"it's COOKIE TIME" part 2~ Taste Testing, Song Singing, and Poster Making!

Our Girl Scout troop meeting this week continued on the theme of Girl Scout Cookie Selling! To start off, we had snack, provided by Kara's mom, Roni, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

After snack we opened with our Girl Scout Promise and a quick memory refresher of the eight types of Girl Scout Cookies we are selling this year: Thin Mints, Carmel deLites, Peanut Butter Patties, Peanut Butter Sandwiches, Shortbreads, Lemonades, Thanks a lots, and Shout Outs. After a quick pop quiz to see if the girls remembered the names of the cookies, they got to taste samples of each type~ mmm-mmm good!

Girl Scout Cookies~ Yum, Yum, Yum!
Our favorite cookie song!
(sung to the tune of "are you sleeping")

Girl Scouts making posters to help promote their cookies during direct and booth sales!

We have some very creative Girl Scouts!



Our initial order of cookies was 175 cases (2100 boxes of cookies) which we received less than a week ago. Since then, we have run out of troop inventory and had to put in two additional orders totaling an additional 175 MORE cases! They seem to be blowing out the door!
GREAT JOB, GIRLS (and parents!)

...we have made multiple trips to get more cookies!
We are blessed to have the support of school administration to use Coach Campbell's PE office in the school gym, having access to the space on an as needed basis during our cookie season!
Thanks Mr. Campbell, you ROCK!

"Organized chaos"???
...getting cookie's checked out to the girls.

Brownie Girl Scout Kara's dad, calling mom, Roni, to double check "how many more Carmel deLites do I need to get?"

By the looks of things, the girls have easily doubled the original goal set in early December of 2100 boxes. As of this post we will sell the 4,200 boxes we currently have/had in our possession(and maybe even a bit more than that as the girls continue as selling machines!)

Stay tuned... pictures of our booth sales will be posted soon.

"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.

Christmas FUN with Crafts~

For our December time together (one meeting this month), our troop- all three levels together-enjoyed an afternoon of Christmas crafts and earning some "fun patches". Two fun patches were earned by those who participated in this meeting. (see pictures of patches below)

To start, we had our delicious snack and juice- provided by Ella's mom, Amy.
Thank you AMY!!!

After snack, we opened our meeting with the Girl Scout Promise, followed by basic instructions of each craft project we would be doing:

• Decorating Gingerbread Houses (actually graham cracker houses we pre-assembled to have them all ready for the girls to decorate)


• Making a Jingle Bell Ornament (can go on a tree or as a gift topper)


• Painting the inside of a Glass Christmas Ball Ornament

By The Way, OUR PARENT VOLUNTEERS ARE THE BEST!
Thank you, everyone!!!

FUN PATCHES EARNED:

Girl Scout Challenge~

Over the next couple weeks, during this time of "giving gifts", your challenge is to give away gifts that cost you nothing (monetarily), but have huge value to those who receive them! Give away gifts of:

• Kindness (a smile, a friendly compliment, a helping hand...)
• Good Manners ( say please, thank you, may I, etc.)
• Love (heart felt and genuine)

Be creative in different ways you can "GIVE" to others this Christmas Season! Show what Girl Scouts are made of.

WOW... It's November!

Our month has "Service" as a focus. After a wonderful snack (provided by Girl Scout Mom, Cynthia), we opened our troop meeting with the Girl Scout Promise and talked about how awesome it is that so many young ladies in our Girl Scout troop stepped up and gave to the food donation (over the past two troop meetings) to benefit a Food Pantry through Bay Area Fellowship on the West-side of our city to help our neighbors less fortunate. Collectively, the girls collected 310 cans, boxed goods, and non-perishable foods. The girls all pitching in what they could, from 5 cans up to 30 & 45, the combined amount is helping others and making a huge difference for the food pantry.

Good job girls!

The girls broke into their levels to work on their projects~ (click each level below to view what the girls did)

• DAISY
• BROWNIE
• JUNIOR

"Thank you", Cynthia for the snack this week...

" Thank you" parents for all your support in our "Troop Giving" efforts...

and a special "Thank you" to Sergeant Brad Pici and Sergeant Roger Arevalo for speaking to the Brownie and Daisy levels about their service as a Police Officer and a how the girls can be "Good Citizens".

