Heifer Project gift in Troop # 840's name

Merry Christmas, Brownie Troop #840!

Rather than more sweets or trinkets, I have decided to give in your name a share of a Water Buffalo to the Heifer Project.

This is a great organization that works very hard to stop hunger in the world. They do this not by giving prepared food items, rather they supply sustainability to families or villages live animals to enhance their livelihood and their ability to feed and support themselves. Please take some time to look at the website.

Heifer International

Merry Christmas!

Spreading Christmas Cheer!

On December 15, we entertained with Christmas Carols at Touchmark at Coffee Creek in Edmond. The troop voted on their favorite carols and here are the list of the winning songs that they sang:

Holly Jolly Christmas
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
Deck the Halls
Jingle Bells
Away in the Manger
We Wish you a Merry Christmas
12 Days of Christmas
Little Drummer Boy
along with a few solos and group songs

All 12 Brownies gathered and sang to the residents at Touchmark Assisted Living Center.
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
Troop #840 Leaders

Almost Cookie Time

This year we have the option to have cookies in hand at selling time. Please start thinking about how many of each type of cookies you think you would like to have in hand to sell. Of course, we can still take orders for cookies, as well as sell cookies for troops. This is a "troops for troops". More information on this to follow soon.

Please review the Cookie Club flier and print and sign the Cookie Club permission form. I have all of the Brownies set up in there and as soon as I get all of the permission forms, I will send out your log-in and password information.

Cookie Club Flier
Cookie Club Permission Form

The deadline for our initial order is December 10. Please think about the quantity of cookies you sold in years past and how many you would like to have in hand during selling. The council suggests that we order 100 cases - that is 1200 boxes or 100 boxes of cookies per girl.

There are 8 different cookies - here they are: Little Brownie Bakers

Actual selling begins January 17, 2009. We do not have to pre-pay for the cookies that we pre-order to have in hand for selling. Just collect the money as you deliver/sell cookies! So simple.
Please email with any questions: theakins@sbcglobal.net
Thanks!

Penny Power - Girl Power

For our Penny Power Try-it we will learn about the U.S. Treasury, the Federal Reserve, Real and Counterfeit money, and keeping track of your personal finances.

This week, please visit these websites:

• Federal Trade Commission - This site helps you think like a consumer and find out things like how advertising influences your decisions. Explore the mall see how competition effects our choices.
• Bank On It - Check out money saving tips and reasons to have your own bank account.
• U.S. Treasury - For Kids - Check out the US Mint, Bureau of Engraving and Printing and Savings Bonds
• The Money Factory - Check out the redesigned bills, the history of currency and much, much more. Bring any fun or interesting facts you Discover to share with your Brownie team next week.
• Design Your Own Bill - For fun, you can design your own bill. If you do this, ask your parents to print it and bring it to the next meeting to share.

We will Discover how US Currency (money) effects us daily, Connect how to save it and where it comes from, and Take Action on our own when we Track our spending and as a Brownie Team when we make our plan for our selling Girl Scout Cookies, set goals, and make a plan for using the money.

Try-it! Discover, Connect, Take Action!

Happy ThanksGiving Brownie Families!

If you have some time of the Thanksgiving break, Brownies you can Discover a Try-it to complete, Connect with your family and friends to share and Take Action by completing a try-it (or few) over the Break!
Remember that we will NOT meet the Monday of Thanksgiving week, Monday, November 24 - NO MEETING. Enjoy your break, time with your family and be thankful.

Here are some good Try-its you may want to think about over the break:

Make it, Eat it

You do not need to make the recipes that are listed with the Try-it, be creative, yet healthy and have fun while experimenting or be traditional with your mom,'s dad's or grandma's Thanksgiving recipe. We all need help in the kitchen - don't be shy! Try-it!
Here's some links with good, healthy, kid-friendly food stuffs:

• Yum-O! Fun. Food. Fund.
• Family Fun
• Thanksgiving Workshop (Martha Stewart)

Take pictures and send them, if you would like and I will add them to the blog! Also, you can share the recipes that you made!

