Girl Scout Camp Training

(I just saw that I hadn't posted this and I am so sorry!  It's been ready to go for months, as I did this Camp Training late last Fall, and I can't believe it's not out there for y'all to laugh about.  I love camping!  My co-leader on the other hand...)

As a teen, I camped every summer with our church youth organization; Young Women.  I always loved it.

When I became a mother, I wasn't sure if I still would, until we took this trip, and I know now that I like camping no matter with children or not.

Just recently, I went on a Girl Scout Camp Training weekend.  There wasn't much information, before hand, about what we were to do, so I wasn't sure how "campy" it was all going to be.  All I did know, was we were to be sleeping in cabins.

I went with one other leader from our troop.  She's not outdoorsy, so I feared a little for her.  When I packed, the only thing I bought were hiking boots, she bought everything.  Even a new comforter, just for camping.  It was fun though.

We started with learning about fires and making fire starters.

These are pieces of candle sticks wrapped in wax paper.

We then went out and made our own little fires.

I was the only one to get mine on the first try.

I used my fire starter.

"That's cheating!" they said.

I said, "Why did we make fire starters if we weren't going to use them?"

My other troop leader, posing, was in the first team to start the fire for lunch.

I truly was proud of how well she did.  The type to refuse to not wear make up and perfume on a camping trip, she did very well.

I was a chef for lunch.

We made foil dinners for lunch.

Our dessert cooking in a dutch oven.

The extra potatoes, onions, and carrots.

It was a beef patty with potatoes, onions, and carrots.

It was good!

Our ready dessert.

An apple spice cake.

My serving of apple spice cake.

I forgot to take pictures of where we slept.  It was very nice.  I much looked more like a place you'd rent to hunt than a place for Girl Scout camping.

The next morning was cold and I didn't have a beanie.

I did, though, bring my black infinity scarf.

I wrapped it around my head three times; it kept my ears warm and hair back as we make breakfast.

She was a cook this time.

We had eggs, bacon, and tortillas.

Next, was knots.

Tents!

We split into two teams and each put up a two man tent.

Our tent had two doors, which made me very intrigued.

Cooking lunch!

We had Scout Stew.

My servings.

See that mess kit?  The bowl and the plate? 

 It was my father in law's when he was in the army.

Lunch's dessert.

PEACH COBBLER!

The absolute best dessert you can make on a camping trip!

It was such a nostalgic taste.

My share.

Us with our instructors.

The woman on the furthest left is in her mid-80s.  She's been doing this a long time.  Before we all left after lunch, she told us we might be her last camp training she does, and if we were, it was a great way to go.

We had a lot of fun.

If you are a troop leader getting ready to go to camp training,

don't worry, it's not hard and it's a lot of fun.  

Wear layers to peal off as you work.

Don't try using peppermint to deter mosquitos.  It works, but nats love it dearly.

This post was just a view of the fun I had at camp.

Return next week for a quick list on what I took to Girl Scout camp training!

See y'all then!

Young Women New Beginnings

Last year, our ward Primary president was moving to El Paso, far from us, and if your are a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, you know that means new callings.  I was second counselor in the presidency, then I was called into the Bishop's office and was asked if I would serve as first counselor in the Young Women.  That's right.  Young Women.  I of course, accepted the calling.  I was nervous in accepting since it would be my first time in Young Women since I was a Young Woman myself; about thirteen years ago.

When I returned to the Primary room, the newly appointed Primary president, previous first counselor, sat next to me and leaned over, "I just want you to know, I fought for you."  I'm not telling you this to brag, but to say that I felt so blessed to be that loved and needed.  When I do a job, I always wonder if it's enough.  Sometimes I don't do enough, and I know I'm not, and sometimes, I think I'm not doing enough and people thank me for doing so much.  Simply put, I'm grateful to know I was doing a good job in Primary.

So, now I come to what this post is really about.

Young Women New Beginnings

If you are not a member of my church, I will explain.

If you are a member, I will still explain.

New Beginnings is an event done with the young women of the church, girls ages 12 through 17.  (They leave the Young Women group at age eighteen, or when they finish high school, more of their choice then.  I waited until I was eighteen at the end of July so I could do one last Young Women camp.)

New Beginnings is a time to welcome new Young Women to the group, talk about the Young Women program, Personal Progress, the youth theme for the year, and what is expected of the girls and leaders.

