Merry Christmas!

This month we had only one troop meeting due to Christmas break starting mid month. We started our meeting with our regular Girl Scout protocol of snacks followed by the Girl Scout Promise. For this meeting, as a celebration of the Christmas season, the girls worked on Christmas projects. We broke the girls into 4 groups by having them draw pieces of paper out of a bag with a sticker on each paper (there were 4 different stickers on the papers). The particular sticker each girl drew indicated what project table they would start at.

The 4 projects:

• a Christmas "cup cake"


• a Jingle Bell Wreath Ornament


• "Warm Fuzzies"


• and decorating Gingerbread Man Cookies

23 girls in our multi-level troop (Daisy, Brownie, & Junior), spent approximately 15-20 minutes at each project table in what felt like semi-organized chaos. They all seemed to have fun and that's what today was all about. Christmas music played in the back ground as the girls created their masterpieces. As each project was completed, the girls set them aside next to their specified Christmas gift bag. At the end of the troop meeting, the girls filled their gift bag with their projects to transport them home.

Thank you volunteer parents~ Amy, Irma, & Cyndi, and Girl Scout Leaders~ Novia, Lisa, Stephanie, and Kristi for all your help and supervision on these projects!

"Cup Cakes" in a Mug

These fun projects are basically making an individual size serving cake in a coffee mug. Each girl scout was given a Christmas mug for their project with verbal instructions on what to do and adult supervision at the microwave. After the girls made their cake, they got to eat it!

"Cup Cake" Instructions~

• 1/3 cup cake mix of your choice


• 4 tablespoons milk

Combine cake mix and milk. Stir 15 seconds. Microwave on High for 2 minutes.

"Jingle Bell Wreath" Ornament

As easy as this project seemed, this project table was the one that had the most challenges. The girls had trouble getting the bells to easily slide down the pipe cleaner; perhaps we should have used bigger jingle bells. After they got the hang of it and had their patience tested, each girl scout created a new ornament!

Instructions~

• 1 green pipe cleaner


• silver and gold jingle bells (we used 11 of each color)


• red plastic pony beads (we used 9 per project)


• green ribbon


• red ribbon

Thread the jingle bells and beads on the pipe cleaner in a pattern of 1 gold, 1 silver, 1 red bead, then repeat. Once you have covered your pipe cleaner, form a circle and secure. Complete your wreath by tying a green ribbon where you just secured the pipe cleaner, then finish by tying a decorative red bow at the base of the green ribbon.

Warm Fuzzies

A simple, fun idea to create little "warm fuzzy" critters. The girls were even naming them!

"Warm Fuzzy" Instructions~

• Small Piece of Any Furry Fabric
  
• Wiggle Eyes
  
• Pom-Poms
  
• Craft Glue

Glue a couple of wiggle eyes and a pom-pom nose onto a scrap of furry fabric of any work.

These projects can be kept to enjoy yourself, but warm fuzzies are much more enjoyable if you share them with others.

Decorating Gingerbread Men!

This project table was "finger lick'in" good! Girl Scout Leader, Teri, made the cookies the morning of the troop meeting, so the girls would be set to dress them. Each girl scout had access to a variety of colored icing, sprinkles, and candy decoration.

Gingerbread Cookie Recipe~

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 cup molasses

1 egg

1 TBS vinegar

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

In a mixing bowl, beat shortening with an electric mixer on medium to high 30 seconds. Add sugar, baking powder, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, and cloves. Beat until combined, scraping bowl. Beat in molasses, egg, and vinegar until combined. Beat in as much flour as you can with your mixer; then stir in remaining flour by hand. Wrap dough in wax paper, folding ends secure. Chill for 3 hours or until easy to handle. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease cookie sheet; set aside. On a lightly floured surface, roll half of the dough at a time to a 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into cookie using a 5" - 7 1/2" cookie cutter. (I used a copper one I bought from WalMart). Place 1" apart on prepared cookie sheet. Bake 5 " cookies for 6-8 minutes, 8 " cookies for 10-12 minutes. Let cool before decorating.

