What a Year!

So again there is a gap in the updates as winter becomes spring and life gets crazier.  We've had an awesome year!


Earlier this month we attended work weekend at Camp Elliott.  We spend the weekend having fun and helping prepare the camp for summer.  We finished the weekend on the archery range learning to shoot.  That was an exhaustingly good time!


Our last few meetings have been focused on the third Brownie level journey.  We finished the final journey at our last meeting.  The journey project was to create comfort bags for kids seeking assistance at a local domestic abuse shelter.  With the help of businesses in our community and our troop families, we created 20 really great bags.  The troop paid for a new book for each bag.  In addition to the book, the bags contained toys, snacks, toiletries, pads and pens, flashlights, and Girl Scout cookies.  Also included was a troop made coloring book and some crayons.


We spent our last meeting of the year reminiscing over s'mores.  We looked at all the patches on the Brownie vest and talked about all that we had done in our two short years as Brownies.  We then looked forward.  We paged through the Junior badges and found many that we want to work on.  We talked about Junior level journeys and what it takes to complete a Bronze Award.  The girls are ready!  I can't wait to see what the next level has to bring.


We will officially finish the year as Juniors.  We bridge and celebrate moving to the next level at Fallingwater on June 7th.  It is hard to believe the girls are almost Juniors already!

Final Brownie Journey

Earlier this year, the girls were looking at badges and deciding what they wanted to do.  They shared that they wanted to complete the final journey called A World of Girls.  We started this week on the final journey and will continue to work through it during our remaining meetings this year.

We spent a little bit of time learning about Passports.  We talked about where the girls have used passports in Girl Scouts (Thinking Day!) and in real life.  We looked at some real passports and then started to created a passport information page of our own.

We looked at many places on the globe.  First, we found Pennsylvania and then found the countries that were in the passports we were reviewing.  We also found the countries the older girls were working on for Thinking Day 2015.  We also found Jordan, the country where the journey story took us first.

We learned a lot of interesting things about the people of Jordan reading the story.  It was really cool to learn that they eat a lot of figs!  Brooke realized that she had a Fig Newton in her book bag and we all shared it to have a taste.  Some girls liked it and some not so much.  Thanks Brooke, for sharing your snack.

After finishing our story time, we played a few games played by girls in other countries.  We learned how to play Cencio Mollo (pronounced CHEN-cho MOL-lo), an Italian game where one player has to make other laugh by touching her head and face with a handkerchief.  We played this for a little while and then learned to play Banyoka, and African team race in which the girls scoot along the ground around obstacles in a snakelike chain.  As you can see in the video, Banyoka produced a ton of laughs!

We will be working through the journey over the next several meetings!

Our Best Selves

We worked this week to complete the My Best Self badge.

Mrs. Sutara came to tell us about all the things she does as a school nurse.  We never realized all of the things that she does everyday to keep us safe at school.  It was fun to watch each other's pupils dilate with a light and to check our oxygen levels with her meter too!

Then we talked about all the great thinks we like to do as exercise.  We have a lot of girls who love to dance, play basketball and soccer, swim, ride bicycles, ski, and chase siblings around the house for exercise.  Mrs. Brennan led us through a dance party style workout!  We were laughing and smiling as we danced and played chicken and the coop.  We then talked about how exercise can be fun!

Finally, we completed the badge by talking about a healthy body temperature and bandages. We tried out a few different bandages and discussed how each was used.  We discussed that we keep a first aid kit with us on trips to be sure that we have basic supplies if anyone gets hurt while having fun with Girl Scouts.

The two steps last meeting and the three steps this meeting complete the badge.  Girls who missed last meeting can bring steps one and two to the next meeting and we will share so that they can also complete the badge!

My Best Self Badge Work

Welcome to 2015!  Our first meeting of the year coincided with the start of cookie sales.  Girls were quick to point out which teachers each of them secured as customers as we started our meeting.

