Camp T cabins, itinerary, packing list

PLEASE READ THIS ALL THE WAY THROUGH CAREFULLY. I don't want you to miss out on important info, especially since this year's trip will be a little more scheduled with the two badges for those who are doing them.

First, for the girls, no electronic devices (cell phones, iTouches, kindles, iPads, etc.). It's a lot more fun for the girls to socialize when they're at camp, play,  dance, etc., than to be staring at a screen. It's fine of course for them to them to have these for the car ride. If you're accompanying your daughter to camp, please make sure she doesn't have an electronic device while there -- including in the cabins at night. If your daughter is riding with someone else to camp, make sure she knows that any electronic devices will be held for her while she's at camp by whoever is in charge of her. I'd prefer not to be holding a bunch of these so if each adult can be responsible for their own kid's devices and anyone else's who they might have driven to camp, I'd appreciate it!

(Brookfield Zoo has the same no electronics rule for kids, FYI, for when we go on the overnight there in October).

I mention this first because it's tough for kids to get a real "camping" type experience if they're all huddled around a screen. This has happened on a few of my son's Boy Scout trips -- despite the rules -- and he has mentioned it when he returned home! They can survive 24 hours without their devices. ;-)

For people who haven't been to Camp T. before, it's about a 1 hour and 40 minute drive to Brookston, IN., and they are one hour ahead of us on eastern time. So it's always a good idea to plan on an early departure from Munster on Saturday morning to have lots of time to explore all there is to do at camp!

Itinerary for Saturday and Sunday:

Saturday September 20

Anytime after 9 a.m. eastern -- check in to the Trading Post at Lake Village and tell them you're with Troop 10265. They sometimes give out wristbands to identify you and get you into camp program areas, meals, etc. The Trading Post is where you'll be for camp extras such as riflery tickets ($1 each), the "Horse Fan" badge ($19), candle making. 


Please read our itinerary below before you "book" yourself into candle making and realize later you can't make that time. 


If your daughter is doing the "Horse Fan" badge at camp she is automatically part of a trail ride. We will do this badge right after lunch at 1 p.m. and if you, as an adult, want to also be a part of the trail ride, you'll need to reserve a spot for 1 p.m. and pay for that when you check in ($9). There are only 7 spots left in addition to the girls in our group so first come, first serve for adults. Once it's filled, it's filled.


9:00 a.m. - 11:45 am -- Camp program areas open. If you're doing the horse fan badge after lunch, morning would be a great time to explore other camp areas such as riflery, candle making, boating, slides, climbing towers, arts and crafts area, etc.


12:00 pm -- Lunch


1 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. -HORSE FAN BADGE at River Village Barn


3:30 -- 5 -- Explore other program areas at camp (candle making, slides, boating, climbing towers, riflery)


5:30 p.m. -- Dinner


6:15 -- ARCHERY BADGE(I have asked them to keep this short and sweet! Still waiting to hear back from them on whether this will be in Lake Village or River Village)


7 p.m. -- Get ready for campfire back at our cabins with other Girl Scouts from FHH! We'll take photos, etc. I have glow in the dark face paint, glow in the dark nail polish, glow sticks, etc. Our theme is "Girl Scouts Glow!" REMEMBER YOUR GLOW IN THE DARK T-SHIRT! We will have a "signing party" where girls from our troop will sign the back of each other's t-shirts with different colored sharpies.


7:30 p.m. -- Campfire with skits/ singing run by camp staff etc.


8:30 p.m. -- Roasting marshmallows for S'mores to share with all FHH troops :-)


9 p.m. -- Return to cabins and immediately go to sleep. (ha ha)


11 p.m. -- 7 a.m. -- Officially Camp "Quiet Hours"




Sunday September 21  


8 a.m. Breakfast


9 a.m. -- Optional Chapel (location to be announced at breakfast)


9 a.m. -- Noon -- Program areas open (If you didn't get a chance to do something Saturday or had so much fun you want to try an activity again, now's your chance!)


Noon -- Check out. You don't need to officially check out but this is when we have to leave camp.Lunch is on your own on the drive home or once you get home.




YOUR CABIN (each cabin sleeps 15 -- usually 7 bunk beds and one single bed by itself)


LAKE VILLAGE CABIN ONE: 


Natalie/Ava
Jennifer Moore/Kayley
Jennifer Pruzin/Sarah Pruzin/Sara Progler
Diane/Jilli
Michele/Tori




LAKE VILLAGE CABIN TWO: 


Susie/Julianna
Mary/Naomi
Nicole/Elena
Barb/Margie
Linn/Lindsey
Anna/Vanya
possibly Clare if she doesn't stay in cabin three with her mom/sister


The other FHH troops will be next to us in cabins 3 through 6. 




WHAT TO PACK:


Your Daughter's Glow in the Dark T-shirt!!


