Camp T. in photos!

What a fun weekend at Camp Tecumseh, as always! Hope everyone had fun!

I'm sharing a few photos from the weekend. Email me yours and maybe we can make a photo book of all of our photos for the troop.

Ava and Kayley groom Bandit

Lindsey and Julianna groom Bandit with curry brushes

Lindsey hits the trail!

Learning to saddle a horse

Just having fun!

 Roasting marshmallows for s'mores inside thanks to Mary's trusty toaster oven!

In Jail!

Boating!

Boating along with FHH Cub Scouts!

The Black Hole slide!

Horse Fans Hanging Out

Listening to Mary Anne Hunsberger explain tacking and grooming horses 

Signing Glow-in-the-Dark T-shirts

Learning about careers in the equestrian world

About to groom a horse

Learning to clean a saddle

Learning to saddle a horse -- Teamwork!

Glow-in-the-dark fun!

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

What do Girls Get Out of Girl Scouts?

what do Girls Get out of Girl Scouts

Sar

Sharing this from another Girl Scout blog... interesting things girls/leaders say girls get out of Girl Scouts...

In summer 2014, GSUSA conducted a pulse poll* with parents of Girl Scouts and with Girl Scout volunteers. This poll delivered exciting results, making clear the positive energy around the Girl Scout experience for girls. In short, parents and volunteers believe Girl Scouts is the place for girls to have fun, make friends, learn new things, build confidence, and more. Volunteers experience the fun alongside girls and derive other great benefits from their service as well.Parents and volunteers agree: Girl Scouts provides a cost-effective variety of unique, positive, and fun experiences for girls!

What Parents Say About Girl Scouts

When parents are asked to describe the benefits of Girl Scouting using one word, the top responses are:
1. Friendships
2. Confidence
3. Fun
4. Community
5. Leadership

Friendships, happiness, and fun. We want our girls to have fun and to be happy in anything they do. Girl Scouts is rated extremely highly on measures of happiness and fun:
• 97% of parents say Girl Scouts has been a positive activity for their daughter.
• 95% of parents say that because of Girl Scouts, their daughter has made more friends.
• 89% of parents say that because of Girl Scouts, their daughter is happier.

New experiences. Girl Scouts offers girls new experiences and opportunities. And parents are well aware of this.
• 96% of girls have tried at least one new thing as a Girl Scout.
• 95% of parents believe that Girl Scouts offers new experiences that are fun and exciting.

Confidence. We know that building confidence is a key milestone for children, and Girl Scouts gives girls the opportunity to do this!
• 94% of parents say that Girl Scouts makes their daughter feel special and important.
• 90% of parents say that because of Girl Scouts, their daughter is more confident.
• 79% of parents say that because of Girl Scouts, their daughter is not as shy as she used to
be.

Variety of experiences and value-add of Girl Scouting.
Parents say Girl Scouts offers girls a variety of experiences and opportunities to try new things, develop skills, and become well- rounded. Parents also recognize the unique value of Girl Scouts as compared to other extracurricular activities.
• 95% of Girl Scouts participate in the Girl Scout Cookie program. Seventy-four percent of
parents say that because of Girl Scouts, their daughter has gained entrepreneurial
business skills.
• 91% of parents say that their daughter has had at least one outdoor experience with Girl Scouts in the last year.
• 92% of parents believe that their daughter has benefited from the all-girl environment of Girl Scouts.
• 89% of parents say that their daughter gets a greater variety of experiences from Girl Scouts than she does from other extracurricular activities.
• The majority of parents (54%) feel that Girl Scouts is a great value for their money, compared to other extracurricular activities.

What Volunteers Say About Girl Scouts

Girl Scout volunteers benefit from the Girl Scout program as well. Not only do these individuals believe they are making a difference in the lives of the girls they serve, they also enjoy the many personal and professional benefits of the Girl Scout experience, such as making new friends, learning new things, getting active and outdoors, and feeling part of a supportive community.

Benefits for Girls
• 95% of Girl Scout volunteers agree that they make a difference in the lives of girls because they volunteer with Girl Scouts.
• 94% of Girl Scout volunteers believe that Girl Scouts offers new experiences that are fun and exciting.
• 95% of Girl Scout volunteers are happy knowing they are making girls’ lives better.

Benefits for Volunteers
• 94% of Girl Scout volunteers have made new friends in Girl Scouting.
• 92% of Girl Scout volunteers feel that Girl Scouts helps them learn or share something new.
• 88% of Girl Scout volunteers believe their life is better because they volunteer with Girl
Scouts.
• 88% of Girl Scout volunteers say that Girl Scouts lets them be active.
• 86% of Girl Scout volunteers say that the volunteer experience has helped them personally.
• 86% of Girl Scout volunteers have had at least one outdoor experience with Girl Scouts in the past year.
• 82% of Girl Scout volunteers feel that Girl Scouts make them feel supported.
• 82% of Girl Scout volunteers believe that Girl Scouts makes them feel special and important.
• Nearly two-thirds of Girl Scout volunteers (62%) believe that their volunteer experience has helped them professionally.

Quotes from Girl Scout Volunteers
“I LOVE being a Girl Scout volunteer. It brings joy to my life to know that I helped shape the future of a young lady.”
“Being a Girl Scout leader and working with the girls is GREAT! I love helping them to grow into themselves, who they are, and the GREAT people they will become!”
“It is exciting and rewarding to see the girls try new things, learn new things, share their
knowledge with younger Scouts, and mature into leaders.”

