"it's COOKIE TIME!"

It was great seeing everyone back from our holiday break. We began our meeting with snack and drink graciously provided by mom's Jessica R. and Lisa S. THANK YOU! for your "snack time" contribution.

After snack, we briefly recapped the challenge the girls were given at the end of our last troop meeting in December. The challenge?...

Try to "give away" the gifts of kindness and love at least once a day (to family, friends, and strangers) over the holiday season. These gifts could be a simple smile, happily helping with chores, a kind compliment, etc.

The girls shared different ways they accomplished this challenge over the Christmas break. The girls were reminded that gifts of kindness and love throughout the entire year are actually part of the Girl Scout Promise.

We all stood together and recited the Girl Scout Promise to officially open our troop meeting.

OUR TROOP MEETING~

Our meeting was about learning the 8 types of cookies we will be selling this cookie season (from ABC Smart Cookies). We discussed goal setting, being prepared for selling, *the order form, and the incentive program (which is "cumulative" this year- meaning if a Girl Scout sold 200 boxes of cookies, they would receive the Friendship Bracelet Kit in addition to all the incentives before it: Digital Calculator, Mini FM Radio, Set of 5 Appliques, & Theme Patch.) *Please review your order form for a detailed list and pictures of incentives, for the cookie information, and safety guidelines.

We learned a new cookie song "Yum, Yum, Yum" and the girls were given a song sheet with this song and two others on it and challenged to try to learn the songs by next troop meeting. The challenge is on!!! Let's see how the girls will do...

"Yum Yum Yum"
[Tune: Are you sleeping?]

Girl Scout Cookies,
Girl Scout Cookies,

Yum, Yum, Yum,
Yum, Yum, Yum

Eat 'em by the dozen,
Eat 'em by the dozen

They're all gone,

They're all gone.[Source: Unknown]

"Girl Scout Cookies"
[Tune: Macarena -- complete with dance motions! ]

Buy some Girl Scout cookies

They are sooooo yummy

You can eat 'em all day

Ooooohhhh, Girl Scout cookies!!

Girl Scout cookies

Three fifty a box

They're so yummy

Buuuuyyyy lots!!

[Source: Dreamt up by (literally!) Rachel in Troop 343 from Scottsdale, AZ]

"Cookie Sale Song"
[Tune: Battle Hymn of the Republic: 1861]

We're selling Girl Scout cookies,

Yes, it's Girl Scout Cookie time!

"Would you like to buy some?"

Is our cookie selling line.

We've got lots to choose from,

Don't you see your favorite kind?

We thank you very much!

Glory, glory we are Girl Scouts!

Smiling, cookie selling Girl Scouts!

Please buy cookies, you can help us.

We can't eat them all ourselves!

[Source: words: Pam Gibson, Citrus Council (FL); music: W. Steffe ]

As a simple craft to celebrate "Cookie Time", we made buttons the girls are encouraged to wear during cookie selling season:

Kit bought at Hobby Lobby for $4.99
(12 buttons in a kit)

Logos were printed off the ABC Smart Cookie website cut to fit the button and then snapped in place to complete the project.
Check out the website for MANY other neat clip art designs to make your own variety of buttons! (go to "Art Gallery" then click "Illustrations" - we got this one in "Logos")

This is Jessie's creation on her Brownie vest.

LAST~ We encourage all our Girl Scouts to explore the ABC Smart Cookie web site for fun games, motivation, ideas, and information. There area areas for each level and like mentioned earlier in this post, a great place to record and monitor their goals!

http://www.abcsmartcookies.com

REMINDER: Cookie selling begins Sunday, Jan. 16. (please do not start before this date) Booth sales begin Friday, Jan. 21. The last day of Cookie Sales is Sunday, Feb. 27.

Watch your email for upcoming information on troop cookie pick up and booth sale dates/times.

THANK YOU, parents, for supporting your Girl Scout in this wonderful opportunity and experience.

