Seasan's Brownie Try-it Adventure

Helpful Information on the Try-it Changes

2011-05-24T05:12:00.000-07:00

I thought this link might be helpful to anyone who is confused about the changes going on with the try-its and other badges. This site seems to have very helpful Q & A. The thing I was happy about was that unlike what I thought, it appears the council's own try-its will still be able to be available, they are just issuing new guidelines so that might tweak or eliminate some, but should still allow for them as our scouts grow.

I am thinking about ordering one or two of the "reg" try-its that are discontinued, but then I think about the 100 or so council own's we still have and it makes me think twice. LOL!

Triple C Camp..7 try-its down!

2011-05-23T12:00:00.000-07:00

This weekend was a blast! We got to work on 5 try-its on Saturday and finished on Sunday with 2 more. Here are some pictures and the try-it's Seasan earned:

This is the patch from Triple C. Cool thing is that it interlocks with the other lizzard patches so you can "build" it as you go back.

Watershed's and Me

The girls got to go down to the creek for this one..and get wet! They had a blast.

Water Everywhere

This one is a normal try-it from the book, but they still enjoyed earning it. The camp workers were very excited to teach the kids and you could really see it in the way they ran the program.

Climate Change

One of my favs for the cute bear. (My boyfriend hates this one as he thinks climate change is mostly propaganda from the government.) He would have objected to this one had he known she was going to be earning it...so it was our secret :)

Forestree

LOL! I was going to work on this one at home with her. Glad I didn't get around to it as I forgot it was on this weekends itinerary. She had a great time doing the leave prints. The mobile they made was unique to say the least :)

Fun with Flight

- Sorry, left it at home so will upload pic later. Here is a picture of them doing their paper airplane!

Wild Flowers 

They got to go hiking for these on Sunday. The pictures they drew were beautiful.

Flower Frenzy

They planted some clover in pots to take home with them.

After the weekend I took her to the orchard on the nearby mountain. Here are some pictures from this one:

And here is the "buddy" we saw on the way out. Yuck! (Pic was taken from my car..right next to the snake. I stayed in the car.)

Places of Interest

2011-05-23T09:02:00.000-07:00

For those of you in Virginia, I highly recommend doing some searching on programs available for try-its. This last weekend we went to the Triple C camp and had a blast (I will do this recap next). Here are some interesting places with programs to check out:

Virginia House

Lake Ridge Park - I do not see anything coming up, but they just had a try-it weekend so keep your eyes out.

Carlyle House

Triple C Camp

Random DC/VA/MD locations:

Fun in the Forest

2011-05-18T09:13:00.000-07:00

Tonight we are going to work on this try-it.

Yes, we are finally going full steam ahead! I am going to have to pace us at about 3 try-its a week to make up for last years laziness. LOL!

1. Tree encounter. I am going to use this site to help with this one and print it out to go over it.

2. What's in the forest. We are going to take a hike in the woods. This may have to wait for this weekend as it is raining outside. We will make a list of the things we find and talk about the textures and scents in a forest.

3. (4) Leaf investigation. Seasan can pick 4 leaves from our neighborhood and we will identify them. This leaf site will help you on this one.

4. (6) Indoor scavenger hunt. This one will be good with the rain. I am thinking we can then use the computer to help us do part 2 about learning about the product.

Brownie Pen Pal!

2011-04-27T10:44:00.000-07:00

Seasan has been communicating with her pen pal in California. We are teaming up to order the council's own before they become "extinct"..lol! All I can say is both myself and my leader are annoyed at how Girl Scouts seems to be changing their program every two years or so...and now the council's own will be phased out as the try-its go to patches. (I am sure they will bring them back in that form, but come on, can't we have some consistency?

Anyhow, back to the pen pal. (I do not want to list a name until I check with her mom.. :) Seasan was very excited to receive her letter a few weeks back and four cool try-its from North Dakota Wildlife. Here are two of them:

We can't wait to do these this summer when she goes to Michigan. (My dad will take her on all the outdoor activities.)

We just sent her pen pal a letter with a few try-its we got in and should be sending another letter soon with more. I encourage you to try out this pen pal activity because the girls think this is so much fun. (Especially since they are on opposite ends of the USA!)

Discover the Nations Capital Patch

2011-04-25T09:15:00.000-07:00

So we started on this one this week. We went on the DC boat tour which is part of the transportation patch. It was a very nice 1 hour boat tour..and the best part was that there were only 10 people on the tour! I will post pictures soon. We are looking forward to heading into DC to finish more items on this patch.

