Farewell

So, as we say farewell, we hope that our now completed Silver Award will have a lasting impact on you, our global community. We will continue to go on with Girl Scouts, and who knows, we might even earn the Gold Award. We will definitely let you know when we earn our Gold Awards. The only downside to the Gold Award is that we can't work as a group. So we will earn three individual Gold Awards. So, with this lasting memory of a project, we say goodbye (for now).Thank you so much for following our journey through the Silver Award.
~Jillian, Margaret, and Alison

Newsflash! Peace Tree Day

Today is international Peace Tree Day! Peace Tree Day, celebrated on June 1, is a day where on bare branches, children put diverse symbols of peace on and the tree is then admired by many. To learn more, go to http://www.peacetreeday.com/ and to learn how to create your own peace tree, click here.
~Alison

www.peacetreeday.com

Celebrate!

Hooray! This meeting we found out that we got our silver award! Next week we will officially recieve it and bridge to Seniors. All of that hard work finally paid off!
~Troop 60435

Podcasts

We are filming!

This meeting, we worked on podcasts. Filming, that is. Last meeting, our homework was to write scripts for some podacsts. They are really cool! To see them click on the Podcasts tab or on this link: http://justkiddingjusthurts.blogspot.com/p/our-podcasts.html That is all for now!

~Troop 60435

Activity: Peace Ribbon

In this activity, you will need a ribbon and a thin fabric marker or sharpie. On the ribbon with the marker, write a peaceful message and sign your name. Then get all of your friends to sign. You can hang it up on a bulletin board or if it is short enough, wear it as a bracelet. Here are our peace ribbons:

This one we all signed. This was done in sharpie.

With a fabric marker, I wrote the Girl Scout Promise.

~Alison

Paperwork

Today's meeting was completely devoted to finishing up official Silver Award paperwork.  We all finished writing around eight responses discussing what we did for our project, and how we felt we made a difference.  We answered questions such as "How did you reach outside the Girl Scout community?"  To that particular question, we answered... you guys!  All you readers out there, you are the ones who we reached out to outside the Girl Scout community!  We also presented our pro-peace workshop to kids at a local library, further getting our project out to those not in the Girl Scout community.  We are having our leaders sign off on our forms today, and then we are sending them in.  It's all really coming together; once we get our forms in, the next step is: Silver Award!  We're almost there, guys, and we're really excited!




~Troop 60435

Activity: Tibetan Prayer Flags

In the Himilayas, along the peaks of some of the tallest mountains of the world, there is something like a clothesline, and you hang something called a prayer flag on it. And prayer flags are not only in Tibet or the Himilayas. I have seen them at my local art center, and Margaret has some hanging in her room! So lets make our own prayer flags! Many of the Himilayan flags have peace on them and, well, as you guessed, let's write peace on them!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/jan/07/oxygen-mount-everest-intensive-care

What You'll Need:

• Colorful piece of fabric (preferably something thin; see picture above)
• Fabric Markers (or Sharpies)
• Scissors
• String

Instructions:

1. First, cut your colorful fabric so that there are two slits on either end of the flag
2. Now, with your markers, decorate the prayer flag with peaceful designs (like the peace cirlcle or the word peace) NOTE: You can be even more creative and sew or just remain simple!
3. Now string your prayer flag onto the string and hang!

The Evolution of my flag:

     Step 1: I used fleece, which I do NOT recommend- use very thin fabric!
     Step 2: Sorry about the cut off- my scanner is only so thick.

     Step 3: Here it is all strung up! I looped the string around the slits.

We would also love to see your finished Tibetan Prayer flag!


~Alison

Second Presentation

We presented to a group of Daisy Girl Scouts today, and it went very well! Just like at the library, all of the children seemed to really enjoy our presentation. We actually had to stop one activity because the kids were having too much fun and made too much noise! We also sang a lot of Girl Scout songs, seeing as the girls were Daisies, the first level of Girl Scouts. We heard a lot of great vocal chords out there. We reall enjoyed presenting, and hope the kids had as much fun as we did!


~Troop 60435

Presentation Success, and Wrapping up!

