Monthly Archives: November 2011
Badge: Digital Photography Basics (revised)
Whether you have a new camera or you would like to add to your photography skills, we’ll explore what your camera does and practice taking some shots. We’ll also think about common concerns before they become issues. So, get your camera and your owner’s manual before we start!
When you feel comfortable with the basics, check out our “Digital Photography: Improving Your Photos.” “Digital Photography: Sharing Your Photos” will explore the wide variety of options now available to share your special images.
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Steps
1. Why do you take photos?
The reasons why will often influence not only your choice of camera, but peripherals as well. Photography can be artistic, to capture memories, to supplement your written words, to share things you’ve created, to preserve documents and more. Your reason may be because it’s a fun hobby. List the reasons why you take photos? What are you planning to do with them?
2. Advantages vs. disadvantages.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of digital photography? What can you do to minimize the disadvantages?
Look at Step 1 and decide if the disadvantage is something you need to overcome. Some examples might include:
- Temperature affecting battery life
- Immediate gratification of viewing photos
- Editing photos
- Archival limits
- Features limited by your camera
- Resolution issues
3. Thoughts before you shoot: resolution.
What is your camera’s resolution? The more pixels per inch, the larger you can print your image clearly. If you’ve seen a photo that looks “blocky”, it was enlarged more than there were pixels to support it. What you do with your final photo determines your pixel need. Here’s a short list to think about.
- Apple monitors need 72 ppi
- PC monitors need 96 ppi
- Standard printing needs 300 ppi
- High-end (fashion magazine) printing needs 450 ppi
- Text printing (readable) needs 800 ppi
Adjust the resolution on your camera if you feel you need to. Remember that you can remove pixels from an image but you can’t add them.
4. Thoughts before you shoot: color.
Most cameras save their files as JPG files. The JPG format supports 16.8 million colors. This compression format groups similar colors together. The smaller you compress it, the more it groups colors and you lose detail. For example, if you take a picture of the sky with various shades of blue and compress it, when you open it back up, many of the blues will have changed so that similar colors are now the same color.
Professional photographers use the RAW setting as it stores 4.3 billion colors and doesn’t compress them. Is this difference important to you? Read about these formats, find out what your camera supports and decide which is right for you.
5. Thoughts before you shoot: storage.
Without the cost of film and printing, digital photography is cheap. As a result, people take a lot of pictures. That coupled with your resolution and color can swell the size of your photo archives.
Digital photos are easily manipulated. Always keep your originals untouched in one location. Set up a filing system that makes sense to you so you can find your originals. Keep your edited photos in a separate area. If you make a mistake editing your photo, you can go back to the original and start again. This duplication of images allows you a “safety net”, but significantly increases the amount of storage you need.
In addition, you want to make sure to store more than one set of originals. Power surges and magnetic fields can damage your hard drive and you can lose your photos. Plan and start an archival storage system before you are in a critical situation.
6. Thoughts before you shoot: software.
Software for editing your photo can come with your camera or you may want to strive for the high-end, Adobe Photoshop. Look at the software choices available to you. Remember, the more features and power, the larger the learning curve. In addition, you may want to look at software to create slide shows, videos and more.
Examine your software options based on your list from Step 1. Take a class, read from groups/blogs or talk to someone who uses the software you’re thinking of using to find out if it will fit your needs.
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Learn your camera
7. Modes.
With your camera and owner’s manual in hand, start with the following modes to understand what your camera can do. If you have modes beyond these, explore those on your own.
- Auto Mode: Picture of a camera or the word “Auto”
- Portrait Mode: Profile of a head
- Sports/Action Mode: Picture of a person running
- Night Mode: Silhouette of a person with a moon or star
- Museum Mode: Picture of a museum/building
- Movie Mode: Picture of an old fashioned tripod camera
8. Peripheral equipment.
You have your camera and you’re looking at all the extra *stuff* you want to have. Don’t buy things because you want them. Will you actually use it? Will you be willing to carry it around?
Items you might want to consider purchasing include additional batteries and cards. A tripod will help stabilize your camera for low-light settings. Find a few things you think would be cool and research the cost and uses. Go back to Step 1 and determine if it fits with your current photography needs.
9. Don’t leave home without it.
The more you use your digital camera, the better your photos. You don’t have to worry about missing a shot because you forgot your camera. Explore places you can put your camera that are easily accessible.
10. Experiment and have fun.
Experiment with the following:
- Stand in one spot and take pictures with each mode on your camera. Do this a number of times and review the images to see the differences.
- Holding your camera to minimize / eliminate shake and increase your stability
- Reaction time. I like to have my kids jump in a pool and practice getting “air shots.” This gives me a feel for how long after I hit the button the camera actually takes the shot. It will also give you a feel for how long it takes until the camera is ready to take another.
- Practice distance shots. This includes landscapes and field sport shots. Find out what modes work best for these.
- Low light conditions. It is rare that light is good for great photos. Be aware of the light and which of your settings will give you the best shots possible.
11. Plan your shots.
When you want to take shots of an event, sports game, birthday party, etc., it helps if you know the shots you want to take. Trying to get the entire team in all the shots may sound like a great idea. When you review the photos, what is the story you’re telling? Can you recognize the people in your shots? Close-ups of faces convey feelings and tell a story on their own.
Take “staging” shots beforehand. Later, you can focus on the action. For example, get shots of the decorations and cake before the party. Perhaps a few shots of sports equipment or the field before the team starts playing. Additionally, you may take shots of signs, flyers, etc. so you have information to go with your photos. Chances are you’ll misplace the flyer or forget where the big game took place. By including these extra shots, you will be sure to keep your facts straight for years to come.
Make a check list for your next event of photos you want to take. Make sure you get everything on your check list. Review these shots with the photos you took from another event. Do you get a more “complete” feel from your planned shots? If you are still missing a couple shots, adjust your check list for your next shoot.
12. “Wasted” shots.
There’s no such thing as wasted shots. As soon as you stop to review your shots, you’ll miss the best shot of the entire event.
When your photo shoot is complete, you can discard the “bad” shots. If you have shots that are really close, look for closed eyes, blurriness and other distracting elements to pick the best one.
13. Keeping your camera safe.
Your camera should last you 3-4 years. Look into ways to keep your camera safe from a carrying case to cleaning cloths. Start practices that keep your camera safe so that they become a good habit.
14. Explore places to learn.
Find out if you have local classes available to learn digital photography. Ask a photographer to teach you in exchange for something you can teach him. Explore local amateur photography clubs. You can also look to Web offerings for classes that you do on your own.
