Since our Brownie Quest Journey is all about healthy eating and lifestyles I thought that this would be the perfect time to work in the Dancer Skill Building Badge and talk to the girls about dancing as exercise.
Since one of our Leaders takes ballet and her older daughter is an Irish Step dancer we figured they could run a little workshop for the girls to complete the steps for the Dancer badge. I reserved a large room at our branch of the public library and we had the workshop there.
Step 1: Warm up and get moving
Step 2: Try a new dance
The girls learned a little bit about the history of Irish Step dance and learned some steps.
learning about the Irish Step dancer's dress
Step 3: Take to the floor like a dancer
The girls learned the 5 positions of ballet as well as the ballet carriage and bow.
Step 4: Make up your own dance
Step 5: Show your move
We played some different styles of music (ie. country, folk, rock-n-roll and modern favorites) and the girls did their own little dances and then had a dance party.
Goal: Brownies earn the Connect Key by first exploring the “circles” of their lives and then expanding their caring to their community by writing a letter to a school or town official to seek a healthy-living improvement.
Toward the Award: Connect Key
Supplies:
See Brownie Supply Schedule
Pre-Meeting (15 min)
-Greet, sign-in, and put on nametags.
-Color one of the pictures in the back of the GGGS Book.
Snack Time (Snacks, Step #4) (10 min)
Opening (5 min)
- Flag Ceremony
-Gather and greet each other with the Girl Scout handshake.
Business (10 min)
-In the Girl Scout Brownie Ring, take attendance and collect dues, review rules and assign kapers.
Activity/Exploration (50 min)
Gather the girls around for the Creating Circles of Caring activity
Have the girls talk about what they did with their families for the Healthy-Living Family Activity. Tape each family commitment card to the “Family Circle”
Read “The Case of the Broken Sidewalk” on page 64 of the Girls Journey book. Discuss.
Talk to the girls about the sugar content in the school breakfasts.
Daily recommended about 26grams or 6 sugar cubes
Brainstorm some ideas of what may need fixing in their neighborhoods or school. (idea: write a letter to the School Superintendent asking for healthier school breakfasts and copy all three school principals)
Write the letter.
If time, read Chapter 3 of the Brownie Quest book.
Clean-up (10 min)
ALL girls participate in the clean-up time! Remind the girls of kapers and work together to leave the site better than you found it.
The Out Scout should be rotating the names on the Kaper Chart to see who will bring the snack and beverage for the next meeting.
Closing (5 min)
FRIENDSHIP CIRCLE – Use the Girl Scout Sign again to get the girls’ attention. Ask girls to gather around and form a circle.
Connect Key Celebration Ceremony. Hand out the Connect Key patches.
Their will be an outing on March 29, 2015 from 1:15pm-2:45pm at Library for complete our Dancer Skill Building badge.
Let the girls know who will be bringing the snack next time and ask the girls to take the Snack Box home. Remind girls to show their parent the note inside the snack box.
Form a Friendship Circle, sing, “Goodbye Brownies,” and do a friendship squeeze.
Since our Brownie Quest Journey is all about healthy eating and lifestyles I thought having the girls take a healthy cooking class would be fun. We participated in a Hands on CookingExperience at Whole Foods Market. The class is $5 per student.
Learn basic sanitation, measuring and cooking skills in a professional kitchen. Tour of the Produce Dept. & talk about the color of foods and the nutrients they provide
We will be making Healthy Muffins made with shredded – choose one: carrots( Sunrise Muffins) zucchini ( Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins) apple(Apple Crunch Muffins) additional ingredient such as dates or raisins are included in these recipes- no nuts!
Tour of Produce Department while they are baking. Juice and water will be served as your group sits to eat their creation.
This activity is to reinforce the Journey the girls are starting and is for a fun badge.
Goal: To learn about my family and be able to share their stories
Toward the Award: My Family Story Skill Badge
Supplies:
See Brownie Supply Schedule
Pre-Meeting (15 min)
-Greet, sign-in, and put on nametags.
-Draw and color a picture or your family.
Snack Time (Snacks, Step #4) (10 min)
Opening (5 min)
Flag Ceremony
Gather and greet each other with the Girl Scout handshake.
Business (10 min)
In the Girl Scout Brownie Ring, take attendance and collect dues, review rules and assign kapers.
Using the talking stick, share your pictures that you drew.
Activity/Exploration (50 min)
Read a story about families (MFS, Step #1) The Great Big Book of Familiies by Mary Hoffman
Have the girls share where their family is from and have them put the flag sticker on the large world map. Have them share a family recipe with the other girls and tell what the recipe is and when they normally have it. (MFS, Step #2)
Using the talking stick have the girls share the object they brought that is special to their family. (MFS, Step #4)
Have the girls make a family tree, use page 5 of their packet or this handout. (MFS, Step #3)
Pass out the family crest worksheet and have the girls create their family crests with the pictures they brought. (MFS, Step #5)
Clean-up (10 min)
ALL girls participate in the clean-up time! Remind the girls of kapers and work together to leave the site better than you found it.
The Out Scout should be rotating the names on the Kaper Chart to see who will bring the snack and beverage for the next meeting.
Closing (5 min)
FRIENDSHIP CIRCLE – Use the Girl Scout Sign again to get the girls’ attention. Ask girls to gather around and form a circle.
Talk to the girls about the Connect at Home project.
