Cookie Kickoff Party

It's my first time with Girl Scout cookie sales.  After attending training, my Troop CoLeaders and Cookie Mom decided to have a kickoff party.  Our Service Unit didn't have a Cookie Rally this year so it was up to me to teach/learn about the copies, how to sell, and all the rules and deadlines. 

First, I needed to pass out and review the sales envelopes and forms. Then review important dates.  I didn't realize that the start date for sales was strict and there was no solicitation beforehand.  Also, I didn't realize that we sold and preordered cookies, then picked up cookies after initial orders midway through the cookie season (Megadrop), then continued to sell.  

For the Daisies, as they came in they started with a cookie sheet SWAP.

I had prepared them to watch a 10-minute video with Brownies talking about cookie sales, the type of cookies, the sales pitch, and how to be safe.  I searched YouTube and there was a cute introductory cookie sales with 2 Brownies. It explained how to make a sale, safety and introduced the cookies.

Then I had a Cookie Bingo game and did some practice role play cookie sales.  

Responsible for What I Say and Do -Orange Petal

At this meeting we played charades acting out clues for what things we were responsible for.  Those included making your bed, backpack, doing dishes, washing your hands, buckling your seatbelt.  

Then for responsible for what we say, we talked about hurtful words and how it makes us feel when people say those words or when we say them to others. We talked about how we should say sorry when we say hurtful words and how that helps but that you can't take those words back.  Then each Daisy got a piece of paper with a heart on it.  In the middle of the heart was written:  

Before you speak, 

Think and be smart.  

It's hard to fix a wrinkled heart.

We talked about how it feels when people say hurtful words and what we do if we say hurtful words.  Then we crumpled up the heart which the girls didn't want to do and then we opened it back up to show that you can try to smooth out hurt feelings by saying sorry but that the hurtful words still leave a mark.

Courageous & Strong - Red Petal

I am so proud of my Daisies! They were all so brave! For the Courageous and Strong petal we tried indoor rock climbing.  

We meet at a community center where there is a rock wall. I asked the parents to register and pay the $4.50 for their daughters before the meeting. Then during the meeting we split the girls into 2 groups. One group went to climb while the other group stayed in the room to work on their safety award.

First, we read the Tula story and talked about it. I explained that fear or being scared is a way that our body tells us to be safe.  But that fear shouldn't stop us from doing something but that we should make sure we do something safely.

Then I explained how top rope climbing works and the equipment (shoes, harness, carabiners, rope).  I explained how they are safe from falling because of the safety rope and harness.

SAFETY PIN AWARD

While we were inside waiting for our turn to climb, I had the Daisies fill out a form that had their name, parent's phone number and address on it. We talked about what you do when you get lost: 

1. Find an adult (mom with child) or police officer;

2.  Tell them your name, parent's name and phone number.

Then we talked about what choking is and how to identify it (someone grabbing at throat without coughing).  What should they do? Go find an adult fast and tell them someone's choking!

Lastly, we talked about what to do if your clothes catch on fire: Stop, Drop, and Roll!  

Considerate & Caring - Green Petal

We started the meeting with the Daisies coloring flowers so we could send them to a nonprofit organization called Color a Smile. They send the children's artwork to seniors and military.  

We played a game where we rolled a ball to a Daisy and called out her name. Then the person who rolled the ball had to say something considerate or caring about the Daisy she rolled the ball to. I did this because I realized that we still don't know each other's names yet.

Then after reading the story, we had or Co-Troop Leader who is a nurse talk about how she cares for people at her job.  

Friendly and Helpful-Yellow Petal

September 24, 2015

This was our second Troop meeting.

We had our Kaper Chart and Troop banner and took a troop picture.  

And the Troop photo mom took individual photos of the girls with a chalk board sign.  It was so cute!

At this meeting we introduced 2 new Daisies and did our pledge, GS Promise and sang the GS Law song. Then we read the Zinnia story and talked about how the characters were friendly and helpful.  We brainstormed how we could be friendly and helpful at home.  Then passed out little daisies for the girls to take home and leave when they were helpful so people would know a daisy was there.

Then we made little SWAPS with a daisy flower and colored beads to help us remember each line of the Girl Scout Law.

Making Friends & Tie Dye Outing

We had our first troop outing to earn our Making New Friends and Tie Dye patches.  This is on the Making Friends website www.makingfriends.com. Search the products for "Friend" or "tie dye" patch and they will come up.  

We tried traditional tie dye in ziplock bags and an alternative using sharpies and alcohol in a spray bottle.  It was really fun!

With the traditional method, I bought a kit with bottles, powder dye, and rubber bands. Use any kind of gloves. Cover the table with paper towels then put a plastic disposable tablecloth over it. Wear an apron and gloves.  

Empty the powder dye packet into the bottle, add water and shake. Then rubber band your shirt, place in a ziplock bag, as you squeeze the dye on the shirts.  Pinterest and the Internet and YouTube have great examples of how to make different designs.  Then you zip it shut and wait 6-8 hours, rinse the shirts with water until the water runs almost clear and the wash and dry normally.