Before starting badge work, we spent a little time talking about Ronald McDonald House.  We have selected a taco dinner with sides of beans, rice, and corn cake.  The girls plan to serve Dirt with gummy worms for dessert.  This event is schedule for late February, more information to come.

At the meeting we completed two steps of the My Best Self Badge.  Girls drew a picture of themselves and then shared with the group what makes them who they are.  Sometimes we had to move away from the imaginative drawings and back to the real girl.  We learned a lot about one another!  It was great to see the girls help each other by pointing out unique and special qualities about each other too.  Bonus:  We did discover that stinky feet is not as unique a quality as each thought and decided that it was a quality that is quite special!

Next we worked on a list of things that make us feel better when things are quite right.  What do we do when we are sad, angry, and sick to make us feel better?  Girls shared their lists with the group. Recurring themes included hugs, playing with pets, naps, music, and silliness.

We will be working to finish the badge at our next meeting!

Holiday Events!

Six girls took part in the WPXI Holiday Parade on Saturday, November 29th.  Getting up early to get into Pittsburgh and then waiting for the parade to start was hard.  We did have a a few snacks from the backpack to help make waiting a little more tolerable.  

We also met and took some pictures with the Pirate Parrot, Iceburg, Steely McBeam, the Pittsburgh Pierogies and Santa and Mr. McFeeley.  Once the parade got started, we had a great time waving to the crowds and looking for the television cameras recording the event.

We made it on television several times!  After the parade, we took in the PPG Wintergarden and found the gingerbread houses we built before heading home.  It was a very busy morning.  

Seven girls made it to Freeport's Annual Cookie Rally on December 5th.  Kiyi from Camp Skymeadow was on hand to share information about Girl Scout camping.  She also helped us with some really great songs.  Brownies worked on the Give Back badge.  All steps were completed except practicing giving back.  That last step will be completed once we donate cookies to the local food bank.  Our goal is to give one box of cookies for each Brownie in Freeport!

We wrapped up our last meeting of the year on December 12.  This meeting was all about fun!  We read Robert Frost's Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening and then painted the woods in a snow storm.  Glitter made the snow sparkle perfectly.

We had a Christmas snack and then made a Christmas tree ornament.  Then we split into groups for a huge snowball fight.  The girls were so curious about this all meeting.  They had the opportunity to throw balled up socks at each other for the last 10 minutes of the meeting. The laughter and squeals was worth it!

I wish everyone in my scout family the most joyous Christmas.  I'm looking forward to all that 2015 has to bring.

WOW! Journey Nearly Complete

At our last meeting, the girls completed the posters started at Lincoln Caverns.  Each then presented to the troop their poster and what is important to them when loving, saving, and protecting water.

We then talked about the trip and some of the items we remember from the trip.  We discussed how much we learned and what we might have shared with our families as soon as we got home.

Finally we talked about the home water audit and the water conservation pledge.  It looks like we have been looking for ways to save and protect water in our homes and in our our daily lives!  We talked about being helpful at home as we worked through the home water audit. Many girls have chores that including helping with dishes and laundry.  All were reminded that these are great things they each of them is capable of doing.

Girls have technically completed the journey set by sharing their knowledge of the water cycle and how to protect and save water.  In the spring, we will still complete a community project.  This will likely be something such as picking up trash along the Butler Freeport Trail or in Todd Sanctuary as this is of interest to the girls and they are keenly aware that litter is bad for the water system.

At this time, girls may wear their full set of patches for this journey!

Gingerbread for PPG

At an October meeting, girls formed two groups and designed houses to decorate for PPG's gingerbread house display.

Using the girls drawings as a guide, houses were constructed out of heavy cardboard.  One team of girls created Santa's Mansion while the team other created Dreamworld. The buildings were glued together and attached to heavy bases for transport.

At our November 14th meeting, the girls decorated the houses with pounds of royal icing and candy. Creative teamwork was in effect as the bland cardboard buildings became masterpieces before our eyes.

Houses were delivered to PPG on November 15th.  Please look for them on display from Light Up Night though early January!