Feel free to check out the AEP “Digital Photography: Improving Your Photography” badge program for steps you might want to take to start improving your photography skills.
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Sites to Explore
www.shortcourses.com/index.html
www.digicamhelp.com/index.php
www.ehow.com/how_2005048_best-camera-beginners.html
tlc.ousd.k12.ca.us/~acody/digi1.html
photographycourse.net
www.berniecode.com/writing/photography/beginners
beginnersphotographyblog.com
digital-photography-school.com
www.connectedphotographer.com/issuesprint/issue200602/00001717.html
www.makeuseof.com (Free download—The Essential Guide to Digital Photography)
Badge: Digital Photography — Sharing Your Photos
Whether you’re looking to send photos to grandma or the entire swim team, there are a variety of ways to distribute your photos. You need to find the balance between time and cost that most appeals to you. So, let’s start exploring the ways we can share.
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Steps
1. Start by organization.
Before you start, you need to be organized. You don’t want to waste time searching for that special photo. Make sure you sort your photos into a system — by events, chronologically, people in the photos or whatever else makes sense to you. Ask yourself if someone else could find photos the way you’re sorting them. If you plan on sharing large amounts of digital images, will your recipient be able to find images they want? Learn how to make a “contact sheet” with small thumbnails of the images you’re sharing.
If you already have a system in place, review it so you’re ready to find your photos quickly. Create a document to explain your system and keep it with your photos.
2. Photo information.
When your camera takes photos, they are saved by numbers. If this isn’t descriptive enough, you may find changing the filenames is more helpful. If you choose to rename your files, be specific. Include the name of the person, place, month and year, and what the person was doing or something about the photograph that will help you remember the details. If you don’t want to rename each photo, create a quick text document (TXT) to include with the photos so you have the important details documented.
Additionally, make sure your date / time are correct before you shoot photos. Even if you forget to sort the images, you’ll be able to narrow down your search if this information is correct.
3. Delete and sort.
Don’t be afraid to delete photos. If the photo isn’t recognizable, get rid of it. It not only wastes hard drive space, but you’ll be wasting time copying bad photos and sharing them.
Photos that you want to keep, but may not want to share, should go in a special folder so you don’t accidentally share the photo of your spouse in their underwear doing “Old Time Rock and Roll.”
4. Last consideration . . . ownership.
Some photo vendors won’t let you print / share images without proof of ownership. This is true of photos taken by professional photographers and places like Disney. Make sure you have a copy of the agreement or proof that *you* took the photos.
I have been turned away from printing photos at a kiosk that I took because the employees assumed they were not my photos. I also know that developers will ask for proof for photos that look professional. Take steps before you start sharing to make sure you do not have problems later.
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Sharing photos.
5. Print on demand.
Hop in the car and drive to your local kiosk. Not only can you do prints in an hour, you can also do some editing on your images such as cropping and red-eye removal. Here are some ways you can carry your files to the kiosk.
- SmartMedia
- CompactFlash
- Memory Stick
- MultiMedia Cards
- SD Cards (and minis)
- XD-Picture Cards
- USB Flash Cards
- Bluetooth (wireless)
- Kodak Picture CD
- Kodak Picture Disks
- CDs
- DVDs
- Floppy disks
If you’ve not used a kiosk before, you may want to take more than one device with images. Each supports different media, though some, like CDs, SD cards and USB sticks tend to be universal.
6. Internet processing.
You don’t even have to leave your house. Explore online photo developers such as Snapfish. Some stores such as Wal-Mart and Walgreen’s have sites you can upload your files to and you can choose where they’re delivered. So, on Mother’s Day, you can have that 8×10 printed down the street from grandma’s house and she can pick it up herself.
Explore the varieties of online photo developers and the multitude of ways you can get prints without leaving your home.
7. More than prints.
While you’re exploring the kiosks and online providers, look beyond traditional prints. What can you get with photos on them? Explore the offerings and how you can share your photos beyond traditional prints. Brainstorm ways you can share these items.
8. Scrapbooks.
Whether traditional or digital, scrapbooks allow you to go beyond the photos and tell more of the story . . . in your own words. You can create them yourself or use software to create a digital scrapbook that you can share with multiple family members.
Select a series of photos and brainstorm how you could put them together into a scrapbook.
9. Large groups of photos — online communities and more.
Sometimes you want to take photos of an event or party. Instead of printing out the photos you like, you can offer others the photos so they can print what they like. From burning CDs and DVDs to handing out flash drives to even uploading the files to sites like Flickr, Picasa or Photobucket you can allow others to choose.
How do online sharing sites work? You upload your files to the site and get a link to send to friends and family to view your
photos, send them an invite, etc. They can then view your files online. Each site is a little different so try them and see which features are most important to you. Most are free or at least have a free trial time to see if you like them.
You can also utilize sites that allow you to store large amounts of data in a downloadable file like Mediafire. Explore the ways you can send large amounts of data for minimal cost.
10. Slideshows.
Photos placed in a program to automatically come up one after another is a slideshow. You may have seen a slideshow at a wedding, shower or funeral. They are popular. Explore the software on your computer to see if you have the ability to create slideshows. If not, find freeware to try and see if this is an option you might be interested in pursuing.
11. Digital display.
Another way to display photos is digitally. From your smart phone to your digital frame to your screen saver, you have a variety of ways to display photos without printing them. Create a digital display, then share your final photos with others.
12. Sharing via social media.
Upload your photos to Facebook, MySpace or any other social media site. You get instant gratification. You can also put them up on blogs, wikis and more. Check the settings on your social media site to see how you can limit others from viewing or downloading your photos. Make adjustments if you’re not happy with the defaults.
13. Have a little fun.
So we’ve done a lot with static photos. You can embellish your photos by adding clip art or text to your images. You can create collages. You can start playing with animations. Software to adjust photos is available on your smart phone, through a huge variety of applications and more. The digital photography world is yours to conquer!
Try adjusting your photos for fun and see what your friends and family think of those shared photos.
14. Connect with us!
As you explore the sites and find what works for you, feel free to post your experiments to share with others. The sites you can use are too numerous to list here. This is just a starting point. As you start sharing, you’ll find it hard to stop.
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Sites to Explore
www.snapfish.com
www.flickr.com
picasa.google.com
photobucket.com
www.shutterfly.com
www.webshots.com
www.KodakGallery.com
www.zooomr.com
www.facebook.com
www.myspace.com
www.mediafire.com
legacymultimedia.com/2011/02/08/how-to-share-your-digital-photos-with-family-and-friends
www.hp.com/united-states/consumer/digital_photography/share_photos_creative
www.support.com/blog/post/6-best-ways-share-digital-photos-friends
www.dummies.com/how-to/photography-video/digital-photography/sharing-organizing.html
Badge: Digital Preservation (revised)
Paper is easily damaged by water, misplaced or discarded. Favorite Web sites vanish overnight or you forget to save the URL. Songs and games, once played, are often forgotten. What can you do to help preserve materials you need for future reference, to ensure you will have them when needed?