To decorate~ Our Girl Scout troop used all pre-made icing bought at the store, but if you want to make your own, here is a basic icing recipe:

Icing Recipe~

1 cup confectioner's sugar

2 teaspoons milk

2 teaspoons corn syrup

1/4 teaspoon vanilla flavoring (almond flavoring is also good)

Stir sugar and milk together in a bowl until icing mixture is smooth; beat in corn syrup and vanilla until icing mixture is smooth and glossy in appearance. Add food coloring to desired shade. To thicken add confectioner's sugar to desired thickness. To achieve a piping effect, use a cake decorating bag. Ice cookie and set aside for the icing to harden. Enjoy!

Overflowing Generosity

This week's troop meeting was kicked off with snack, opening ceremony, then our service project of "Operation Christmas Child". The girls brought a variety of gifts (from suggested list) to fill individual shoe boxes. Our objective was to fill one box per Girl Scout level:

Daisies filled a box for a girl, age 2-4
Brownies filled a box for a girl, age 5-9
Juniors filled a box for a girl, age 10-14

The generosity of our girl scout troop and their families surpassed expectations. Donations brought by the girls filled a total of 10 shoe boxes !!! These 10 boxes will bless 10 different girls around the world at Christmas. We are proud of each of our girls and their giving hearts to make a difference in another child's life through this act of care and kindness.

Daisy Girls!

Brownies!

Juniors!

GIRL SCOUTS ROCK!

We filled 5 boxes at our troop meeting and with the overflow, 5 more were filled at troop leader, Teri's house.

...getting the boxes wrapped to make each gift special for the special girl who will receive it.
(lids have to be wrapped separate, able to lift open easily).

Ella's mom, Amy, will do the "drop off" of these boxes for our troop at her church. Once we get the tracking numbers for each box, we will add them to this post so you may follow the gift if you choose. Check back soon for tracking numbers.

Tracking Numbers: (We were unable to be obtain individual tracking numbers because the 7 boxes were paid for in one bank card transaction)
Daisies filled a box together for a girl, age 2-4
Extra box filled for a girl, age 2-4

Brownies filled a box together for a girl, age 5-9
Abby's extra box filled for a girl, age 5-9
Extra box filled for a girl, age 5-9
Extra box filled for a girl, age 5-9

Juniors filled a box together for a girl, age 10-14
Juniors filled a second box together for a girl, age 10-14
Extra box filled for a girl, age 10-14
Extra box filled for a girl, age 10-14

Thanksgiving Fun with Food

After "Operation Christmas Child", we worked on a "Make It and Eat It" project to earn a patch in honor of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. We made two yummy recipes~ Pilgrim Hats and Thanksgiving Cookie Turkeys. They are easy to make, & fun to "gobble, gobble" up!

A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO ALL THE CO-LEADERS AND MOM'S WHO HELPED MAKE THIS TROOP MEETING A SUCCESS~ YOU ARE TRULY APPRECIATED!

Pilgrim Hats
Ingredients:
1 cup vanilla frosting
7 drops yellow food coloring
32 miniature peanut butter cups
1 package (11-1/2 ounces) fudge-striped cookies
32 pieces orange mini Chiclets gum (We didn't have chicklet gum; we used the center of cany corn cut into small squares)

Directions:
In a small shallow bowl, combine frosting and food coloring. Remove paper liners from peanut butter cups.
Holding the bottom of a peanut butter cup, dip top of cup in yellow frosting. Position over center hole on the bottom of cookie, forming the hatband and crown. Add a buckle of Chiclets gum. Repeat with remaining cups and cookies. Yield: 32 cookies.

Thanksgiving Cookie Turkeys
Ingredients:
2 Double Stuff Oreos (Halloween ones or regular white)
Candy corn
Raisinettes
Plate

Directions:
Open one Oreo. The half that has the filling will be the base for your turkey to stand on. Eat the other piece, if desired. Place the other Oreo on the filling standing upright. This is your turkey body. Carefully place five candy corns into the filling on the upright Oreo. These are the feathers. Place a Raisinette in front of the turkey body. This is the head. Place on your table as a decoration, or gobble it right up!

We closed our troop meeting with a recap of our activities. and discussed what we'll be doing at our next troop meeting. The girls gathered in their "friendship circle" by level to end the day...

GIRL SCOUTS ROCK!

"Operation Christmas Child"

During our next troop meeting, we will be working on a service project. Each of our Girl Scout levels will be filling a separate shoebox (provided by the troop) to send to children less fortunate through Samaritans Purse International Relief.

