With only a month away until school starts my leader planning hat is on as I start brainstorming ideas for the upcoming year. We are going to be a multi-level troop this year!!! Which means our troop size will be doubling. Ekkk
Brownie Snacks Badge
This was a fun badge to work on because what kid doesn't like to eat? I find that my troop is always hungry regardless of what time our meeting is so snack time is a great motivator and mood booster! Rather than spending an entire meeting pigging out on snacks we decided to break this badge up and have one snack each meeting.
- Jump into the world of snacks
- Visit a Farming CoOp- visit Cabot Cheese for some program ideas and how you can earn a free patch!....
American Girl: Summer Camp, Friends for Life Movie!
Have you seen it?
American Girl came out with a new movie! Summer Camp, Friends for Life! I was so excited to watch this with my girls. We've watched all of the other American Girl movies but this one in particular touched our hearts as we love CAMP! Summer Camp would make the perfect movie night for your Girl Scout troop! It's full of summer fun, mystery, and making friends! I see an outdoor movie night on the deck with the troop in the near future!
Brownie First year and Bridging Certificates!
Perfect for your end of the year party or court of awards! These are available for free to download through our Mighty Girls Rock Community group on Facebook! Just look under the "files" section. Come join us!
Printable Girl Scouts Troop Banner
Well Ladies, it's that time of year that I start planning out our troop's year end Court of Awards ceremony. I like to save the last couple badges the girls earned for their ceremony along with our Cookie Awards. We try and make this day as special as we can as we close the year.
As part of this year's planning I am in the process of creating a themed printable set for the party. Right now I just have the troop banner. Time has gotten away from me creating the whole set... which will probably wait until next year. But for now, I leave you with this....
Here it is!
You can purchase the printable banner below!
For your next Court of Awards or troop party this is the perfect troop party banner! Colors are Mint/light green, dark green, and pink.
***Digital file only. Your purchase will be for a printable digital file that you can print off of your own computer. I recommend using a thick cardstock for the best look and durability.
There are no refunds on digital products due to the nature of the item.
Brownie Pets Badge
This was a pretty popular badge with the girls and their first choice when they voted on which badges to work on. I think they all thought we would get a troop pet...lol While I considered the idea, the work and organization that would need to go into that seemed more than I wanted to invest for one badge. It's still on the table as the girls keep asking. Maybe a hamster:)
Here are some suggestions for completing the steps.
Pet Journal
At the beginning of the meeting I passed out the pet journal to each of the girls. They were to complete this at home and if they didn't have a pet they could used a stuffed animal. This is a great activity to have them follow up with what they learned and take ownership.
You can find the pet journal here--->> Pet Journal <<---
Step 1 Find out what care different pets need
- Make a collage. Make a welcome home kit for a specific animal. Use magazines or online pictures to put together a collage of what your pet would need the first day home. You can also use pet store sale ads.
- Have girls bring small pets (if they have any) to a meeting and share how they care for them. We had a girl bring in all her frogs, lizards, and a bearded dragon! They got such a kit out of it!
- Put on a pet fair! Have the girls pick a pet and create a presentation board.
- Field Trip Idea: Take a visit to a pet shop and calculate the costs.
Step 2 Keep a pet comfy
- no-sew pillows (fleece tie pillows)
- Clean out a small animal/fish tank (check with your scouts to see who has small animals for pets)
- Field Trip: Visit a local farm or barn and clean out the barn or stalls
Step 3 Help a pet stay healthy and safe
- Field trip: Visit a pet hospital.
- Build a small pet obstacle course. We also used the suggestion from the VTK and made mini obstacle courses for small pets. You can use items from around the house: construction paper, clothes pins, pipe cleaners, toilet paper rolls, ect. The girls really enjoyed this activity!
Step 4 Make a pet feel loved
- Braided sock ropes: For this step our troop created pet toys!! We "used resources wisely" and took old socks (mismatched or holes) and cut them up to make braided dog toys. The girls each brought in three socks. While the meeting started I had one adult volunteer cut the socks in half to double the length.
Step 5 Feed a pet
- Make a feeding schedule for a pet.
- Dog treats: There are plenty of dog treat recipes on Pinterest through a simple search. I've included a few for you below and a peanut free option!
Treat recipes:
Girl Scout Fortune Cookie Valentines
Valentine's Day is coming up! I love getting festive with the kids, even if it's a Hallmark holiday. It's just a great reminder to love one another... something this world could use more of. At our last troop meeting one of the girls mentioned the fortune cookie valentine and asked if we could make them. In the spirit of keeping it girl-led, I said of course!
