Meeting Summary: Sewing a Book & Grocery Shopping on World Thinking Day

Feb. 22 was national World Thinking Day. The theme for World Thinking Day 2010 was "Together we can end extreme poverty and hunger."
World Thinking Day allows Girl Guides and Girl Scouts a chance to celebrate international friendships, but is also a reminder that Girl Scouts of the USA is part of a global community - one of 145 countries in the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGS).This year, girls voted and selected Germany, Kuwait, Peru, the Philippines, and South Africa to represent the five regions of World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) — Europe, the Arab region, Western Hemisphere, Asia/Pacific and Africa.
One of the Brownie activities for the World Thinking Day Patch was to plan a healthy meal for a family of four for less than $10? The Brownies were split into groups of two or three and given a supermarket flyer. The Brownie groups identified yogurt as a meal for breakfast. Another group opted for orange juice and dry cereal for breakfast. For lunch, one group identified Chef Boyardee. For dinner, a group said they only had enough money for rice and water. The girls all stay within budget by 50 cents; but many struggled with the concept of identifying healthy meals.
Below are a few photos from the grocery shopping experiment:

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At the Feb. 22 meeting, the Brownies voted on activities they would like to do before they leave this level of Girl Scouts in June.
The #1 activity was camping with 11 votes.
The #2 activity was a cruise/dance party in Boston harbor with 8 votes.
Other top choices were a sleepover at a children's museum, with 7 votes; a visit to the New England Aquarium with 6 votes, and visiting a horse farm with 5 votes.
After finishing Snack and the vote; Erin led the Troop in reading the Girl Scout Promise.
Then, Talia led the girls in the reciting of the Girl Scout Law.
During our Brownie Circle, we talked to the Brownies the original Girl Scout Law. We explained to the Brownies the meaning of the WAGGS pin they wear on their vest. We talked about World Thinking Day.
After we completed the World Thinking Day discussion and activities; the Brownies started work on sewing a book. This activity was the 4th activity needed to complete the Stitch It Try-It.
Finally, the girls created a Friendship Circle and we concluded the meeting with Becky starting the Brownie Squeeze.

Wednesday, Jan. 20 is Last Day to Sell Cookies

Wednesday, Jan. 20 is the last day to sell Girl Scout cookies to family, friends, & neighbors. Forms must be turned into Cookie Mom Jennifer Nalon (Maddie's mom) on Wednesday.
If your Brownie's order form is not turned into the Cookie mom, your daughter may not be eligible for her cookie prizes, including her patch for the back of her vest.
Brownies must sell a minimum of 15 boxes of cookies to qualify for the patch.
Contact any of the leaders with any questions. (e-mails and phone numbers are on the right hand side of this Web page.)
To contact Cookie Mom Jen -- e-mail, fusi3681@hotmail.com
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The Troop earns 60 cents for each box of cookies sold. We use this money for activities, like the Museum of Science Sleepover & rollerskating, and for supplies for arts & crafts and other projects at meetings.
The Troop's first Cookie Booth sale will be Monday, Jan. 25 at Stop & Shop (behind Lowe's).

Troop Meeting #6 Summary

During today's meeting, after snack and celebrating Sydney's 8th birthday, the troop went into its Brownie Circle and shared what they learned while working on the Grandma & Me patch project.
The girls were having so much fun sharing their information and objects that we did not have time to work on the time capsule project, which completes the All in the Family Try-It.
We will finish that Try-it project in January.
In all, 14 girls shared information on their grandmothers and will earn the Grandma & Me special participation patch (back of the vest).
The patches will be distributed at our next meeting -- which will be OFFSITE at Uno's on Route 9E on Monday, Dec. 22 at an earlier start time of 4 p.m.
A parent must sign a permission slip for your daughter to participate in the kitchen tour and pizza party that day. If you did not sign a permission slip for your daughter Monday, please contact a leader to do so.
The Troop is picking up the tab for the special outing.
NOTE: At our next meeting, information will be distributed about the annual Cookie Sale.
At the end of Monday's meeting, the girls participated in a Friendship Squeeze and Circle Time.
Afterwards, those who sold magazines, candy & nuts this fall were given their participation patches (7 girls earned one patch and one girl earned all 4 patches, several earned 2 & 3 patches) and prizes (necklaces and stuffed bear with glow-in-the-dark t-shirts or both).