NOTE: Information for many of these steps can be found at the Library of Congress (www.digitalpreservation.gov).
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Steps
1. Why start an archive?
Why do you need to archive digital materials? Digital files are fragile. They can easily be lost or damaged. Some reasons for archiving your files might include:
- Family heritage
- Cultural heritage
- Organizational heritage
- Event documentation
- Service project documentation
- Training materials
What other reasons would you want to archive materials?
2. Starting a personal digital archive.
The main reason to start a digital archive is to not lose things you may need in the future. These items might be personal such as family photos and video, support files for volunteer work or even professional documentation. Determine the type of archive you are starting. Then, think about what you need to store. Is it physical items you need to digitize? Digital items that you need maintain a copy of? List everything you need in your archive.
3. Creating an organization system.
You need to organize your digital materials in a way that makes sense to you. You could do it chronologically (by date), by event, by subject, etc. In addition to folders, you can use filenames to help organizing by using years, specific dates, etc. Look at what you’re archiving and determine what will work best for you. When you’ve decided your archive organization, create a document explaining the organization and keep it with your archive.
4. Storage media.
Storage media changes frequently. The CDs you used a few years ago have migrated to DVDs. External hard drives are available. Each storage method has pros and cons. For example, CDs are cheap and easily created . . . but they last an average of 2-5 years. Review the ways you could archive your materials. Decide which will work best for you. Remember, you need to have at least two solutions in case one fails. Don’t forget to address off-site storage solutions.
5. Online storage.
Online storage sounds like an opportune possibility. However, archiving sites may allow others to peruse your materials. Some make your materials their own. Make sure you read the fine print on what you’re agreeing to before uploading your digital files. Compare prices, size limitations and longevity as well.
6. Our changing world.
As technology advances, the ways we store materials will change. The file formats of today may not work tomorrow. Digital files require active management to make sure they are still accessible as change occurs. How are you going to keep your archive updated? One possibility is to work with open formats (formats that are not proprietary to one piece of software or hardware). What other technology exists to help you archive and maintain your files? Create a schedule to check your data files and / or to update the files themselves to newer formats to make sure they continue to be accessible.
7. Sharing materials.
While you may be happy to send your photos to Aunt Martha, there are people you don’t want to have your photos. This goes for anything you create yourself. Copyright has been the way we protected ourselves. If you created it, you owned it. Today, Creative Commons allows us to give away some of our rights. We can allow others to enjoy and share our work without our permission. Review the current copyright laws. Also review the choices you can make via Creative Commons. What works best for you?
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Preservation items
8. Photos and visual media.
Photos and other visual items are probably the items you want to archive the most. They are personal and unique. JPG is the most common format today for images. Before you start, create a list of all the photos you wish to archive, including some ideas to help with your archive.
- Ask other family members to keep copies of photos on hard drives
- Digitize / print photos you only have one copy of
- Create non-digital avenues of distribution
- Create physical items like scrapbooks
Discuss ways you can archive and retrieve your visual media quickly.
9. Podcasts, videos and home movies.
Video and audio take enormous amounts of space to archive. Leaving it on the master tape may sound like a great idea, but what happens if your player no longer works? There are many digital formats for these applications. Research formats and their popularity to find out what formats would work best for your archiving strategy.
10. Web pages.
Per the Library of Congress, it is estimated that the life span of most Web sites is 44-100 days. If you see something you want to keep, your best bet is to get it immediately. Check out some pages you have bookmarked or made favorites. Are they still pertinent? Find a Web page you want to keep and save it to your hard drive. Be aware of the following:
- Make sure graphics are included
- Make sure you can access it after you save it
Feel free to check out archives from the Library of Congress on Hurricane Katrina, 9-11 or another event to see how they are archiving our history.
11. E-mail.
Some e-mail programs save all of the header information as well as the e-mail message, making finding the information within the digital file hard to find. Printing emails is a physical storage nightmare. Depending on the information, you may want to save the emails themselves into appropriate folders or even create a database to store information from within the emails themselves.
For example, you can create a text document containing poems to read at your scouting ceremonies by taking the information you need out of emails and then discarding the emails themselves. You’ll have the information, collected in one location, without having to sort through numerous emails later.
Explore ways you can keep e-mail information long term.
12. Making it digital.
Scanning, photographing or resetting words can all be ways to create digital text. Look at your physical materials that you would like to digitize. What about items that are not so easily digitized like songs sung at camp or your thoughts about how the world is changing?
Examine your skills at digitizing materials. How are your typing, photographing, scanning, audio and video skills? Can you edit these files to make them better? Explore how to create digital files and if you have the hardware, software and knowledge to do this yourself. If not, find others who can do the work for you. You may be able to trade off some of the digitizing cost instead of paying for it.
NOTE: When editing items, such as photos, make sure you keep the original intact. You may damage the file during editing and need to start over. Always do a “save as” before working on images. Do not edit the original.
13. Keeping it printable.
Sometimes you need to print out what you have saved. Try printing a photo from your cell phone to see what lack of pixels can do to your prints. For professional reproductions, scanning continuous tone (photos) is best done at 300 ppi and text (documents) at 800 ppi. Saving files at this size take up incredible amounts of room. OCR programs allow you to create text documents out of scans, but you need to make sure there were no errors in the conversion. Examine digital files you have. Are there any you need to replace because they don’t print well? How do you anticipate printing your files in the future? Do you need the resolution of professional reproductions or can you go with a lower resolution (ppi)?
14. Portable document format — PDF.
Adobe Acrobat is no longer the only program you can use to create PDFs. Check out www.planetpdf.com for more possibilities. PDF files are also multi-platform. You can save a PDF on your computer and send it not only to Windows, Apple and Linux machines, but many phones also have applications to view PDFs.
Instead of saving scanned documents as individual pages, you can combine them into a single PDF. Part of the PDF format is compressing your graphics into a smaller PDF file. You can also print Web pages to PDF so you don’t have to worry about missed graphics. Look into the possibility of PDFs for archiving possibilities.
15. What else might you preserve?
To this point, we’ve examined photos, printed documents, scrapbook pages, video and audio. Do you have three-dimensional items you’d like to preserve?