I had to take it up a notch and make it Girl Scout themed so I created the little fortune strips that they could include in their cookie.. It has little Girl Scouts on them!!! So adorable!
Materials:
pencil
hot glue gun
scissors
craft foam (Dollar Tree had the hearts foam in a 12 pack!)
Printable Fortune strip
Step 1:
Use a circle template (about 5-6 inches in diameter) and trace your pattern.
Step 2:
Cut out your circle and the fortune strip.
Step 3:
Place your strip in the center of your circle and add a dab of hot glue at the bottom of the circle (like shown in the picture below).
Step 4:
Fold over your craft foam and hold lightly until the glue is secured.
Step 5:
Fold the half circle in half and use a dab of hot glue to secure.
Aren't these the cutest things you ever seen?
You can download a copy of the fortune sheets (Daisy, Brownie, Juniors) below!
Daisy Fortune Sheet
Brownie Fortune Sheet
Junior Fortune Sheet
Stay in touch!
Spa Science: Make Your Own Lip Balm
Bella has been into STEM subjects lately and really loves science experiments! I love this side of her and I only want to encourage her exploration, which is why when she begged to make another YouTube video I couldn't say NO.
We are avid library fans and constantly have 30+ books checked out at any given time. She recently checked out Cool Chemistry Activities for Girls and was excited to try the lip balm activity!
You can make any flavor you like. The recipe calls for peppermint but we used strawberry extract instead! This recipe works great for a Spa Science party or as part of the Home Scientist Brownie Badge!
Thanks for watching!
Bella's Cookie Campaign Video 2017
Hey Guys!!
It's officially cookie season here in the De La house and pretty much Bella's favorite time of year, aside from Christmas! She lives for this and takes such pride in "owning" her cookie business. This is her third year and each year she tries to take it up a notch and has set her sales goal high.
We have went over goal setting and the strategies she needs to execute in order to obtain her goal and she is motivated and pumped!
Each year she creates a marketing video to show friends and family that she can't ask in person. This really puts the sale in her hands and she isn't just relying on her parents to shoot out an email or bring the cookie card to work. I'm so proud of her and here is her newest Cookie Campaign video!
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Teach Your Kids How To Set Goals and Crush Them
Goal Setting. It's an essential skill that I wish I was taught sooner in life and a great way to give your kids the tools for success. If you are a troop leader, do you spend time teaching your scouts how to properly set goals? It's one thing to set a troop cookies sales goal and it's another to teach them how to obtain that goal.
As my Brownie scout gets older I see her more driven in working towards what she wants. She declared that her goal for gymnastics was to move up to the competitive team. I was pretty darn excited because all I wanted was for Bella to find something she was truly passionate about that she would start setting goals and working hard towards them. We talked with her coach about what specific things she needed to accomplish and tips on ways to make that happen for her. She was given work outs to do at home to strengthen her arms and core and we added an additional gymnastics class each week.
We used the same goal setting skills when cookie season rolled around and she set her goal at twice the amount of the previous year. We discussed her results from the previous year and what her game plan was for this year. I asked her what she planned on doing differently to get greater results and she brainstormed her solution such as adding on extra cookie booths, going door to door in different locations, and asking businesses to contribute to the Gift of Caring program.
Smart Goals
I'm sure we have all heard of them by now but have ya taught your kids? Why not start now?
Specific
What exactly do they want? Create a goal statement that includes a time frame and specific measurement. EX. I will sell 500 cookie boxes by the end of March.
Motivation
This can also stand for measurable. Make sure your child understands the WHY. What is the outcome if this goal is accomplished? Is it saving money for a certain item or is it an academic achievement? How will it make them feel? Knowing the WHY will keep them motivated to carry out their goal.
Attainable
Is this goal attainable? Have you laid out the steps and do you have the tools and resources to reach your goal. Do you have a solid plan?
Realistic
Is your goal realistic? Discuss with your kid if the goal is realistic. We don't want to set them up for failure it there goal is to travel to the moon in the next 6 months. While you want to encourage and challenge them to reach outside of their comfort zone you also don't want them to set a goal you know might not be realistic or age appropriate.
Timely
Have them set a specific time frame in which they want to complete their goal. This keeps them on track and accountable. If we don't set deadlines we will most likely procrastinate, especially kids.
Write out your goal plan!
It's important to write out your goals and set up a plan. Writing it out gives them an opportunity to look back and remember the steps and the motivation behind the goal. You can print your own copy of this simple goal setting sheet below!!