Pass out the Healthy-Living Family Activity sheet and tell them that they will need to go home and ask their families for help filling it in. Remind them to bring it to the next meeting.
Let the girls know who will be bringing the snack next time and ask the girls to take the Snack Box home. Remind girls to show their parent the note inside the snack box.
- Form a Friendship Circle, sing, “Brownie Smile Song,” and do a friendship squeeze.
Goal: The girls engage in a team-building game and reflect on the experience, which guides them to create a Brownie Team Agreement - the first step to the second key.
Toward the Award: Connect Key, World Thinking Day
Supplies:
See Brownie Supply Schedule
Pre-Meeting (15 min)
-Greet, sign-in, and put on nametags.
-Color one of the pictures in the back of the GGGS Book.
Snack Time (Snacks, Step #4) (10 min)
Opening (5 min)
- Flag Ceremony
-Gather and greet each other with the Girl Scout handshake.
Business (10 min)
-In the Girl Scout Brownie Ring, take attendance and collect dues, review rules and assign kapers.
-“Today we are going to share our Family Stars.” Using the talking stick each girl will get to share something from their family star.
Activity/Exploration (50 min)
Discover Key Celebration Ceremony. Hand out the Discover Key patches.*
Play Pass the Ball, Please game to demonstrate working together as a team. See page 61 of Brownie Quest Guide.
Create the Brownie Team Agreement. See page 53 of the girls Brownie Quest book.
Read Chapter 2 of the girls Brownie Quest book
For World Thinking Day show the girls the Fair Trade video on YouTube and have them try some fair trade chocolate from Whole Foods.
Talk to the girls about the My Family Story Skill Building Badge. Tell them they will need to come prepared with the following:
Knowing where their family came from (ie. England, Poland, Italy, China).
A family recipe to share
An object that means something to your family to share (ie. photograph, book, or other object)
Think about 4 things that are important to your family (could be things that you included on your Family Star) or things that your family really likes (ie. a favorite meal, like pizza; your family pet; a favorite activity, etc.) that you could include on a family crest. Cut pictures out of magazines or bring pictures or be prepared to draw pictures that represent those things. Show them my example.
Clean-up (10 min)
ALL girls participate in the clean-up time! Remind the girls of kapers and work together to leave the site better than you found it.
The Out Scout should be rotating the names on the Kaper Chart to see who will bring the snack and beverage for the next meeting.
Closing (5 min)
FRIENDSHIP CIRCLE – Use the Girl Scout Sign again to get the girls’ attention. Ask girls to gather around and form a circle.
Let the girls know who will be bringing the snack next time and ask the girls to take the Snack Box home. Remind girls to show their parent the note inside the snack box.
- Form a Friendship Circle, sing, “Goodbye Brownies,” and do a friendship squeeze.
- Collect nametags and sign-out.
*This would be a good meeting to have a parent iron-on session.
Since our Brownie Quest is all about healthy eating and healthy lifestyles we planned to attend a Kids Yoga class at a local studio. The class was so much fun and the girls loved it.
Goal: Learning to keep ourselves healthy and happy
Toward the Award: My Best Self Skill Building Badge
Supplies:
See Brownie Supply Schedule
Pre-Meeting (15 min)
-Greet, sign-in, and put on nametags.
-Color in the elf and fill in the boxes on page 3 of the packet. (MBS, Step #1)
Snack Time (Snacks, Step #4) (10 min)
Opening (5 min)
- Flag Ceremony
- Gather and greet each other with the Girl Scout handshake.
Business (10 min)
In the Girl Scout Brownie Ring, take attendance and collect dues, review rules and assign kapers.
“Today we are going to work on a skill building badge…My Best Self. We only get one body, so it’s important to take care of it! We are going to learn ways to pay attention to what our bodies need and how to ask for health help if we need it.”
Using the talking stick share our Elf Selves with the group.
Activity/Exploration (50 min)
Have Tara lead the group in some exercises to “get the wiggles out” (ie. jumping jacks, run in place, touch toes)
Have Tara talk about the government-designed MyPlate food guidance system. Using construction paper and paper plates have each girl make their own MyPlate. (MBS, Step #2)
Talk with the girls about three common reasons your “tummy” might hurt and take their temperture. (MBS, Step #3)
Using the talking stick have each girl share one thing from their “happy bag”. (MBS, Step #4)
Have Mandy talk to the girls about being a school counselor and what they do to help students. (MBS, Step #5)
Pass out the Take Home letter and Family Star and tell them that they will need to go home and ask their families for help filling in the star. Remind them to bring it to the next meeting.
Clean-up (10 min)
ALL girls participate in the clean-up time! Remind the girls of kapers and work together to leave the site better than you found it.
The Out Scout should be rotating the names on the Kaper Chart to see who will bring the snack and beverage for the next meeting.
Closing (5 min)
FRIENDSHIP CIRCLE – Use the Girl Scout Sign again to get the girls’ attention. Ask girls to gather around and form a circle.
Award the girls with their My Best Self Skill Building Badges.
There will be a Troop Outing on February 7, 2015 to do a Kids Yoga Workshop at Mat Happy Yoga in Hilliard from 12:30pm-1:30pm for $5.00 a girl. This is just for fun. (Brownie Quest)
Let the girls know who will be bringing the snack next time and ask the girls to take the Snack Box home. Remind girls to show their parent the note inside the snack box.
- Form a Friendship Circle, sing, “Brownie Smile Song,” and do a friendship squeeze.