The sharpie method is so incredibly easy. You take a cup, place it inside the shirt so the fabric lays on top, then place a rubber band over the top of the shirt and around the cup. Then draw designs with the sharpies. Get 70% alcohol and spray the design and wait a minute or two. The artwork will bleed into a beautiful watercolor design.

The Daisies and their moms loved it! We had a great time.

We had a makeup event for those that couldn't make the first one.  

1st Daisy Troop Meeting

Our 1st Daisy Troop Meeting was a success! 

As the Daisies came in, they traced their handprints onto green felt for grass on our troop banner.  And the parents turned in their forms, registration fees and dues.  My Co-Troop Leaders took care of that as the Daisies congregated in our Daisy Friendship Circle on our sit upons.

We started with introductions. We each said our name and something we liked to eat.  Then I explained what Kapers are and asked for some Kapers to help bear the flag and lead us in the pledge of allegiance. Then we talked about the Daisy handbook and all the fun things we were going to learn this year. We reviewed the Promise, the Girl Scout sign, and the Girl Scout Law.

For the Promise, we passed out a laminated trefoil with the Promise printed on it. They strung a piece of yarn through it, write their names on it and wore them.

For the Law, I showed them a framed picture of the Daisy with each petal having a portion of the Law written on each petal.  We sang the Girl Scout Law song.  

Then we read the Lupe story about being Honest and Fair. Then we acted out the story. It actually worked well.

Then we stood up and stretched and did a craft. Our craft was to make painted wood flower bracelets on stretchy cord.

Then we ended with our Friendship Circle but standing and holding hands. I asked each Daisy to ask their parent to join us at the circle. Each Daisy introduced their parent and then we all said hello and the parent told us what they volunteered to do to help the troop.  I did this because every parent at least volunteered to do snack and I wanted to recognize everyone's contributions as well as place each parent with their child.

Troop Banner

Here's the Troop 447 Daisy banner made by one awesome Co-Troop Leader!!

SWAPS

What in the world are SWAPS? It stands for Small Whatchamacallits Affectionately Pinned Somewhere. Girl Scouts exchange them at any group event with other troops. So I was advised to have some ready.  

DAISIES

Remember how to make a snowflake cutout? That's how I made these daisies.  I made name tags for our first parent meeting.

  

But I made smaller versions that I laminated and pinned for SWAPS.

So take any size square paper and fold it matching opposite corners. 

Repeat by folding in half matching opposite corners.

Then turn the triangle upside down and fold it in thirds.

 Then you hold the single pointed corner, and cut off the dual points. 

Then, cut a leaf shape with the single corner (center of flower) pointed towards you and the triangle base away from you. Cut the point of the petal out of the base of the triangle.  Unfold your Daisy.

SMORES

OMG, I love these! I think we'll make them on our next family camping trip.  You'll need 

- bobby pins

- freeze dried marshmallows, and

- safety pin

First, hook the bobby pin through the loop of the safety pin. Then twist the bobby pin together leaving two prongs. 

I used a sharpened pencil and carefully "drilled" a groove into the marshmallows. 

Then I put glue on the hole and set the marshmallows on the "roasting stick" to dry.

Some of the Daisies squeezed their marshmallows or pushed them on and smushed them.  So remind them to gently set the marshmallows on the roasting stick.

Voila!  The cutest SWAP ever!

DAISY GS LAW BEADS

I made mini- laminated daisies just like above and punched a small hole for the safety pin. Then I cut green ribbon and had 12 colored beads from the Dollar Store.  We tied an end loop then strung the beads through the green ribbon and tied a square knot and a bow at the bottom.

COOKIE SHEETS

Another cute swap is a mini cookie sheet.  You'll need:

2"X1 1/2" squares cut from old cereal boxes

Aluminum foil cut large enough to wrap around the cereal box square

Tan foam hole-punched or cut into 1/4" circles

Black or brown sharpie

Glue

Tape

Hole-punch large and small holes

Take your cereal box square and wrap the aluminum foil around it is completely covered with one side smooth and flat. Tape the aluminum foil in the back side.  This is your cookie sheet.

Make your cookies by cutting out 6 circles about 1/4" wide or use a regular hole punch. I like how cutting the circles looks because they are slightly irregular shaped which makes it looks more authentic as homemade cookies.  But my Daisies can't cut such tiny circles so well so I think I will hole punch their cookies!  Add your chocolate chips by dotting the cookies with spots using your sharpie.

On the smooth side of the cookie sheet, glue the foam circles (cookies) onto your sheet. I glued 6 cookies but whatever fits in your cookie sheet.  Just remember to leave a space for a hole punch in a corner for the safety pin to fit through.

Punch a hole in a corner and insert your safety pin.

Sit Upons

Sit Upons

I remember sit upons as a Brownie. Our meeting room for the Daisies is a finished concrete floor so sit upons are a must to be able to sit comfortably around the Daisy Friendship Circle.  

So I did not want to spend a lot of money. I bought a table cloth for $3.75 off Amazon, used an old foam playmat plus batting for the cushion and then duct taped the edges.

