Holiday party & Caroling

In December we met for a Holiday party and caroling. The girls decorated ornaments and made/decorated cookies. Then we carpooled to New Horizons to sing some songs to the residents. The girls did a great job singing and I think that all the residents had a good time. Especially Floyd, who is Maddies grandpa. The girls passed out the ornaments and the cookies they brought and minus a small confusion of which was a cookie - the night went off without a hitch. I think it was a very memorable night.










Ornaments the girls made for their own tree -

another Try It Patch earned.

In November our troop worked to earn their Brownie Try It Patch - Let's Pretend. We went to see a TRUNKS Show at the Buntport Theater and then after the show participated in an acting workshop. The month of November they were having a contest to create a new superhero that they would bring to life in the following episode. The girls came up with concepts of a new superhero with unique talents and powers and made capes to go along with their theme. We are so lucky to have such a great local theater company in Denver. The girls had a wonderful time and I think everyone took away something from this outing.

Here are some photos:

the girls in their costumes

Sewing Patch

For OCTOBER our troop worked on and earned their SEWING PATCH! It was a fun filled saturday.

First the girls picked out their fabric and got started on their hand-sew plushies. We had ghosts, bats and monster patterns to choose from -a bunch of fun fabrics and moms ready to help cut.

Then we staggered the girls as some got a good start on their plushies - they moved on to the other room with more moms to help machine sew a trick or treat bag (from scratch) and with handles.


Once the trick or treat bags were sewn they came downstairs and learned how to silkscreen and decorate their bags
with some clip art i had burned to a screen for them.




I think the plushies and the bags turned out fantastic. The girls learned some really great basic skills of sewing and a fun time was had by all. I think even the moms had a good time. The girls were so quiet and on task all day. It was a great cold and cloudy day - a perfect one to spend inside earning a sewing patch.



THANK YOU MOMS WHO HELPED and MOMS who brought snack and MY MOM who tirelessly cut all the fabric for the bags. I couldn't make all my big ideas work if i didn't have the support of all of you moms. Also thanks to my sweet sweet husband, John, who donated time, supplies and his time to help silkscreen and document it all.

Eco-explorer patch

The Brownies had our first field trip of the year this last saturday - and it was a BIG HIT! The girls had voted to go to the Apple Harvest at the Plains Conservatory and earn their Eco-Explorer patch. There was a lot of behind the scenes work to be done to pull this off. Thanks so much for all the parents that could help to make this field trip a true success. I think the girls had a GREAT TIME!

The girls first baked apple pies on Friday night to enter in the pie baking contest on Saturday. We entered FIVE pies in the contest and with 16 total entries our girls WON 2ND PLACE for the "fried apple pie"! They were so pleased! I had reminded the girls that if one of our pies won - we ALL won.. and if we didnt win 1/2/3rd place we still all had a great time learning how to make an apple pie from scratch and baking with our troop!

The rest of the day was filled with fun activities. The girls could choose which activity they wanted to do. Cornhusk dolls, painting zuchini (and launching it in the ZukeShoot), Mystic Sticks, Animal print rubbings, Lassoing a (fake) bull, apple tasting, apple cider pressing and guess how much the pumpkin weighs.

Then we took a wagon ride down to the Wells Crossing Village where the girls got to see what life was like in 1887. There were 2 houses set up with wood burning stoves (making applesauce), there was a blacksmith shop, Chicken Coop - Cows - a garden and an old school house. There was a teacher in the school house teaching the kids about life in the 1880s and playing games. I think the girls could have stayed there all day. They loved it.

The Plaines Conservatory was a great find - and not far from Denver. I think the girls would love to go back and maybe do some camping in the Yurt that they have there. I bet they will all vote for that field trip.

Here are just a few great photos (thanks John for documenting the day)
I have a ton more to share if you want to see them.






The info for our archives.
Event Name: Harvest @ Homestead Festival, Plains Conservation Center
Theme: Nature & Outdoors
Description:
The 8th Annual Harvest at the Homestead Festival at the Plains Conservation Center will feature apples as a harvest crop. The smell of apples cooking, free tastes of fresh applesauce, an apple pie contest and fresh pressed apple cider will be among the attractions of the event on Saturday, Sept. 26th from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

The Harvest at the Homestead Festival celebrates life on the prairie both then and now. Historical interpreters bring 1887 to life in our Wells Crossing historic farm, harvesting the heirloom vegetables, tending the flock of chickens working in the blacksmith shop, readying the one-room school house for the coming year and preserving the apple harvest from the nearby Cherry Creek valley.

The modern festivities include prairie wagon rides, displays, exhibits, live animal demonstrations for young ones, and the apple pie contest (see below for details). For more information, please visitwww.plainscenter.org.

Attention Apple Pie Bakers!
Enter your favorite apple pie in an old fashioned pie contest being held at the Harvest at the Homestead celebration on Saturday, Sept. 26th. All apple pie types are welcome from deep dish to old fashioned. Johnny Appleseed will decide who has the tastiest apple pie.

celebrating} 2nd PLACE

The troop won 2nd PLACE in the Apple Pie baking contest at the Plains Conservatory this weekend. The girls met at 2 houses and baked 4 pies on friday night. Maddie and her mom & sister baked their grandmas famous apple pie and then we entered all 5 pies in the contest on Saturday. I have lots of fun photos to share of the girls baking and then the judging.

