Second meeting, and the girls jumped right back into it. I think I am going to love having 4 girls this year. Sure a bigger troop means that you can get better group discounts and there is more chance of mixing up the group. But I like the intimate-ness of this small group. I know when I am getting through and when they have stopped listening.
Before the meeting even started there was some heated discussing going on between the four of them and when a mom and I asked what was going on, boy did we hear an earful. The long and the short was that one girl was made to stand along the wall for five minutes* for having a minus in the class room dojo, (goofy app thing that the teachers use), the other girls wanted to know what she did wrong. Thing was the girl had no idea. Someone just told her the teacher wanted her to stand on the wall. Two of the troop girls were so mad because they thought the one who told her was lying and that she didn't really have to stand on the wall. Forth grade girls can be so mean.
Now that seems totally off topic, but it isn't really. These girls are a tight group. They came together for a friend that they feel was wronged so that she did not feel alone. They worked together to come up with a solution so that would never happen to one of them again. All this on their own, with out a leader to say, let's figure this out.
Why does that make me happy?
Because it means that Girl Scouts is WORKING!! Especially for those who it is designed to help. Regardless of what goes on in the "community" or lack of answers/help from council, the GIRLS are getting what we are teaching. They are the reason I come back week after week and year after year. Because it is making an impact on them.
Once the meeting started, we went over last week and I showed them the print outs. They loved them and wanted to make one up for this week. I think they want to cover the whole inside of our craft closet with them. This week when I asked if these words reflected who they were, they were eager to say yes.
We then moved on to talking about team work and what it takes to be a strong team. We have seen so many times before that these girls work well together. It was interesting to see how they see themselves in the group dynamic. One girl was definitely the leader, one I would call the encourager, one is a follower- amazing at carrying out the plan, and the other one is the outside of the box thinker. Unlike the power words, these girls know their roles in the team and they know how the others work. It makes the team work stuff very easy. I can not believe that they know their roles so well already. I mean they are only in 4th grade. Imagine what they will accomplish because they do not have the power struggles many have in a team.
Finally it was time to get to the fun bits. The girls love science and crafts and I was so proud that I thought I found something to combine the two with our team work talk. We were going to make bouncy balls!
First we explained a team with paper clips. How each person is strong but when we link together the paper clips, it makes a stronger chain. Then we took loom bands and attached them to the paperclip chains to make a sort of net of clips. I compared the bands to the bonds that bring together the team. Finally we turned it to science and explained polymers to the girls.
We went into the kitchen and made bouncy balls. I found a recipe online, which I can not find the link to any more. This is not my recipe-
Supplies-
1/2 cup of warm water
1tbs Borax
1 tbs corn starch
2tbs of school glue (washable glue makes softer balls and non-washable school glue makes firmer ones)
1. Combine the water and borax in a cup and stir. You want enough room in the cup to place your next combination.
2. In a seperate container, combine the corn starch and glue until it is well incorporated. It may take more than a few stirs.
3. Pour the glue mixture into the borax solution. Wait about ten seconds. The mixture will get hard. Take it out a squeeze it, then place it back in the solution for another 10 seconds. Take it out and start to squeeze the air out and work it into a ball shape. Once the ball is round, have the girls give it a go at bouncing it. They are not super bouncy, but they do bounce and the girls will love it!!
My girls had a blast. They loved making the balls and the look on their faces when it all came together is priceless!
Next week we are working on our Community TAP and that will be the end of the journey. We will start talking about the bronze award and the girls will plan their next badge. Another successful Junior meeting!!!
* And what is wrong with the teachers??? 5 minutes of standing along the wall while your peers are playing or staring at you. How is this right??? Public humiliation is not an acceptable form of punishment.
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