So we apologize sincerely about not posting last week; we were on April vacation!  However, we would like to share that our first presentation of our pro-peace workshop was a monumental success!  All of the kids we presented to were engaged in the activities, and seemed to enjoy the games we played.  Hopefully, they were able to take away lessons about how to use and promote peace and kindness in their everyday lives.  With one presentation down, we have one to go!  Next week, we'll present to a younger Girl Scout troop.  At this week's meeting, we started on our Silver Award Final Report forms, writing essay responses about what we did to complete the Silver Award, and what we learned.  We'll keep you posted on next week's presentation results!  Stay tuned!





~Troop 60435

1000 Paper Cranes

Last week I promised you the story of the 1000 paper cranes. Here it is:

In Japan, is is said that when someone makes 1000 paper cranes, they are granted one wish such as a long life or a recovery. The crane was a sacred animal such as the dragon in ancient Japanese culture and was honored by the Japanese. A thousand paper cranes also are given as a wedding or baby gift to symbolize a thousand years of love or life (of the soul). There is also a book called Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, about a girl suffering from radiation poisoning that starts to make 1000 paper cranes and, well, I can't give away the ending. This true story by Elenor Coerr is very memorable and touching. To see on Amazon, click here.

If you have your own version of the 1000 paper cranes story, please comment.
~Alison

Rehearsal

Today was our last rehearsal before our presentation this Thursday.  We ran through our total presentation twice, and divided up all of the duties that go with our kit, such as who says what when.  We are getting very excited, and rather nervous as well.  We think that we're pretty well set for our presentation, and that we're going to nail it; the only thing that could use some work is the volume of our voices. Some of us need to remember to speak up!  But overall, we're well prepared, and ready to go!  Silver Award, here we come!



~Troop 60435

Activity: Paper Crane Origami

Thanks to Origami Fun I learned how to fold a paper crane. Cranes represent peace in many other cultures. Go to http://www.origami-fun.com/origami-crane.html, and it gives a video and printable instructions to make a paper crane. Next week I'll tell you the story of 1000 Paper Cranes. And just for fun, I named all of my cranes in a different language.

Here are my 5 cranes.

This is "Pace"

Meet "Rojo"

And this is "Gelb"

And "Cerule"

Last but not least, "Blanche"

~Alison

Advertising

So we spent almost the entire meeting today designing posters to advertise our upcoming presentations in different places.  We wrote in huge bubble print so that all the little kids would be able to read all about our project, and get excited about it.  We are made it very colorful, too.  We finished assembling the kits today, as well.  You know what they say: "What's gonna work?  Teamwork!"  Whenever our girl scout troop works together, great things are accomplished.

~Troop 60435

Activity: Coloring Pages

Grab your colors and get to work! Here are some coloring pages that are peace-related. These are our original art pieces so, please, DO NOT CLAIM THEM AS YOUR OWN. You can print them out and use them toward educational purposes, but do not copy. All of them but the first three were hand drawn by yours truly. Happy coloring!

~Alison

Shifting towards Presentations

We finally heard back from someone else, and have set up an official presentation date!  We've been working very hard on our kits, but now we're going to shift our focus to getting our presentations ready.  Jillian is working on another podcast, which we hope to share with you all soon.  It seems like we're finally going to start this project rolling!  We're going to be presenting to a group of Daisy Girl Scouts, and we can't wait to teach them all about peace.  Hopefully they will take what they learn and use it in their everyday lives.

~Troop 60435

Activity: Peace Writing Promts

I know writing promts aren't the most exciting activities, but it will have to do. You can comment your piece(s) to this post so that people can see it (if you want to share it).

1) Do you have any personal experiences in which someone said something mean to you and you told them to stop? Or have you stood up to someone for a friend? Describe your experience.

2) Is there any other word you would describe peace as? Explain your answer.

3) Anylyze the word peace. What does it mean? What does it mean to you? Use your own words to describe the word peace.

I will comment my responses soon. But it may take a while, and remember I am not correct. All of these promts have no answer. They all lead into narrative pieces. When you write, just be yourself and don't be afraid to digress. The sky is not the limit. Go into the universe with your writing. Have fun. :) This won't be graded and is totally optional.