For example, my oldest daughter had special blanket and special pillow that went everywhere with her. For a scrapbook page, I scanned both items. To scan these items, you might want to invest in a dark cloth and acrylic frame. The frame will allow three-dimensional items not to be flattened and the dark cloth will simulate the scanner lid.
What other non-traditional items might you digitize and include in your archive?
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Sites to Explore
www.digitalpreservation.gov
www.digitalpreservation.gov/you
easydigitalpreservation.wordpress.com
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_data_storage
digitalpreservationstrategies.blogspot.com
www.rense.com/general52/themythofthe100year.htm
www.planets-project.eu
blogs.ukoln.ac.uk/jisc-bgdp/2010/08/23/preserving-digital-lives
www.copyright.gov
creativecommons.org
www.planetpdf.com
www.hp.com/united-states/consumer/digital_photography/organize_archive_photos/tips/scan_resize_share.html
www.scantips.com/basics04.html
Badge: Explore Hobbies (revised)
Hobbies can take you away from your normal life. Reducing stress is just one of the many benefits. You can also add to your education in a fun, exciting way! Explore what’s out there and find something you enjoy.
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Steps
1. Look at hobbies — include arts, crafts and sports.
A starting list is on the last page of this badge program. Choose one you’d like to try from the list or discover your own from your individual interests. Find something *you* like . . . or maybe more than one if you’re more ambitious.
2. Traditional research for your chosen hobby.
Go to the library and check out a book or two. Start in the kids’ section as the material presented here is easier to grasp when you’re starting fresh.
3. Online research for your chosen hobby.
Go to your favorite search engine and do a search for your hobby. You can also check out the following types of sites:
- Teacher lesson plans
- Kid / parent activity sites
- Homeschooling sites
- Vendor / supplier sites
4. Take a class in the hobby you’ve chosen.
Check out local hobby and craft stores, interest groups or even online classes. Perhaps your local YMCA or park system has enrichment programs for adults. Take a class. This will give you some basic information, a teacher to ask questions of and a group of like-minded individuals to play with, if you choose.
5. Practice your new hobby alone or with a group.
The nature of your chosen hobby may lead you to do it alone or in a group. Some will allow you do both. Do not discount online groups as well as those that meet locally. Some may cost money such as a scrapbooking consultant who will teach you scrapbooking at no cost, but you have to pay for the representative’s products to participate.
6. Share your new hobby with family and friends.
Show what you have learned and be able to answer the following questions.
- Why did you choose it?
- Would you do it again?
- What did you like / didn’t like about it?
- How can you share your experiences?
7. Share your new hobby with other enthusiasts and find out more information.
Share your new hobby with other enthusiasts and find out even more information.
- Web (Yahoo! Groups, blogs, etc.)
- Local individuals
- Formal or informal groups
- Vendors / suppliers
8. Teach others what you’ve learned.
Turn your hobby into a training session for other adults, teach it to kids or even family members who show an interest.
9. Start or help with a club for your hobby.
Sharing your hobby not only expands your knowledge, you also can have fun with others sharing similar interests. Find a local or online club or group that also does your chosen hobby. Join and participate in the club. If you cannot find a club, start your own!
10. From hobby to career.
Some people enjoy their hobby so much they make it a successful career. Writing about your hobby, providing supplies / resources or even teaching can provide either supplemental or full income. Explore the possibilities of how you can make money from your hobby.
11. Create a hobby.
Perhaps you find you like more than one hobby. You can create a new one from combining things you already like to do. Wind surfing is a great example of taking two different sports and combining them in a new way.
You can also create one from scratch if there is no hobby covering what you like. You may be amazed when others start asking you to do your hobby.
12. Write up a badge program for your hobby.
Another way to share your hobby is to create a badge program for the AEP. After creating your own steps, ask another enthusiast look at it to see if it is complete. Make adjustments as needed and submit it to AEP.
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Sites to Explore
www.notsoboringlife.com
www.findmeahobby.com
www.discoverahobby.com
www.wikihow.com/Find-a-Hobby
www.buzzle.com/articles/list-types-of-hobbies
lifestyle.iloveindia.com/magazine/hobby-ideas-7.html
www.ehow.com/hobbies
www.hobbies-and-pastimes.com
hobbies.suite101.com/article.cfm/finding_hobbies_for_your_kids
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Hobby Possibilities List
This list can be found on the PDF badge program.
Badge: No Cook Recipes for Kids (revised)
When learning something new, start with easy tasks that end with success. This encourages continued interaction. When learning cooking, start with simple recipes. This badge will cover how to introduce others to cooking to start the progression.
NOTE: Make sure you try any recipes you will be introducing to kids before doing so. Make any adjustments you feel need to be made so the recipe acceptable to your kids. This includes removing / replacing ingredients that might cause allergic reactions.
Feel free to send corrections, variations or additions to the supplemental recipe cards that go with this badge program to larajla@larajla.com.
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Steps
1. Why teach kids how to cook?
Not only does cooking reinforce reading, math, science and nutrition skills, the kids have fun learning! Cooking with kids takes time, patience and a high tolerance to the resulting “mess.” Do not assume your kids know anything about cooking. If one knows how to do a step, let them demonstrate for their friends. You want them to have a sense of accomplishment and pride when you are done.
Before you start with the steps below, review the “recipe cards” available in SUPP_No Cooking Recipes.pdf. You can print the recipes out for the kids for them to adjust and keep as you work on them. A separate file, SUPP_No Cook Blanks.pdf, includes blank cards for additional recipes.
2. Kitchen safety.
Work to create a list of safety issues. Be able to explain why each item is necessary. Then, create a master list or poster with your kids that can be kept where they’ll be cooking. Let them start the list with what they know such as washing their hands. As they mention a rule, ask why it is important to help reinforce the safety issues. Let them do as much as possible.
3. Kitchen math.
Get physical items and learn to measure wet and dry goods. Find or create a chart of equivalent amounts including items like four quarts is the same as a gallon and three teaspoons equals a tablespoon. Have the kids test these measurements to help reinforce these ideas.
Review one or more recipes. Determine how the recipe needs to be adjusted to cover an entire troop, group or class.
4. Recipe cards.
Explain what a recipe card is. Hand one out to the kids to review together. This should be something you’re planning to make with them. Review what is on the card and make sure they understand what everything means, including abbreviations. Discuss what might happen if directions weren’t followed. Hand out blank recipe cards and ask that each child find a recipe to share.
5. Grocery shopping.
Before you’re ready to cook, you need to make sure you have all your ingredients. With a recipe in hand, review what you have available to use and what you need to purchase at the grocery store. Take a trip to the store and get what you need. If you cannot go to the store, set up a pretend store and let the kids find their ingredients. You might want to include a few “variation” items as well.
