Did you know that Taylor Swift was a Girl Scout too? During a recent troop sleepover my girls shared how much they loved Taylor Swift (TS). My girls are 8th and 9th graders and I'm always looking for ways to make our time together fun and memorable. Half of the girls bridged to Seniors this year and I wanted to find a way to entice a few of them to renew for high school. Since I knew how much they loved TS I wanted to find a way to include her in an upcoming meeting. During my search I found a TS Was a GS, Too Fun Patch and a fun lesson plan that incorporated the lyrics of TS and the Girl Scout Law (you can find anything in Facebook groups if you look long enough). Below is a summary of what our night looked like during our meeting and a few of the special things we did as a troop. Dress As Your Favorite Era That's right, I told the girls they could dress anyway they liked for this meeting. Let your creativity fly here girls. Go big, go bold, or go soft and sweet! I let ... [ Read More ]
Traveling to Savannah with Girl Scouts
I’ve dreamt of this trip since before I even had kids. My mom was my troop leader when I was in Girl Scouts and took us to Savannah when we were in 5th grade. I remember the friends and the funny travel experiences (like locking our keys in the car - twice) even now as an adult. Once I had a daughter I knew this was a trip I’d want to take with her when she was old enough. Thanks to the pandemic this trip was cancelled last year and we were so fortunate that our council opened up out of state travel for this summer. Our girls have slowly been saving for this trip for several years. Once they were in 3rd grade we began saving a few hundred dollars from cookie sales each year. We saved $300 for 3rd grade, $400 for 4th grade, and in 5th grade the girls worked extra hard to earn the rest of the money they needed for their trip that summer. Each girl had a goal of 500 boxes of cookies to sell during their 5th grade year so that we’d have enough money to do the trip. We had already made our ... [ Read More ]
Meditation Tree Coloring Page
This latest coloring page was a request from a dear friend that I've know virtually (and in person) since I began writing here on my blog. We have met on numerous occasions at blogging conferences and have remained friends virtually. She's teaching a meditation workshop at her church and reached out to see if I could design a coloring page for the attendees to use during their meditation exercises. She shared some of her wishes and items she'd like to see in the coloring page and left the rest up to me. This is the first time creating this style of coloring sheet and it was so relaxing to design! I took inspiration from nature around me and this is where it lead me. I am so pleased with the design and hope that you can use this in your meditation practices as well. I've made this print available in my Etsy shop. SHOP MY COLORING PAGES ... [ Read More ]
Christmas Activity & Coloring Pages – Digital Download
Download the entire 32 page Christmas Activity & Coloring Pages today. Available year-round in my Etsy shop. SHOP NOW I have been dreaming of this project for several years and I finally made time for myself to create a fun activity book and coloring pages for Christmas. I designed all of the artwork and pages on my iPad using an Apple Pencil (think digital sketchbook and pencil). Who this was designed for: Parents to keep their kids entertained over the holiday break or while quarantining at home. Teachers to use in their classrooms for holiday parties.Scouts & clubs to use with their students around the holidays.Adults to use to unwind from a busy day. Some of the pages are simple designs. There are a few "finish this" style designs where you or your child and finish drawing the character, decorate the Christmas tree, or design the perfect gingerbread person. Others are a little more time consuming collages of different design elements that will take longer to ... [ Read More ]
Tips for Using Google Classroom for Girl Scouts
As we navigate the new school year under COVID conditions, we also navigate new ways to connect and engage our girls in Girl Scouts. I love technology, there's so much that it can do to help us connect better, but I know that it's not everyone's strength. I hope that this guide will help you navigate Google Classroom to keep your Girl Scout troop organized this year. Why Google Classroom? It's easy and everything I already do is in the Google platform. Gmail, Docs, Forms, Files, you name it. It all connects seamlessly and using your Gmail address; no duplicate accounts or logins needed. Yes, that means you need a Gmail email account set up. Most of my parents and girls already have Gmail so this part was easy for us. Don't have a Gmail account yet? Get started here: Set Up a Gmail Account I have a Gmail account, how do I set up Google Classroom? You can do this from a Desktop, Tablet, or Smartphone. From Desktop: From Phone or Tablet, you can download a Google ... [ Read More ]
Natural Slime Recipe with Psyllium Husk Powder