A flashlight for you and one for your daughter (we are in Lake Village and the bonfire at night is often in River Village -- it's very dark walking back to the cabins afterward without a flashlight)


A change of clothes for Sunday and extra underwear and socks 


PJ's or sweats to sleep in


BOOTS (Rainboots are fine) -- something you don't mind getting muddy -- for the HORSE FAN badge -- girls are going to be in the barn, tacking and grooming the horses and riding. If you don't have boots you could bring an old pair of tennis shoes or hard soled shoes that you don't mind getting muddy.


Long pants for riding


Rain poncho and/or hat and/or umbrella in case of rain


Sweatshirt or jacket for evening campfire


Bug spray, sunscreen


Water (there is a "store" at the Trading Post with vending machines, but it's nice to have water for when you're walking all over camp).


Snacks if you want but avoid candy! You don't need to pack any snacks because Trading post does have some snacks things for sale. We will have lunch and dinner Saturday and breakfast Sunday at camp. For those who are pickier eaters they always have a salad bar with lots of choices and, at breakfast, cereal and yogurt as alternatives to the main dish.


A Sleeping Bag and or sheets and a few blankets. A pillow. Camp bunk beds have plastic covered THIN mattresses, just to warn you. ;-) I usually bring a fitted sheet to put over the mattress.


Toothbrush and toothpaste. There's usually soap in the bathroom but bring your own  just to be on the safe side.


If you're going to shower you'll need a towel, shampoo, etc.  I usually wait until I'm home to take a shower but people also do shower at camp. 


The cabins have shared bathrooms/showers attached.




WHAT NOT TO BRING!!


NO FLIP FLOPS OR SANDALS -- Camp has lots of mulch, dirt and gravel and trails through the woods. Believe me, you don't want to be wearing sandals or flip flops or watch your daughter stop every few seconds because "there's something in her shoe." Tennis shoes or boots are best.


FANCY CLOTHES -- Forget it, they're going to get dirty. It's camp. ;–)


Here's the Official Packing List from Camp Tecumseh (more detailed than mine):

Clothing 
Dress at camp is casual; we suggest the following for each guest depending upon the time of year: 
1 pair of pajamas
2 pairs of shoes (1 pair of tennis shoes, 1 pair of boots) Daily change of socks and underwear, plus 2 extra of each Heavy & lightweight shirt – one for each day
2 sweaters/sweatshirts
Daily change of pants/jeans and/or shorts, plus 1 extra pair Jacket or coat
Rain wear – poncho or rain coat 

Bedding:
Each person will need a sleeping bag OR 2-3 blankets & sheets
Pillow 


Toiletries/Personal Care Items:


Shampoo 
Bar of soap
Hand soap
Hand towel and/or wash cloth Towel
Toothbrush & toothpaste 

General Items: 


Alarm clock 
Flashlight Wrist watch 
Comb/Hair brush Deodorant Chapstick Sunscreen Medications 
Bug Spray 

Optional Items:

Camera & extra film, batteries
Fishing pole & tackle
Board games, playing cards
Bible
Water bottle or travel coffee mug
Portable “campfire” - Camp does not allow ground fires! 




What NOT to bring: 

• ALCOHOL or other controlled substances 
  
• Knives 
  
• Axes and/or saws 
  
• Aerosol cans 
  
• Bicycles, skateboards, in-line skates, razor scooters, snow sleds 
  
• Firearms, archery equipment, etc. 
  
• Fireworks 
  
• Glass bottles 
  
• Pets 
  

Here's a link to Camp Tecumseh's website for more info:http://camptecumseh.org

Snack & Drink Schedule for Meetings

2014-2015 Snack & Drink Schedule

Please see the below meeting calendar with the snack & drink schedule for this year. 

• Please bring enough for 14 girls 
• We have a NUT ALLERGY. It is very important that everyone bringing a snack reads the labels and makes sure they are not made where nuts are present.
• This schedule is subject to change. If your turn is rescheduled by a field trip, you will be added to bring snack/drinks at end of year party! 

Meeting Date	Dairy or   Crunchy  Snack	Fruit or Veggie Snack	Drink
September 5th	Kayley Moore	Jilli Childs	Vanya Christopher
October 10th	Naomi Fefferman	Margie Heritage	Elena Parodi
October 24th	Lexie/Belle Perez	Tori Piskol	Ava Raffin
November 7th	Clare Regan	Lindsey Surd	Shanya Tepper
November 21st	Julianna Dodge	Kayley Moore	Jilli Childs
December 12th	Vanya Christopher	Naomi Fefferman	Margie Heritage
January 9th	Ava Raffin	Clare Regan	Lindsey Surd
January 23rd	Shanya Tepper	Julianna Dodge	Kayley Moore
February 6th	Jilli Childs	Vanya Christopher	Naomi Fefferman
March 6th	Margie Heritage	Ava Raffin	Clare Regan
April 10th	Lindsey Surd	Shanya Tepper	Julianna Dodge
May 8th	Kayley Moore	Jilli Childs	Vanya Christopher

Dairy or Crunchy snack ideas: popcorn, cheese, pretzels, etc

Drink ideas: water or Capri sun

(Thanks, Jennifer Moore, for this snack/drink schedule! :-)

Camp Tecumseh September 20-21!