Discuss how to check the dates on perishable items. How can you tell if a fruit or vegetable is good? How can you tell if meat is good? How long can you leave something in the refrigerator before using it?
6. Kitchen tools.
Keep track of all the kitchen tools you use in a week. Show a sampling for the kids to look at, touch and try as you work through sample recipes.
7. Substitutions.
Allergies, food dislikes and more cause people to adjust recipes. Ask each kid if they are allergic to any food items. Then, ask what food each doesn’t like to eat. Discuss what items can be used as substitutes. Keep a list for future reference.
8. Snack mixes.
Provide various dried items for the kids to create a snack mix or trail mix. Provide a blank recipe card for them to create their own recipe as they add items to their mix.
- Cereal
- Dried fruit
- Nuts (only if there is no one with allergies)
- Dried fruit
- Candy
Two recipe cards are in our sample file for variations on snack / trail mixes.
Take a small walk so they can eat while they move. As you hike, ask the kids what else they might include in their mix. Ask the kids to adjust their recipe cards when you are done.
9. Flavorings.
Prepare popcorn ahead of time. Have a variety of items to add to the popcorn so the kids can see how adding different “flavors” affects the popcorn. Start with plain popcorn and have them rate it. Then add items like powdered butter or cheese, caramel, etc. Again, have blank recipe cards for them to track their favorite toppings.
10. Ice cream in a can.
You can do this with cans, zip-top bags or even commercially available tools. Have the kids do all the measuring and shaking (or kicking). You can also provide ice cream toppings for additional flavor choices.
11. Fruit and vegetable dips.
Fruit dips can be used with a variety of fruit. Discuss the various fruits and vegetables available at different times of the year and why. Supervise kids with any sharp items if they are old enough to handle a knife. Cut the fruit and vegetables after the dips are made.
12. Dessert in a bag.
Mixing items in a zip-top bag minimizes mess. Try one or more recipes in a bag.
13. Exploring more.
Look through the recipe cards or find a recipe that doesn’t fit the above categories and try it with the kids.
14. Clean-up.
Discuss the proper way to clean up to make sure everything is sterilized. Make sure all leftovers are properly stored.
15. Encourage kids to continue cooking.
Look for ways for kids to continue cooking. A cooking party featuring two or three recipes is a good rainy day activity. Starting a cooking club allows the kids a way to explore seasonal foods. Even cooking at home will allow them to continue improving their skills. What other ways can you encourage kids to cook?
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Sites to Explore
www.kids-cooking-activities.com
KidsHealth.org
www.betterkidcare.psu.edu
www.continyou.org.uk/family/cook_and_eat_well
www.dole.com/NutritionInstituteLanding/Resources/Brochures/tabid/1004/Default.aspx
www.squidoo.com/kids_can_cook
www.mondaycampaigns.org/the-kids-cook-monday
familyfun.go.com/recipes/teaching-kids-to-cook-714658
www.kidactivities.net/category/Snacks-No-Bake-Recipes.aspx
busycooks.about.com/od/summerrecipesandmenus/a/nocookdesserts.htm
Badge: Herbs and Spices (revised)
“Spice” up your life with the foods you eat. Herbs and spices can bring out flavors in your food or provide a completely new experience.
For this badge program, the use of the word “herbs” covers both herbs and spices unless otherwise noted.
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Steps
1. Herbs vs. spices.
Do you know the difference? Herbs come from the leafy part of a plant and usually from a plant without a “woody” stem. Spices come from seeds, fruits, roots and bark and tend to be from tropical plants. Some plants provide both herbs and spices. Do a little investigation about the herbs and spices you use to find out where the come from and which category each falls into.
2. Explore herbs in your area.
Find out what herbs are in your local supermarket and / or farmer’s market. Check both fresh and dried varieties. What dishes that you enjoy could you put these herbs into? Are there any native plants that can be utilized in your recipes?
3. Explore non-local herbs.
Find herbs online, via mail order or even from another town. Again, check the fresh and dried varieties. How can you incorporate them into your cooking?
4. Explore herb variations.
You can find recommendations for replacing one herb with another. Look at your favorite recipes and see what you might change. Purchase an herb or two to find if they will compliment your dish. Try replacing one herb with another or adding one that you feel might add to the dish’s flavor. Keep track of your experiments and note whether you liked the result.
5. Experiment with dry vs. fresh herbs.
Try replacing dry and fresh herbs in one or more of your dishes. What are the differences? Which do you prefer?
6. Rubs.
Mix herbs to make your own unique rub for the meat of your choice. Use recipes from others or make your own. If you don’t eat meat, create mixes for your vegetables.
7. Grow your own herbs.
Perhaps you want to grow something you buy all the time or found something online you love that you can’t get fresh locally. Try growing your own herbs. Find others in your area who also grow their own herbs. Can you trade with them to increase your variety?
8. Drying and storage.
Try drying and storing your herbs. Explore different techniques and storage systems.
9. Share your special blends.
Share some of your herbs with others or invite friends over for a taste to let them explore herbs too!
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Sites to Explore
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_culinary_herbs_and_spices
www.squidoo.com/list-of-herbs-and-spices
homecooking.about.com/library/archive/blherb2.htm
www.theepicentre.com/Spices/spiceref.html
www.savvygardener.com/Features/herbs.html
urbanext.illinois.edu/herbs/list.cfm
culinaryherbguide.com
www.herbgardeningguru.com
www.herbcompanion.com
www.livestrong.com/article/202409-how-do-i-replace-dried-herbs-with-fresh-herbs
www.ehow.com/how_7528553_replace-salt-herbs-spices.html
www.i-love-creative-cooking.com/Seasoning-chart.php
Badge: Go Vegetarian (revised)
Do you know there are a variety of ways to “be vegetarian”? Let’s explore how different people choose to “go vegan.” You might even decide to incorporate this into your lifestyle.
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Steps
1. Types of vegetarian.
Find out what some of the types are. A few are listed below. Which are you most likely to try?
- Pescatarian
- Flexitarian
- Vegetarian (ovo-lacto, lacto, or ovo)
- Vegan
- Raw Vegan
- Macrobiotic
- Fruitarians
2. Adjusting your favorites.
Look at your favorite recipes. By following your type above, what items can you replace and still make your favorite recipes? Try one or two and see how they taste. Make sure you write down what you’re changing so you can repeat the recipe. You may find you like the recipe better with your adjustments.