Troop Meeting Highlights

We began our troop meeting with some awesome snacks provided by Angela's mom, Pilar (our Volunteer Brownie mom). WOW!!! The girls were treated with yummy "treat bags" containing a variety of goodies; she also brought bottled of water for the girls. "Good-a, Good-a", THANK YOU, PILAR!

As snack was finishing, Leader Teri discussed the girls' newest challenge to contribute to the "Troop Giving" Food drive to help a local Food Pantry in the Westside of Corpus Christi to stock their shelves as they prepare to open their doors to help those in need. Although this is not a mandatory participation, the girls are encouraged to help make a difference in the lives of others by participating in this giving project. Teri emphasized that when we all do a "little", it adds up to "A Lot... even HUGE". We have almost 40 girls in our group and we all can come together to help others in need as the Girl Scout Promise states... "to help people at all times..." (Second Year Daisy, Allyson B., plans to go to neighbors in her neighborhood (with her mom supervising) and ask for donations of non perishable items for this good cause; What a great idea, Allyson!!! YOU GO, GIRL!)

Each Girl Scout in our troop that brings at least FIVE (5) non-perishable items will receive a "Troop Giving" Fun Patch at our next "Court of Awards" Ceremony (Nov. 16). The ONE (1) Girl Scout that brings the most items will be awarded with a special prize.

(Fun Patch)

We broke into our different levels with each working on a "Halloween Fun Patch" . (If your Girl Scout missed this troop meeting and would like to earn this "Halloween Fun Patch", have them complete a Halloween Craft of their choice and email the description and/or a photo.)

(Fun Patch)

(click each level below to view details of each levels' projects)

DAISY
BROWNIE (includes "Gooey Gunk"recipe)
JUNIOR

THE GIRLS HAVE ALL BEEN WORKING HARD AND HAVING FUN. ALL LEVELS WILL RECEIVE THEIR PATCHES EARNED AT 4:30-5PM DURING OUR "COURT OF AWARDS" CEREMONY THAT WILL BE HELD AT OUR MID-MONTH NOVEMBER MEETING. (An email will be sent prior to the Ceremony)

(Fun Patches ordered from Advantage Emblem)

Daisies... Brownies... Juniors... OH MY!Troop Meeting Overview~

We started our meeting by learning a new song "BOOM CHICKA BOOM" (Click here for lyrics)... co-leader, Teri, had a rough time remembering the start (mixing up her chicka' with her boom's), but quickly recovered, and the kids got the hang of the song and seemed to enjoy it once we got on a roll. After the song, we had PIZZA for Snack!...

Thank you Ms. Holly for bringing snack and drink this week! & thank you volunteer parents and leaders (Tammy, Mandy, Noemi, Lisa, Novia, Kristi, Pilar, Stephanie, Holly & Teri) for all your help during the snack and helping with the meeting.

After opening with the Girl Scout Promise, the girls broke into their separate levels to work on their different projects:

Daisy Girls: "Light Blue Petal" -Honest and fair

Brownie Girls: "Science in Action" Try-It

Junior Girls: "Prints and Graphics" Badge

We came back together to finish our troop meeting with our friendship circles.

Announcements:
The Girl Scouts of Greater South Texas is having our annual "Design a Holiday Card" Contest. All of our troop #9691 were given instructions and entry forms. The Daisy and Junior levels were able to work the project into their troop meeting. The Brownie girls will need to work on their submissions of their own if they choose to participate. Be sure to follow the guidelines outlined and have your entry in by the deadline date of OCT. 22! Please contact Teri if you have any further questions. (CLICK HERE for details)

Looking ahead~ we'll be doing a service project through "Operation Christmas Child" next month. Last year the girls' hearts were big and generous as they donated age ppropriate gifts and wrapped 10 different boxes for children less fortunate. Many of our returning girls communicated they wanted to do it again this year, so in mid November, we'll dedicate time for this project and "MAKE A DIFFERENCE" in the lives of others.

Christmas is approaching and we're still collecting small (square sized) cardboard cartons for a craft project. Our Girl Scouts may save their lunch cartons that their milk comes in; since these are smaller, we'll need two per Girl Scout for the project.

WE'RE ON OUR WAY...

... to all levels earning their first Patch, Try-it, and Badge! London Girl Scouts ROCK! We opened our troop meeting with our snack time~ cupcakes and juice box drinks! Thanks Girl Scout moms, Lauren and Teri, for supplying snack & drinks for this meeting!

