Girl Power

As we are wrapping up the school year, we are also wrapping up another year of girl scouts.  I have to say, I had a ball leading Erin and Halle's troop along with my friend, Erin.  It has been the perfect reason to get together with a friend and talk about fun things to plan over a glass (or two) of wine.  :)

It has been great getting to know these sweet girls and we've got a fun group of girls.  9 out of 10 are returning next year!!!  The last girl's mom decided to start her own troop because she was inspired by what we've done this year.  I'd say that is a 100% success!!

When Erin and I started this journey, we were determined to focus on challenging the girls - challenging them physically and building their sense of courage and bravery, challenging them to grow emotionally - think of others & learn empathy, challenging them to defy stereotypes and do things even when they think they can't for whatever reason.  I'm so proud of the activities we've done so far and I'm excited for next year!

Here's a recap of our girl scout fun this spring.  It is a super photo heavy post, so sit back and relax!!

Erin and I went round and round about how to help the girls earn their "considerate and caring" patch and finally came up with the idea of making homeless kits.  The girls did a great job empathizing with how a person who doesn't have a home would feel and what things would make them feel better.  One of my favorite meetings.  :)

On the board behind them are all their thoughts.

A note to include in the kit - I Luv U.  So cute!!

 This meeting was all about friendship and team building!  We had the girls pair up for "blind" walks and then they had to carry blocks across the room in all sorts of funny ways.  They had a ball.

They were supposed to be selling cookies

I don't have as many pictures of Lia's group since they do different activities, but I snagged some from Facebook to share.  Here they are spreading wildflower seeds.

Really cute picture, except my kid is covered up!!!  She's in the back...  that tiny sliver you see.... 

Trip to the wildflower center with the little ones.  I think we were supposed to be learning about using resources wisely...  We mostly just had fun.

Juanita's cat visited the first graders!!

A little yoga instruction never hurts...  

As part of the first grader's animal unit, we went to the zoo!!!  They had a really fun presentation ready for the girls with animals they could touch.  They also had little centers in the room where they could learn about animal skins, use a microscope and build a bird nest.  It was pretty awesome.

Science day!!  The day that took the most planning with the biggest payoff.  It was a total blast.  There were two demonstrations Erin and I did with the girls and then we had 5 different activities set up with awesome parent volunteers.  It was a super fun day.

I made a video of science day to share with the group and parents, but I can't figure out how to get it to imbed on the blog..  Here's a link:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/1ttvE7Tqb6HYXPDP9

Elephant toothpaste!!

We were also very brave and tie-dyed shirts!!  I think we did over 30 by the time is was all done because we were so kind and generous to do them for the whole first grade group too!!  These are still in the works and are getting some special additions for camping!!  We'll be very noticeable!

Lia got to hitch a ride to the animal shelter with some friends!

I adore this picture.

 The next big headliner was a visit to a horse ranch!!  One of the girls' in the first grade group has a barn and three horses and they invited us out to come learn about the horses.  The girls were pumped to hear they would be allowed to RIDE!!  (sit on the horse and walk while being led...)  haha

The girls were super excited to see a "cow horse"

Last but not least!!  Lia bridged to BROWNIES!!!  Hooray!!!  Such a fun day celebrating this sweet girl's advancement in girl scouts.

Last moment as a Daisy!

The girls all got a little gift with a box of brownies inside with a cute poem - they thought it was super fun! 

 Next up, we end the year with a bang with an end of the year roller skating party.  Then a break for summer vacay!!

It has been a wild ride and I've loved it.  :)