Meeting 4: October

Pre-Meeting: I made an indoor obstacle course out of some everyday items I had at home. First, the girls crawled under two chairs set together. Then, they walked a "balance beam" made out of a strip of painters' tape. Next, they had to toss a bouncy ball into a box. After that, they did 10 jumping jacks, then jumped over two rulers laid on the ground. Next, I had two hand weights set up about three feet apart; the girls had to carry one weight over to where the other was, then carry the second weight back to where the first had been. Then, they had to jump back and forth over a line of tape. Finally, they had to stand on one foot for 10 seconds. The obstacle course was pretty popular! I think I will have them create their own obstacle course in the coming meetings ...

Opening: As usual, we said the Promise, the Law, and the Pledge of Allegiance.

Song: I had two songs for the kaper girl to choose from; she chose the (adorable!) "I'm a Little Daisy" (to the tune of "I'm a Little Teapot"):
I'm a little Daisy (hands together at side of face, head tilted)
Dressed in blue (pick up hem of uniform)
I am a Girl Scout (make Girl Scout sign)
And you are too (point to neighbor)
When I go to meetings (hands out, palms up)
I sing and shout, (hands cupped around mouth)
I love being a (hands on heart)
Daisy Girl Scout! (clap once on each word)

Circle: We talked about how they felt when the completed the obstacle course (mostly "good" and "happy"!). We also talked about what we should do at the Investiture Ceremony next time. The girls voted to have cupcakes for the food, and to hang up the troop mural we made last time on the front door so parents could see it when they came in. I also taught them the Girl Scout handshake. Finally, I checked in with them about how the Fall Sale was going.

Energizer: Since we had a couple new girls joining us, and a new assistant troop leader, we played the Name Train game. I started as the engine, with the girls spread around the room as "stations." When I got to a station, I said "Hi, I'm Jacy" and the girl said "I'm [name]!" I then said "It's [name]!" to the person behind me, who passed it to the "car" behind them, until it got all the way to the person in the back, who said "Hop on, [name]!" That girl then became the caboose of the train until we got to the next station.

Snack

Activity: The girls made invitations for their ceremony next time.

Game: As a fun way to reinforce the Girl Scout handshake, we played the handshake game (the "It" Girl helped me demonstrate). Each time I called out a new handshake, they had to find a new buddy to shake hands with. Besides the Girl Scout handshake, we used:
Farmers' handshake: One person interlaced their fingers, pointing the thumbs down. The other person pulled on the thumbs like they were milking a cow.
Ankle shaker: One person held out her leg; the other person shook it.
Lumberjack handshake: The girls made fists, sticking their thumbs up and grabbing the thumb sticking out (so there were four fists on top of each other). Then, they sawed back and forth like they were cutting down a tree.
Walleye handshake: The girls put their hands on the inside of their partner's forearm, then slapped their hands back and forth like a fish.
Cowgirl handshake: The partners made pretend shooting gestures with both hands.
Milkshake handshake: Groups of three piled up their fists and moved their hands around in a circle, like they were swirling the milk.

Closing: We did fists of five again; most girls had a good time, but I can tell I need to find something besides arts and crafts to keep them interested for the rest of the year! We also did the Friendship Squeeze. Great meeting!