Friday, January 12, 2018

Useful Webpage you will USE!

Ever wonder what badges are out there for each level? 

Yes you could pick up your handy Girl Guide hidden beneath mounds of paper on your desk or behind the seat in your car covered by earth-friendly reusable shopping bags OR you could CLICK HERE and save this link to your browser bookmarks.  Chances are if you need it today, you will need again in the future.  Especially if you are a GS Leader like me, in it for the long haul!

The BEST link is the chart that lists ALL the badges for every single level!
CLICK HERE

2018 Meeting on the Fly!

Let's admit it, we have all had one of those weeks... Kids are busy, appointments all week, laundry from last week's trip and oh my you have to plan for a GS Meeting in 2 days!  Ahhhhh!

Take a deep breath!  I have found a great solution everyone can use!  Take a trip to Dollar Tree by yourself or make it a field trip with your girls.  Depends on how much time you need to fill!

Did you know Dollar Tree provides amazing, easy craft videos and... you guessed it the projects are inexpensive which is a bonus when it comes to GS! Next be creative!  Skim through the badges you have not earned and see where your project fits.  For example,

 1. Daisy Making Choices Badge - Let the girls decide on the craft, let them choose the supplies, let them design the craft themselves, let them decide who gets to have the craft (teachers, mom, neighbor...)  Link to ALL Dollar Tree Videos

2.  Brownie Making Friends Badge - Rosette Balls create and give to nursing home patients.  Friends come in all shapes, sizes and ages.  Mingle with the older generation, there is so much to learn from their stories!  CLICK HERE for video

3.  Junior Social Butterfly - Choose a craft to build with a senior citizen.  Dollar Tree has lots of great activities you could do together with a senior. Hurricane Vase Candy Jar Video
Want some Social Butterfly Table Top Ideas CLICK HERE or  CLICK HERE

4. Junior Product Designer - Place the girls in teams and have them scour Dollar Tree for supplies to build a product for example a Greeting Card Organizer CLICK HERE

5.  Junior Flowers Badge - Create awesome tissue paper flowers to relish for a long time or purchase your vases for floral arranging at dollar tree.  This store also sells seasonal seeds to plant as well.
GIANT Tissue Paper Flowers 

6.  Junior Simple Meals Badge  - Dollar Tree has a whole page of recipes, 23 recipes to be exact, that are simple and inexpensive CLICK HERE

7. Junior Jeweler Badge - Let the girls find their own supplies and create a jewelry piece as unique as them.  Encourage the girls to be creative, maybe use glass stones, bottle caps, twine, gems, velvet headbands for chokers... the sky is the limit

8.  Cadette Babysitter Badge - as part of earning this badge consider taking the girls to Dollar Tree and having them pick a few items to stock their "Mary Poppins" bag.  This is a bag full of goodies for all ages that she can use each time she babysits.  Kids love to play with new toys and it can often be a life-saving distraction for a new babysitter from rattles to games to toys a new babysitter can be well prepared.

9. Cadette Animal Helper - Donate supplies for a shelter, create care package for newly adopted pets, create unique toys for shelters like buying kitchen towels or oven gloves inserting an empty water bottle and sewing edges or to fuel your own ideas watch  Top 10 Dog Hacks

10. Cadette Comparison Shopping - Create list of items that are found at a local grocery store or Target and at the Dollar Tree.  Have the girls find the items at Target and add up the prices, have them find the same items at Dollar Tree... what is the price difference. A real-world budget friendly experience!

11. TAKE ACTION Project - Senior Throw a Shower for an underprivileged or struggling single mother or provide supplies and written instructions to shelter so they can throw a shower when necessary.  Provide diaper clutches to a local shelter or low-income clinic to provide as a gift to new moms.
CLICK HERE for video

12.  Senior Buying Power Badge - Create list of items that are found at a local grocery store or Target and at the Dollar Tree.  Have the girls find the items at Target and add up the prices, have them find the same items at Dollar Tree... what is the price difference. A real-world budget friendly experience! Have them interview the manager of both stores and learn about their philosophies, what sells most and who they market too.