Grandma & Me Patch Work Due Monday

The girls in Brownie Troop 2082 should be finishing their work on the participation patch Grandma & Me this weekend.
We talked about the patch at the Oct. 20 meeting. (The patch will go on the back of the vest.)
To earn the patch, the girls will need to complete 3 of the 6 items by Monday's meeting (Dec. 8th).
NOTE: Three of the items can be completed even if your daughter doesn’t have a living grandma or has one who lives far away.
The requirements for this patch were posted on this Web site in October and given to the girls to take home at last week's meeting.

Meeting Monday -- Update on projects

Our next Brownie troop meeting is Monday at 4:15 at St. Andrew. We will be continuing our work on the All in the Family Try-it.
At our last meeting, 14 of the 16 girls presented their heritage item to the troop. The last two girls will present their heritage item Monday, the girls will begin work on a family birthday calendar, and if time permits we will start a family time capsule.
NEEDS: If you have extra family photographs that can be CUT, please have your daughter bring them to Monday's meeting so she can use with the family calendar craft. Individual photos of each immediate family member are better than a large group of people in a photo. Those girls who brought their photos at the last meeting, we saved them in her folder.
For the time capsule, we are looking for each girl to bring in an empty cereal box (ie Wheaties, Corn Flags, Fruit Loops, etc). The cereal box will be the capsule for that project. If you don't have a box for Monday's meeting, please try to bring a box for the first meeting in December. The girls will be working on the time capsule for likely two meetings.If you still don't have a cereal box and don't anticipate having one, please let a leader know as we can have extras brought in..
As always if you have any questions, feel free to e-mail any of us..
SPECIAL EVENT: Don't forget the Museum of Science checks, if you daughter wishes to participate. It is $47 for her and $47 for an adult. Please make checks out to GSEM Troop #72082..
FUNDRAISER: Packaged candy & nut boxes & cans will be distributed to those who participated in the fundraiser at the end of the meeting. Patches and prizes are still not available..
PATCH WORK: The Grandma & Me requirement work is not due until the first meeting in December. If your daughter has already completed her work, she can bring it to Monday's meeting and we will store it in her folder. The Grandma & Me patch requirement work is posted on this site.
SNACK MOM: Finally, please note that there is a girl in the troop who has an allergy to walnuts, cashews, almonds, tree nuts, etc. So when sending in snack for the troop please read labels. A list of who has which meeting for snack is located on the right-hand side of the site.

Grandma & Me Patch Requirements/Homework

The girls in Brownie Troop 2082 will be working on a participation patch called Grandma & Me. We talked about the patch at the last meeting on Oct. 20. (The patch, which will go on the back of the vest, is pictured here.) To earn the patch, the girls will need to complete 3 of the 6 items below by the Monday, Dec. 8 meeting. At that meeting, the girls will share the information they have learned. (We set this deadline, as it will give Brownies with grandmas, living close by, the opportunity to talk to a grandma in person during the Thanksgiving holiday.) NOTE: Three of the items can be completed even if your daughter doesn’t have a living grandma or has one who lives far away.
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1. Scrapbook Memories! Find a photo of your grandmother or a photo of you and your grandmother doing a favorite activity or celebrating a holiday. Make a scrapbook page about your grandma. On the page write about why you love(d) your grandmother and/or what was your favorite thing to do with your grandmother. … (FOR EXAMPLE: At the Oct 20th meeting, leader Susan Petroni brought in a photo of her and her late grandma on a Tilt-A-Whirl at an amusement park when she was about the same age as the girls in our Brownie troop. She told the girls she would write about how her grandmother like to go to amusement parks with her and ride the spin rides.)

