Digital Movie Maker Badge

1. Learn digital video basics.

Teach yourself.
I spent at least two hours reading books or visiting websites about digital video and movie making.

2. Film. Then film some more...

Film a day in your life.
I captured a full day on film.

3. Pick the perfect subject.

Share a scene from a book in the public domain.
I searched favorite books for a scene that would make a great short movie.

4. Action!

Work solo.
I used a basic camera to capture my subject.

5. Edit and premiere your movie.

Add transitions.
I used a "wipe" which is a neat effect that smooths the cuts from one scene to the next.

Winter Camping!

Winter Camping 2014! Yes we have *at least* this much snow (probably more) and right now the camper is totally buried in it so we are indoors!

Here are some of the fun activities we did this weekend:

Played outside in the snow
Made a fire in the wood stove
Watched the Winter Olympics
Baked chocolate chip cookes
Ate warm chocolate chip cookies
Did 2014 World Thinking Day patch activities
Did UK Girl Guide badge activities
Went shopping
Read good books
Made a winter craft
Worked on GS calendar
Did activities for Digital Movie Maker badge
Went to the movies
Slept in

2014 World Thinking Day

We celebrate World Thinking Day this year on Saturday, February 22, 2014!

Girls worldwide say "education opens doors for all girls and boys" is the theme for the 2014 World Thinking Day. Based on the United Nations Millennium Goal 2, this theme centers around achieving universal primary education, and especially focused on making sure girls have access to education. One of the most powerful ways to reduce global poverty is to educate girls, and this tenet is also supported in this year's Thinking Day activities.

We did Cadette activity #3, which had two videos from UN Web TV depicting the lives of girls in Pakistan and Egypt. We watched the videos and discussed some of the challenges that girls in other countries face when trying to get an education.

Some of the challenges that girls in other countries confront in trying to get an education are:

cultural bias
poverty
early marriage
working at an early age
limited resources for education


I would stay in school because I could help my family more than if I didn't stay in school. I could get a better job with the educational background.

We also highly recommend the Girl Effect (activity #1), which we completed previously!

Eating for Beauty Badge

1. Know how good nutrition helps your body stay healthy.

Make your own food pyramid.

We took a print out of the FDA food pyramid and drew in what was in our pantry and fridge, using FDA guidelines. It turns out that we had a lot of produce, dairy, and fish/chicken in the fridge and oatmeal, pasta, rice, quinoa, beans, canned roasted tomatoes, and baking ingredients in the pantry. Those ingredients can be combined to make many healthy recipes like chili, and homemade bread.

2. Find out how what you eat affects your skin.

Get enough water.
I drink water throughout the day and after being outside. I always take water bottles to my after school activities, and we take plenty of extra water for hikes. I also drink water when I am hanging out at home or in my room. To make sure I am getting enough water every day, I have a water bottle with me or a glass of water and take a drink before, during, and after activities.

3. Explore how your diet affects your stress level.

Chemical detective.

We researched food additives and chemicals believed to contribute to anxiety and stress. There are a lot of them! Sometimes we are unaware that they are contained in so many processed foods. The key is to stay away from processed foods and eat whole foods.

4. Investigate how what you eat affects your sleep.

REM it up.
I understand the importance of uninterrupted sleep. My parents make sleep a priority in our house! To make sure I stop drinking water early enough before bedtime, I have water at dinner and then not too much after that, except when I have dance. This helps me sleep better because I am not waking up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom.

5. Look at how your diet affects your energy.

Do an exercise/energy experiment.

Here is my list of 20 (21) healthy foods that can be made and eaten quickly:

organic nachos
peanut butter crackers
oyster crackers
Luna bars (energy bars)
peanut butter and banana
apple and peanut butter
peanut butter sandwich
tortilla and cheese
peanut butter (on a spoon)
yogurt
almonds
fig bars
carrots
cheddar crackers
cheese quesadilla
glass of milk
orange juice
apple juice
lots of water
dark chocolate covered blueberries
other dried fruit

Program Aide Training

Today we had the training for the Program Aide award pin. This was step 2 of the Program Aide, which involved a council-designed leadership training. It included topics such as learning to work with children, gaining a deeper understanding of special areas like science, art, and the outdoors.

We also discussed adapting activities for girls with disabilities, how to run a group, how to run activities, how to run a meeting, and different ways of dealing with problems as they occur and preventing them from happening in the first place.

Good Sportsmanship Badge

1. Create your own definition of sportsmanship.

Watch a sports series.
August, 2012 - We watched the Olympics!

2. Be a good competitor.

Make an illustrated quote book.

3. Be a good teammate.

4. Psych yourself up.

5. Put your definition of good sportsmanship into action.

Winter Solstice Hike!

