December's Meeting - Homemade Gifts!

I'm especially excited about this month's meeting.

Early Bird Activity: Stamping wrapping paper.

Firstly, and most wonderfully, we're finally getting the vests to the kids!

The Adventure level kids will be getting their first beads! For the meetings that they have already attended, credit for the trails that they've worked on. We'll show the vest example off, and explain how they can design their own pictures with their beads. Future meetings will have bead sewing as part of the on-going Early Bird activity.

The Starflight level kids have earned their first group of 4 stickers AND their first patch! We'll explain how it works, how it is different from Adventure level. Starflight earns more patches than Adventure, they'll start earning beads once they're Adventure.

The children will get their vest and whatever award items. For that meeting, however, they can just put their vest on. Once each child has been recognized, we'll move on to the main part of the meeting: Making Homemade Gifts!

Gifts from the heart and made by hand show so much love, especially when children themselves make them. We'd like to offer an opportunity for the children to make a few gifts of their own to give for Hannukah/Christmas.

There will be 3 stations, possibly 4 - different activities where the kids end up with gifts that they can then have for the holidays.

Station 1: Card Making. We'll have the kids paint their hand & press it on the card- they can make a reindeer or mistletoe. There will be "Made with Love"

Station 2: Homemade Chia Pets Using stockings, seeds, and potting soil, the kids will be making a round shapes. From there, they can put a face on it with materials.

Station 3: Mini Succulent Planters w/Corks Using corks, the kids will plant a little succulent plant, glue on a piece of magnet to the cork.

The fourth station is still being worked on - it may be too expensive. We may have this station at an additional charge, or ask members to bring in a jar to use.

Station 4: Cowboy Cookie Mix The kids can fill a jar with the necessary ingredients to make cookies. They can tie the directions on to the jar, etc.

Kids can go from station to station making gifts so they can be ready for the season's gift-giving.

We'll then have the potluck, followed by the closing circle.

(Starflight - Trail to Family and Community, A Better Community, A Gift of Giving, p. 54. Adventure - Trail to Family & Community, A Gift of Giving, generic)

puppet theme meeting?

These spoons would make a super cute center piece to a puppet theme meeting. Another thought is to check out whether 2nd hand stores have wooden spoons that we could use. Or ask club members to check their kitchens for neglected spoons?

What could the performance part be?

Rainstick

Good meeting for Jan or Feb. When we have rain. Need tp or paper towel tubes. Things to decorate outside. Things on inside for rice to hit.

Dec. meeting planning ideas

Just posting to have a place to put my thoughts for the next meeting.

Early bird activity: painting: http://picklebums.com/2012/07/24/easy-art-for-kids-experimenting-with-water-colours/#

This meeting, I'd like to *finally* introduce the DARN VESTS! I want to hand out vests, hand out a patch or two (if I can get the camp fire patches ordered), PLUS hand out a few beads for each trail the kids have done something on. Then, give them some embroidery floss, needles, and have them learn how to sew them onto their vests.

Then I need something that lets the kids run around, get their wiggles out. Another scavenger hunt? Or...? Research ideas - review list created at parent meeting.

I'd love to have the kids make their own pizzas for dinner and get a couple of parents to bring in toaster ovens to cook them.

November Meeting Debrief

There were many changes to this meeting this month.

Firstly, we skipped the tent set up activity all-together. It was delegated to me to do, as well as running the Early Bird activity. I was cleaning up from the moon tissue paper activity and by the time I was done with that, there wasn't enough time to do it. Besides, a couple of the dads were able to teach the kids a new knot.

We started with the moon tissue paper early bird activity. It worked out well, for the most part the kids enjoyed it and wanted to participate in it (kind of a challenge with our group at times).

During the meeting, we concluded that having the moon phases cookie activity would be better done at the end of the meeting, after the pot luck. Mostly because of the fact that it meant so many cookies for the kids right before lunch.

The low ropes activity was great. Bird Man did a great job. Had the kids working together, building team work, etc. Half of the group did that with Bird Man, while the other half learned this month's knot - a square knot.

Once they had the knot down, a club mom, Julia played ukulele & sang the Camp Fire Wish song with the kids, while club dad Nick accompanied on guitar. They seemed to really enjoy that.

Once both groups got done with the ropes, we had the pot luck. At the end, the phases of the moon with sandwich cookies project. Sang the Make New Friends song and then we were done!

I don't mind all the changes we had to the meeting this month, however, I do find it more stressful running meetings this way. I also feel less confident and more out of control during the meeting when things go this way.

All in all, a successful meeting, that can be improved upon in the future.

Until next time!
Alex

November Meeting

Today's meeting is a prep for the camping trip coming up here in a couple of weeks. We'll be discussing the moon & phases of the moon. Because of the science nature of this month's meeting, it will count for a Trail to the Future credit.

Early Bird craft is a piece of paper that is cut into a moon shape. The kids will glue tissue paper squares to the moon, hole punch a hole in it and tie a string on it to hang up in their room. http://easypreschoolcraft.blogspot.jp/search/label/moon

Then we will see if anyone remembers the Camp Fire Wish and can recite it. We'll say it all together.

We'll learn about the phases of the moon via sandwich cookies. Run by a club member mom (Elizabeth).

At approx. 11 a.m. a low ropes activity will start, run by a Camp Fire employee (Bird Man). Half of the group will go with him. The other half will start a Tent Building activity, where they will learn how to put together a tent.

The groups will swap positions at some point.

Then we'll close the meeting and start the pot luck.

See you there!
Alex

(Starflight - Trail to the Future, Something Called Space, Fun With Science, p. 114. Adventure - Trail to the Future, Science Wonders, generic)