Post contains affiliate links. A few weeks ago I received a new essential oil subscription box from Simply Earth AND their bonus box. They asked me to join their #squad and share my experiences with you about their program. I've owned several different essential oils over the years but I've never gotten into all the brand oil clubs. Honestly, I'm just now starting to learn how to safely use these oils and incorporate them into some fun DIY recipes around the house. If you'd like to see what's included in the Simply Earth Essential Oil Recipe Box (and big bonus box) click over using this referral link: http://bit.ly/2XfM77e. If you use coupon code BACKTOCALLEYFREE you'll get a bonus $20 gift certificate! If your kids love making slime like my kids do, they will LOVE this recipe! This recipe does require heating the ingredients so make sure a parent helps and make sure you let this cool down for at least 20 minutes before letting your kids play with it. It gets very hot!! ... [ Read More ]
Feeling Inspired with an Aerie Lane DIY Workshop
Summer is quickly coming to an end with my kids starting back to school this week. My promise to myself this summer was to be more creative and I've exceeded my expectations. I've picked up my sketchbook, I've doodled, I've painted, I've started to learn hand lettering (and calligraphy), and I finally bought myself an iPad Pro, Apple Pencil and Procreate app. My creative juices have exploded this summer and it's starting to feel like I did when I was younger before I had motherly responsibilities. It's been a wonderful summer for me in this regards and I feel much more balanced. I was incredible excited to have been invited to a DIY Workshop at our local Aerie Lane in Safety Harbor. This is the original Aerie Lane and is operated by the founders of the company, Sheyla and Courtney. Along with a group of local bloggers, I spent an evening with Sheyla painting and putting together their large rustic centerpiece. Sheyla and her team welcomed us with an evening full of more than ... [ Read More ]
Ideas for End of Year & Girl Scout Bridging Ceremony Gifts
It's the end of the school year and we're completing another year of Girl Scouts. This year our troop expanded to a multi-level troop with girls ranging from 2nd grade (Brownies) to 4th grade (Juniors). The majority of our girls are bridging over to Junior Girl Scouts this year so we're planning our big end of year Bridging Ceremony. We have so much to celebrate with these girls for all of their hard work this year. Our troop sold over 5,500 boxes of cookies during cookie season and had a lot of money to spend on the girls and our community. We had a great outing at an aerial ropes and zip line course near us with some of the profits from cookie sales. Another large portion will go to their end of year Take Action project. They are making care packages for the families and patients at a local hospice center and delivering those in about a week (or two). Whatever funds are left after they add to their saving account for next year are being used for their end of year party and ... [ Read More ]
Girl Scouts Rock – A Painted Rock Challenge
Welcome to the home of the original painted rock challenges! The very first time I painted on rocks was about a year ago with my daughter's Brownie troop. We were working on a project for World Thinking Day and all of the girls painted Girl Scout themed rocks and hid them around our town. Each rock had information on the back that would lead the finder to the Girl Scout website to learn about Thinking Day. It was also where my addiction to painting on rocks began! This would be a fun project that Troop Leaders could incorporate into some badge lessons. Brownie leaders can look at the Painting and the Outdoor Art Creator badges. Some of the words on the list would be fun to introduce new girls to Girl Scouting traditions and history. You could also incorporate rock hiding (kindness rocks) into a community service project. Be creative and have fun! Let the girls help decide what to do with their rocks once they are painted. Have a fun idea you want to share, leave a comment to ... [ Read More ]
7 Lessons I Learned in My First Year as a Daisy Girl Scout Leader
My daughter just finished her second year in Girl Scouts and has bridged up to Brownies for next year. While this was her second year in Daisy's, this was my first year as a Troop Leader. It's been a fun year learning how to be a Troop Leader and I've learned a few lessons along the way. Let the girls help lead! Girl Scouts are very into "Girl Lead" troops and activities. It's very easy for us as adults to take over and control every situation instead of letting the girls learn how to do things. Sure we have to "lead" the troop and push them in the right direction, but letting them make decisions is an important part of being a Troop Leader. As Daisy's this is a hard balance to find since the girls are 6-7 years old, but given the right directions they can do it! Kaper Charts are a good way to get the girls involved in the meetings. Be flexible! No matter how well you plan out your meetings, something will always get you off track! It's OK to be flexible and change your focus if ... [ Read More ]