Financial Literacy Badges

Say goodbye to the Daisy leaves!  This summer they were phased out and new, cloud shaped badges took their place.  I loved how the leaves created a scene with the daisy petals so this is a big bummer.  On the other hand, it will be easier to place these badges with the other cloud badges and not worry about spacing as much.  The requirements are pretty much the same as before so basically just a shape change.  

My troop works on a financial literacy badge every year.  We normally aim for December so we can either start planning how to use proceeds from our cookie sale or discuss spending and budgets around the holidays.  This year we have a Junior, several Cadettes, and a Senior.  This is an easy badge to adapt for a multi-level troop.

Similar steps include discussing wants vs needs, creating a budget, and learning something new about money each year

2021 Retiring and New Girl Scout Badges

GSUSA has just released 28 new badges, retired 13 badges, and changed the design of the Global Action Award badges.

Cookie Business:

Some of the old cookie badges are getting kicked out to make room for new and improved badges.  Thirteen very different badges are out, with thirteen very similar badges coming in.  This could make it easier to combine badges with a multi-level troop since many of the steps are similar, like set a troop goal and budget.

Retiring Badges:

Digital Leadership Badges

Find out how to stay safe online while using technology to make a difference in the real and digital world.

Math in Nature

Daisies, Brownies, and Juniors have a new series to bring math concepts outside of the classroom and into nature.  I am pretty excited about these, I only wish my troop was younger!

Global Action Awards

The Global Action Awards are no longer dated and instead are Year 1, Year 2, and Year 3 like the Cookie Family Entrepreneur pins.  The requirements each year differ and can be found here.

Brownie Journeys Overview

Switch to Daisy  Junior  Cadette  Senior  Ambassador

Brownies have seven different Journeys available to complete.  Below is a guide to help them choose which ones spark their interest.  If they are able to complete any of the three Journeys along with a TAP for each, they will earn the Journey Summit Award which is the highest award available to a Brownie.

A World of Girls

In this Journey, you will:

1. Find out about girls around the world and how stories can give you ideas for helping others—play a game from another culture, invite storytellers to talk about what they do, or draw a self-portrait that shows what's unique about you.
2. Plan a Take Action Project, such as sewing a quilt, painting a mural, writing a play, or creating your own ad.
3. Earn 4 leadership awards: Hear a Story Award, Change a Story Award, Tell a Story Award, and Better World for Girls! Award.

Brownie Quest

In this Journey, you will:

1. Find out how to take care of yourself, your family, your Girl Scout sisters, and your community—do an activity with your family to chart everyone’s special talents, play games at your troop meetings to learn how to work together, or do a fun “clue hunting” activity to learn the Girl Scout Law.
2. Plan a Take Action project, such as visiting a nursery school to read to younger children or teach them a game, creating a school skit about healthy eating, or making a presentation to your city council about fixing a broken sidewalk by your school.
3. Earn 4 leadership awards: Discover Key; Connect Key; Take Action Key; Brownie Quest Award.

Outdoor (Brownie)

In this Journey, you will:

1. Deepen your outdoor skills when you earn your Brownie First Aid, Hiker badger, and Cabin Camper badges.
2. Plan a Take Action project that helps others.
3. Earn a Take Action award.

Think Like a Citizen Scientist

In this Journey, you will:

1. Find out how citizen scientists make observations, collect data, and work with scientists to receive feedback on research.
2. Do 3 citizen science activities: sharpen your observation skills through 2 observation games and a SciStarter project.
3. Plan a Take Action project that helps others.

Think Like a Programmer

In this Journey, you will:

1. Find out how programmers use computational thinking to solve problems.
2. Do 3 computational thinking activities: find out about paper programming; create a functional suncatcher to explore algorithms, variables, and functions; and create a personal innovation to discover rapid prototyping.
3. Plan a Take Action project that helps others.

Think Like an Engineer

In this Journey, you will:

1. Find out how engineers use design thinking to solve problems.
2. Do 3 design thinking activities: design and build an assistive device, a water collection device, and a device that can launch a ball across a room.
3. Plan a Take Action project that helps others.

WOW! Wonders of Water

In this Journey, you will:

1. Explore the wonders of water by find out more about its importance and how it's used around the world.
2. Plan a Take Action project, such as making informative posters, promoting recycling at school, or planting low-water gardens.
3. Earn 4 leadership awards: The LOVE Water Award, the SAVE Water Award, the SHARE Water Award, and the WOW! Award.

Easy chart for voting:

It's Your World-Change It Overview

     Next up on our schedule is the It's Your World - Change It journey.  This year the troop has both Brownies and Juniors so I will try to mash both Brownie Quest and Agent of Change together while meeting the spirit of both.  Downloading each journey ends up with about 30 pages of info to review, so I create an outline for each.

First step:  Use VTK to find the spirit of both journeys.