3. Try it twice.
If you didn’t like the recipe with the adjusted ingredients, don’t stop experimenting. Try adding herbs, spices, seasonings, etc. to change the flavor. Perhaps try a different way of preparing the recipe to see if that improves the taste.
4. New foods.
Try a few new prepackaged or prepared foods that are per your chosen vegetarian type. Look at the grocery store for foods that are advertised as “vegetarian.” Check the content list before you buy. It might be good for one type of vegetarian, but not another. Don’t forget to try health food stores as well. What new foods do you enjoy?
5. Plant exploration.
Explore the offerings of your local farmers market to see what fruits and vegetables you can get locally. Try grocery stores, specialty markets and health food stores to find new fruits and vegetables that you’d not considered eating before.
6. Ask your friends and family.
You might not realize that some of your friends and family are vegetarians or might know someone who is. Talk to them or find someone locally about the reasons they chose to become a vegetarian and what they allow themselves to eat.
7. Vegetarian part time.
Some people are vegetarian part of the time. By limiting themselves to eating meat once or twice a week, they still get the protein but are trying to help the planet by reducing their meat intake. If you feel you can’t stick to a strict vegetarian lifestyle, try this alternative.
8. Find a partner.
Trying to go vegetarian by yourself can be a challenge. It takes sixty days to change a habit. Find someone else who is interested in starting a vegetarian lifestyle to share your experiences with and to offer encouragement.
9. Tasting party.
Host a tasting party (or taste test) with friends and family to keep the expense down by having everyone bring one or two vegetarian dishes and / or fresh produce that they enjoy. Make sure recipes are available for prepared food.
10. A party for all.
Be aware of vegetarian choices the next time you attend a get together where you are expected to bring a dish. Determine how many dishes at the party could be eaten by vegetarians. You might be shocked by the results!
11. Learn more.
Learn more about vegetarian health and foods. Talk to other vegetarians about their experiences. Join an online discussion group or blog. See if there are local classes you can take to help you learn and prepare vegetarian dishes.
12. Religions.
Many religions teach vegetarianism. Find out which religions support a vegetarian lifestyle and their beliefs regarding eating.
13. Health reasons.
How does vegetarianism affect your health? Look at both sides of this issue – from the vegetarian and non-vegetarian sides.
14. Animal cruelty.
Often, animal cruelty is a reason for vegetarian lifestyles. Find out about how the meat you eat gets to your plate and the conditions that exist around the animals.
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Sites to Explore
www.goveg.com
kidshealth.org/parent/nutrition_center/dietary_needs/vegetarianism.html
www.exploreveg.org/resources
www.ted.com/talks/graham_hill_weekday_vegetarian.html
www.vrg.org
www.vegetariantimes.com
www.savvyvegetarian.com/vegetarian-cooking/index.php
www.vegsource.com/news/2010/05/ted-talk-you-can-starve-cancer-with-a-healthy-vegan-diet.html
www.vegancoach.com
Badge: Girl Scouts — Surf the Web (revised)
There are many materials on the Web that you can use for your Girl Scouts. This badge program is specifically designed to target materials for Girl Scout leaders. Others may find it beneficial too if they work with youth groups. Half the battle is knowing what is available.
Note: Some of the below mentioned items have applications that run on smart phones.
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Steps
Before you start
1. Your own records.
The Web is in a constant state of change. What you found yesterday may be gone today. If you find something you think you might need, save a copy. You can always destroy the copy later if you don’t need it, but trying to recreate something from memory takes a lot of effort. You can save:
- HTML pages — make sure to include graphics
- PDFs — free PDF creators such as doPDF allow you to “print” to a PDF
- Print — only print the pages and information you need, storage may become an issue
2. Going “wayback” — www.archive.org/web/web.php
Use the Wayback Machine to find Web sites that have been removed back to 1996. You must know the URL to get to the site. I have gotten information from my legacy council, SWAP information and more.
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Official Sites from GSUSA
3. Girl Scouts of the USA — www.girlscouts.org
This is the main site for GSUSA. You’ll find links to the other sites in this section within these pages. Items you can find on this site include:
- Information about Girl Scouts
- History of Girl Scouts and Juliette Low
- News for the Girl Scouts
- Program information for higher awards
- Cookie pin requirements (current year)
- Full list of items girls can earn per level
- Images of where items go on uniforms
- Studies and publications for the Girl Scout Research Institute
- LEADER magazine
- Training at Edith Macy
- Girl Scout Shop
4. Girl Scout Central — www.girlscouts.org/program/gs_central
Girl Scout Central is the place for girls’ programming, activities and more. If you just want what is happening now, this is the place to start.
5. Girl-specific site — forgirls.girlscouts.org
This site features all the new programming for each level, designed for the girls themselves. Areas include:
- Girls 5-9
- Girls 10-12
- Teens 13-17
- Blogs by Journey
- Travel (destinations)
- Badges (with statement of what the girls will have done)
6. lmk Life Online — lmk.girlscouts.org
Items you can find on this site include:
- Online safety topics
- Online issues for girls / parents
7. Imagine Engineering — www.girlscouts.org/imagineengineering
From the LEGO League to running a workshop, girls and adults can learn more about engineering. There are many links to additional information. Definitely a great place for learning more and even finding a mentor.
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Moving away from GSUSA, but still official
8. Your council.
Each Girl Scout in the United States belongs to a council. One of the first things you should get is your council’s site address. Here you’ll find information that will affect you and your girls the most. Items you might find on the council’s site include:
- Camp information
- Council-sponsored events
- Girl events
- Adult learning
- Community opportunities
- PDFs of all print publications
- VERB (Volunteer Essentials Resource Book)
- Staff directory
- Council own programs
9. Other councils — www.girlscouts.org/councilfinder
Just because you don’t belong to a council doesn’t mean they don’t share. While some items are not accessible without a password, a large number are. You can find a full listing of the councils in the USA at the above URL.
10. World’s Strongest Girl — www.worldsstrongestgirl.org
Started by the Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana, this site has taken hold across the country. This site is for girls only. For each girl, the world’s strongest girl is herself. They can learn through the stories they share with others.