Of course I had to add the bows.  I'm going to have them make personalized name tags and I can tie them to the bows.

I put the loop in the corner so it's easier to carry them. They can hook it to a caribiner and hook it to their pant loop or clothes. And it makes it easier for me to carry to and from meetings.

Getting Started & Parent Meeting

SHOULD YOU DO IT?  YES! YOU CAN DO IT!

I became a Girl Scout Troop Leader for my daughter because there were no available troops and everyone kept telling me just to create my own troop because of the cliqueish nature of Girl Scouts.  Well, I'm a full-time working professional mom who travels and doesn't have a lot of spare time.

BUT, I bit the bullet and went ahead and dove straight into Girl Scouts.  I was a Brownie and I truly remembered how much I loved Brownies.  I was a little bit scared to commit but I'm so glad I did.  It really is fun!

So if you are thinking about doing it, do it!  Your daughter is only this age once in her life and time just flies by.  I'm a true believer that you can always make time for everything.  Who needs sleep anyway?  The moment we had children, sleep was so overrated!

Take the online Girl Scouts 101 course, http://gsuniversity.girlscouts.org/course/girl-scouting-101/
then complete your background check (check your local council because cost varies, some will cover this cost), and then email your local council membership development specialist and you will get assigned a troop number!

Think about how often you want to meet and where.  I really did NOT want to meet at my house.  Well, GS actually encourages a public meeting place like a school, library, church, or community facility.  I ended up contacting the library which was free, but they weren't available on a regular basis.  So I rented a community room which ends up being $1.50/per meeting per Girl Scout.  My parents were willing to pay this so that was great.

You will need to take two more trainings before you officially start.  Enroll in a Welcome Session with your local council.  After you take the official Welcome Session, you then take an online Leadership Essentials course.  These trainings give general background information.

But the real how-to's you will get through online BLOGs and Pinterest!  Here is the best blog I've found:

http://troopleadermom.blogspot.com

PARENT MEETING

I knew that I really couldn't lead the troop by myself.  I would need substantial help.  So I set up my troop in a way that encouraged parent participation from the beginning.  I have an two Assistant Troop Leaders who are very crafty.  I also emailed interested parents ahead of time to set the stage, I would need volunteers to prepare snacks each meeting (two meetings a month).  If everyone signs up for a month of snacks, then it helps lower dues.

I also asked for them to consider which volunteer spots they would want:

Troop Cookie Manager
Meeting Helper
Craft Coordinator
Community Service Coordinator
Troop Camp Certified
First Aiders
Troop Magazine and Nuts Sales
Treasurer
Tracking Dues, Paperwork, Patches, etc.

In my email to the parents, I provided a Parent Handbook that covered much of what to expect.  I basically covered, meetings (days, frequency, location & agenda), reviewed uniforms and handbooks & journey book, forms, fundraisers and dues.

Here is my summary email to the parents:

1.  APPLICATION & FORMS: If you did not come to the meeting, you need to get a file with all of the forms. Please arrange to pick it up from me (cell) or XXX, Assistant Troop Leader, (cell) so you can complete it and provide payment at the first meeting.  

2.  What to do before the first meeting:  
- Buy Girl Scout Daisy uniform, insignia (badges, flag, Council, troop numbers, etc.), Daisy Handbook and Daisy Flower Garden Journey book
- Fill out adult and child application form, pay membership fee $15/adult & $15/child, complete emergency forms, driver authorization forms, etc. turn in at first meeting (Sept. 10th)
- Pay Troop Dues ($6/month x 10 months = $60)

3.  VOLUNTEERS:  Here is a list of folks who volunteered (thanks!!!) and open slots for folks to still volunteer for:

*Troop Cookie Manager:  
Troop Meeting Helper:  
Craft Coordinator (Troop leaders will supply crafts while Craft Coordinator helps to teach crafts at troop meetings):  
Community Service Coordinator (Provide ideas and assist with community service projects):  
*Troop Camp Certified (Take GS Training & help girls prepare for and participate in camping): 
*First Aiders:  

Still need volunteers for:
*Troop Magazine and Nuts Program Manager (Assists girls adults through fall program of nuts, candies and magazine sales. Need Magazine and Nuts Program training; become registered GS member)
*Treasurer (Manage troop funds, open bank account, maintain records, submit end of year financial report)
Service Unit Leaders’ Meeting Representative (Substitute for leader at local monthly GS informational meetings): These Service Unit meetings are the 3rd Thursday of each month at the West Sac Rec Center.  Will only need someone if there Eunice or I cannot make the monthly meeting.  
* (means that you must become a registered GS member)

4.  MEETINGS:
When:  2d and 4th Thursdays each month (except for November and December when we only meet the 2d Thursday)
Where:  

5.  SNACKS:  We decided that everyone would take a month for snacks (you cover both meetings that month) and that way we wouldn’t include snacks in our monthly dues. 

I sent a Parent Handbook by email and provided some hard copies (printing is costly).  I made a folder for each Daisy with their name on the folder and our Daisy Troop Number 447.