Second step:  Eliminate all the activities that will not work for my troop

Third step:  Blend them together

 

Brownie Quest

6 Meeting Overview

Discover Key, Connect Key, Take Action Key, and Brownie Quest Award

Meeting 1 – Discover Me

•          Discovering Me worksheet
•          Ball toss to discover talents and qualities
•          Search for the Girl Scout Law hidden around the room
• Read “Campbell’s New Friends”
• Family Star as homework

Meeting 2 – Team work

•          Review family star
•          Celebrate earning the Discover Key (Discovering our special talents, values of the GS Law, and the talents and values of our families)
• Play Banyoka to work together as a team
•          Create a Brownie Team Agreement
•          Read “What’s Happening at Campbell’s House?”
•          Homework – Find out how to take care of themselves and their families

Meeting 3 – Connecting with Community

•          Create circles of caring
•          Read “The Case of the Broken Sidewalk”
•          Hand out Address a Community Project
•          Hand out Connect Key award

Meeting 4 – Preparing to Take Action

•          Brainstorm places to help
•          Narrow down list to 2 or 3 ideas
•          Make a plan

Meeting 5 – Take Action

•          Complete the Take Action project
•          Reflect on the project
•          Hand out Take Action Key Award

Meeting 6 – Celebrate

•          Share the activities completed along the way with family
•          Sing Brownie Chant
•          Make a “Leadership Commitment” to earn the Brownie Quest Award

Agent of Change

6 Meeting Overview

Power of One, Power of Team, Power of Community Awards

Meeting 1 – What is Power

•          Rope and knot activity
•          Write 3 qualities from the Girl Scout Law they would like to discover in themselves
•          Read “The Journey: What It’s All About” to learn what “power” is
•          What Makes Me ME? activity
•          Power Log
•          Looking back at Herstory
•          Homework – choose a heroine

Meeting 2 – Power of One

•          Complete Power Skills, Power Words puzzle
•         Share their “herstory” from previous meeting
•          Complete Who Led the Way for You worksheet
•          Discuss how a quality within the Girl Scout Law fits one of the heroines they researched
•          Hand out Power of One award
•          Trust Me obstacle course
•          Real Girls, Real Moxie discussion

Meeting 3 – Super Shelter Makers

•          Read “SuperShelterMakers”
•          Begin your own heroine story

Meeting 4 – Preparing to Take Action

•          Continue working on superhero stories
•          Define community and think about where to make an impact
•          Narrow down choices to 2 or 3 ideas

Meeting 5 – Power of Team

•          Break down the project to its essential steps with Team Hopes
•          Assess resources and if they are confident that they can achieve their goals
•          Divide into task teams
•          Hand out Power of Team awards

Meeting 6 – Take Action

•          Complete the Take Action project
•          Reflect on the project
•          Hand out the Power of Community awards

To adapt the activities for my troop, I eliminated all research and homework. I have tried enough times to know this will not happen.  The Teen Titans, Go! series is popular with the girls so instead of a treehouse in Brownie Quest, we will act like they are in a clubhouse.  The SuperShelterMakers comic was just too long and confusing to read together during the meeting.  It needs to be about half the size and not have characters interrupting each other for us to make it work during our meetings.  I would love to include comics with the Drawing badge if I can find an art instructor to give us a hand at a later meeting.  Below is the plan....

Brownie Quest & Agent of Change

5/6 Meeting Overview

Meeting 1 – Superheroes

•          Invite troop to become "Agents of Change" in the “Quest for the Keys” Journey
•          Hand out capes and masks (Amazon affiliate link) with HTV names and sticker gems for decorating
•          Compare superheros with heroines
•          Real Girls, Real Moxie - contemporary heroines (Malala, Greta, Tiera Guinn)
•          Search for the Girl Scout Law hidden around the room
•          Discuss how a quality within the Girl Scout Law fits one of the heroines
•          Power Log (where are heroines needed today?)
• Try out a "superfood" - watercress/kale

Meeting 2 – Power of One/Discover Key

•          Ball toss to discover talents and qualities (What is my superhero power right now?)
•          What Makes Me ME? activity
•          Write 3 qualities from the Girl Scout Law they would like to discover in themselves
•          Read “What’s Happening at Campbell’s House?”
•          Complete Who Led the Way for You worksheet
•          Discuss how we can develop new powers
• Try out a "superfood" almonds
•          Hand out Power of One/Discover Key

Meeting 3 –Connect Key

•          Create circles of caring
•          Define community and think about where to make an impact
•          Read “The Case of the Broken Sidewalk”
•          Compare examples of real Girl Scout projects
•          Brainstorm places to help for our project
•          Narrow down to 2 or 3 ideas
•          Hand out Connect Key

Meeting 4 – Power of Team

•          Trust Me obstacle course
•          Create a Girl Scout Team Agreement
•          Break down the Take Action project to its essential steps with Team Hopes
•          Identify community partners to join the team
•          Divide into task teams
•          Assess resources and if they are confident that they can achieve their goals
• Try out a "superfood" walnuts
•          Hand out Power of Team awards

Meeting 5/6 – Take Action - 1 or 2 meetings depending on project

•          Complete the Take Action project
•          Reflect on the project 
  
• Try out a "superfood" blueberries
•          Hand out Take Action Key Award/Power of Community Award
  
