another. Each girl crosses over the Bridge, traveling from one stage of Girl Scouting to another. Each girl who bridges will receive their bridging patch… Brownie Girl Scouts also receive gold wings when they bridge. These wings represent the growth girls have made during the previous years spent as Brownies. Just like young birds, they receive their wings and can now fly.

From Daisy Girl Scouts dressed in blue

When everything is fresh and new.

We learn our Promise and our Law

And we grow strong as we grow tall.

As Brownie Girl Scouts eager to learn,

We try new things and Try-its earn.

We make the world a better place

With a big Brownie smile on our face.

Into Junior Girl Scouts we venture on,

Exploring our backyard and beyond.

In a circle of friendship, hand in hand

Helping people all that we can.

Little girls into women grow,

Sharing with others all that they know.

Adult Girl Scouts are there to lead

and lend a hand where there's a need.

From level to level, step by step

Being a Girl Scout has been life's prep.

We meet the challenge each level brings

Then we're on to bigger things.

Original poem revised, Author unknown.

Thank you leaders and those who "pitched in" to purchase this wonderful celebration cake for the girls! Not only does it look great, it tasted great, too! (Cake from Janet's Cakery)

Investiture and Rededication

We started our Investiture and Re dedication Ceremony with the Girl Scout traditional candle lighting.

• May the light of the first candle shine as a symbol that Girls Scouts are true to God and their country.
• May the light of the second candle shine as a symbol that a Girl Scout’s greatest desire is
  to serve those around them.
• May the light of the third candle shine as a symbol that Girl Scouts are true to their ideals
  as interpreted in the Girl Scout Law.
  
  This year we currently have 13 new Girl Scouts receiving Investiture recognition (5 Daisy, 6 Brownie, and 2 Junior); and 20 returning Girl Scouts (2 Daisy, 11 Brownie, and 7 Junior). We are so excited to have these girls in our troop and are ready for an awesome Girl Scouting year!

Each of the girls wear a Girl Scout Vest for their uniform and on their vest is a Trefoil Pin. May the three leaves of the trefoil, representing the three parts of the Promise (to honor God and our country, to help people at all times, and to live by the Girl Scout Law), give them the feeling that they are part of a sisterhood that will bring them joy. Also, may this ceremony be a special reminder and lasting memory of the bond that we share in the sisterhood of Girl Scouts.

We finished our time together singing the traditional Girl Scout song "Make New Friends", followed by the Girl Scout Promise, and fellowship of eating cake and snacks.

Friendship Circle... A Girl Scout Tradition

The friendship circle is often formed at the end of meetings or campfires as a sort of closing ceremony. Everyone gathers in a circle where they cross their right arm over their left in front of them and hold hands with the people on either side. Once everyone is silent, the leader starts the friendship squeeze which is passed from hand to hand. Often the girls will silently make a wish or think of something they are thankful for after their hand has been squeezed before they pass the squeeze along. Also, in some larger groups, the girls put their right foot out into the circle when they receive the friendship squeeze, so that everyone can see it travel along the circle.

Sit Upons ~ A Girl Scout Tradition

What is a sit-upon? They are homemade, usually waterproof pads used to protect the user's backside from the cold and damp while "sitting upon" the ground! They are also great for sitting any where the sitting surface is hard... a Girl Scout tradition for camping.

We made our sit upons out of heavy duty table cloths bought at Wal mart (60x102 inches Oblong @ $5.00 each), yarn, old newspapers & plastic shopping bags. We decorated the sit upons with permanent markers and stickers. Each table cloth made 16 sit upons. ("How To" directions below). Here, the girls are decorating their sit upon covers.

"Sit upons" ready to be sat upon!

It had sprinkled rain earlier in the day and the ground was a little damp.

Thank goodness we had our "sit upons" for enjoying the camp fire fun!