At Adeles house - Kim & Rick helped the girls with the old fashioned apple corer. We also had the help of a fellow girl scout - Cecilia who helped make the crust from scratch.


At Paytons house the girls made individual fried apple pies that they got to sample after baking... i mean... frying.

At Maddies - with a modern apple corer


SOME SERIOUS COMPETITION!



Do you think the judges could tell the girls were really hoping for a WIN.

#4 took first place. The same boy won 1st place last year as well. Must be a fancy recipe!

Holding up the 2nd place ribbon and certificate




Thank you to all the girls and parents who participated and made it a really memorable experience!

SASHES!

The girls sashes are ready! I bought them the small sashes, they were too small. So i bought them large sashes, they were too big. So wednesday night i sat down and quickly hemmed each one... and while i was at it I decided to iron on all the beginning patches so our troop was all ready for the field trip on saturday. It may be a plus of having a leader with OCD. Although, after Saturdays outing - - - now we know that the patches will need to be reinforced with a stitch to keep them on. So, moms - if you could hit the patches with a stitch or two, that will insure we dont have any missing rainbows or any other important, hard erned badge!

first meeting - september

Just like every year when school starts, so did the illness. We sadly missed 4 of the girls from our troop who were home sick with a bug that was traveling thru the school. It was a small meeting with just 8 girls. We went to the park and had big business. We needed to vote on our first Brownie outing and we also needed to make a THANK YOU CARD for troop #179 who helped us bridge to brownies last spring. The girls did a great job on the card and I delivered it last week. The girls in troop#179 were very appreciative of the card and the photos i printed for them. (everyone got a copy)

Our outing this month was between a Minature Diorama of their room or going to the Apple Harvest. The vote was split about 50/50 but was decided for us because the Minature Diorama activity was full. We go to the Plains Conservatory on SEPT 26th and we are going to earn our ECO - TryIt patch.


welcome our 2 new Brownies! Phoebe & Adele

2009/2010 BROWNIES - info

I sent out a long long detailed email - here it is abbreviated.

FIRST MEETING - SEPT. 2ND - 3:45 to 5:30

EXCITING NEWS: ALL THE GIRLS ARE COMING BACK! I am so so pleased to have every one of my Daisies from last year returning to the new Brownie Troop. And we also have TWO NEW GIRLS: WELCOME!!! Phoebe & Adele YEAH!! So our troop now has a solid DOZEN GIRLS. and is technically FULL. (12 was the number i had set as leader - mainly because right now we are meeting at my house - so we have space limitations)

CHANGES from last year-
Since our troop started in January last year we needed to meet more often to get into the swing of things, and to learn about
our new troop, and about girl scouts. We were essentially cramming a years worth into 1/2 of the school year. This year we have time. My idea for the troop is to meet ONE time in a month. and to have ONE outing each month. My idea was to make the meetings the FIRST WEDNESDAY OF THE MONTH. and then at that meeting vote for what the outing will be for that month.
(see below for ideas of outings and the girl scout website link)

FIRST MEETING -
I have the first meeting scheduled for SEPTEMBER 2nd. 3:45 - 5:30 ( i believe 15 minutes longer then last year)
after we walk home that gives us 1.5 hrs for snacks and troop business and fun.

AS FOR OUTINGS -
I have heard so many great ideas from the girls of what they want to do... Cooking school, Rock Climbing (at REI?), Theater, Dancing, Art projects, Hiking, Camping - - - and there is no reason we can't (try to) do it all. We will vote for/plan something fun each month. I know that not every girl will be able to attend each outing, but we have enough time to do so many things as a troop that the outings will be a good learning experience and memorable.

There are great resources online i have been looking at on the girlscout website. http://www.girlscoutsofcolorado.org/
I would like to try to do go thru the different themes they have the activities sorted in, so we are doing a little bit of everything.
arts, civics & government, friendship & diversity, games, girl scouting, healthy living, just for fun, life skills, nature & science and science & technology. (also volunteering and community resources are available online and thru a weekly email troop leaders get)

BOOKS: since last year we did not use the books in the meetings, i don't think the girls should spend their money on them. But i did buy one of each for the troop to look thru and get some ideas. If you want to look thru them as well - i can loan them out. (or you can purchase them yourself from the girl scout store on broadway)

Cookout/Campout in the backyard

Yes, im nutts! I know it. but my girls earned it. I told them if we could stop the girl drama and treat each other nicely with respect then I would have everyone over for a cookout/campout this summer. It was still June and i saw my summer calendar filing up and whlie i wish i had time to do fancy invites and do a bit more planning - - - it went off without a hitch. The families were great, the girls were excellent and i think everyone had a great time. (moost everyone) We were missing 2 girls, so that was a bummer, but i invited older siblings so it was great to have 4 helpers. (Angel, Kate and Cecelia stayed and Sophie helped before she went home.) We had 5 girls who stayed out in the tents all night and 5 that slept inside with me. (john was the trooper that stayed outside on the porch )


just waking up -

the girls made pillow case to take home

dooonuts! and yogurt for breakfast

Bridging Ceremony

It was the big bridging ceremony this week. We were lucky to have a troop of Brownies/JRs. who were willing to come and help us. All the girls went from Daisies to Brownies. We celebrated afterwards eating brownies and playing at the park. The weather cooperated and all the families got to come cheer their girls on- so that was a blessing.