*This poll was conducted with 3,522 parents of Girl Scouts in the K−5 age range across six Girl Scout councils around the country. Eighty-eight percent were also Girl Scout volunteers.

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! :-)

Ready, Aim, Fire! (Archery Field Trip)

Our first field trip of the year to "On Target" in Steger was interesting. ;-) I was hoping for more background on archery from the owner/teachers there, but the girls seemed to have fun shooting lots of arrows and trying to hit a swinging ball with their arrow. They got a little background on archery from Julianna's big brother, Ben. Soon they'll get their archery badges and get to do even more target practice at Camp Tecumseh. 

Here are the happy archers during a break in the action. (Thanks Mary Beth, for the photo!) 

All about the Fun!

Our first meeting was all about fun! The girls played games after talking about the badges they voted on over the summer to work on this year.

The girls will take turns leading badges this year. Moms and dads can help them as needed. We will also visit experts on different badges and hopefully have some visit us.

This year will look and feel different because the girls will be taking over more leadership roles. As girls move through Girl Scouts they are working on becoming leaders and they do that by planning meetings, badges, field trips, and service projects together.

They voted on badges over the summer. The winning badges were:

Animal Habitats
Archery
Science Sleuth
Geocacher
Camper
Gardener
Jeweler
Simple Meals
Digital Photographer
Entertainment Technology
Detective
Real-Life Tooth Fairy
Playing the Past
Product Designer
Drawing
Flowers
Musician
Staying Fit
First Aid

I also found them a retired badge that we'll work on and tie in with Camp Tecumseh:

Horse Fan

Obviously that's a LONG list and we won't get to all of these ideas, but it's a great starting point!

Possible service projects the girls want to do this year include:

Cooking and Serving a Meal for the Hammond Mission
Helping at the Humane Society in Munster
Collecting books for kids that need them
Helping out at the Indiana Dunes
Helping out at a senior citizen home

Possible field trips this year:

Doing archery at On Target in Steger
Going fishing (Oak Ridge Prairie, Centennial Park or Bass Pro Shop)
Going on a bike ride (Centennial Park and Munster bike path -- geocaching badge, too)
Sleeping overnight at the zoo or the Shedd Acquarium (animal habitats badge)
Gibson Woods (animal habitats badge)
Visting Hull House in Chicago (playing the past badge)
Visiting Photographer Ann Latinovich's studio (digital photographer badge)
Visiting CBS News (entertainment technology badge)
Visting a beekeeper's house in Highland (gardening badge)

I forgot to mention the possibility of a field trip to the Tri-Town Safety Village just past the Schererville post office. It's a great place to learn about fire safety, first responders, etc. (a special fire safety badge or first aid badge)

Looking forward to our next meeting Friday September 5 and our trip to Camp Tecumseh September 20-21! Checks made out to Troop 10265 are due by our next meeting September 5. Read below for details on Camp Tecumseh. If you haven't already updated your health history and your daughter's health history forms, you need to do so at the next meeting. For most of you, this just involves checking to make sure the info is still current and signing and dating the form.

One other Girl Scout event coming up that sounds fun is a Girl Scout hiking day at 10 a.m. Saturday September 13 at Taltree Arboretum in Valparaiso.

Details:

^{Girl Scout H Hiking Day on Saturday, Sept. 13th, 2014 at} 

^{Taltree Arboretum and Gardens, 450 West 100 North, Valparaiso, IN.}

^{$5 for Girl Scouts including patch, $3 for accompanying adults} 

^{Bring a water bottle, sack lunch, sun screen and bug spray! Hikers will leave the parking lot at 10:00 am. The hike is 1 ½ hours, then we will be eating our lunches in the pavilion. You are welcome to tour the other areas not included on the hike after lunch. Dress for the weather, and no flip flops. We will hike unless there is thunder and lightning. NO REFUNDS unless the venue cancels the hike. Checks made out to Girl Scouts & permission slips due by Sept. 1st  To: Jayne Kranc}

                ^{12780 W. 87th Avenue}

                ^{St. John, IN 46373}

                ^219-365-3607

^{Late registrants not guaranteed a patch!
________________________________________________________________________________}

Service Unit Roller Hiking Event Permission Slip

                                           Troop # ______

Girls Scout's Name_______________________________      Address:__________________________

  City:_______________________  Zip_______________   Phone # _________________________ 

List conditions or limitations that might affect regular activities, and any Allergies and /or reactions to the following: foods, drugs, animals, etc.  

Please check your level. You will be grouped by levels.  Daisy ___ Brownie___  Junior___  Cadette/Senior/Ambassador ___

Names of any family members  who will be hiking WITH the Girl Scout: _______________________________

  In case of emergency and parent cannot be reached at the above numbers, alternate adult contact is:

  Name___________________________________________ Phone Number _______________________

  We give full permission for our daughter to attend this event and participate in all phases of the activities.  We will not allow her to attend if for any     reason we do not consider her in good physical condition.  We give permission for Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana to seek medical attention for our daughter in the event of an emergency.  We have read the information and agree to cooperate with all regulations.  If a fee is being charged for the event, we understand it is not refundable for a no-show participant.  Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana has my permission to use photos/videos of my daughter for publicity purposes.

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.