Woohoo! Camp Tecumseh! 

We'll be heading back to our favorite stomping grounds in Brookston, Indiana the weekend of Sept. 20-21!

The girls worked hard selling cookies this year and now comes the payoff! :-)

Tecumseh's cost per camper is $67 (that's per girl and per camper), but we will use troop funds to cover $40 per girl.

 So, for people in our troop, the price will be $67 for you (the adult) and $27 for your Junior Girl Scout! A pretty good deal!

Horseback riding is $9. Candlemaking $7. Riflery tickets: $1 each.

We will spend Saturday night in the cabins, this time as part of "Lake Village." We'll have access to all the fun of Camp T., the slides, hiking trails, campfire, s'mores, etc! Our visit will include three meals in the lodge: Lunch and dinner on Saturday and breakfast on Sunday. 

I've invited all the FHH Girl Scout troops and I've heard from many who are excited for us to go back to camp as a group.

I'll keep you posted as I get more details.

The New Green Vest -- Where Things Go

I thought it would help everyone to see a photo of where things are supposed to go on the girls' new Junior vest. You can click directly on the picture above to make it easier to read.

When you go to the Girl Scout store to purchase the vest, you also may want to get the American flag patch, the council identification set, the troop numbers (10265), the Girl Scout Membership pin for Juniors and older, and the Junior insignia tab (the green ribbon-type thing that pins onto the vest and holds the World Trefoil Pin, which they should still have from their Brownie vest and can transfer over to the new vest on the tab, and the Girl Scout Membership Pin, which you would need to buy at the Girl Scout store).

So if you want to get it all here's your shopping list:

Green Vest (they told me "go big" so I got Julianna an x-tra large at the store, figuring room to grow)
American flag patch
Council Identification set
Troop Numbers (10265 -- they are sold individually)
Girl Scout Membership Pin (there are two different versions of this and either is fine)
Junior Insignia Tab

Merrillville Shop

8699 Broadway Merrillville, IN 46410 Phone: 219-472-1943 merrillvilleshop@gsgcnwi.org

Monday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Other things that your girls should already have and can transfer over to the new vest are their membership stars and the colored discs under them. They should have one membership star for every year they've been in Girl Scouts.

New things they received at the bridging ceremony that should be put on the new vest are: the rainbow badge (it looks longer and thinner than the rainbow in the picture but it goes in the same spot as the rainbow in the picture -- Girl Scouts has just updated the bridging badge) and their Brownie wings. See the picture above as to where they go.

Good News: Most of it is "iron on!" ;-)

That should be it. Any cookie badges they received from selling cookies can go on the back of the vest if you'd like. If your daughter participates in any Girl Scout-related fun this summer (i.e. marching in the July 4 parade, going to a Girl Scout camp, going to Girl Scout night at the symphony, etc.) than those "fun badges" go on the back of her vest. If she does any skill-related badges, they likely go on the front, but check with me first if you're not sure.

We will use troop funds, as usual, to purchase skill-related badges the girls work on during the school year.

Flying Up to Juniors!

Our troop's 20 girls bridged from Brownies to Juniors Friday in a "Flying Up" bridging ceremony. It has been great to see how they've grown over the years! We have such a fun group of girls filled with talent and personality, and all you had to do was watch as they one by one got up in front of the group -- unprompted -- to show off their talents!

We had fantastic singers, back hand springers, horse jumpers and everything in between.

We were hoping for a sunny day at the park for our ceremony but, instead, the girls brought their own sunshine to the indoor ceremony Friday.

Over the past year, we've watched some of them perform in the school talent show, cook and serve a meal to a homeless mission, learn all about business as they've sold cookies door to door and collect and donate canned food for the needy. They all have big hearts and want to make the world a better place.

Looking forward to lots more fun with this group soon! Congratulations, girls!

Powder Puff Derby!

(Left to right: Julianna Dodge, Sara Progler, Meg Westland, Kayley Moore, Elena Parodi, Genevieve Johns, Gracie Kisala and Margie Heritage. Not pictured but also racing: Clare Regan and Ava Raffin).

They're all winners just for designing and working on their wooden cars!

But our official trophy winners included:

Margie Heritage (1st place -- fastest car)

Gracie Kisala (2nd place -- fastest car)

Genevieve Johns (3rd place -- fastest car)

Kayley Moore (safest driver)

Meg Westland (best design)

Girls Rock!