Puppets, Dolls and Plays

Did you know that making puppets and dolls is an art form? Did you know that many years ago children played with handmade dolls and paper dolls for fun? This is a fun try-it for this time of year to share with family memebers (grandparents, cousins, aunts, and friends) after a big dinner or anytime. You can do any combination of the 6 options in the link above, such as Finger Puppets, a Yarn Doll, Paper-Bag puppets and a Puppet Stage. Otherwise, check out these fun links and make a paper doll or other creative doll to play with or do a puppet show with your family.

• Paper Doll Fun
• Puppet Craft options
• Really Cute puppet and paper doll crafts

Take pictures or a short film of your creations to share with the troop! email them to: theakins@sbcglobal.net

Remember you need to do 4 options of any Try-It to earn the patch. Just email me which ones you complete and I will get you your Try-it's after the holiday.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving. Above all enjoy time with your family! Discover, Connect, Take Action and remember be thankful!

Here's a link to the Fall Break post with other Try-it options for you :)

120 Brown(ie) Bag Lunches Completed and Delivered

Girl Scout Brownie Troop #840 met our goal of making 120 Brown(ie) Bag Lunches for homeless in Oklahoma City on Monday, November 17, 2008.

In the cafeteria of Cross Timbers Elementary, the girls made sandwiches and bags of pretzals and included those with a piece of fruit, juice box and a sweet treat in each lunch sack.
We would like to thank our donors:

• Wal-Mart @ Santa Fe & Danforth
• Crest Foods @ Santa Fe & 15th
• Eli's Custom Catering
• Seller's Catering
• Many Brownie Parents for donating time & money

The 120 Brown(ie) Bag Lunches were delivered to downtown Oklahoma City on Tuesday, November 18.

The girls took action on their brownie leadership quest by Discovering a problem in the community that they can contribute to a solution, Connected by brainstorming and deciding on a way to help, and Took Action by making the lunches!

We CAN make a difference, Thanks to you!

Brown(ie) Bag Lunches

November is "Service Month" and Girl Scout Brownie Troop #840 is making 120 Brown(ie) Bag Lunches to feed some of the homeless of Oklahoma City on November 17.

Our troop is on a Brownie Quest to Discover, Connect and Take Action and become Leaders of tomorrow. We discovered that there is a need in the community to help others. The Brownies identified many areas that we could serve, such as picking up trash, recycling, helping a charity, church or school and many more. We connected by brainstorming different ways that we could help and serve our community. We narrowed our focus to 3 options for this month of service. The brownies voted on either making sack lunches for homeless people, starting a recycling program or making care packages for the troops. These are all such great projects that we will complete them all during this school year! The girls voted to take action with the project of making brown bag lunches for homeless people and delivering them to either the Jesus House or Grace Rescue Mission in Oklahoma City. The brownies set the goal of making 120 lunches. This is a Girl Scout Troop of 12 3^rd grade girls, from three different elementary schools in Edmond, OK with a goal of making 10 lunches each on Monday, November 17.

We will be collecting donation for the lunches through the week this week and make the lunches on Monday to be delivered for lunch on Tuesday, November 18. We will need bread, meat, drinks, sandwich bags, brown bags, boxes for delivery, chips, fruit and sweet treats to include in the bag lunches.

If you have any questions or would like to donate, please contact Amy Akin, Girl Scout Brownie Troop Co-Leader at:
theakins@sbcglobal.net.

Another chance to connect

No matter how you "hoped" the election would turn out - the choice has been made and the opportunity we have to connect to our children is to frame for them gracious winners, gracious losers and what it means to look to the future from where this country has come from in the past.

Take this opportunity, showcase leadership in good sportsmanship and the values of the Girl Scout law that we see in our world around us today and for their future.

One girl, one day, one action at a time, we can make a difference.
Creating leaders of tomorrow, one Brownie at a time.
Thank you for sharing your Brownie with us

Election Day . . . Is there a better day to connect??