~Alison

Assembling The Kits

Today's meeting was pretty much devoted to assembling the necessary materials for our peace kits.  It was an excellent lesson in working together... lots of communication had to happen, to make sure we each knew what the other one was doing!  As of right know, we are working on editing and writing the information that will go into our actual kits.  Trust me, it's a long process.  But all of the information is really meaningful, so it's enjoyable to read.  And it's almost as fun to create pro-peace games as it is to play them!  We have 172 days until our Silver Award is due, so it's crunch time, baby!

~Troop 60435

Newsflash! Anti-Bullying Day

Every year, on the last Wednesday of February, there is an "Anti-Bullying Day" or "Pink Shirt Day" in Canada. You don't have to be Canadian to participate! Today, February 29, is Anti-Bullying Day. Show your love for anti-bullying by wearing a pink shirt or showing peace. For ideas, see our post on ways to show peace activity post, click here.

~Alison

Activity: Repeating Game

So, for this game, all players first sit in a circle. The first person says, "I am going to the store to buy some (then a name of a food)". Then the next person says, "I am going to the store to buy (first person's food) and (their food)" The game keeps adding foods until somebody forgets a food and is "out". Then whoever is out can't talk, but can help their teammates by motioning the food (like if it was ice cream, then the people who are out would be licking the air). Then whoever is left is the winner!

~Alison

All The Pieces Are Finally Coming Together!

So we got our first gig lined up today.  That's right folks, our pro-peace workshop is officially heading out on the road!  We are, as you can probably tell, EXTREMELY excited!  It's so great to finally see all of the pieces of the puzzle, which we've been working so long and hard to assemble, start to come together!  We bought all of the materials needed for our physical kits throughout the past week or so, so now we're really ready to roll!  Silver Award, here we come!

~Troop 60435

Activity: Ways to Show Peace (to others)

There are many ways to show peace to others. You can sit next to them at lunch, say hi in the hallways, or just share a smile. These are my top fifteen ways to show peace:
1. Smile :D
2. Introduce yourself if you don't already know them. Be relaxed, and be yourself.
3. Say "Hi." It doesn't matter where - just say hi!
4. Don't cross your arms or shrug, stand tall and you will look more respectful.
5. If somebody looks down, cheer them up!
6. Listen. It is as simple as that. Don't interrupt or argue as much (you can express your opinion, but don't argue).
7. Be optimistic. Who wants an unhappy friend? Every cloud has a silver lining!
8. Manners, manners, manners. Be polite to your friend(s), they with or without knowing, admire your manners.
9. Offer to help with something. Are you in art and you're done? Offer to help with another person's project.
10. Compliment. Who doesn't enjoy a compliment? Do you like his/her backpack? Pen? Top? Complimenting shows that you pay attention.
11. Please don't gossip, backstab, or bully. This is the utmost worst thing you can do to others and yourself. Do you want to be known as the gossip hub?
12. Create conversation. Talk about anything. What is the person carrying? Ask about that. The chances are, they probably want to meet you, too.
13. Don't say anything rude or on-edge. You might insult that person. And don't swear, cuss, or use bad words.
14. Patience is the key. Is the person super-kind of annoying? Just grin and bear through the rest of the conversation. Still be polite.
15. Treat others the way you want to be treated. It's as simple as that.

~Alison

Getting Gigs

Wow, it seems like so long since we've met!  We took a week off last week... we all need a fiesta once in a while!  This week's entire meeting was spent trying to line up possible places to present our project.  We called two people within the hour-and-a-half meeting to try to schedule times to meet and discuss our program.  We struck out in both areas, though; we got voicemails both times, and dialed a wrong number once.  No gigs lined up yet, but we'll keep on trying!  We also changed our blog look once again this meeting.  We got a couple of constructive criticism comments, telling us that our new background wasn't as memorable as our last one.  We agreed, so we reverted back to our old style... hope you all approve!

~Troop 60435

Newsflash! Massachusetts' "Black out Bullying" Day!