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2. Create a Family Tree! Find out when your parents and siblings were born. Research when your grandparents were born. (Optional: If you want, try to research back to find out who your grandparents’ grandmothers and grandfathers were.)
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3. Musical bonding – I bet you listen to the Jonas Brothers, Music from the High School Musical movies, Hannah Montana, etc… That music is cool today. But what music did your grandmother think was cool when she was your age. Find out what music she loved. Listen to a few of her favorite songs. Have her listen to a few of your favorite songs. (If your grandmother is not around, research popular music from when she was your age and listen to 2-3 songs). Make a list of those songs from your grandmother’s era or her favorite songs as part of this patch requirement.
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4. Uncover Facts About Your Grandmother – Find out more about your grandmother and her life. Interview her (or if your grandmother is not around interview a family member who may be able to answer these questions for you.) Get answers for 6 of these questions below.
A. Did you have a pet when you were growing up?
B. Who was more strict, your mom or dad?
C. Did you have chores?
D. Were you a Brownie or a Girl Scout?
E. Did you have brothers or sisters? How many?
F. Where did your live? What was your house like?
G. Tell me about a family Tradition
H. Did you like school? Favorite subject? Worst?
I. Tell me about Mom or dad growing up. How was s(he) like me? Not like me?
J. What are you most proud about in your life?
K. Tell me about a vacation or place your visited.
L. What is your favorite food? Food you don’t like?
M. What special talent do you have? (sports, crafts, cooking, etc)?
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5. Saying Nonna or Oma! Below is a list of words kids use for grandparents in other countries. Learn to say grandma and grandpa in a language that is of the same heritage of your parents/grandparents.
· Poland -- Babcia and Dziadek,
· Germany -- Oma and Opa,
· India -- Nana-ji and Nani-ji,
· Greece -- Ya-ya and Pa-pu,
· Japan -- Oba-chan and Oji-chan,
· China -- Popo and Gong-gong,
· Italy -- Nonna and Nonno,
· Israel -- Savta and Saba,
· Spain – Abuela and Abuelo.
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6. Grandma Literature! Pick one of the books below and either read with your parent or perhaps read with your grandmother. For each book there is a question for you to think about and answer.

A. Read the book Hooray for Grandparents.
Quick synopsis: What can a boy do when Grandparents' Day at school rolls around and he has no grandparents to invite? Arnie is very upset, won't help the other children decorate the room, and goes off grumpily to return his library books. Carlson, in the voice of a caring children's librarian, suggests using his neighbors as stand-ins. Unfortunately, Arnie's next-door neighbors are off to climb Mt. Fuji and won't be back for two weeks. He tells this sad story to everyone he knows, including the bakers, the dressmaker, and the sensitive librarian. Much to his surprise, they all show up at school, making Arnie the child with the most visitors and the happiest face.
After reading the book, write a sentence or two about what you would invite to a grandparent & Brownie activity, if your grandma or a grandparents wasn’t available?

B. Read the book The Berenstain Bears and the Week at Grandma's
After reading, write a sentence or two about what special things you would like to do if you could spend an entire week at grandma’s house.

C. Read the book The Patchwork Quilt.
Quick synopsis: Grandma has an idea. When she was a little girl her own mother made her a beautiful patchwork quilt. Her granddaughter begins to show interest in Grandma's quilting. Anytime a family member has a special outfit that they have grown out of or a beloved piece of clothing, that can’t be worn, Grandma's adds a patch to the quilt.
After reading, write a sentence or two about what special activity or hobby grandma did or does that you would like to try. (Optional: consider starting a family memory quilt too.)
Note: If you struggle with reading the book, ask a parent or older relative to read the book with you.

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If you have any questions about this homework, please contact one of the leaders. Contact info is on the right-hand column of this Web site.

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