In honor of the First Day of Winter, we hiked in a local county park. It was a nice day, with some sun and a high of 54F! Much milder weather than the past couple of weeks when the highs were in the 20s and 30s with three snowstorms!

The trails were snow and slush covered, and many parts were under inches of water due to thawing. There was no ice on the rocks, so climbing was easy.

We saw and heard birds and saw a squirrel on the ridge. There was a report of a rabid raccoon on one of the trails that we were going to hike, so we changed our route to avoid the animal.

Public Speaker Badge

1. Get a feel for performing solo.

Read aloud three poems or one short story.

2. Focus on body language.

Get a group together and play charades.

3. Find your voice.

Tell your own story, from birth until now, in 60 seconds.

4. Choose or create a piece to perform.

Pick an existing piece.

5. Get onstage!

Create a theater in your own home.

LiA Award

Today we completed the requirements for the Leader In Action (LiA) Award. It is a mentoring award that is earned by assisting a Brownie group on their National Leadership Journey. The Journey series we mentored was It's Your World - Change It! 

We shared our organizational skills, used special talents, taught Brownies something special from their Journey, and reflected on the experience.

Special Agent Badge

1. Investigate Investigation:

Host an "Identity Crisis" party:

We fingerprinted everyone and discovered that some of the fingerprint types included:
tented arch
plain loop
double loop

The most common types are the loop and whorl. The arch is less common, and having the tented arch is a rare fingerprint! We created a collage of the fingerprints.

We also had "finger food" for more fun : )

2. Reveal Reality:

Try the eyewitness challenge:

3. Try the science:

Forensic biology:
We did the "Extracting DNA from a banana" experiment.

4. Key into body language:

Research body language:

5. Practice the art of detection:

Create of re-create a spy scenario and design a disguise:

Fall Hike #3

Our hike today was at a state forest. It was a day with great weather and beautiful scenery as the leaves continue to change!

Archery

Today we had an archery session. It was fun! We learned about scoring in archery, and worked on our aim.

Fall Hike #2

Fall Hike #2 was at a local county park today. It started out really foggy, but cleared up by the afternoon. The trail was scenic with the changing leaves, and we had some rock scrambling along the way. One part was a rock cave that the trail went through!

Apple and Pumpkin Picking!

Today we went to the farm for apple and pumpkin picking! It was awesome!
We had a hayride to the orchards and pumpkin fields, and afterward had homemade ice cream!

Fall Hike!

Today was our first Fall Hike of the season!
It was a great weather day with the leaves starting to change.

Rededication Ceremony

Today we had our Rededication Ceremony, marking our rededication to the ideals of Girl Scouting!

Earth Day 2013

We celebrated Earth Day by taking a trip to a park and riding bikes on the bike path through the woods. We rode to the pond and did some bird watching!

Trailblazing Badge

1. Start planning your adventure.

Ask an older Girl Scout or Girl Scout volunteer for tips.
1/19/13 -We hiked today with the Hiking and Backpacking group and discussed different kinds of gear as well as good hiking and backpacking spots.

2. Get your body and your teamwork skills ready.

Build teamwork and endurance.
1/19/13 - We hiked today with the Hiking and Backpacking group! It was awesome! The hiking spot was a county park where I've hiked many times before.
2/16/13 - We hiked today with the Hiking and Backpacking group at a state forest. This was a new hiking spot for me, and it was awesome! We climbed a lot of rocks and saw the falls after lunch.
3/17/13 - We hiked to a local park today with my family. We observed signs of spring, ducks on the pond, and the little waterfall.

3. Create your menu.

Get into quick-energy snacks.
We did this for our hikes and I know what I need to pack for snacks and lunch.

Take the trash challenge.
We pack lightly and have minimal trash to take home.

4. Gain some trailblazing know-how.

Learn how to purify water.
1/19/13 - We learned how to purify water from a hand pump purifier using water from the reservoir.

5. Head out on the trail.

See the stars.
We went winter camping and did a night hike where we stopped several times to see the stars and identify constellations. It was a cold, clear night!

Cookie Sales!

This year, I sold 21 cases of Girl Scout cookies to raise money for the trip to Europe!

The customers liked Thin Mints, Samoas, and Tagalongs the best, followed by Do-Si-Dos.

Thank you to all of my customers for your support!

2013 Girl Scout Week!

Girl Scout Week this year was March 10-16, 2013, and we celebrated by having two cookie booth sales, celebrating the Girl Scout 101st Birthday with ice cream and cake, exercising, making and eating healthy snacks, and attending a special meeting of our service unit, during which the mayor read a proclamation that recognized Girl Scout Week 2013!