The Daisy Girls will be filling a box for a GIRL,
age category 2-4 years old.
The Brownie Girls will be filling a box for a GIRL,
age category 5-9 years old.
The Junior Girls will be filling a box for a GIRL,
age category 10-14 years old.

If you are able, please consider donating an item or two from the list below that your Girl Scout can bring to the next troop meeting for “Operation Christmas Child”.

Please send the item/s to school with your girrl scout on the day of our troop meeting. We will discussing with the girls the joy of giving and how simple acts of kindness can make a difference in someone’s life and an impact on the world for the good.

GIFT IDEAS:
TOYS small cars, balls, dolls, stuffed animals, kazoos, harmonicas, yo-yos, jump ropes, small Etch A Sketch®, toys that light up or make noise (with extra batteries), Slinky®, etc.

SCHOOL SUPPLIES pens, pencils and sharpener, crayons or markers, stamps and ink pad sets, writing pads or paper, solar calculators, coloring and picture books, etc.

HYGIENE ITEMS toothbrush, toothpaste, mild bar soap (in a plastic bag), comb, washcloth, etc.

OTHER Hard candy and lollipops (please double bag all candy), mints, gum, T-shirts, socks, ball caps; sunglasses, hair clips, toy jewelry, watches, flashlights (with extra batteries)

DO NOT INCLUDE: Used or damaged items; war-related items such as toy guns, knives or military figures; chocolate or food; out-of-date candy; liquids or lotions; medications or vitamins; breakable items such as snowglobes or glass containers; aerosol cans

After we pack our boxes and send them on their way, information will be posted on this site so you and your child can follow the box if you choose.

For more information about
“Operation Christmas Child”, click here.

Mr. McMath~ We Love You!

Courage...

Confidence...

Character...

As Girl Scouts, we focus on these areas to make a difference in our world. Having role models in our lives that demonstrate these qualities help us see first hand a living example of courage, confidence and character. In our time together this week, we wanted to honor a special person in all our lives who overflows these qualities and has been a blessing to us over the years~ Mr. McMath, our Superintendent! In this week's troop meeting, the girls made Mr. McMath a card to show him we love him, miss him and can't wait for him to come back to school. (photos below are a small sampling of the girls' card they made)

After our card making, the troop went outside to earn a patch for "Sports and Games". It was such a beautiful day; perfect for running some energy.

The Junior girls lead the Daisy and Brownie group in a relay race, giving them instruction and showing them what to do.

After the relay race, we played "Octopus Tag". Crazy fun, for sure! Our ocean was quite big, so the girls were all over the place! As we finished our meeting, the troop gathered back together indoors and shared all their favorite sports they like to play...

basketball... volleyball... soccer... baseball... gymnastics... softball... football... The girls love their sports!

Next troop meeting we will work on earning several patches:

Operation Christmas Child Project
(Thank you Ella's mom, Amy, for suggesting this wonderful service project)
MORE INFO will be sent email prior to troop meeting.

Make it and Eat it

"Jack-O' Lantern"

Thank you parents for your contributions of $3.00 to help defray the cost of this week's craft project. Also a thank you to Novia, Irma, Holly, Lisa, and Stephanie for helping set up and supervise the painting.

A SPECIAL THANK YOU to mom's Nancy and Lisa for donating the snack and drinks for this meeting!
The girls enjoyed them.

This week's troop meeting~ PART ONE... Have you ever thought about a tradition you do and have no idea how it all came about, you just do it year after year, because, after all, it's what you do. Carving pumpkins on Halloween is one of those traditions. In this weeks troop meeting, we talked (in general terms) about the myth behind the popular "Jack-O' Lantern" and the tradition of carving pumpkins. (For the detailed myth CLICK HERE)