•       Make a “Leadership Commitment” to earn the Brownie Quest Award

Daisy, Brownie, and Junior Digital Game Design using Roblox Studio

     If your Girl Scout Troop is tech savvy like mine, they have probably discovered the world of Roblox.  If you haven't heard about it before, Roblox is a platform where any user can create a game using free software, and then publish it online for everyone to play for free!  After reading the new Digital Game Design requirements, I thought this would be a perfect platform for my Troop since most of them are already playing games on it and having their own game on that platform would really spark their interest.  This would also be a great time to introduce the Cybersecurity badges to make sure they stay safe online with their gaming profiles on and learn about hackers and scammers they may encounter while playing an online game.  Learn about Roblox's commitment to keeping your kids safe on their platform at https://corp.roblox.com/parents/

Here are the Digital Game Design requirements for all the levels:

     The Daisy, Brownie, and Junior requirements all include creating a maze game which is a great start to creating a game on Roblox.  This will teach them how to manipulate the objects, test, and publish their game without having to learn any coding.  The Cadette, Senior, and Ambassador levels can also benefit from creating a maze but they should take it a few steps further and learn how to create interactive GUIs to include decision trees with basic coding.

Check out our maze example here roblox.com/games/3608084265/My-Maze

    All you need to complete the Digital Game Design with your Troop is a Windows or Mac PC with Roblox Studio installed (free at Roblox.com/create), a free Roblox account for each Girl Scout or team of Girl Scouts, and internet access.  Once the game is created using Roblox Studio, it is playable on PC, Mac, Android, iOS, XBOX One, and Amazon devices.

Check out our 8-minute, step-by-step video guide to creating a Roblox maze game on YouTube and have fun!!

Bridging Ceremony For Our Multi-Level Troop

Food

We held a vote at our last meeting for what type of treat to eat and cake won by a landslide.  Our bridging ceremonies are planned during our year-end celebration, so I wanted the cake to celebrate the entire troop and not just the bridging Girl Scouts. I couldn't find a rainbow or GS themed cake without having to pay an additional $10 for a custom order so I decided to buy a standard balloon cake instead.  On Amazon I found a rainbow cake topper kit that can be used year after year, so a tradition has started!  My cake decorating skills are not good enough to write all their names, so I needed an alternative. The rainbow kit came with some clouds so I thought I could write all the names on the clouds, but there weren't enough clouds in the kit for the entire troop. I knew I would have a hard time matching the existing clouds so I decided to create all new clouds with my Cricut machine.  The Juniors have purple clouds positioned higher than the others since they were flying up, and the Daisy has a blue cloud. I thought brown clouds would look like pollution so the Brownies have pink clouds. I used my Cricut to print and cut the clouds and then hot glued them to the skewers. I broke the sticks shorter to get the right height on the cake. And here is the result...

Drinks

The troop voted to have soda for a drink, but I was able to sneak in a little bit of a healthy alternative.  Two of the Girl Scouts still needed to finish the slurp a snack part of the snacks badge. So I brought a bag of frozen mangoes, concentrated orange juice, concentrated apple juice, and Ginger Ale.  They combined the ingredients they wanted together in a cup and loved it! No blenders needed, easy to customize for picky eaters, and easy clean-up!

Decorations

I bought the tablecloth and rainbow backdrop from Michaels in their Pride section in early June.  They had lots of awesome rainbows and I wanted to buy more but we have other things in mind for our cookie budget.  The Girl Scouts are still in love with balloons so our "bridge" was made from 10 helium balloons attached to weights from the dollar store.  Some troops spend extra $$ buying party favors or presents but these Girl Scouts are happy just taking home the balloons and eating cake. Our ceremony was indoors so we didn't have to worry about the wind, but the AC kicked on and was blowing the balloons around so we had to move our bridge away from the vents (which made the lighting bad for photos but not a biggie).

Awards

     The Juniors received Junior Mint candy with their Brownie Wings and bridging arc.  They also received a bridging certificate and a Junior level badge tracker book.  We also celebrated three Brownies who earned their Summit Awards and received their certificates and pins as well.

Activities

After the bridging ceremony we continued to the main attraction...swimming party!  They voted for and had been excitedly awaiting for the trip to the local water park since February, and the weather ended up being perfect.  This event and the excitement from these Girl Scouts makes all the freezing cold cookie booths worth the effort!

Leave No Trace with hand gestures

Our Brownies will be heading out for several hiking and camping activities this summer.  The Eco Friend badge in volunteer toolkit suggests covering the Leave No Trace principles for several drawing activities.  It reminded me of a video where the park rangers use hand signals to teach the 7 principles.  For step 1 you use 1 finger to gesture the principle, for step 2 you use 2 fingers, and so on for all 7 principles.  I think my campers would be more engaged with the principles if they also learned the hand signals, but I had a hard time remembering them and I would rather not be on my phone while trying to keep my campers off of their phones.  So into our camping pack will be a laminated copy of the Leave No Trace principles with hand gestures!

Get the full file here:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Xm08wbql_wItyCfwfjFD4x8alvy9xf9L