On Monday, Brownies earned their Connect Key, the second key in the 3 key Brownie Quest. The connect key chant is :

The Connect Key!

That’s more than me.

It’s my arms and

your arms.

Linking together,

we’re free.

We discovered how we connect with our circles of caring, with "me" in the middle, families, friends, neighbors and the community surrounding them. We connect with others by showing that we care and are leaders by working to make a change for the better in our world.

This week, Brownies need to finish their chapters in the Brownie Quest Book and also look at pages 40 - 43 of how different people connected in their world and Took Action to make a difference.

Please talk with your Brownie about things in our community that we can do to serve and help others. We talked about some of the activities that we have done in the past. This year, we want our troop to help decide on what service project we will do in November/December.

We are going to work on "Taking Action" over the next few weeks as well as begin setting cookie selling goals. We want to connect and make a difference with our cookie sells this year as well.

Please do not hesitate to ask if you have any questions or share any ideas that you may have for service projects.

Check out some of these sites for ideas:

• LittleBrownies.com
• Oklahoma Regional Food Bank
• Homeless in Oklahoma resources
• Not-for-Profit OKC
• Going Green ideas

One girl, one day, one action at a time, we can make a difference.

Creating leaders of tomorrow, one Brownie at a time.

Thank you for sharing your Brownie with us.

Happy Birthday Juliette Low!

Not only is today Halloween, it is Juliette Low's Birthday!
Your day may be too busy to have a chance for your Brownie to take look at some of these fun and informative sites, but maybe over the weekend or in the near future, they and you can take a check them out!

• Daisy Low of the Girl Scouts - comic book on line
• Juliette Low Quotes
• Juliette Low Stamp (who knew?)
• Savannah, GA - JL's Birthplace
• 

Happy Birthday, Juliette "Daisy" Low!
Yours In Scouting -

Halloween Week Update

We are well on our way to our second key of our Brownie Quest. On Monday we talked about connecting to our families. The girls can show their families they care by leading the family to be healthier, having fun and learning together. Pages 58-59 in their Brownie Quest books will help with ideas and suggestions for your family.
Also, if you want some fun family cooking ideas, check out here .

Please remind your Brownie to complete reading the chapters in the first of her book. There are some fun activities sprinkled between some of the chapters that they can do as they desire. Basically if they can have read up through page 36 - that is chapters 1 - 6 - by Monday, that will help us move on to completing Key 2 and start taking action.
We will start planning our service project for the year. The troop will be a part of deciding how we want to help our community through service.
We will also start talking about our cookie goals. Sells do not start until the end of December.
Thank you for your continued support. We hope everyone has a happy and safe Halloween! See you Monday.

The Haunted Hayride was a hauntingly good time!

Thanks to all the parents who came and joined us for the fun!The weather was good and the ride was scary. The s'mores were toasty and on the moonlight walk, some wanted to RUN!Happy Halloween everyone!

Haunted Halloween Hayride

October 25 is the date to remember. Please see the email or the calendar for the details of where to meet, times and contact info.

Here is a fun hayride printable for your Brownie!

Please confirm with me if you are planning to attend the Hayride so that I can order enough patches.


Remember NO MEETING MONDAY, OCTOBER 20.


You can do any of the try-its you would like to try at any time. Many of you have asked about them and please feel free to try them on your own.

Fall Break Fun

We will not meet Monday, October 20, because there is no school. If your Brownie would like to work on some try-it's at home. Here are a few that are fun and if you are new to our troop your brownie may not have earned them yet. For most there are 6 options. Brownies must complete 4 to earn the try-it. Any that you decide to try, please print, mark the options you tried, then sign and bring to a meeting and I will get you your try-its. (or email me with the options & try-it name)

Make it - Eat it is a good family try-it. We are moving in to a part of our Brownie Quest Journey that focus on connecting at home and promoting a Healthy Living family. This one looks at food as fun to grow, prepare and eat.