Tudor Place

2011-04-25T09:10:00.000-07:00

We went to the Tudor place a week ago. Seasan got to tour the house and build a bird house. They also learned about gardening. This helps them with the Eco-explorer badge. It was downpouring most of the day and we got good and wet :)

Girl Scout Aid Try-it

2011-03-31T05:42:00.000-07:00

Also talked to her Leader about this one. The troop that Seasan is in is a little different than most. It is a mix of Daisys, Brownies, and Juniors. (Orig Brownies at differrent levels..then added Daisys at diff levels..you get the picture.) They are helping with bridging this year, so this try it falls right in line with all the activities they do together. One more that will be earned soon!

Sales Woman Try-it

2011-03-31T05:38:00.000-07:00

Talked with Seasan's troop leader about this one and doing it with cookie sales. Score! They have done the requirements and she is going to order them for the troop! Perfect try-it to do with sales or even in conjunction with the regular sales try-it from the brownie book.

San Antonio Missions Tour

2011-03-29T04:03:00.000-07:00

This is not a try-it, but a patch offered by the Southwest Girl Scout Council of Texas. We went out to Texas for Christmas this year and did a tour of the Missions in San Antonio to complete the "physical location" items. Now Seasan just needs to complete the other requirements to finish it.

1. She needs to draw a pic of an Indian Home and decide where everyone would sleep. Talk about what it would be like to live there.

2. Finish the cross word puzzle.

3. Use a method to cook outdoors. What situation would that be handy.

We are going to try to wrap this up this week so we can order it.

Maple Syrup Try-it Earned!

2011-03-07T17:36:00.000-08:00

Here are the pisc of the try-it. We did itens #1-#5. (Only had to do 4 items, but did 5 just because it was fun.)

Maple Syrup Try-it

2011-03-01T03:01:00.000-08:00

So we are headed to Michigan for a very short trip. (Leave today, stay there tomorrow, and come back on Thursday.) Maple Syrup sap is flowing, so Papa is going to help Seasan earn her Maple Syrup Try-it. You can follow the link on this post to the requirements for the try-it. Seasan is looking forward to the taste test part... :)

7 Try-its in a day!

2011-02-28T04:15:00.000-08:00

My daughter is signing up for a weekend try-it program that will take them through 7 badges in two days! As soon as I hear back from them on the classes she got in on, I will post what ones they are!

Cookie Wars

2011-02-28T03:54:00.000-08:00

So I have never been much of a competitive person. I always played sports because I liked them, and not to win. This Friday was cookie truck day in our council. We were on the schedule to sell at our local Lowe's at 5:30PM.

My daughter and I showed up at 5:15PM (figuring we can help unload) and Lowe and behold (pun intended) there was a Junior troop there. I asked them if they were selling there and they replied yes. Assuming I messed up the location, I call our Leader to check. She told me "nope...I even have the paperwork in front of me with a signed form from Lowe's". So as I wait around, this Junior troop of 3 girls is staring me down. I figure it is not my place to discuss the particulars, so I wait for our Leader.

Upon her arrival, her and the other blond lady from the Junior troop march into Lowe's to get a Manager..and would you believe it...the manager in charge of sales is out. So our Leader shows her paperwork and the blond lady says "well I have paperwork to...but not with me, you could always take the exit". So our Leader reluctantly agrees. In the mean time, I am standing inside the entrance to Lowe's with about 10 Brownie/Daisy's who are all talking at once. One of the Junior girls yells "be quiet, we are trying to sell our cookies and they can't hear us". (Can we say rude...did they forget manners that include the word "please".) So I round them up with one or two mom's and we herd them outside to the bitter windy night.

Our Leader looks around on where to set up. The exit to Lowe's is to small to be inside and not block part of it, so we set up just outside the exit. (Need I remind you we have Brownies and Daisy's and it is windy and cold..entrance to Lowe's would have been nice.)

All of a sudden, Blond Lady comes outside and sees us setting up..and whips out her cell. Spends the next 45 minutes on her cell. (This is where it gets really devious). She comes over and chats with one of our Brownies and goes "oh your in troop XXXX..okay" and proceeds to relay that to whoever is on the phone. So our Leader gets a call from the council, and she explains what is going on. Needless to say, the council told our Leader what she did was okay (being that she was the only one with paperwork) and told the Blond lady that she didn't have a leg to stand on without proof that they were also supposed to be there. So 10 minutes later..her comes Blond lady with her 3 girls out into the bitter cold with their table and cookies to be outside the entrance.

Ahhh..the fun of Girl Scout Cookie Wars. (Seriously people, it is cookies!)

