December Has Arrived!

Well, December has arrived, but we're still looking for snow.  Our first meeting of the month kicked off with a lesson in wallet-making, but not with leather or cloth.  No way!  That's old-school.  Our girls learned how to make their own money-jackets with something that found in Dad's (or Mom's) toolbox.  Can you guess?  Duct Tape!  That's right.  Good, old fashioned duct tape once again proves how useful it really is. Now if we could just come up with more uses for hot glue...

The girls had a great time and, unbelievably, the craft took up the ENTIRE meeting.  Our instructor told us that she can knock out a duct tape wallet in about five minutes (!!!) 

The girls took a vote on the holiday party, coming up on the 20th.  They decided that they wanted to come to the party in the pajamas, and that we'll have a Secret Santa.  The gift limit for the Secret Santa is $1.00.  Yup, that's right.  No more than a dollar.  So, let her get creative.  Stop by the Dollar Store or Five Below, or check out the $ .99 racks at places like Target, Joann's, AC Moore, etc.  Make sure they wrap it up really pretty!  Hey, just because it's a dollar doesn't mean it can't be cool.

November Update

November came and went so fast, I hardly had time to update our webpage. I think we're all looking forward to Turkey Day and a little R&R with the family this weekend.

That said, let's not forget the less fortunate of our community, namely the Justus family on East Bettlewood Ave, who recently lost their home and possessions in a house fire a week ago.  In a tremendous outpouring of support for the family, they have been receiving donations in the form of gift cards, clothing, and other supplies almost non-stop since the fire.  Michele Phillips, our own co-leader, suggested that we put together a "mom's holiday" basket for the Beef 'n Beer benefit that will take place on Friday, December 9th at the Oaklyn Fire Hall.  As many of you already know, Katherine is the leader for our sister troop 30641, and has two of her daughters in Girl Scouts.  If you can donate anything to the basket, we would deeply appreciate it!

On another note, our QSP fundraiser is finished, and if you are waiting for your orders, I'll have them ready for you at the next meeting (tomorrow night, November 22nd at 6:30 pm).

Lastly, I'm going to put together a trip to the Franklin Institute in the near future.  Since the previous trips just didn't seem to work out, and I would REALLY like to see the girls get a trip in before the cookie sale starts, I'm going to make this one work this time.  So, rain or shine, snow, flood, earthquake, or whatever, we are going to go to the Franklin Institute.

October: Wonders of Water and QSP

For the next meeting, we're going to continue on our journey, discovering the Wonders of Water.  Please have your scout look through the refrigerator and pantry at home and make up a list of foodstuffs that has water as an ingredient.  She'll need to make a list to bring to the next meeting.  Also, please have her do pages 30 and 31 in her WOW workbook, "Water Map and Water Journal in One".

We'll be learning more about our Blue Planet, and why water is such a precious resource. We will also start a companion Try It, "Water Everywhere".  The girls will have different activities to work on between meetings, both as part of the WOW workbook and the "Water Everywhere" Try It.  Look for more information in the take home letter after Tuesday's meeting.

By now I hope that your scout has made some progress selling QSP items.  If not, we still have the rest of this week to make some sales.  Please have a look at the "QSP" page for more information.

Thanks and see you at the meeting!

Welcome to the 2011-2012 Scouting Year!

We kicked off our scouting year on Saturday, September 11, 2011 with our Bridging and Flying Up ceremony at the VFW hall in Oaklyn.  We had a great turnout, and spent the afternoon with friends, family, and our Daisys/Juniors sister troop.

Now we turn our attention to this year's activities.  Next year, 2012, will mark the 100th anniversary of Girl Scouts.  In 1912, Juliette "Daisy" Low had the incredible idea to encourage girls to become active in their communities, spend time outdoors in the wilderness, and learn the kind of skills that "proper young ladies" were discouraged from learning.  Like they say, "well-behaved women rarely make history".  And, without a doubt, the Girl Scouts have been making their own rambunctious, outdoorsy, new-horizons kind of history ever since.

Since our troop consists of first and second-year Brownies, they're getting to an age where they can be introduced to new experiences and challenges with the expectation that they'll rise up and seize opportunities for adventure.  Working on our first journey, Wonders of Water, is the first step.  Later this year, we'll take day trips, and eventually graduate to overnight camping.  

Thanks for joining us in the adventure.  It's going to be a great year!