Pack Meeting Sam

He earned a bunch of Activity Pins, Belt Loops, and Pins. (Different than the activity pins.)

Money Matter Badge Work

I spent a lot of time over the last month trying to find info on the Brownie Money Matters Badge, but I really didn't find anything helpful. It could be a very dry badge to work on but since we meet right after school, I wanted to make sure the girls would move around and have a chance to talk.

First we talked about things we need and things we want. I had some pictures, and the girls decided which side of the chart they should go on. There were some lively discussions over ipods and things like that, but in the end it came down to food, shelter, and clothing as strict needs and everything else wants. I made sure though to say that wanting things is not bad, neither is having things outside of food, clothing, and shelter.

I had created three "shops" using the pictures from the Brownie binder. One was a food shop, another had school supplies, and the third was for clothing. The girls were in three groups of three and they each had a Brownie Elf to take shopping with 30 Elf dollars." I made two rules, they had to buy something at each shop and they had to agree. I gave them three minutes at each shop, then they'd come to me, the cashier, to pay for what they wanted and get their change.

In the end each group fulfilled the requirements, but it was hard. One group could not agree to save their lives on what they wanted, so a leader had to step in and help. Another group wanted to only buy the treats at the grocery store. I hadn't given them specific rules about the groceries, but they actually took it upon themselves to buy healthy food, for the most part.

We came back together and talked about what was hard and easy and why it was so hard to stay in budget. This is the beginning of a larger discussion on budgeting. Our cookie sales are over and we want to discuss our bigger projects and activities for the next year. We also have dues money that is going straight into philanthropy. So the girls have a lot to decide.

Sam's Poem

Sam's assignment was to write a poem with end rhyme and apostrophe. Apostrophe is a poetic device where the poet talks to someone imaginary or absent. Personification goes with apostrophe a lot of the time, but didn't have to be present in this poem, although it is. Oh, and it was supposed to be silly.

Taco
By Sam Potter

Get into my tummy
Taco you are so yummy
Meat comes out every bit I take
The crunchy shell, not made of snake.
My life, the rest of it
I could eat tacos like you.

Notes on a Thursday Morning

It didn't start out as a good day. I hadn't "set us up for success" the night before. I let the kids play until dark, coming in only for dinner, which sounds good until you remember that Annika has homework each night and no chores were done by anyone. We all got to bed late for no good reason, so the morning was doomed by the evening.

One didn't want to do her homework, but had to. "I don't want to do my homework now. I want to do it yesterday." The wry grin didn't help, neither did my checking her spelling and realizing that she was lost on how syllables worked. The littlest chimed in with a declaration that she was "not going to clear her bowl!" and was promptly sent to her room. There was dallying over the dishwasher and conveniently "forgetting" to get dressed.

I tried chuckling over the absurdity of it all, tried to remember what it was like to be 12, 10, 7, and 5 and have all of your days planned by someone older according to their whim, seemingly not taking into account any of yours. In the end, I sent some children to their rooms to dress or calm down, another to please for the love of all that's good, get your shoes on, and another to practice piano. Because everyone knows that angry piano practice is the cure for a grumpy morning.

And then, one off to school with hugs and kisses, all forgiven on the drive and with discussions of Power Puff Girls and her own relative strength. Home to others doing their chores (probably because they believed the threat about boarding school this time). Another dressed and ready to begin the excitement of a new day. Finally clearing her bowl from the table.

And now...one is happily doing her mathwork under the watchful eye of a teacher that isn't me. Another creating an owl she read about in a book. Two others are "exploring" the new challenges of algebra and geometry. Humming, erasing, and the occasional "argh" echo through the room. I observe and offer a hand of help to my student-children, trying to keep us all moving forward. At least through tomorrow, when we get another chance to start better.