11. WAGGGS — www.wagggs.org
WAGGGS (World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts) is a site for Girl Scouts and Girl Guides. All Girl Scouts are automatically part of WAGGGS. This site will give you a world view of the scouting movement. Items you might find on this site include:
- Thinking Day activities
- Worldwide activities
- Patch programs
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Other sites, not Girl Scout specific
12. Patchwork Designs — www.patchworkdesigns.net
Patchwork Designs provides embroidery, silkscreening, patches and programs for kids of any age. The basic requirements are available for free. Books are great if you’re unfamiliar with a topic. Items you can find on this site include:
- Pictures of the patches they have available
- Requirements lists for the patches
- Books you can purchase to make earning the patches easy
- Service project ideas / patches
- Thinking Day ideas / patches
13. Making Friends — www.makingfriends.com
While mainly selling craft supplies, Making Friends also has thousands of craft project sheets, recycled ideas and free printables. Items you can find on this site include:
- Craft projects searchable by type, materials, occasion, theme and holidays
- Kit programs for various levels (sets of 12)
- Paper doll Girl Scouts
- SWAP ideas and instructions
- Girl Scout-specific crafts
14. Scouting Web — www.scoutingweb.com/scoutingweb
Scouting Web hosts a huge set of links to sites on the Web to find information you need for your troop, self and “just because.” Be warned, you can lose hours on this site. Items you can find on this site include:
- Links for awards and badges
- Links for activities and events
- Links for levels and rank
- Links for troop resources
15. YouTube — www.youtube.com
YouTube is a site that hosts video clips. Some are only a minute long. Some are in pieces because of the length. There’s a little bit of everything for you here. Items you can find on this site include:
- Vintage videos such as “The Golden Eaglet”
- Discussions of various people from GSUSA
- Craft instruction
- Songs and actions
Note: You can save the videos from YouTube for future reference. Follow the directions online.
16. Wikipedia — www.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia is a free encyclopedia with content gathered from experts (and sometimes not-so-experts) on the Internet. In other words, anyone who logs in can make adjustments to it. For this reason, the content on Wikipedia changes daily. Items you can find on this site include:
- Information and history of Girl Scouts
- Information for Thinking Day (countries)
- Information on WAGGGS
17. Facebook — www.facebook.com
Facebook is a social networking site that allows you to connect and share with people in your life. Many organizations have pages to connect with volunteers and supporters. Things you can do on this site include:
- Keep track of people
- Post notes on your “wall” for your friends
- Follow groups you’re interested in, such as Girl Scouts
- Share photos
- Play games
- Create a fan page for your troop
18. Twitter — twitter.com
What’s happening right now? If you must know, twitter. Twitter limits each post to 140 characters, including spaces. Items you can do on this site include:
- Follow groups who interest you
- Share short messages about specific topics
- Notify your girls / parents of meetings, events, etc.
19. Yahoo! Groups — groups.yahoo.com
Yahoo! Groups has a variety of groups for everything from general Girl Scout information to specific level information and more. Here are a couple groups you might want to check out. Make sure you search the groups to find more specific groups.
- greenbloodnews
- AllGirlScouts
- Girl-Scout-Swaps
- greenbloodtraditions
- Scouting Links Newsletter
20. Adult Enrichment Project — larajla.com/adult-enrichment-project
Designed to help adults learn more than they can then share with the youth they work with, learning is broken into badge programs. Categories include:
- Communication
- Crafts
- Games and Sports
- Groups (items specific to organizations or groups)
- Hobbies and Recreation
- Outdoors
- Personal and Health
- Recipes and Nutrition
- STEM
- Web
The site is currently being moved to the new blog, so not all links are active. Plans are that the move will be completed by January 2012.
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Sites to Explore
www.leaderlobby.net
www.bellaonline.com/Site/GirlScouts
gsleaders.org
www.volunteermatch.org
www.praypub.org
www.callingpost.com
www.fieldtripfactory.com
www.worldthinkingday.org/en/home
www.gsswaps.net
www.juliettegordonlowbirthplace.org
www.dosomething.org
Badge: Girl Scouts — Creative Awards (revised)
A Court of Awards is a visual way for girls to receive their insignia. Unfortunately, many leaders throw all the patches, pins, badges, etc. into a Ziploc® bag and hand it to the girls. This negates the hard work the girls have done in the program and the importance of its rewards from that effort.
This badge program allows you to explore a variety of ways to present awards to your girls and will, hopefully, spark your own creativity.
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Steps
1. Start with the list.
The worst thing you can do is to forget an award. Create your list for each girl from your planning notes, forms and other documentation you have. Review it with another adult or girl in your group. Make sure they have a way to contact you in case they remember something after you review the list.
2. Sort your list.
Sort your list into types of awards. For Girl Scouts, sort official badges from patches so you can see the size range you are working with. Do you need a way to present pins so parents can see them from the back of the room? Are items small and you’re afraid the girls will lose them? Do any of these need their own treatment to emphasize extra effort on the part of the girls? Make sure you keep notes as you look through your list.
3. Including the girls.
During the planning stages, you may give as much or little responsibility to the girls to plan and execute the Court of Awards as you feel appropriate. New girls will not know what to do, so you may find yourself doing most of the work. You can have experienced girls mentor them – from within your troop or from another. This may include anything from crafting items to use in the ceremony to running the ceremony themselves.
They can be a great help with creating the way you hand out badges. For example, you can purchase a small terra cotta pot for each girl for their badges. Instead of giving away blank pots, let the girls decorate them. This saves you a lot of time. They will feel like they contributed and will be more excited about their awards.
Explore ways for girls of any level to help with their Court of Awards.
4. Theme.
Sometimes, the nature of the awards themselves will give you a theme. This can be the awards earned, a favorite field trip, a party or service project the girls especially enjoyed. You can let the girls choose as well. This theme will influence the awards you give and how you present them.
Example: My Brownies chose to earn a lot of “nature” Try-Its one year. For their final Court of Awards, the bridging Brownies wanted an animal / zoo theme to fit what we’d been doing. They had each girl use headbands and make “ears” of their favorite animals. They chose animal, bird and insect songs to sing. Instead of “bridging” to Juniors, they “broke out of Brownies” complete with a simulated cage.
5. Search the Web.
Has someone done awards similar to the theme you’ve chosen? This will help your planning go smoother. Search the Web for items you can incorporate. If you can’t find something similar, make a list of the items you want to include from our possible delivery methods below and incorporate those into your theme.
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Delivery methods
6. Opaque containers.
Opaque containers may be boxes, baskets, bags, water bottles or more! Choose one of the following or a similar opaque container and brainstorm how you could incorporate this delivery method into a Court of Awards.
- Boxes — Boxes don’t need to be purchased. You can use a template and make your own. Don’t stick with the square box. Chinese take-out boxes, pyramid boxes for an Egypt theme, a paper purse or even mail tubes designed as firecrackers can add to your awards ceremony. You can even have each girl bring in a box from their favorite Girl Scout cookies.
- Baskets — You can get cheap ones at dollar stores and have the girls decorate them with paper flowers. They can weave their own baskets from paper. They may even be able to crochet small baskets.