The president of our Young Women, Q, plays in an orchestra and around Spring and Christmas, she is very busy.  For this, I was put in charge of New Beginnings for the year.  I love to organize and throw parties, so I was not only happy to plan New Beginnings, but I was grateful I was fully in charge of it. Not that I don't get along with others, only, when I have a vision of something, I truly like to run with it.  Young Women president Q told me she can be creative, but she can't make it come together in party form, and since I did the youth Christmas dance, she knew I could handle it.

We are a very small ward; we have four girls, one of which turned 12 on the last day of February.  She is also a new convert, newly baptized, and we are so excited to have her start Young Women.

On to how I planned our New Beginnings.

First thing I did was explore Pinterest.

That helped me decided that I didn't want a theme, but merely a color scheme to go with the 2018 Youth Theme; Peace in Christ.

Pastels and spring were my choosing.

Secondly, I put together the emblem I would repeat.

 

I would use it all over things.

Third thing I did was sketch out a script:

Conducting: YW president

Opening song: Walk Tall, You're a Daughter of God

     chorister: YW m.

     piano player: Sister W.

Opening prayer: Sister "Me"

Introduction to Young Women Program: YW president

     give books to new YW J.

   Beehives: YW A.

       symbol

       scripture

       testimony

   Mia Maids: YW m.

       symbol

       scripture

       testimony

   Laurels: YW M.

       symbol

       scripture

       testimony

YW Values and Symbols: Sister "Me"

2018 Mutual Theme: YW president

Special Musical Number: "Peace in Christ"

YW Camp: Sister "Me"

     give book to new YW J.

Closing remarks: Bishop

Closing song: As Sisters in Zion, hymn 309

Closing prayer: Sister P.

When I plan something with lots of talking, such as New Beginnings, I make a script.  It seems to be daunting to others when I call it a script, but it's always important for everyone to know when they speak and when they do a movement.  Otherwise, you have people looking at you and whispering, "What do I do next?"

In our Young Women, it is only me and Q, no second counselor or secretary, so we had to double up on duties as we have been doing through our whole callings.

It was still so nice.

Lastly, I sketched out the decor plans.

I'd say I came pretty close.

We couldn't find the large standing easels.

Our table.

I made the banner myself and laminated them to be used for years to come!

Each flag is a Young Women Value:

Faith

Divine Nature

Individual Worth

Knowledge

Choice and Accountability

Good Works

Integrity

Virtue

All things the Young Women strive to understand and work for through Personal Progress.

Every year there is a new youth theme and scripture from where the theme comes.

This year is "Peace in Christ," Doctrine & Covenants 19:23

"Learn of me, and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my Spirit, and you shall have peace in me."

I love that scripture so much.  Having peace in Christ is a great blessing.

The theme and scripture is in the frame on the left,

and the frame on the right says; New Beginnings ----- Ward 2018.

You can see we have pictures of our Young Women, which those are now on the wall of our room.

There are also the bags with the necklaces I made for this year's youth theme inside,

along with a book mark with the scripture on one side and the lyrics to the 2018 theme's song on the other side.

I got all my supplies for the necklace from Hobby Lobby and almost every bit was marked down more than their usual percentage off.  The price of each necklace to make was $1.05 to $2.47, depending on if the cord you had was on sale or not.

The larger bag was for our new girl that would receive manuals and jewelry from the past two year's youth themes and the Young Women torch.

Other things on display are the bookmark straps, the gold and silver Young Women medallion, the Young Women torch pendent and pin, and the camp torch patch.  As well as a statue of Jesus and flowers in a vase.

We were in the Relief Society room, so the frames on the wall are not Young Women, but the ones on the chalkboard are from our room.  The large frame on the left with the Young Women Theme, I don't know where that is from.  A previous president got it for the Young Women, and Q didn't know from where it was found.

We put the piano in the corner to change things up and added the pretty greenery on top.  The draping around the chalkboard are two plastic table covers.  That is one of my favorite party hacks.

Our program table. 

I couldn't show you much of the program since I don't have permission from the girls and their parents to use their names and images on my blog.

Basically, the inside left had the scripture of this year, Doctrine & Covenants 19:23, then below that was a list of us in Young Women and our positions.

On the inside right, at the top was the "Peace in Christ" watercolor wreath I put together, and followed below was the program.