After snack and clean-up, we opened our troop meeting with our Junior level leading us in the Flag Ceremony and Girl Scout Promise. They did a fabulous job and we'll plan on alternating this job through the year to all the levels. Since our single troop of multi-levels have grown so much this year, we want what is in the best interest of the girls and are separating them off to work on their different projects and activities according to their levels. There will be a number of times through the year we will have our troop time all together as one (Operation Christmas Child, Christmas Celebration Troop Meeting, Cookie Sales Meeting, World Thinking Day, Camping Fun Lock-in, and all our Court of Awards)

This troop meeting the girls worked on the following:
DAISY~ GIRL SCOUT PROMISE
(under the supervision of GS Leaders, Tammy & Teri and volunteers, Mandy & Noemi)
BROWNIE~ ART TO WEAR Try-it
(under the supervision of GS Leaders, Lisa- Kristi- & Novia and volunteer, Pilar)
JUNIOR~ PRINTS AND GRAPHICS Badge
(under the supervision of GS Leader, Stephanie and volunteer, Holly)

Once our projects and activities were completed, we all got back together and sang a couple songs then closed our meeting with each level forming a "Friendship Circle".

Another Adventure Begins~ First Troop Meeting of 2010-2011

Troop 9691 is beginning our 4th year as a troop and we had a great first meeting for this new school year! It's a blessing to have such a strong group of girls each eager to have fun as a Girl Scout and be a part of the Girl Scouting experience. Many of our girls are returning Girl Scouts, and many of them are just starting out for the first time ever. What ever the case, we all are here to focus on building our "Courage, Confidence and Character to make the world a better place this year"! We all have special gifts and ways to make a difference in our own lives and the lives of those around us; this year will hopefully encourage each girl to be inspired to be all she can be. As leaders of this awesome troop, we -Lisa, Kristi, Novia, Stephanie and Teri- would like to say it is an honor to share time with these girls and get to know them over this next year.

Our first meeting of this school year began with getting the girls situated with a pre-meeting craft... we made "Friendship Circle" SWAPS. For today, we instructed the girls to put their SWAPS on their shirt or vest, but typically their SWAPS will either be traded with other troop's Girl Scouts and/or placed on a canvas baseball cap. Our new Girl Scouts will receive their canvas baseball cap at our next troop meeting.

After our SWAP activity, we came together to prepare for snack.

Today's snack was a story about the qualities of what goes into a Girl Scout Troop. Leader, Teri read the "Recipe of a Girl Scout Troop", while the Junior Girl Scouts emptied the ingredients in a large bag. We made Girl Scout Gorp and we believe the girls had fun eating it!

Next we had the returning Girl Scouts lead the Troop in opening our meeting with the Girl Scout Promise:

On my honor, I will try (I pledge my good name and respect for others)
To Serve God (I will observe my personal spiritual beliefs)
and my country, (I will be a good citizen of the United States of America)
To help people at all times (I will be courteous and look to assist or serve others)
And to live by the Girl Scout Law (I will use the Girl Scout Law as my daily guide)

The Girl Scout Law
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.

We discussed the Girl Scout Promise as a group and the significance of holding the right hand up showing three fingers. (This sign stands for the three parts of the Promise as well as the "three C's" of "Courage Confidence and Character" from the Girl Scout mission statement. FYI~A Girl Scout handshake is a formal way of greeting other Girl Scouts and Girl Guides. You shake hands with the left hand and give the Girl Scout sign with your right hand.)

PROJECT for our new Girl Scouts~ To help them learn the Girl Scout Promise, we encouraged the girls to take home a printed copy of the Girl Scout Promise to color and post somewhere visible to help them memorize.

We broke into our different Girl Scout levels and played a game to learn more about each other. After the game, the leaders took the opportunity to talk with the girls to get a feel for what kind of things they would like to do and accomplish over the year. Each girl was asked to share one or two things they would really like to do this year as a troop. The girls came up with some fun ideas! ASK YOUR GIRL SCOUT WHAT SOME OF THE IDEAS SUGGESTED WERE.

As their leaders, we will try our best to organize their goals into tangible projects.

We ended our time together in the Girl Scout traditional "Friendship Circle"...

Shouting "GIRL SCOUTS ROCK!" when we were all done. These girls have strong lungs!

Thank you moms who stayed during the troop meeting and helped things run more smoothly!

Your time and help is MUCH APPRECIATED!