Girl Sports Try-it

2010-10-18T04:16:00.000-07:00

So this try-it is a normal one out of the book. Seasan earned this one on Saturday when she went to the gymnastics center for their girl scout try-it program. They got to do sports and gymnastics for an hour and Seasan had a blast.

Future Ideas

2010-10-06T05:19:00.000-07:00

So I pulled Grandma and Grandpa into the loop for our try-it goals. So far we have these activities planned to help with some of the requirements for different try-its.

1. Make Moose stew with Papa- Athabaskan Culture Try-it (We got lucky on this one. Papa has his buddy Rick that just went Moose hunting this fall and gave him some meat. So he is saving a roast for Seasan to cook when we visit.)

2. Have a pasty making party- UP Heritage (I love pasty's...so this is my excuse to help make them and then bring a whole bunch home with me.) I tried to explain to Jon what a pasty was..and he made this "blah" face. I guess saying that it is like a pot pie, but without the gravy doesn't sound to appealing..but I love them!

3. Teach Seasan about Nursing (grandmas job)- Nurse and Nursing Exploration This includes teaching her about the equipment used and also seeing if she can do a tour of Grandma's facility.

Then in the summer, Papa is going to work on the Fishing, Fishing, and Aquaculture try-its. The aquaculture one will be right up Papa's ally so to speak as he worked for the USGS studying water quality.

Skating Try-it

2010-10-06T05:00:00.000-07:00

So I talked to Seasan's troop leader and she is going to incorporate the skating try-it into the skating outing they are doing in two weeks. Good news for the troop...bad news for me. This means I have to pick a new try-it for that week, as troop earned try-its are not counting towards our "52" goal for the year. Okay...back to the drawing board.

Fall Product Sale- The reality

2010-10-05T05:38:00.000-07:00

So we just turned in the forms for the fall product sale. Seasan (aka Mom & Jon) sold 40 items...of which 15 Grandma and Grandpa bought :)   I had to laugh when you add up the cost for all the items and then look at the little stuffed animal she is so excited to be getting. Kinda cracked me up a little.

Needless to say, I have been pushing fundraising this year as the troop has taken on an individual award system for fundraising. What that means is that whatever each member sells and brings in for profit is kept in an account for that member to use for troop activities and camps. As a semi-single mother (yes..Jon gets a lot of credit for all he does even though we are dating and not married) this is a great opportunity to offset some of the cost of all the things that she wants to participate in.

So the curiosity part of me wanted to see how much this equates out to in real money..so I did some research and here is the breakdown for our council:

Avg Selling Price                       $5.84
Avg Cost                                 -$2.40
Avg Gross Profit                        $3.44

Troop Incentive (ie Seasan)       $0.76
SU Incentive                             $0.02
Girl Patches                              $0.09
Council Income                        $2.57

Compared to cookies.. (keep in mind my Council did not have cookie profits up..so this info is from another council for the 2011 year)

Box of Cookies                      $3.50
Sale Expenses (cookies)        -$0.90
Gross Profit                           $2.60

Council and Admin                $1.70
Troop                                   $0.55
Incentives                              $0.35

So putting all this to use...I think we will push the cookies over peanuts. Consider this:

Sell $350 of cookies for 100 units and you get $55                                Profit Margin      15.7%
Sell $350 units of nuts at approx 60 units and you get $45.60                 Profit Margin      13.02%

You have a much better chance of selling cookies as nuts are much harder to sell. And, on top of the profit, girls earn cookie dough for camps and council merchandise. Cookies are the no brainier.

I know I am probably going to get crucified by those who say "well it is all about the lessons they learn by selling, who cares which is more profitable?" In return, I ask this.. what lessons are we teaching if we don't also teach them the accounting portion of the sales too? If my daughter wants to learn the business aspect of sales in order to be successful later in life, this is the perfect opportunity to teach her about economics and supply and demand. By showing her the breakdown of sales and return of profit on sales she can understand these economic principles in a very useful manner.

Rededication Ceremony

2010-10-05T04:57:00.000-07:00

So last night was the Rededication ceremony. I got to watch them all line up and get ready. Then I had to make a mad dash for the door to attend the Parents meeting for her Company Dance. (I even tried to call in on the meeting and was told I had to be there!) At 28, I still feel like a kid sometimes. Good thing was that Jon was able to stay and take pictures and keep Nicholas occupied while I got to vote on fundraiser activities. (Needless to say, I really felt I could have been excused on that so called "Parent Meeting".)

I talked with Seasan's troop leader about the patches and she said to just document all the activities we do and keep a log/journal of the completed items. That works out great as I already had began to mark the items and dates as we did them.

