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.

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!