BROWNIE~ Citizen Near and Far

The Brownie girls worked on a new Try-it today~ "Citizen Near and Far". To earn this patch, the girls listened to Sergeant Brad Pici and Sergeant Roger Arevalo of the City Police Department. The Daisy girls joined the Brownies for the information (which will help them earn a new pedal).

The Police Officers shared with the girls what they're jobs entailed, what all the equipment around their waist is and the thinking process they go through when confronting person that may be breaking the law; they emphasized that working things out with their words before anything else is what they try to do, but if necessary, they do have other means of working things out (like handcuffs, tazor, and last resort- a gun).

The girls had a lot of questions and many comments as the police shared how they each can be "Good Citizens".

Officers Pici and Arevalo left the girls with some color/activity books, crayons, cool pencils and wrist bands to take home to remember all they learned about being "Good Citizens".

After the officers were done speaking, the Brownie level proceeded to work on the craft project for the day: a safety pin and bead flag.

Kit ordered from Oriental Trading Company

Leaders, Lisa, Novia and Kristi had everything ready and set for the girls.

VERY COOL!

These neat flags will go on each girls' SWAP cap.

Thanks Leaders and Volunteers for all your help with the awesome troop meeting!

BROWNIES.... BOOOO-tiful Creations!

Brownie Leaders, Lisa, Novia, and Kristi planned out another fun time for our Brownie Girls. This troop meeting was all about crafting for a Halloween Fun Patch. The girls did several projects:

• A Frankenstein Paper Bag to hold treats...

• A Halloween stick book mark / puppet...

and the funnest project the girls enjoyed~

• Home made "Gooey Gunk"! (recipe below)

GOOEY GUNK~ (half the recipe if you do not want too much)

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
Solution A:
1 cup water
1 cup white glue
2 Tbs. liquid tempera paint or 7-10 drops food coloring

Solution B:
1 1/3 cups warm water
4 tsp. borax laundry booster

HOW TO CONCOCT IT:
1. Mix ingredients in solution A together in a medium bowl.
2. In a second medium bowl. Mix the ingredients in solution B together until the borax is completely dissolved.
3. Slowly pour solution A into solution B. (Do not mix!)
4. Roll solution A around in solution b 4-5 times.
5. Lift solution A out of solution B and knead for 2-3 minutes.
6. Store gunk in a an airtight container or a plastic zip bag.

CONCOCTION TIPS AND IDEAS:Use read liquid tempera paint/food coloring to create Lava Gunk, green to create Slimy Gunk, or black to create Tar Gunk.

Recipe from "The Ultimate Book of Kid Concoctions"

Thank you, Pilar, for all your help with the Leaders! You are awesome!

Girl Scout, Kara missed school the day of our GS troop meeting, so she did her own Halloween Craft project on her own to earn her fun patch. Kara is quite an artist and brought her Halloween Art to the next meeting to show the troop. Great job, Kara!

BROWNIE Girls~ "Science in Action" Try-It

What fun the girls had learning about Science. The girls had the treat to venture down to Ms. Barmore's class room for one of their "Science in Action" Patch projects. Ms. Barmore is our school's 7 and 8th grade Science teacher as well as a former longtime Girl Scout herself (13 years!). Ms. Barmore demonstrated a Balloon Blowing experiment (as outlined in the Brownie Try-It book, page 127)... the girls got to wear goggles and put on aprons like real scientists. They were greeted at the entrance of the classroom by a cool skeleton and through the whole Try-It, had a great time!

"Welcome"...

Ms. Barmore instructed on safety procedures, the different equiptment to be used and how to use all of it, and the step by step procedures for our experiment.

The Girls experience "Science in Action"~




Ms. Barmore demonstrates how to get the baking soda in the balloon.













Thank YOU, Ms Barmore for making this patch project FUN and MEMORABLE! Your time, expertise, and organization is very much appreciated! ... we can't wait to have you as our Science Teacher in 4-5 years!

Next troop meeting- we'll finish the work on this patch by making "SLIME". FUN, FUN, FUN! We will also do a fun project themed around Halloween to earn a fun patch.