The Brownies Make Music!

The Brownie's proudly display thier Valentine
boxes that will be given to the Veteran's at the
Chillicothe Veterans Hospital.


First I have to just say, I love Brownies! I love everything about Girl Scouts! The self esteem boost every time one of the girls tries something new and is so proud of themselves. Watching ones that are shy come out of their shells and really blossom. Having girls that are so energetic and excited for anything and everything we do. I am blessed to have the best group of girls. They listen, they participate, they are kind and courteous to each other. They all work so hard at learning new skills and have so much fun doing things for each other and the community. They are a leader's dream troop.

Each month they leave our meetings with smiles on their faces. I am so thankful that my own two girls have such a great bunch that they have formed such good friendships with. Both Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts are a huge part of our family life. Bill and I are both leaders, me to the girls troop and Bill to Ethan's. Bill will soon be doing training this summer to work with Kyle's Pack which will see both boys through to Eagle Scout which is their goal. We are always looking for projects that can be adapted or used to accomplish a scouting try it or merit badges. Often Bill takes one of my ideas and adapts it to use with his den and vice versa.

Today I needed help! Music is not my area of any knowledge or expertise! My days learning to play the piano are long gone and I literally only remember middle C and that is all. Part of my personal goal as a leader is to try and expose the girls to as many things as possible. I have a crafty group (which means the girls and I make a great team - we love our glue guns!) and even though Girl Scout training tells us that if that is all the girls want to do then do it. But my group is willing to try anything. And what better way than to do it with a group of friends!

My reinforcement (or more like me calling and saying "Help! Can you lead this meeting?) were Lily and Mackenzie's big sisters; Shaina, Jen, Julie, and Cassie. What wonderful gifts they all have. And not just musically! They are all sweet and enthusiastic big sisters who love helping their little sis's. Lily and Mackenzie look up to these girls and love sharing stories about them at meetings so to have the opportunity to share them with us was great for them and us.

Cassie plays the flute for us. She also has a

beautiful singing voice that I forgot to invite her

to share!

Mackenzie and her violin "Gloria".

Jen leads our Brownie Friend song on

guitar, assisted by Julie and Shaina.

All I knew was that they were bringing their instruments and working on the Making Music Try it. WOW is all I can say. They did a fantastic job coordinating, teaching, leading, and performing. It was so much fun and educational. We warmed up with the Hokey Pokey and sang Row, Row, Row Your Boat in rounds. Having lived in Hawaii for awhile Lily's sisters taught us a Hawaiian dance and song with motions that we had to do twice, it was so much fun. Being they are Korean as well, we did Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes in Korean. With their violins and guitars we learned the Brownie Friend-Maker Song which is set to a tune from Israel making our music lesson filled with culture.

Hokey Pokey turning ourselves around!

Our Hawaian song and we had to use our hips!

Christa and Annabel do Head, Shoulders,

Knees, and Toes - Korean style!

Paige learns the Brownie Friend Maker Song.

Talk about a productive meeting (this is what happens with a well behaved group that is anxious to learn!) we did our first flag ceremony, read a letter from Mrs. Smith thanking her for our visit last month, went over badge information, finished our Caring and Sharing Try it with skits, made our Valentine boxes for the Veteran's hospital, determined our "Cookie Personality", and had two presentations.

Paige led our first official flag ceremony.

AnnMarie decorates the Valentine box lid.

Group 1 - Christa, Annabel, and Laura.

How to be a good friend when they fall while

shopping and need help.

Group 2 - AnnMarie, Paige, and Mary. How to show your

friend you care when they are injured.

Group 3 - Lindy, Mackenzie, and Lily.

How to be a good friend when your friend

forgets to bring their lunch on a field trip

and she is devestated!

Over snack time Lily and Mackenzie shared their

favorites list. These two girls have become good friends

at Brownies. ( I would like to take some credit for

the match making!) They remind me of each other!

Lily's Uncle Mike left for Afghanistan yesterday. He will be gone for a year. His wife and three young children live in Florida and this will be a hard year on all of them. Lily is very familiar with having someone deployed as her dad was in Kuwait 18 months ago. I asked Lily's mom, Elaine, if our troop could "adopt" Mike for the year that he is gone. Lily came very well prepared with a family picture of her Uncle and her globe marked with his location and his route to travel to Afghanistan. She did such a great job "introducing" us. She is going to keep us updated on how he is doing, if he needs anything, and how her cousins and aunt are holding up. The troop will be making cards, writing letters, and sending some treats throughout the year.

Lily's wonderful presentation about her

Uncle Mike's deployment to Afganistan.

Great job Lily!

Lindy, Paige, and Mary presented facts on Ohio including the state flag. They took a ten week class at co-op on Ohio's symbols, history, and geography. They will be able to receive the Tryin' On Ohio Try it for all of their work on our Buckeye state. Good work girls!

Awesome meeting girls! What fun we all had! See you next month at the Valentine Party!

Due to the stomach bug over Christmas break we

had to reschedule some play dates. Here are Erin,

AnnMarie, Mary, Lindy, and Paige.

Next to catch up with - Lily!

Not sure what prompted this other than

the warm fireplace being on. But they

still had no access to a flame for roasting!

Maybe they are ready for a camping trip!