The general myth of the "Jack-O' Lantern" shared at our troop meeting:
The legend of Jack O' Lantern goes back to hundreds of years in the Irish history. The original Jack O' Lantern was not a pumpkin, but a miserable, old drunkard man nicknamed Stingy Jack who played tricks on people and lied to anyone he came in contact with, including family, friends, his mother and even the Devil himself. Myth has it that when Stingy Jack died, he wasn't allowed to enter heaven or the other place, so he roamed around on the earth without any place to rest. He roamed around as a ghost with his lit lantern... this is when he was then called Jack of the Lantern (shortened to Jack-O' Lantern). The Irish people kept the fable of Stingy Jack alive by hollowing out turnips, rutabagas, gourds, potatoes and beets on All Hallow's Eve (Halloween) and making their own version of a Jack-O' Lantern with scary faces on them. They set a candle in their Jack-O' Lanterns and placed them on their front porch to ward off the evil spirits and keep the ghost of Stingy Jack away. These were the original Jack-O' Lanterns. Irish immigrants brought the Jack-O' Lantern carving tradition with them when they came to the United States, and soon switched over to pumpkin-carving when they discovered that pumpkins were growing in abundance and much easier to carve than turnips etc.

Instead of carving pumpkins at our troop meeting (for safety purposes), we decorated them with washable poster paint to look like Jack-O' Lanterns. The girls had a good time showing their creativity in giving their pumpkins color and personality.

Below are some pumpkin carving ideas

for crafting your own pumkins at home...

IT WOULD BE A GREAT FAMILY FUN NIGHT!

Click Here for stencils

Click Here for stencils and other "how to" ideas

Click Here for carving tips

Awards

This week's troop meeting~ PART TWO...

The girls received their
patches and badges
they've earned so far
in an informal ceremony~

GREAT JOB GIRLS...

YOU ROCK!

AWARDS GIVEN~

• 2009 Cookie Prizes and Cookie Patches for Brownies and Juniors who participated in Cookie sales last year (Jan-Feb).
  These patches need to be ironed on the backs of the vest or sash. Start toward bottom and work up.

• 1st Year Daisy Girls received their center patch.
  These patches need to be ironed on the front left side of the vest. (See Illustration)

• All Girl Scouts who participated in
  "Music" meeting received a Music Patch.
  DAISY- iron on back of vest starting from bottom
  BROWNIE- This is a "Try-It" and is ironed on the front bottom of your vest- either side you choose (See Illustration)
  JUNIOR- this is an earned Junior Badge for participation and is ironed on the front. (See Illustration)
• All Girl Scouts who participated in this week's
  "Jack O' Lantern" activity received
  a Jack O' Lantern fun pin.
  All levels- place on back of vest or sash where most comfortable.
  

For more information about how
to iron on these patches, please CLICK HERE.

"How To" Iron On Your Girl Scout Patch

As the girls earn their patches through participation and/or service projects, displaying them on their uniform is part of the fun in the Girl Scout experience. As the girls receive their patches of achievement, we want to encourage you to promptly get them adhered to the vest so the girls can display their accomplishments (also so the patches don't get misplaced or lost).

Some of the patches the girls receive are packaged with directions on how to iron them on the garment, but many patches are given loose, without directions. This post is to help you know how and where to put the Girl Scout patches on the uniform as the girls receive them. If your patch does not have an "iron on" medium on the back (many patches do not), you can buy fusable paper or Patch Glue at your local fabric or craft store- this will enable you to iron your patch on (OR you can always sew it!)

HOW TO PLACE YOUR PATCHES

What You'll Need:

• Iron-On Patches
• Iron & Ironing Board
• A press cloth (light color hand towel, wash cloth, or cotton pillow case)
• Girl Scout Vest or Sash
  

1. Preheat iron on the cotton or high heat temperature setting for 5 minutes.


2. Lay your garment flat on iron board.


3. Remove release paper if there is any (wax type paper on back of some patches), set patch aside.


4. Iron area of garment where patch will be placed for approximately 25 seconds.


5. Place your patch in desired location on the garment.


6. Gently lay press cloth over patch. (The towel is there to protect your patch and your garment from the iron. Sometimes, irons can have a dirty residue on them. Also, some patches or fabrics can be sensitive to heat and will melt if touched directly by the iron.)


7. Place heated iron on the towel over the patch and press down firmly with your iron for 10-15 seconds. DO NOT apply hot iron directly to embroidered area.


8. Turn garment inside out. Carefully iron the back side of the patch in a back and forth motion for 35-45 seconds while pressing firmly.


9. Once your patch is pressed, let it cool completely, then try picking gently at the edges. It should not peel up, but if it does, then you need to iron it just a bit more with your press cloth (especially on the edges).

