Balcony Girls: Sweet and Sour Words

I'm beginning to sound like a broken record, but I'm loving the Balcony Girls materials and walking along this journey with a special group of girls.  Our meeting topic on Monday was gossip.  Whooza.  If that doesn't hit home with a group of preteen girls (and their leader), I don't know what would. 

Junior high can be rough.  The comments and rumors that go around in a typical day can eat away at a young girls self esteem. My goal for this meeting was to help the girls stop the gossip and to help them think of ways that they could end a conversation that was going "sour" easily.

We played the game "telephone" while the girls were working on their fleece blankets for badges and it was hilarious the way the words changed as girls whispered ear to ear.  I think at one time the phrase was "I like kicking soccer balls" and by the end of the line, the new phrase was " Cantaloupe is a yellow fuzzy ball."  Nothing like seeing how words can get mixed up as they spread.

What I really enjoyed was seeing the heart of these girls; they get it. They know that words can hurt and that half of what they "hear" at school is nothing but gossip and false truths.  It's hard to see through gossip when you are eleven years old because it sounds so fun and innocent, but these girls really grasped how much it can be sour.  They grasp how words can pierce and things can quickly snowball out of control  Many have been on the bad end of the gossip and hurtful words.  Each girl had great ideas on how to stop a bad conversation and how what might sound like caring is really gossip.  These balcony girls have deep insight.

I loved it when the girls asked if that's why the snack was Dreamsicle Slushes since they were both sweet and sour; just like gossip.  Words that might sound sweet and really meant to be sour.  Are these girls the best or what.

To keep it real, they did complain a little this week.  They couldn't believe that I expected them to cut out their own fleece blankets. They thought I would do the hard work for them like I have before. I told them I full trust in them that they could lay it out, pin it, cut it and tie the knots.  I believed in them.

I think it was my own daughter who said that I sounded so sweet saying it like they were growing up, but it was a little sour that they then had to do all the work! Love these girls.

She's Trained and Ready

Miss M is now Infant and Child CPR trained as part of her Red Cross Babysitting Certification training . This means she's now ready to babysit real live children. Your children!

Miss M along with a few of her friends and fellow Balcony Girls spent their day off last week sitting in a classroom for six hours learning all about taking care of children, how to save their lives, and what to do in case of an emergency.

M learned how to interview the parents of prospective babysitting families, the proper diapering of babies, how best to handle strangers at the door, choking children, and what to do if your customer is late returning home.  I sat in on a little of the session and I'm not sure how I ever took care of my own three children.

The girls learned how to give CPR to babies and it was not the old fashioned rescue breathing way, but by chest compressions.  Miss M supposedly got a little carried away, and might have broken a few ribs but the "child' survived.  Isn't that all that really matters. Hopefully, this is a skill she'll never need!  I've been CPR trained for years and am thankful its a card in my wallet I've never needed to "activate."

I can hardly believe my little girl is at the age that she could be in charge of other children.  Not because she's not ready, but where have years gone?  She was the little girl excited to have a babysitter come to our house to play.  She was the girl who would wait at the door for her favorite sitter so they could make crafts and read books.

Now, she'll be the girl that other little girls and boys are waiting for, the sitter that moms will call because they know Miss M will play with their children and not just sit on the couch reading a fashion magazine.  Mr C told his sister that, if she did a good job, she could earn good money and buy herself the Itouch she wants.  Of course, he could buy one today with all his umpiring money.  Miss M said with Christmas coming maybe he could just be the good brother and buy her one today!

Miss M made up some adorable little cards announcing her skills and newly acquired certificates.  She can hardly wait to hand them out to Miss A's little friends' families.

Balcony Girls: Lesson Two, Pumpkin Crafts and Confidence

I'm really loving leading this group of sixth grade girls through the Balcony Girls material.  Yesterday was our second meeting of the year and, since it was a week before Halloween, I used the fourth lesson which included an adorable craft you make with pumpkins.

Thankfully, this meeting did not involve a "life lesson" for the leader. 

The topic was Confidence and from the look on the faces of the girls as we sat around the dining room table, it hit home.  I loved the visual of crumpling up a crisp twenty dollar bill and asking the girls what the value of the bill was now that it was all crumpled up and messy.  The examples of gossip, rumors and friends breaking your trust as a way you might get "messy"  really struck a cord with each girl. 

