"Cultivating Thoughts" With Your Scouts

My sixth grader and her classmates had to complete a special assignment modeled after Chipotle's "Cultivating Thoughts" essay contest.  In Language Arts, they read Fue Xiong's essay "Two Minutes About Sardines" and were asked to write a narrative story about a time when food created a lasting memory.  The stories and a snack donated by Chipotle will be shared by the students at school tomorrow.  A more detailed description of the assignment can be found on my website.

I love this idea, and I brainstormed ways to incorporate it with Girl Scouts.  As you continue reading this post, I encourage you to consider how these ideas could work within your individual troop, for troops at your school, and for troops in your Service Unit. 

1. Read Xiong's essay to the girls.
2. Choose an idea from the list below.
3. Girls write narratives.  Details can be found here.
4. Print the essays on brown paper bags (or use a glue stick to adhere printer paper to the bag).
5. Distribute bags to the girls.
6. Share a snack.

Thinking Day
After the Thinking Day ceremony, have girls write a narrative about the state or country they chose to represent.  They could choose to write the story from a local person's point of view or from the point of view of a visitor.

Or have them write a narrative as a Girl Scout in the chosen state or country.

Juliette Gordon Low and Girl Scout Birthday
To celebrate the founder of Girl Scouts or organization's birthday, girls could:

• listen to leaders present facts about Juliette Gordon Low's life
• read a story about her
• research the founder of Girl Scouts on their own

Write a narrative.  Consider:

• writing from Juliette's point of view
• How has her work with early scouting impacted your life?

Juniors Scribe badge--satisfy a step or two for this badge, depending on your interpretations of the steps.

Service Projects
Ask the girls to choose their favorite service project.  They may wish to consider the following when making a decision:

• A service project completed this school year
• Favorite service project completed as a Girl Scout
• The most enjoyable service project
• The service project that made the biggest impact (on her or on those served)

Write a narrative about the project.  Again, they can write from a personal point of view or from the point of view of those being served.

These thoughts are the product of a quick brainstorm.  If you have additional ideas, please comment below, and I can update the post.  Thank you for reading!

Blackout Poetry

Last month, my 11-year-old daughter and I attended Books by the Banks in Cincinnati. While she was preoccupied with alcohol-inked ceramic tiles and activities that taught her how to solder and create a paper circuit with copper tape and a LED diode, my eye was drawn to the Blackout Poetry station at the end of the table. For more details about the time we spent at this event, please visit this post I've published on my website.

A few days after the event, I decided I wanted to create my own example of Blackout Poetry for this post. I pulled out the pages provided at the event and read over the text, drawing boxes around words to form a poem.  I illustrated my poem with Sharpie markers. Instead of drawing footprints on a beach, I could have chosen to sketch a pattern or design.

The words I chose to highlight read as follows:

walking
alone
There’s nothing.
dead silence
wipe the sweat
inspect the damage
I know the path
I keep walking.
I feel…tired.

Any sheet of paper with printed words will work for this activity–consider pages from a book, newspaper, or magazine. Try different mediums to achieve the desired effect–crayons, markers, colored pencils, or paint. With Blackout Poetry, the possibilities are endless.


How can you incorporate this activity with your Girl Scout troop?

• Provide supplies at the next troop holiday party. The printed pages can be related to the party theme.
• Print pages about Juliette Gordon Low for a JGL or Girl Scout Birthday celebration.
• Copy a page from The Brownie Story (The Girl's Guide to Girl Scouting or a related website).
• Before or after your troop bridges, find a page from a ceremony script or a related story.
• For Juniors working on the Scribe badge, this activity satisfies Step 1 (Start with a Poem).
• For Juniors working on the Drawing badge, this activity satisfies Step 1 (Experiment with Different Shading Materials). In fact, depending on what is drawn, girls could satisfy all the steps with this activity.
• Plan some time for Blackout Poetry during a Self-Esteem Workshop. This activity offers girls a different avenue for expression, and it's another way to emphasize how special and unique each individual is.

I've presented several ways to introduce Blackout Poetry to the girls in your troop. I'm sure readers will come up with other applications. Please feel free to post your art in the comments section below. I'd love to see it!  Thank you for reading.

An Exciting Announcement

I am excited to announce I am writing books for middle grade readers. This week, I officially launched my website:   http://lauriestroupsmith.com/  Though I am not yet a published author, I will document my experiences on the new website as I pursue this goal. Additionally, I hope to connect and inspire readers and their families through fun reading and writing projects, puzzles, and games related to my books. 