On the back I had a quote from the song of the year; 

"When there's no peace on earth, there is peace in Christ." 

Peace in Christ by Nik Day

I didn't get pictures of the girls doing their parts, and I regret not doing so.

Each level in Young Women is organized by age;

Beehives 12-13

Mia Maids 14-15

Laurels 16-17

A. was our only Beehive until J. turned twelve, so I had her tell about Beehives.

m. is our most recent Mia Maid, so she covered Mia Maids.

M. is our oldest Laurel, so she talked about Laurels.

Beehives are represented by, obviously, a beehive, which represents harmony, cooperation, and work of the early pioneers of the church.

Mia Maid are represented by a rose which symbolized love, faith, and purity.

Laurels are represented by a laurel wreath that has always stood as a symbol of honor and accomplishment.

During their years in Young Women, the girls learn about themselves and about Heavenly Father.  The whole reason for them to do any of this work is to become closer to Heavenly Father.

Q, doing her talk about the youth theme for 2018.

Her paper says:

What do you know about Christ that brings you peace?

He loves you.

He will help you.

He does not lie.

He knows how you feel.

And with each one of those lines, she had a scripture to back it up.

All of us singing "Peace in Christ."

There is peace in Christ

When we learn of Him.

Feel the love He felt for us

When He bore our sins.

Listen to His words.

Let them come alive.

If we know Him as He is,

There is peace in Christ.

He gives us hope

When hope is gone.

He gives us strength

When we can't go on.

He gives us shelter

In the storms of life.

When there's no peace on earth,

There is peace in Christ.

There is peace in Christ

When we walk with Him

Through the streets of Galilee

To Jerusalem.

Mend the broken hearts.

Dry the tearfilled eyes.

When we live the way He lived,

There is peace in Christ.

He gives us hope

When hope is gone.

He gives us strength

When we can't go on.

He gives us shelter

In the storms of life.

When there's no peace on earth,

There is peace in Christ.

He gives us hope

When hope is gone.

He gives us strength

When we can't go on.

He gives us shelter

In the storms of life.

When there's no peace on earth,

There is peace in Christ.

When there's no peace on earth,

There is peace in Christ.

I even covered my face because, well, I think I was trying to hit a high note and I look so strange that I couldn't stop laughing at myself!  A mother in the crowd took this picture and I'm really glad she did.

It was great fun and I felt the Spirit so strongly.

I am truly grateful to these Young Women I have come to know more about.  Two of them I've know their whole life and it's amazing to see how much they have grown.  I look forward to getting to know our new Young Women and getting to know them all, deeper.

If y'all want to know more about the Young Women program, just click.

Purpose of Young Women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

Youth in the Church

and Messages From Leaders to the Youth

If you are curious about members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, commonly know as Mormons, just click here.

If you would like to use my "New Beginnings" wreath or "Peace in Christ" wreath, I give you permission to do so as long it is not used for monetary gain.

New Girl Scout Arrangment

So, recently, we have had several changes to our Girl Scout troop.

We had two leaders leave, leaving us with two leaders including myself left, and took four girls with them.  It's something that happens in troops and I was sad that it happened to ours.

 

Now, we are down to twelve girls, two leaders, and one very involved mom, and two regular involved moms.  We still have our wanted even numbers of Daisies and Brownies; 6 Daisies and 6 Brownies.

 

Having even numbers on both sides leaves to have fun with Big/Lil' Sister projects and activities in the future.

 

Just before the losses of two leaders, our main troop leader came up with a different seating arrangement.

 

This year, we had each of the girls have their own set of supplies, and as leaders, we would set them out at their seat before each meeting.  We had the girls in assigned spots, accounting for personalities at every turn.  We kept snarky ones away from each other, put quiet ones with louder ones to help bring them out as well as help mellow the loud ones.  Overly sensitive ones stayed away from ones that are more abrasive as well.  When you get to know your girls, it's not as hard as it sounds to arrange seating.

 

We meet in a conference room, so it is large and spread out.  We had the girls sit in a large horse shoe shape with a single table at the opening for the leader.

 

The change we made was to the arrangement of the tables.

Evelyn is that Brownie in the front

 

Instead of having these skinny table in a horse shoe, they are now arranged to make large tables.