Making our Pumpkin Flower Pots and getting all "messy" on the deck and digging out the guts of the pumpkin so that we could put a little "beauty" back into it was a great visual.  My back deck was a mess of pumpkin seeds and potting soil at the end, but it matched my previously clean kitchen with the remnants of the "homemade apple pies" we made as our snack using biscuits and apple pie filling. Yummo!  But a little mess was so worth it in order to connect with these girls and pass on these life lessons.

It does my heart good to be leading these girls through our Balcony Girls/Scouting year.  Next on the agenda is to make homemade fleece blankets to display our GS patches.  We've even talked of creating our own balcony girl patches so we can remember these lessons in the years to come.  Better get my creative juices flowing.

Girl Scouts at the Lake: Take Two, New Crew

Miss A's lifelong dream of having her friends to the lake for a party has finally been realized!  For at least the last three years, she has asked me every summer to have group of just her friends out to swim and hang out at the lake.  She's wanted either a birthday party at the lake complete with boat rides, a sleepover party at the lake for at least ten little girl friends, or a no parents party that included a bonfire. 

Really, what little girl doesn't want a huge beach party with a bunch of little girls who don't know how to swim? Well, at least that little girl's mother didn't want that responsibility. 

Thankfully, this past weekend, Miss A's dreams were realized and the event was perfect.  The first grade Daisy troop had a retreat out at the lake on Saturday and every little Girl Scout brought her mother along.  Perfect!  The weather was just right for swimming and the girls were not the least bit afraid of jumping into the lake. 

Miss M came along to help and we nicknamed her the Pied Piper as the little girls just followed her around and did whatever she did. M took out the paddle boat on four different tours so that every girl got a chance to ride along.  She even beached it on the opposite shore and played Chinese fire drill so they had a chance to ride shotgun.

We made a troop flag (copied the idea from the older girls years ago, yeah for keeping that thing around) with our hand prints, planned our service projects for the year, and had a great afternoon of bonding.  I love our troop leader.  She's so organized and I love the fact that I just have to stand by as the assistant leader and offer her encouragement. 

With the help of some great moms, we had a gourmet Hot Dog dinner on the grill and then Mr. P and Mr C came to the rescue (after the airshow) to make a fire in the pit for s'mores.  I am a fire novice so this was a great help to me.  The girls even earned their "S'more Fun" patch for their daisy vest.

It was the perfect kickoff for our second year of Girl Scouts for Miss A and her buddies.  It's a great group of girls and moms.  I think this might be a new tradition for our troop.

Daisy Scouts Baseball Outing

As if the last day of school wasn't enough excitement for Miss A, her Daisy Girl Scout Troop went to a Minor League Baseball Game.

It was our first trip to the new stadium and, while it was Girl Scout Night at the Game, it was a smaller than normal crowd due to stormy weather most of the day. Thankfully, the clouds cleared and it was beautiful night to watch some ball.

Let's be honest and say that Miss A barely knew there was a game going on. She was more excited to spend the evening chatting with her friends, eating a pretzel, and hoping to catch a foul ball. I'm grateful that no balls flew that close to us to be in A's reach as I'm not sure she would have seen it coming!!

Miss A thought the Girl Scout Parade on the field was fun, but she was disappointed that she didn't' get to run the bases like she hoped. Next year, she'd love to spend the night on the field like her sister did last year. I'll take that into consideration, but that might be more outdoor sleeping than I allow myself in a single decade!

What a great way to kick off summer.

GS Crafting: Over My Head and I'lll Admit It!

Sunday afternoon was Girl Scout crafting at our house. A few weeks ago, I'd taken the Girl Scouts fabric shopping for photo boards and it was now time to make the boards.

This is where I admit I'm craft hindered. I love the idea of a great craft, but the reality of carrying out the finished project leaves a little to be desired. The Girl Scout Photo board is a prime example. My plan was to make a sample photo board last week and have all the kinks worked out before the girls arrived.

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Reality proved that I didn't leave the house for almost five days and that meant the sample board was made on Sunday afternoon; just hours before the big event. It also meant that the project was much more difficult than I had originally thought. The staples were hard to put into the plywood. The process of ironing the fabric, stapling the quilt backing and fabric to the board, and then to get enough ribbon cut and ready was hard.

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The boards are adorable, but the plan to have the girls walk out with finished projects was soon abandoned when we needed to make a run to Michael's for more ribbon (4 rolls per girl) and we needed much more than 1.5 hours to finish.

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Thankfully, these girls are saints, as is my husband for bailing me out of stapling and figuring out how to get these projects done. I've learned that I need to do a better job of planning crafts out step by step. I can't wing it. While the girls had a great time and it was fun to see how the fabric creations are coming together, its disappointing that we didn't finish.