Black Dimond Council

2010-10-02T11:37:00.000-07:00

We got the badges from the Black Diamond Council in the mail today! They are as follows:

Aquaculture
Coal
Insect
Mystery
Underground Railroad
Weather
Native American Lore

and..
Aquaculture Junior Badge

Yes, I know..a little weird to pre-buy a Junior Badge. I figured with the shipping and handling I might as well just buy it now as her grandfather worked for the USGS and will love teaching this to her. When she becomes a Junior she can do it again and do some of the older activities with him.

The Coal badge was for her to do with her dad. He was a coal miner in Tennessee until he got hurt. I thought it would be a good activity for her and him to do together when they see each other next time.

The rest of them are just fun activities to work on. Although I have to admit, the insect one is cute, the Native American one is a really cool design, and the Mystery one has pink trim..need I say more?

Why the Challenge?

2010-10-01T05:18:00.000-07:00

Some people might ask why? Why the goal of a patch/try-it a week? All I can say is I want my kids to experience everything and I think that this may help with that. I love arts and crafts, largely due to three factors in my life. 1. My mother, 2. My father, and 3. Girl Scouts. My mother taught me how to sew and cook, my father to hunt and camp, and Girl Scouts taught me how to have fun hiking, and campfire cooking, and beading, and, well you get the picture.

As I read through the over 200 council's own patches about activities to learn about native American culture, early settlers, every sport imaginable, different cities, historical structures, nature, and so many more items, I can only look forward to the array of activities offered. This challenge will not only help my daughter experience a lot of new activities, but it will also create some great family memories for Jon, Nicholas, and myself as well. I think these next two years will be exciting and interesting and I can't wait to see the scrapbook I can make from all the adventures!

Gymnastics Try-it

2010-10-01T04:50:00.000-07:00

So this is the first one we are going to work on together. It should be rather easy as she is in gymnastics. Some of the activities we have to do are as follows:

1. Learn basic safety rules
2. Learn about the 4 events and try 2 basic moves (class)
3. Discuss taking care of your body
4. Make a short routine
5. Observe an event

Gymnastics Try-it

Sewing on Try-its

2010-09-30T05:17:00.000-07:00

I learned why my mom hated me earning try-its back in the day. Sewing them on is a PITA. I can't tell you how many times I stabbed my finger last night. And in a 40 minute time frame I got a whole whopping 3 patches and 4 numbers sewn on. (I had to start from scratch as I removed all her patches off of her sash that were ironed on and put them on the vest.) PS..iron on patches are not a guarantee. I was easily able to peel off most on her sash and she had lost a number so I had to re-buy it and thus the sewing of the badges from here on out.

The neat thing was I discovered another Council's own for the Common Wealth when I visited the store. It is called Umoja. It is about African American Heritage. They also had Behind the Scenes, Horses are Fun, and Art of Illusion.

Jon and I decided yesterday that we are going to do some of the "tour" badges with Seasan and his sister Lauren when we go to Texas for Christmas. Laredo is number one on the list and then probably one of the other local cities. We will also be aiming for the San Antonio Walking Tour and Missions. (Some how a family visit trip is turning into a Girl Scout badge trip..lol!)

Contacts for Council's Own

2010-09-28T08:21:00.000-07:00

If you see a try-it on here that sounds interesting, but can't find it on the web, let me know. I have a spread sheet with a list of all the locations/web sites for each badge I have found.

Today when I get home I am going to take the print-outs of badges and organize them into a binder. This way we can track some of the activities that overlap try-its. It will also let me find the ones we want now and then I can refer to the spread sheet to order all try-its from that council. (No need to pay shipping twice).

I found an explore Loredo patch today which will be great for when we go to Texas this Christmas. I am going to look at the other cities that fit into it and see how far away they are and if we would have time to fit them in. (We already planned on San Antonio). Keep in mind that the badges I listed are try-it's only...a lot of places have badges/patches for locations visited which is really cool if you are going somewhere.

New Badges in the Mail!

2010-09-27T15:50:00.000-07:00

It was like Christmas for my daughter...we got some of the try-its in the mail. (She still has to earn them, but she is excited to see what there is to work on.)

From Juliette's Closet we got:
Horse and Pony
For the Love of Books
Doll Collector's
Drama Queen
Homelessness
Fashion
Lighthouse
Ocean Discovery
Wild West

We also got the package from Michigan and were so excited..only to realize they sent the brownie try-it book, but no Michigan Try-it :( We had to call and they will send a new on tomorrow.