HOW WE MADE OUR "SIT UPONS":

• Pre-cut the tablecloth into rectangle sections with pinking shears. We cut our pieces into 12" x 15" sections since we had large sized table cloths for our large group of 24 Girl Scouts. Discard the side edge pieces since the corners are not square and it's extra fabric anyway.
• Place two pieces together, insides facing each other.

• Hole punch around all sides of pre-cut pieces. If your hole punch has a hard time going through, you may hole punch each piece individually. OR, forget the hole punch and yarn idea, and simply use Duct Tape to secure the edges.

  
• Decorate the pre-cut pieces with permanent marker. We used a variety of colors as well as stickers. Have each Girl Scout put their name on their sit upon.
• Cut long pieces of thick colored yarn to be used to stitch the edges closed.
• Wrap scotch tape around each end to create a tight, hard end for the yarn to more easily go through the hole punches.
• Stitch the outside edges on 3 of the 4 sides. The girls can stitch with a straight stitch or a whip stitch- whichever they choose. We also used colored pony beads to embellish the yarn as the stitches were done.
• When 3 of the 4 sides are completed, stuff crunched newspaper and/or plastic shopping bags in the open end. DO NOT OVER STUFF.
• Finish stitching the 4th side and tie securely.

Your "Sit Upon" is now finished and ready to be sat upon!

WHATCHAMACALLITS... A Girl Scout Tradition

Special
Whatchamacallits
Affectionately
Pinned
Somewhere~

SWAPS for short.

We started making our SWAPS back in April in preparation of our "camping fun". During our "camping fun", the girls were given colorful baseball hats to display their SWAPS. We also had time to make a few more. Although we didn't trade like part of the tradition states, the girls had a great time.

Thank you, leader Stephanie for coordinating the SWAP projects and supplying all the materials. This was such a wonderful idea!

Learning about Camp Fire Safety... and Singing Songs

... and having a fun time, too! Camp fires, singing song, and telling stories when camping... a girl scout tradition!

Before we ventured outside to build our campfire, our Girl Scouts learned "Camp Fire Safety" by building their own Edible Campfire (idea found HERE). We went step by step building our edible campfire, discussing what we'll need to do and NOT do when we are at our real camp fire outside. A Camp Fire "Fun Patch" was earned for our camp fire time.

Our "Edible Camp Fire"

Do's:
Keep long hair pulled back in a pony tail
Stay behind the fire ring of rocks
Enjoy our time singing songs and having fun
Put out the fire with water, followed by burying it with dirt
Be safe and follow rules

Don't:
Go past the fire ring without an adult
Throw anything in the fire
Go on the side where smoke is blowing
Be unsafe

Girl Scout, Lacy, holding our "talking stick", (made from a feather duster, decorated with ribbon and beads) sharing a funny story...

Songs led by Daisy Girl Scout Leader, and "Master of Ceremony", Kristi. Leader, Teri, gives thumbs up for a great time!

S'MORES... A Girl Scout Tradition

Girl Scouts simply can't hang out by a camp fire with out making S'Mores! Troop #9691 had a great time making and eating this treat during our end of year Camping Fun.

What is a S'More? Short for "Some More", it's a dessert consisting of a roasted marshmallow, sandwiched between a Graham Cracker, with a chunk of milk chocolate bar in the middle (which end up getting soft from the gooey hot roasted marshmallow). MMM-MMM Good!

FYI~ While the origin of the dessert is unclear, the first recorded version of the recipe can be found in the publication "Tramping and Trailing with the Girl Scouts" of 1927. It is unknown whether the Girl Scouts were the first to make and enjoy s'mores, but there appears to be no earlier claim to this snack. Although it is unknown when the name was shortened, recipes for "Some Mores" are in various Girl Scout publications until at least 1971.

London Troop #9691

making S'MORES!

The girls had help putting their yummy creation together.

Several of the girls didn't like marshmallows or chocolate, so they made their own treat with the ingredients we had on hand they liked.


For a variety of "S'More" recipes, CLICK HERE.