Jo-Ann’s give back to Girl Scouts

Jo-Ann’s will give GSUSA a minimum of 2.5% of every eligible transaction until 8/31/2020 for a donation of at least 1.5 million to unleash the power of G.I.R.L. (Go-Getter, Innovator, Risk-Taker, Leader) in every girl.  Use Girl Scout Rewards to save 15% on your total purchase and to help support Girl Scouts in their efforts to provide experiences that empower girls.  Girl Scout Rewards is for anyone currently associated with Girl Scouts.  This includes, leaders, volunteers, lifetime members, staff and parents of Girl Scouts!  Check out the attached flyer here.

Reading Service Unit Event – Annual Funtastic Event!!

Saturday, February 2 – 10^th Anniversary

Girl Scouts – Kindergarten through Grade 5

Camp Rice Moody – Reading  12:30-2:00 or 2:30-4:00

$12 per girl and a fun patch for each girl participating

Liquid Starch Slime, Valentine Yarn Monsters, Stained Glass Hearts, Love Bugs, Bath Salts, Friendship Bracelets, 

Face Painting, Sports and Games and More!

Last year one of the two sessions sold out so they are asking you to sign up as early as possible.

Deadline: January 24^th

 ^{(flyer attached here.  )}

Cookies -N- Canvas! - Daisies, Brownies, and Juniors

NRGS will have a painting event for our Daisies, Brownies, and Juniors at Camp Rice Moody on April 21^st from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm. The girls will paint an 8 x 10 picture on canvas and will be guided by a professional artist. Cookies, milk, and water will be provided. The girls will take home their masterpiece and receive a painting fun patch! Please see the flyer here for important information on cost, capacity and RSVPs. Contact Lisa Alexander at krisandlisa@hotmail.com with any additional questions.

Want to Learn How to Quilt? (grade 6-12)

Maggie Stein is looking for older girls interested in learning to Quilt.  She will teach the girls how to make a square to put together a quilt.  She is hoping to get enough girls involved where they can put a Christmas quilt together to donate at the Apple Festival in September.  If you have any girls who are interested, please contact Maggie directly at mnstein@gmail.com.  This is something that will not happen for a few months and can be a great summer project for the girls! 

Field Trip Idea - Lets Get Sewin'

Lets Get Sewin' offer sewing classes for children ages 7 and up.  They are located at 240 Andover St. (Rt.114), Danvers, MA  
phone: 351-201-0708  
email: donna@letsgetsewin.com
website: www.letsgetsewin.com  

 

Colroing fun for World Thinking Day

Here's a coloring page of the WAGGGS Flag for learning and fun!  It is also a way for the younger girls to earn their WAGGGS pin.

Bling Your Booth

Girl Scouts of Eastern Mass's 2015 Cookie Season: Social Media Campaigns.  Please see flyer here about the GSEM Facebook contest for creatively decorated cookie booths!

Pumpkin Carvers Needed!

We were asked to spread the word for the 2014 Haunted Playground...

"Pumpkin Carvers Needed!

 Fall officially starts tomorrow and you know what that means! It's time for the 20th Annual Martins Pond Haunted Playground! We need Pumpkin Carver Volunteers for the Annual Haunted Playground to be held on Saturday Oct. 18th from 5:30 - 9pm! Let me know if you are interested and what your name, address, and how many pumpkins you want to carve and I’ll drop off the pumpkins a week before the event at your doorstep. If you have any brownies, scouts, pixies, or hobgoblin troops that wish to carve, please let me know how many will be carving and if you need them by any special date (Please try to carve close to the date of 10/18th if possible ). I’ll give you some additional information as I get the responses.
There will be awards given out for best carvings for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place (really nice trophies!). The event will be judged right before the haunted playground gets started by Pumpkin Pete himself! Then on Sunday, you can pick up your pumpkin anytime before Noon at the park and proudly display it in front of your haunt...I mean home.

Scariest Regards,

Pumpkin Pete!"

Pumpkin Pete can be contacted atpeterbrayton@verizon.net

Please remember that if your Girl Scout is helping for a service project she cannot enter the contest.

SWAPS Event for Girls Attending Encampment

Every girl signed up to attend Encampment, whether attending Encampment with her troop or as an individual, is invited to attend a SWAPS event on Sunday, June 1 at the Library Activity Room from 2:00 to 4:00 pm.  SWAPS are "Some Whatchamacallits Affectionately Pinned on Something or Someone"!  These SWAPS will be "swapped" with other Girl Scouts at our June Encampment.  You can come as a troop or stop by anytime between 2:00 and 4:00 to make up to 10 SWAPs for encampment!  

