Skill Builder- Scribe

This week we started our skill builder set for Agents of Change. I have been reading review on Facebook Pages and the general consensus was that this badge is hard for the girls because it was too much like school. That made me worried. I did not want to start the year off with a boring patch.

But they loved it. I must have some really creative girls. I know that my daughter loves to write, but two others did ok with it too. They were giggling and supportive of each other. So nice!

We started off the meeting talking about our Jared Boxes. They are going to the Janet Weiss Children's Hospital. They were all to eager to have them. Then I told them the bad news with their bronze project, that the local animal shelters could not help. I asked them if they wanted to rethink the event or think of something new, and they all said think of something new. So I am excited to see what they come up with.

Next we moved on to our badge work. I asked them about poetry and then we read poems from three different female poets; Maya Angelou, Emily Dickinson and Anne Killigrew. It was so interesting to hear the girls take on these poems. They were not thinking literally but they understood the underlining meaning.

Then I asked the girls to write poems themselves. They set right to work on it with no complaints.

These are their poems that they came up with in under 10 minutes!

I believe that unnicorns are real
You might think I am crazy
But I don't care.
If you don't like me or what I believe in,
you have your own opinion and I have mine.
Don't Bully.

I am powerful, so are you.
You don't need fame to shine like the moon.
Don't be afraid to get on the stage,
You'll be great at every age.
Do your best
You don't need to be better than the rest.

For they flow
The Earth's glow
When these women stride
With glorious pride
With their glow brighter
Than the city lights
With each other
With one another
With great strength to help one another
It is ok to believe in all things
Doesn't pull any strings
If one is afraid
Do not go to the parade
The parade will scare
More than the worst fears
And if the fears are silly things
then one will be so scared
Remember to be prepared
Bring a doll
Hug a wall

Girl Scouts is cool,
It's better than school.
My Girl Scout troop has my friends
It never ends
We never say never
That will stay forever
It has E, P, L and me
It has no I in Team
I like my Girl Scout leaders
I like Girl Scouts


I think they were great for the time they had. Sure they all started with, "I don't know what to write" but in the end they all had something good.

Agents of Change- TAP

I was a little nervous about starting this meeting. I thought for sure someone would forget their homework or items for their Jared box and then my whole plan would be out the window.

But my girls remembered everything. I had posted a reminder mid-week on our parent troop Facebook page on what the girls needed to do. I am just glad that they can prepared!

We stuffed the boxes and the girls drew pictures on the top of the plastic shoe boxes. As we worked on them we talked about the questions that they wanted to ask the rescue agencies. There were not that many repeats.

Some things that they asked were:
Do we have to give them a bath?
What time of the year is best for an adoption fair?
Who cleans the poop?
What questions do you ask the person who wants to adopt the pet?

All good starting points. Unfortunately out of the 5 agencies that I emailed, only 3 responded. Out of those 3, we got 2 no's. The other one asked that we call and not email the person who would be in charge of setting up an adoption fair.

So it looks like we may be going back to the drawing board.

After they finished the lids on the Jared Boxes, I had a bit of a science project for them to do. It is something that I came across in my many hours of Pinning. It was making plastic from milk. I thought this would go great with our other explanations of teams, community and polymers.

Two girls were done first and I took them in to do the project while the other two continued to work on their lids.

The directions were simple-

To a bowl add:

1.5 cups of skim milk
4 teaspoons of vinegar

Place bowl into a microwave for 1 minute.

Stir the mixture until it forms a ball.

Strain the liquid off.

Mold the curds to a shape.

Original explanation and picture tutorial can be found here

A few things, the girls found this gross. Maybe because it was milk?? It had the same consistency of the bouncy balls, but there was a lot more complaining about this. The girls thought it smelled. I did not notice a smell, but they did. I also don't know if it is because one girl said it smelled so the rest of them did. Who knows, they are 9. And it was very crumbly once they got beyond a certain point. If you are going to do this with the girls, do not let them over work the milk.

Agents of Change- Power of Community- Bronze Meeting

In the beginning of the year, I asked the girls what they liked to do and they told me science and baking. We had done science the week before with bouncy balls and polymers and this week I decided to bake something.

But how do you turn a baking project into a conversation about community?

At first I thought that we could just talk while they baked. Then I thought that I could compare the ingredients to people and how they can come together, combine ideas and be a part of something great. I think my girls know I am a bit artsy fartsy so they give me a bit of lea way. The concept worked for them. They made banana nut and chocolate chip muffins. I was brave enough to try one. Brave because I have done the hand washing/black light experiment with these girls and it will change your opinion of them! Ewww!!!

We had decided to do Jared Boxes for our TAP. I was excited to see that there was a hospital locally that would accept them. Miss B's mom works for the one hospital and we are in the process of seeing if the girls can stop by themselves and drop them off or if they would just go with her. I am hoping the girls can take them in. The hospital is not that far from us and would be a short trip. The girls decided on a budget, what they were willing to work for from their parents, and they decided what each would bring for the box.

While we munched on muffins, we started to talk about our Bronze award. The girls want to hold a pet adoption fair in the town park. A day where they can have a bunch of different rescues come to the area and people who are looking to adopt can come and see them. Great idea..... I have no idea where to guide them to start it.

They left the meeting with shopping lists and homework. They need to come up with 5-8 questions to ask a rescue agency.

Agents of Change- The Power of Team

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. 

Agents of Change- Power Words

I took all of the words that my girls used to describe power and made it into a print. I am going to print this out and hang it by our supply closet at scouts. I have a Photoshop addiction. :)

Agents of Change- power of one

Last night was our first meeting. I started off by telling the girls that this year they have more say and more responsibility. We talked a little bit about what is coming up in the year, what did they want to do, and the importance of their bronze award. Then we started on the Agents of Change journey.

We started off by asking them questions on what they thought power was, and what makes a person powerful. The answers were astonishing because they did not agree at all on what power was or who had it. They also really associated power as either good or bad. It took me by surprise because I figured they would have the same text book answers but none of them did.

We then asked them to give us a definition of power. And we asked them to write power words about themselves. They had a real hard time picking words that were powerful to describe themselves. They could pick words to describe each other but when it came down to talking about themselves they were stumped. I have to wonder if it is a modesty thing or if they don't want to say, "I am assertive". 

It is a good thing for me to think about and come up with a way to expand it next week. 

I do not read the journey books with my troop, I allow them to read it on their own. My daughter says this one is really good and she liked it.