Today, Governor Deval Patrick, has assigned as "No Name Calling Day". Students are encouraged to wear black to school today to "black out" bullying. "We need to foster safe environments for students, and 'No Name Calling Day' is an initiative to help raise awareness that bullying should not be tolerated," Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray said. "I hope that on this day and throughout the year, students feel protected and safe in their schools and communities." Students will also sign No Name Calling posters. I know that last year my school did this. To read more, visit Governor Deval Patrick's Black out Bullying Day.

~Alison

Activity: Ways to Show Peace (Pictures)

This week I decided to show different mediums to show peace in. "Medium" is an art term meaning  a substance in which you create art with (those are my own words). Enjoy!

A drawing of peace

Crumpled piece of paper to make peace.

An oil painting

An other oil painting

And a loooooonnnng piece of braided yarn. It took me forever to make!

Reminder: All of these images are our original pieces. We do have a copyright on our blog and all of the images with it. So if you do decide to use our photos, please give us credit. Thanks!
~Alison

New Blog Theme

As you probably noticed when you visited our blog, we changed our background!  We felt it was time for a change; we are always mixing things up, trying to keep you on your toes!  We find the blue very fun.  The orange got tiring after a while.  We also changed some of our fonts around, which you wouldn't have noticed unless you looked very closely. So we hope you enjoy our updated blog!  We hope the change of color brightens your day, and makes you feel peaceful.



Our new look!

~Troop 60435

Activity: Peace (Symbols)

Like languages, there are many ways to say "peace." These are all universal ways to say peace, or anyone, whether if they are Asian or Brazillian, they understand these symbols.

Last week I posted this at the end of the Language activity post. It is the most common way to sign "peace."

And this is the most common peace sign

A paper crane is the Japanese symbol of peace.

A dove carrying an olive branch is another sign of peace. . .

. . . and so is just a plain olive branch.

And finally, an Italian peace flag (remember pace from last week?)

Always Busy!

Wow, are we busy-bodies!  We are always working on new and different things.  Today alone our troop tried to nail down two different presenting opportunities.  That means two emails, lots of planning, and lots of writing scripts.  But that's just us... always running around, working on something!

~ Troop 60435

Activity: Peace (Languages)

There are many ways to say peace. You can do the two-finger method, or say it in foreign languages.
I have compiled a list of the word "peace" in many different ways. Enjoy!

German - Freiden (FRI- den)
French - la paix (la pay)
Spanish - paz
Afrikaans - vrede
Arabic - salun (SAL-un)
Czech - mir
Dutch - vrede (FRE-duh)
Greek - erini (YA- rini)
Korean - peonghwa
Hungarian - beka (BE-ka)
Icelandic - friour (FRE-hooh)
Italian - pace (PA-cha)
Japanese - Heiwa (HEY-wa)
Latin - pacem (PA-chem)
Polish - pokoj (PA-kwi)
Romanian - pace (like Italian)
Russian - mir
Swahili - amani
Swedish - fred (e souds like ay)
Turkish - baris (BA-rish)

Please, if you have any other language suggestions, please comment them and I will add! Also, if you say the words in a cool accent, it sounds really cool!

~Alison

Presentation Update

We finished a plan of our pro-peace workshop; it's pretty cool.  We've set it up like it's in steps, and they're pretty vague.  As of right now, this script is just a skeleton, which we're going to build off of.  We estimate that this workshop would take between 45 minutes to an hour to present.  So, here's our draft...
1.) Introduce ourselves and our mission.
2.) Split the kids into groups, and have each group decide what they think peace is.
3.) Read The Peace Book by Todd Parr.  If everyone thought that peace was this simple, wouldn't life be easier?
4.) Split into same groups, and rework their thoughts of peace, after reading The Peace Book.
5.) Move onto team-building activities.  Part of peace is getting along with everyone.  Team-building activites expand your horizons, and help you come together as a group.
6.) Play the human knot.  Relationships can get complicated.  Peace, kindness, and understanding can help straighten them out.  This is what you learned by playing this game today.
7.) Play Stand-Up.  You guys had to rely on each other to help you stand up.  Trust comes from peace and understanding.

So this is the beginning of our presentation.  We think that this script will drive home our message perfectly: teaching peace, kindness, and understanding to all kids, and teaching them how to be peaceful in their everyday lives.

~Margaret