Service Project Opportunity: Learn to Quilt

A Girl Scout Leader from Georgetown has recently started volunteering for a non profit organization that makes quilts for war veterans. It is called Quilts of Vallor. www.qovf.org 

She is looking for a troop that would like to work with her to sew a quilt top for this organization. She has two sewing machines and a lot of patients. Or if you have troop leaders who know how to quilt please consider looking into this organization.

  

The girls could learn quilting while helping a great cause.

Contact information:

Renee Jones

Cell# (978)270-1854

Home# (978)352-2717
multi_mom2003@yahoo.com

Girl Scout Baking Day

Teen Scouts from 6th - 12th Grade

Camp Rice Moody, Reading, MA

11 am - 2 pm on 2/2/14 (Come for all or part of the time!)

Please join other Girl Scouts and bake for our heroes! We will be baking breads and cookies and donating them to the heroes in our towns. Girls are asked to bring a mixing bowl and a spoon and if possible, measuring spoons or measuring cups. We will be sharing and working together so if you don't have all these items, no problem!

Since girls will be joining from different towns, we will be donating to the heroes in the town from which you are from! Heroes might police officers, fire personnel, educators, veterans or your neighbor down the street who does good deeds.

RSVP to Michelle at michellekramer@verizon.net or 781-789-6774 by 1/30/14!

Once I receive RSVP's I will send permission slips.

More Event Ideas!

GSEM offers many events for Girl Scouts.  Here's the link to their Program Guide.  They also offer programs that focus on the different Girl Scout levels, see here.
One of the programs offered is the Junior Jamboree.  Here is a list of workshops being offered that day:

 Beaded Bookmark

 Bubbles

Cookie Decorating

Clay Creations

Decoupage

Design a Diary

Duct Tape Design

Fun with Forensics

Fun and Games

Hip Hop Dance

La-Di-Da-Spa

Letterboxing

Minute to Win It

Name Art

Rock ‘n Video

Salsa Sampler. 

Sand Art

Soda Design.

Yoga

Zumba

A fun GSEM event coming up is Cookie Creations, see flyer here.

And from our North Reading leaders, here are some more ideas:

• A make up session with the make-up artists at Carl Michael Salon - and pair it with a talk /presentation about how the media distorts images, painting with Kim Scher
• If you have 16 year olds, a car talk session (checking oil, changing a tire, etc) at Foxy Auto 
• The Textile Museum in Lowell 
• Keisha Conigliaro has a mentoring program and she speaks to girls about self esteem and bullying.  La Chic Mentoring is the name of the program. http://www.lachicmentoringplus.org/ 
• Check out the projects at Look What I Made.  There are lots of variety besides the "paint the figure" type approach. The staff lead you by the hand on these projects so anyone can feel like a creative genius. http://www.lookwhatimade.net/Page/LWIMworkshops.html
• Boston Rock Gym offers Scouting classes:  http://www.bostonrockgym.com/programs/youth-climbing/climbing-merit-badge

Service Project Idea!

Meals-On-Wheels

The girls in your troop can have fun creating decorations, especially a seasonal decoration, for the trays that the meals are on.  If this sounds interesting, you can contact Mary Prenney, the head of Elder Services.  Her email address is mprenney@northreadingma.gov.

If your troop is looking for other service project ideas, take a look at the "Service Project Ideas" page on the right column of the blog.  And if you have ideas you'd like to share, send an email to audier@verizon.net and it will be added to the list.

Simon Says art activity

Came across another potentially fun idea for a meeting at The Artful Parent blog:

http://artfulparent.typepad.com/artfulparent/2010/07/simon-says-draw.html

Basically, it is Simon Says with drawing - and each girl can express her own creativity!

Have great ideas? Share them!

If you've found a craft idea, an activity, an outing, etc... that you think would be perfect for scouting, share it with your other leaders!

Send an email to the Service Team and we'll get it up onto the blog so that all can benefit.  We can even scan it for you!

String Bags - a useful project

Here is another project - this one could be used for the Brownie Try-It "Stitch It Together" or the Junior Badge "Sew Simple" AND it is something that could be useful!

This is from Martha Stewart and the step by step directions can be found here:
http://www.marthastewart.com/how-to/easy-beach-bag

Floral Foam Prints

Here is another easy craft idea from Family Fun...

This could also be used towards the Brownie Try-It Colors and Shapes. You can find the printable copy here.

Soap Bubble Prints

Here's a fun crafting idea for all ages...Soap Bubble Prints. This one is from Family Fun magazine.

And you can find a printable download here.

This could be used for Brownie Try-it Science Wonders or Colors and Shapes...

Fabric Bead Craft Idea

Here is a craft idea for Brownies and Juniors from Better Homes and Gardens...Fabric Beads. They look cute, easy to make, and might be a nice gift idea for girls to give someone for the holidays. They can also be used as an activity toward the Junior "Jewelry" badge or the Brownie "Art to Wear" Try it (as requirement #4).
You can find the jpg to download and print here.