WHERE TO PLACE YOUR PATCHES

Daisy (click here)
Brownie (click here)
Junior (click here)

"Fun Patches" and "Fun Pins" are always placed on the back of the girls' uniform.

Laundering the Girl Scout Vest

If your Girl Scout gets her vest or sash dirty, it can be laundered.

1. Take off all PINNED ON items.


2. Machine wash warm, cool rinse or on delicate cycle.


3. DO NOT use bleach.


4. Tumble dry low or line dry.


5. DO NOT DRYCLEAN

MUSIC Anyone?

Our meeting was focused around MUSIC and each Girl Scout at this week's meeting earned a "Music Patch" for their particular GS level ~ Daisy (Fun Patch), Brownie, Junior (click level to see patch earned. Patches will be awarded at a future meeting).

We discussed:

• What is Music?
• How many of you regularly listen to music?
• Do any of you play a musical instrument or enjoy singing?
• Where do you usually listen to your music?
• Why do people listen to music?
• and What kind of music do you all listen to the most?

The girls were all very sharp with answering these many questions! Many of the Girl Scouts in our troop are involved in playing a variety of instruments from piano, to flute, to guitar, and even violin! Everyone in our troop likes to sing!

We learned a new word and definition: GENRE Can everyone say GENRE (zhan-ra)? ...the voices of young girls all say their new word together several times.

As the girls all sat in a semi-circle on the floor, facing a boom box with 13 different styles of music, they were challenged to identify the genre of music as each tune played.

...country?
...classical?
...soft rock?
...jazz?
...big band/swing?
...reggae?
...gospel/Christian?
...traditional Christmas?
...pop?
...folk?
...rap?
...blues?
...hip hop?
...heavy metal?
...rock?
...soft rock?

CHALLENGE: Listen to the variety of music on the play list below and see if you can identify each different genre. (not all are represented, several are duplicated)

DID YOU KNOW? it has been proven that when words are put to music people are able to remember the words easier than if the words were just spoken regular tone? TRY THIS~ When you have school work to study or memorize and are having a challenge remembering it, try making a song putting the words you're learning to a familiar tune (like twinkle twinkle little star or any song that you like) This exercise should help you remember what you're trying to learn! (Like Hannah Montana did with the song and dance in the episode where she had to learn the bone names of the human body)

To have fun incorporating different musical instruments, we played "Musical Instrument Charades"! The girls were creative with acting out playing piano, flute, guitar, trumpet, harmonica, the list goes on...

We ended our troop meeting breaking into our different Girl Scout levels (Daisy, Brownie, Junior) and each completed a "Friendship Circle" ~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 make a wish 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.

GIRL SCOUTS ROCK!

DAISY NEWS!

During our troop meeting, the first year Daisy girls earned their center patch by individually making their best effort to recite the "Girl Scout Promise". Patches will be given in a small ceremony at the end of our next meeting.

Great job girls!!!

Arm Pit Fudge!!!

In addition to our Girl Scout Beaded Bracelets (posted below), we finished our meeting making "Arm-Pit Fudge"! MMM-MMM GOOD!

All the girls getting their ingredients...
Thank you, moms, for all your help!

Arm-Pit Fudge Recipe

2 oz powdered sugar (1/2 cup)
1 Tbsp butter (softened)
2 tsp cream cheese (softened)
dash of vanilla
2 tsp cocoa

What to do: Place all ingredients in a sandwich zip lock style bag. Squeeze out all the air. Make sure the bag is tightly sealed. Squish and moosh the bag (UNDER THE ARM!) until all ingredients are mixed well and there is a creamy consistency. You may add any favorite flavors or other stuff to your fudge (raisins, M&M's, peanut butter, chocolate chips, chopped nuts, etc.) Take out a spoon and enjoy.

"Patrol-size" version:

1 lb. powdered sugar
1 stick (1/4 cup) butter (softened)
1- 3oz cream cheese (softened)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup cocoa

What to do: Mix ingredients as above in gallon size zip lock style bag.
This recipe idea was submitted by Katie Baron to WAGGGS-L.

Arm Pit Fudge from Girl Scout Leader on Vimeo.

After about 5 minutes of arm-pit mixing and much excitement, most of the girls decided to finish their "mixing" a more effective way... with their hands!



Taste Testing Time from Girl Scout Leader on Vimeo.