2 Daisies and 2 Brownies to a table; each table had a table leader, chair leader, supply leader, and trash leader.  Table leader is responsible for making sure the three others do their jobs.

 

In this new arrangement, every Girl Scout gets to have important responsibilities on simpler levels.

When it comes to Girl Scouts, it's all about teaching the girls to be responsible and care for others.

 

During our first trial of this new arrangement, Evelyn was the leader for her table, and she did a great job.  It seemed easier to have the room cleaned up when each table had their own girl responsible for cleaning off one table, one girl at each table responsible for only four chairs, and one girl at each table responsible for only four sets of supplies.

 

It's surprising what little changes can do.



Girl Scout Girl Binder (plus a few tips)

Excuse my lateness!

The new Girl Scout year has officially begun!

This year we have added something to our weekly activities and I'm really liking it.

Last year, our first year as a troop, we had a floppy folder for the girls' journeys.

This year, we have implemented having a regular 1 inch white binder they use for every activity.

This is Evelyn's binder.  Since she has bridged to Brownies, her cover page is a Brownie "quilt."

Daisies have their own design on their binder.

There is a lot going on here first thing.  We have Daisy Dollars/Brownie Bucks in the pocket.  These are dollars the girls can earn by being a good Girl Scout.  They can use them to "buy" items from the treasure chest for $5 each.

The page in the pocket, is the activity we just had.  October is anti-bully month and, for the second year in a row, we have had the girls make a blue pinkie promise to not bully and to help stop bullying.  This pledge page was sent home to be colored and signed, and will be put further into the binder when complete.

The first page of each binder is the current month's calendar.  On the calendar, the girls will see all meetings, field trips, birthdays, due dates, times for said things, and snack and drink assignments.  This year we have more girls so snack and drink is now a shared task.

Next page is their level.

(Evelyn's coloring has improved, even over the summer!  I'm so excited!)

First divider is the Girl Scout Promise and Girl Scout Law

We had found this picture with the flowers, covered what was there, and added in the GS Law.

The next divider is the "Girl Scout Song Book."

This section has the songs the girl have learned...

 ...and more will be add through their Girl Scout years...

...as they learn more.

The girls are responsible to bring this binder to every meeting.

This is one reason I like this; Girl Scouts is supposed to teach girls how to be responsible and be leaders, and this binder is a help in that effort.

This year, again, Girl Scouts is selling started kits with cinch bags.  Starter kits include; vest/tunic/sash, waving flag, council ID, troop numbers, trefoil pin, membership pin, insignia tab, one journey book, and, new to the line, a levels binder.  Since all the girls have purchased a starter kit, either this year or last, they all have a bag they can carry their binder in.

Tips for the Girl Scout Mom/Leader

 Tired of your girl forgetting her vest when you're trying to get your own things together?

Keep her vest in her cinch bag.  If you didn't buy the starter kit, you can find pretty cinch bags at Dollar Tree.  Having a cinch bag also means she can bring all her projects from activities home without so much complications.

On this year's cinch bag, there are blank trefoil shapes.  I put Evelyn's name, our council initials, our troop number, "Brownie," and the years she will be a Brownie [2017-2020], and had one left for something I might think of later.  I used an Elmer's medium point painters marker from Walmart.  (Find it in this pretty sky color here.)

I also added these little ribbon key chains to the cords of one side.

I did both these things to spot Evelyn's bag easier since the only difference between cinch bags just might only be the color.

 Last tip for the day!

Sew all your front patches on.  I used double stick tape and little strips of  paper to hold together the numbers and council ID as I sewed.  I sewed a regular straight stitch around and a zig-zag stitch where they needed to connect.  For the flag, that was a little different.  To keep it cleaner, I didn't want white stitching on the red stripes, I did a tight zig-zag stitch around the flag.  It makes it look fuzzy but I like that better than white stitching on the red or blue field.
I don't know why, but Evelyn's were the only patches not to come off from the front in our troop this last year.  Her fun patches on the back have been coming off though, from her Daisy tunic.  I decided to not even attempt to iron on patches this year.  I'm sewing them all, but I know that can be a lot, so I am advising to sew at least the front patches since they are the most important, especially for ceremonies.  You don't want patches falling off during a ceremony.  We ran into that during our start of the year ceremony.

Hope all this was helpful, in the least, informative!

Can't wait to hear from y'all!