- Bags — Drawstring bags are easy to sew. You can use color schemes or even get blank ones and let the girls tie-dye them.
- Bottles — A water bottle would not only be a different way to give out awards, but the girls would have a keepsake after the event. You could even place additional items in the bottle like candy, confetti, SWAPs, etc.
7. Faux vest or sash.
You can use a real vest or sash if the girls do not already have one. You can also make a faux one out of the listed materials in a flat or three-dimensional version.
- Paper bags
- Duct tape
- Heavy paper
- Ribbon
Depending on your parents, you may find it easier for your first Court of Awards to provide the vest or sash (depending on what each girl has) so the parents know where the awards should be placed. Search the Web for samples to give you inspiration.
8. Using flowers and nature.
Even girls who are not “girly” love flowers. A short list below gives you ideas to start. Search the Web to find out what other leaders have done. Remember, you can make extra flowers so girls who have earned less are not so obvious during the ceremony.
- Stem (pencil, pipe cleaner, floral wire, skewer, etc.) with award as the flower
- Add awards with wire to a pre-existing stem with silk flowers, foliage, leaves, etc.
- One large focal flower with streamers, attach awards to streamers
- Let girls color cardstock flowers, attaching the awards to the flowers as petals or leaves
- Cut circles (or buy cake circles) and use awards as petals
- Hershey kiss roses with awards attached to ribbons
- Glue cupcake liners onto popsicle sticks and put award inside the liner
- Foam flowers
- Ribbon rosettes or yo-yos as flowers
- Paper punched flowers
- Origami flowers
Presenting flowers and nature items can be done in a variety of ways as well.
- Pots with “flowers” stuck into foam or through glass stones
- Vases with “flowers” arranged
- Wreath with flowers attached, woven or hanging from ribbon or bow
- Pre-assembled bouquets
- Foam blocks with “flowers” placed randomly and the girls “pick” their own bouquet
9. Playing with sticks.
As you figured out under flowers, you can do a lot with a stem and something to represent the flower itself. Why not use something other than flowers? Here are some stick ideas. What else can you come up with?
- Pinwheel
- Wand
- Lollipop
- Chocolate trefoil sucker
- Marshmallow stick for roasting
10. Books and cards.
For a low cost delivery method, you can’t beat paper. From books to cards, you can purchase or make your own
- Program books — Within the book, place a special sheet for each girl with the awards she has earned.
- Photo albums— You can purchase small photo albums and make cards for inside to attach badges to with information about placement, the award itself, date it was earned, etc. You can also put photos of the girl earning her awards.
- Cards — Use the cards mentioned in “photo albums” as a stand-alone item.
- Hand-made book — Cut standard sheets of paper to create a book and let each girl decorate it.
11. Holiday specific.
If you have a holiday close to your Court of Awards, use it for your theme! You can often find small baskets, boxes, etc. at the store. Here are a few holiday ideas for you.
Christmas
- Inside stockings
- Inside plastic ball ornaments
- Stand-alone ornaments
- Attached to candy cane
- Attach to wrapping ribbon of a girl’s gift
- Decorating a miniature tree
Halloween
- Inside jack-o-lanterns
- Wrapped with cellophane to “hand out” as treats
- Lunch bags cut as you would a jack-o-lantern with faux tea light inside
Valentine’s Day
- Inside a “valentine”
- Inside a valentine mailbox
- Attach to paper heart doilies
- Die cut a heart multiple times, fold in half and glue to make an “accordion book” and place awards on pages
- Heart shaped box or basket
Other holidays
The holidays you celebrate do not have to be national ones. Look for Girl Scout holidays or even fun ones that are started by organizations or online e-mail greeting card companies.
12. Seasonal ideas.
When you’re planning your Court of Awards, ask yourself what the season is known for? Pull ideas for activities from your brainstorming list. You can start with these ideas.
Fall
- Rakes with popsicle sticks and wire with awards between the tines
- Attach to leaves
- Attach to a branch or drawn picture of a branch
- Color tags the colors of fall leaves and attach awards
Winter
- Snowflakes
- Snowmen from pre-cut circles, paper plates, etc.
- Sleds
Spring
- Spring flowers
- Watering pot with awards attached to fishing line
Summer
- Beach buckets
- Seashells with awards hidden inside
- Awards attached to flowers of leis
13. Adding to your possibilities.
You’ve been thinking of all sorts of ideas that fit within the groups above. Now, try to brainstorm delivery methods that do not fit into any of the above. Here’s some to start your session.
- Use awards as Olympic medals and put on ribbons to place around each girl’s neck
- Attach to simple die cut shapes that fit your theme
- Fold paper plates in half and color a rainbow on one side with the awards inside or attached to the back
- Place awards in balloons and have the girls pop their awards out
- Ribbons on helium balloons (make sure they’re securely tied off)
- Kites with awards for “ribbon” or attached to the kite itself
- Paper fan with ribbons and awards
- Paper fish with awards as scales
- Attach magnets and stick them to a piece of metal decorated as a bulletin board, refrigerator, etc.
- String of paper dolls with an award on each doll
- Shooting stars with awards attached to streamers
- SWAP hat – use the awards as “SWAPs”
14. Attaching awards.
If your head isn’t spinning enough, you need to think about attaching the awards to paper, ribbon, wire, pipe cleaners and more. You can staple, glue, tie, pin, clip or find another way to attach your insignia. Research ways you can attach awards and the advantages / disadvantages of each. Keep your notes for future reference.
15. Handing out awards.
Break the monotony of handing out awards yourself. Here are a few ideas to start with. Read through them and then come up with a few of your own.
When a girl comes to get her award, have her randomly pick the next girl and let her do the announcement
As mentioned above, have the girls choose their own whether it’s “picking flowers” or “pulling lollipops from a tree”
Create a treasure hunt with clues to follow to their treasure (awards)
16. Special awards.
Sometimes you want to recognize a job well done, a special service a girl or adult did, parent volunteers . . . the list goes on and on. Here are a few ideas for you. Feel free to research and add more for others to share.
- You’re special — Highlight why the person is special. Ask your girls and parents for help.
- Certificates — You can purchase certificates from Girl Scouts or your local discount store. You can create and print them from the Web. Perhaps you’d like to create your own. Special pins or patches can be attached to a certificate to help show how important the award is.
- Bookmarks — Bookmarks or other small printable items are good to hand out and can be personalized to an event, award or girl.
- Ribbons — Ribbons can be purchased with pre-printed sayings like “Good Job.” You can also create your own.
- Personal awards — Make your own laminated pins, charms, SWAPs or whatever you feel like personalized for your theme or the award itself.
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