My Body is a great active try-it. It helps girls discover more about their body and connect to healthy activity. Healthy Habits: Exercise, rest sleep, regular check-ups and cleanliness are all important to good health. This try-it gives come fun activity to learn more about healthy living.

If you are traveling over this Fall Break, you may want to try the Travel Right try-it. Brownies can discover, connect and take action in preparing for a sleep over or trip with the family.

What ever you decide to do, Have Fun! Enjoy some family time, connect, discover and take action!

Monday, October 6

Monday was a busy day. We discovered our 1st key to Leadership. The Discover Key!

The Discover Key
It's all about me;
What I believe
And my family.

Your brownie can write this chant on page 52 of their Brownie Quest book. Next week we will start working towards the second key. We will work on team skills, and finish the Her Story try-it.

This week, please talk with your Brownie about issues that face women today and in the past. A part of the homework is to talk to up to 5 women about 3 issues that each woman faces or faced in their lifetime. Make notes of them and we will discuss it in opening circle on Monday, October 13. Speaking of a lifetime, I sent home a time line for the girls to complete. This does not need to be completed until after fall break (October 27). It's a fun way for them to write their story. They can create a time line for themselves and discover what they have done to might like to have happen in their future.

For next week, on the Brownie Quest we are reading chapter 2 and following the Brownie Elf's on the Journey.

Thank you for your continued support!

Her Story

Monday, October 6 we will do the "Her Story" try-it.
Over this weekend, if you have a chance to talk to your Brownie about important issues that you have faced in your lifetime and have her ask 4 other women about what they believe are the 3 most important issues facing women today. Try to have them ask women of different ages, from teens to women over 70 years old. Try to talk to women that are the same race or ethnic group than your own (to help get a unique perspective). Ask them to think about how the answers are similar or different. Please help them write down some notes or review the answers with them so that they can talk about it during opening circle on Monday.
We will read the Juliette Gordon Low story on Monday, make a "Your Story" time-line, and work in groups to Create Tales from favorite fables and fairy tales to see how/if they would be different if written by girls/women now. They will tell their stories or act them out.
We have a fun and exciting Monday meeting planned. Looking forward to seeing you all!

Creating tomorrows leaders 1 girl at a time!

Your Brownie is on a Quest - a special journey to find out what it means to be a leader.
We will be working together to find 3 keys that help solve the mystery of that they open.
On Monday, September 29, your GS Brownie experienced her 1st adventure on the Brownie Quest, she discovered some the the talents and qualities that make her special. She can fill out page 49 and describe herself.
We took an "ELF adventure" to search for and discover the Values of the Girl Scout Law. We have a secret meaning for "ELF" Explore Link Arms Fly into Action. We paired off to discover clues hidden all around our "secret Brownie Tree house". A part of the homework for the week is to fill out page 50 on Discovering Values (of the Girl Scout Law).
This means that they have completed the 1st 2 steps in discovering the 1st key! To help them review:

1. Discovering our special talents & qualities
2. Discovering the values of the Girl Scout Law
3. Discovering family values (do at home, pages 51)

Next Monday we will put it all together and realize together the 1st key of Discovery.
We are meeting new Brownie friends in the book, Brownie Elfs. They will help guide us along this adventure. For this week, the homework is to read chapter 1.

This a very exciting time to be a Brownie! This year we are focusing not only on the try-its from the Brownie Handbook, going on an exciting adventure through the Brownie Quest book, upcoming service projects, but we are also making a good collection of SWAPS!

Last week was the Friendship knot (see instructions below) and this week we made a Friendship Stick! If you would like to send your Brownie's SWAP hat on Monday's they can wear it and put any new SWAPS directly on there at the meeting.

Here's a picture of 2 of the hats (Emmy & Raven). The hat can be any type you choose. It will be covered before you know it!
Just to review - the home work this week is to read Chapter 1 in the Brownie quest book and do pages 50 & 51 with family.

Thank you for sharing your Daughters with us. They are special little ladies and will all be great leaders one day!