If this idea interests you and your Scouts and you would like to encourage this journey, I invite you to visit and "like" my Facebook page.  I'm looking forward to connecting with you there.  Thank you in advance for giving it a chance.

As promised in a previous post, I will continue to document on this blog the badge steps and projects my daughters complete as Juliettes.  I truly appreciate the support you have given this blog over the past four years.  Thank you for reading.

Craft: Stuck in a Snow Globe

For one hour each week, I volunteer in my daughter's fifth grade class.  Sometimes I read with the students, asking comprehension questions from the teacher's book.  Other times I help edit creative writing assignments.  Recently the students have been working on figurative language.  The last time I visited the classroom, I got really excited when I learned the teacher wanted me to help with a craft!  The students were working on a writing assignment, describing how they got stuck in a snow globe.  Another teacher originally saw this idea on Pinterest and shared it with my daughter's teacher.  There are a million different ways to do this project...just ask Google.  This was the first time I'd ever seen this snow globe craft.  I am sharing it here because I thought it could be a fun winter project for Daisies, Brownies, and Juniors.

Supplies needed: 
4x6 photos of the kids
6" clear plastic plates
Mod Podge
paintbrush or sponge brush
white glitter
assorted scrapbook or constructive paper
hot glue gun (not pictured)
scissors (not pictured)
 
 STEPS:
1.  Have the kids bundle up in their winter coats, hats, scarves, and gloves (or not).  Take a picture of each child.  Print 4x6 pictures.  If working with a Girl Scout troop, take a group picture.  It would be fun to read how the troop ended up getting stuck in a snow globe.

2.  Have the kids cut around themselves to eliminate the background.
3.  Spread a thin layer of Mod Podge down the center of the plate.  Assure the kids that it dries clear. 
4.  Place the photo on the Mod Podge face down.  When the craft is finished, the photo can be viewed through the convex side of the plate (like the rounded edge of a snow globe).
4.  Apply an additional thin layer of Mod Podge along the bottom third of the plate and sprinkle glitter over it. (Left photo below).  To achieve a "just shaken" effect, apply a thin layer of Mod Podge all over the plate before adding the glitter.

5.  Have the kids cut a shape for the base out of cardstock, construction paper, or patterned scrapbook paper.  The students in my daughter's class cut squares, rectangles, triangles, and trapezoids.  
6.  An adult can hot glue the base to the bottom of the plate.
7.  Cut about 3-4" pieces of ribbon and have an adult hot glue one to the top edge of the plate.

CREATIVE WRITING PIECE
The teacher instructed her fifth grade students to explain how they got stuck in a snow globe.  She encouraged them to describe what it felt like, what they saw, heard, and smelled.  She wanted them to use figurative language as they were writing.  

If your Scouts haven't already done this activity at school, consider incorporating it during your next winter meeting.  If your Junior Girl Scouts are interested in earning the Scribe badge, this activity could potentially satisfy the requirements for Step 1 (Start With a Poem) or Step 2 (Create a Short Story).  Challenge your girls to get super creative by describing how they got stuck in a snow globe in the form of a haiku, limerick, or sonnet (Step 1).  

When I did a brief search for this craft online, I came across a website that provided a great writing prompt for younger kids.  The teachers used the prompt in their kindergarten and second grade classrooms.  I really like how Tori's students embellished their snow globes, and I love that they used fake snow!  Depending on the materials chosen, the cost of this project could vary.  Remember when using fake snow, a piece of paper needs to be adhered to the back of the plate.  The kids can decorate this paper with crayons and markers as they did in Tori's post.  While these additions will most likely increase the cost and the time required to complete the craft, the effect is quite different and could be well worth the additional expense and time.  And if you're like me, you might already have most of the supplies on hand.  

During our next meeting, the girls will be making cards for Veterans and their families staying at the Fisher House in Cincinnati.  Out of curiosity, I did a Google search for "haiku for veterans."  I was directed toward a website with poetry for and by Veterans, and I was completely surprised to find several haikus.  If your Junior Girl Scouts are working on their Scribe badge, have them write a haiku or poem in a card for a Veteran. Not only are they completing a badge step, they are participating in a service project.  I hope you will check back with us soon.  Thank you for reading.