13.  Senior Womens Health Badge - Have the girls visit an OB/Gyn office to talk with a doctor or nurse practitioner about the common issues they see and treat in teens.  Create make-up bags for a shelter.  Create posters for a shelter or doctor office on a Womens Health Issue, buy the supplies at Dollar Tree - Foam Board $1
Makeup Bags CLICK HERE

14.  Senior Car Care Badge - to supplement this badge consider a car wash and donate the proceeds and spend some of the cash on creating a Car Wash Bucket for each girl, you can purchase everything  at Dollar Tree. Sell the buckets as graduation gifts at the car wash for double the price!  Set up a table, use paint pens and have the girls personalize decorate the buckets with your high school or college mascots, greek life organization, sports theme etc

15. Dinner Party Ambassador Badge - Purchase food items at Dollar Tree create beautiful table tops using unique Dollar Tree finds  CLICK HERE  or  HERE for a festive look


16. On my Own Ambassador Badge - part of being independently successful is being organized.  Take a messy situation in your life whether it be your make-up area, bathroom linens, closet or locker and organize it using Dollar Tree finds  CLICK HERE
Eating on a Budget - CLICK HERE 

AND MORE....
Wreathes are a great project for any age!  CLICK HERE and you can print out directions and supplies.

You cannot escape being a GS Leader and not create a care package for a soldier, a shelter or birthday
CLICK HERE

 Camping/Sleepover Fun Activity - Newspaper Nail Art (Cadettes and above)
Frankenstein Nail Art (Brownies & Above)

Have a big troop?  You can order a case of any item from Dollar Tree online and have it shipped to the store FREE!

FIND A DOLLAR TREE NEAR YOU:  CLICK HERE

BTW I get no kick-backs from Dollar Tree (I wish!)  I just love shopping there for GS! With my GS tax-free ID, which they gladly accept, EVERYTHING for my troops is ONLY $1!  12 packages of glitter $12,  8 hammers $8, 10 lip glosses $10...  well you have the idea!







 box!  Dollar Tree is your place to go for Care Package items!  CLICK HERE

Friday, January 20, 2017

Senior Locavore Badge

SENIOR LOCAVORE BADGE



Today my Senior girls earned the Locavore Badge. This badge is designed to introduce the girls to the concept of organic and local farm fresh foods. Per the GS River Valley website a "Locavore is someone committed to eating locally grown, seasonal foods. The efforts of locavores can be important and delicious steps toward healthful eating, helping the environment and supporting local farmers." (http://www.girlscoutsrv.org/volunteers/troop-leaders/senior-leaders/senior-planning-guide/ is a fabulous resource for all leaders.)





My troop visited a local farmer's market in Grapevine, TX. (CLICK HERE for website) Prior to the visit we had a discussion about organic foods. I posed several questions:

What does organic mean?
Why choose organic?
What are the advantages to organic?
What are the disadvantages to buying organic foods?
Why would shopping at a farmer's market include organic foods?
What are the benefits of shopping at a local farmer's market?

Here are the resource links I used to help answers these questions:



  • Difference Between Pico de Gallo vs Salsa                          
 http://www.thekitchn.com/whats-the-difference-between-salsa-and-pico-de-gallo-230145 
  • 10 Reasons to Support Farmers Market                             
    http://www.cuesa.org/learn/10-reasons-support-farmers-markets
  • What does 'Organic' mean?                                                   



Next I had the girls shop for the ingredients to make 2 common items: Guacamole and Boiled Omelettes.  Every single item was purchased at the farmer's market and used in making our recipes.

Our Shopping List Included:

TX GUACAMOLE
  • 2 large tomatos
  • 1 fresh garlic clove
  • 1onion
  • cilantro bunch
  • juice of 1 lime
  • 7 avocados
  • Chachere's Creole Seasoning
BOLED OMELETTES
  • 2 dozen fresh eggs
  • fresh bacon
  • carton of mushrooms
  • cheddar cheese curds
  • used guacamole items as well to stuff our omelettes

The girls really enjoyed this badge and loved all the foods they made with freshly grown produce, eggs and bacon from local farmers.  Plus, they now know how to make 2 useful meals in college :-)



I have included the recipes:




GUACAMOLE

7 avocados
Pico de Gallo - 1 tomato, half of an onion, garlic, cilantro chopped
Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning
lime juice to prevent browning (or store in air tight container and fill with water to prevent air from touching guacamole, drain water before serving in the future - will store 3xs longer this way)


BOLIED OMELETTES

  1. Spray baggy with Pam.
  2. Crack 2-3 eggs into a baggy
  3. Add optional ingredients: bacon, onions, cheese, mushrooms,
    spinach, tomato... be creative
  4. Use spices if you want more flavor
  5. Mix well
  6. Cook sealed baggy in a full pot of boiling water for 15 minutes.                                                 7.   Slide onto a paper plate and enjoy! 

    Clean up is a breeze.  Great for sleepovers and Camp Outs!