The troop chose a crest

The troop finally chose their crest last night. Previously they had attempted to choose a crest at spring camp, but the conversation became contentious. In retrospect it may have seemed to have a lot to do with the fact that they had not slept well for two nights in a row, but two camps formed. A few girls REALLy wanted the unicorn (beauty) and a few girls REALLY wanted the honeybee (hard work).

Wisely, our troop leader decided to table the discussion for awhile. Tonight she presented them will a list of attributes that each crest stands for, and they debated that instead. It came down to two camps again, though. A few girls voted for friendship (lei) and a few girls voted for strength (crane). Since there were only five girls at the meeting, there wasn't a tie, so the winner was: friendship (the lei).

I think this is the perfect crest for our troop. Without our friends: what's the point. It was my daughter Samantha that campaigned the hardest for strength, and I can understand why. She takes a lot of pride in her personal strength, but I think the lei better represents the troop. :)

Samantha's fifth year of Girl Scouting

As Samantha enters the fourth grade, she begins her fifth year of Girl Scouting. She is a junior this year. They wear green vests. She got all her books last spring, and I have been home with her all summer, so I helped her earn her first journey and three badges (geocaching, independence and jeweler).

The journey that we worked on was all about energy conservation. We made recycled paper. We did an energy audit of our home, and we organized a bicycle train to school with the girls in our neighborhood. Journey's are hard, but they are worth the effort. They are fun, mostly. My only real complaint about them is that they include too much book work. Scouting is learning by doing. The girls get enough book work in school.

My goal this year is to help Samantha earn all three journeys and all the badges. There are 26 regular badges. There are six council badges: (1) forestry fun, (2) Indians of Western Oregon, (2) Lewis and Clark, (3) Mt. Saint Helens, (4) Oceanography, (5) Oregon Trail and (6) Rose Festival. There is also a make-your-own badge that she can do once each year. We are having trouble deciding what to do for that.

I volunteered to serve on the troop committee this year. I will be the camping coordinator. I need to go get some training and then plan some campouts.

I also received a grant to coach a robotics team. The grant comes from the Girl Scouts, so I hope all the girls in our troop will want to be on the team.

What are you looking forward to doing with your fourth-grader in Girl Scouts?