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The finished projects will be great. It's just going to take a little while to get there.

Time Spent with Girls

It was a girls' weekend. Really, it was a Girl Scout weekend. Due to snow storms and sickness, we've not had a Girl Scout meeting in two months. In February, we are making up for lost time. In the next few weeks, we'll have had three special events.

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Saturday, I took the girls to a play on Bullying at our Children's Theater. The play was advertised as for the "10 and up" crowd and they weren't kidding. Knowing that the subject matter was on bullying, I thought it was perfect for our girls since they've just entered the junior high years.

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Girls bully too. In fact if you listen to my husband, he thinks girls are even "meaner" than boys and their feuds last longer and are more personal and destructive. Boys just hit each other, girls use their words.

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The "Misfits" dealt with all kinds of bullying and name calling, but focused a lot on the "labels" we give each other. My only qualm about the play was that it went into the issue of sexual orientation a little more than I was expecting for the pre-teen crowd. One character was "gay" and was interested in another character. While I do not in any way condone picking on someone who lives this lifestyle, I'm not sure that 10 year old girls are ready to watch a play about a boy "liking" another guy in that way.

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After the play, we headed to a cupcake shop for some girl talk. While at first the girls said that bullying is not something they have dealt with or think happens at their school, once they got a little sugar in them and relaxed a little they really shared. We made a pledge to each other not to bully and to be the person who steps in when others are bullied. Each girl promised to tell an adult if they see it happening or experience it themselves.

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We decided that a lot of the bullying happens when girls/boys who are not happy at home or going through a lot of junk and take it out on others. I really like these girls. They are mature and caring, but know how to giggle and have fun too!

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Then to add to the fun, Monday, after school, our troop headed to Hobby Lobby to pick out fabric to make Photo Bulletin Boards. Watching seven girls try to find the perfect colors, designs and style is a lesson in patience.

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When we get together over President's Day weekend and create our masterpieces, it will be a whole different lesson. Hope I catch the craft bug by then!

I Survived Teaching Knitting to Girl Scouts

"Knitting bags" ready for Girl Scout Lessons

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In through the door.

Up over the back.

Peek thru the window

Out jumps Jack.

Mothers should not be allowed to get sick. There should be a magic pill they give you after you deliver your first child that fends off any illness for life (or at least until all the kids are out of the house). I've been battling a bad cold for the past few days so between feeling like my head might explode and my throat must be on fire, I've also heard the fabulous sounds of knitting needles clinking and stitches being counted.

I "taught" my Girl Scout troop to knit on Monday. Really, I taught them a catchy poem (see above), gave them a bag with needles, yarn and instructions, and then, after watching a video on a big screen about Continental Knitting, set them free.

Each Bag Contained a Pair of Bamboo Needles and Yarn- I cast on 24 stitches and did two rows to get them started.

Which meant my mother and I helped, ripped off, cast on again and started over, and tried to teach them to knit a dishcloth. Thank goodness my mother was able to come as 16 girls quickly outnumber you. She is a former Girl Scout leader (mine) so she understands.

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By the end of the day, about 1/2 the girls seemed to be "getting" it and the other 1/2 were struggling. Only one cried in frustration. Next week, we'll try again at my house instead of at the library at school so it will be just a few of the girls who really want to learn. In two more weeks, my mother is bringing in reinforcements for me. A few of her girlfriends who knit are coming to help me for our final class. Thank you Mom!

Above all though, my own daughter "caught the knitting bug" she's been working on her project a little every night and once again in the morning before school. She's getting it. She counts her stitches each row. Sometimes there is an additional one thrown in and we get rid of it the next time and her stitches are a little tight, but in reality, she's light years ahead of me when I learned two years ago and decades younger so I'm thinking that she'll surpass my skills sooner rather than later!

M's project thus far. Looking good.

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I told M yesterday that if she's the only one who picks up knitting as a hobby from all of this work it will be worth it. I'm not sure I would have had the patience to just teach her alone. Somehow the pressure of the group made me more comfortable.

Her mother, grandmother and bestemor will be so proud of her finished project that we might have to frame it. This morning, as we were heading out the door to school, I tried to rush her up and her response to me was priceless: " just a minute mom, I've just got two more stitches to do."

Guess this cold I have really isn't so bad. At least my ears are clear and I can hear those wonderful words flow out of her mouth.