Girl Sports Try-it

So this try-it is a normal one out of the book.  Seasan earned this one on Saturday when she went to the gymnastics center for their girl scout try-it program.  They got to do sports and gymnastics for an hour and Seasan had a blast. 

Future Ideas

So I pulled Grandma and Grandpa into the loop for our try-it goals.  So far we have these activities planned to help with some of the requirements for different try-its.

1. Make Moose stew with Papa- Athabaskan Culture Try-it  (We got lucky on this one.  Papa has his buddy Rick that just went Moose hunting this fall and gave him some meat.  So he is saving a roast for Seasan to cook when we visit.)

2. Have a pasty making party- UP Heritage  (I love pasty's...so this is my excuse to help make them and then bring a whole bunch home with me.)  I tried to explain to Jon what a pasty was..and he made this "blah" face.  I guess saying that it is like a pot pie, but without the gravy doesn't sound to appealing..but I love them!

3. Teach Seasan about Nursing (grandmas job)- Nurse and Nursing Exploration  This includes teaching her about the equipment used and also seeing if she can do a tour of Grandma's facility. 

Then in the summer, Papa is going to work on the Fishing, Fishing, and Aquaculture  try-its.  The aquaculture one will be right up Papa's ally so to speak as he worked for the USGS studying water quality.

Skating Try-it

So I talked to Seasan's troop leader and she is going to incorporate the skating try-it into the skating outing they are doing in two weeks.  Good news for the troop...bad news for me.  This means I have to pick a new try-it for that week, as troop earned try-its are not counting towards our "52" goal for the year.  Okay...back to the drawing board.

Fall Product Sale- The reality

So we just turned in the forms for the fall product sale.  Seasan (aka Mom & Jon) sold 40 items...of which 15 Grandma and Grandpa bought :)   I had to laugh when you add up the cost for all the items and then look at the little stuffed animal she is so excited to be getting.  Kinda cracked me up a little.

Needless to say, I have been pushing fundraising this year as the troop has taken on an individual award system for fundraising.  What that means is that whatever each member sells and brings in for profit is kept in an account for that member to use for troop activities and camps.  As a semi-single mother (yes..Jon gets a lot of credit for all he does even though we are dating and not married) this is a great opportunity to offset some of the cost of all the things that she wants to participate in. 

So the curiosity part of me wanted to see how much this equates out to in real money..so I did some research and here is the breakdown for our council:

Avg Selling Price                       $5.84
Avg Cost                                 -$2.40
Avg Gross Profit                        $3.44

Troop Incentive (ie Seasan)       $0.76
SU Incentive                             $0.02
Girl Patches                              $0.09
Council Income                        $2.57

Compared to cookies.. (keep in mind my Council did not have cookie profits up..so this info is from another council for the 2011 year)

Box of Cookies                      $3.50
Sale Expenses (cookies)        -$0.90
Gross Profit                           $2.60

Council and Admin                $1.70
Troop                                    $0.55            
Incentives                              $0.35

So putting all this to use...I think we will push the cookies over peanuts.  Consider this:

Sell $350 of cookies for 100 units and you get $55                                Profit Margin      15.7%
Sell $350 units of nuts at approx 60 units and you get $45.60                 Profit Margin      13.02%

You have a much better chance of selling cookies as nuts are much harder to sell.  And, on top of the profit, girls earn cookie dough for camps and council merchandise.  Cookies are the no brainier.

I know I am probably going to get crucified by those who say "well it is all about the lessons they learn by selling, who cares which is more profitable?"  In return, I ask this.. what lessons are we teaching if we don't also teach them the accounting portion of the sales too?  If my daughter wants to learn the business aspect of sales in order to be successful later in life, this is the perfect opportunity to teach her about economics and supply and demand.  By showing her the breakdown of sales and return of profit on sales she can understand these economic principles in a very useful manner.

Rededication Ceremony

So last night was the Rededication ceremony.  I got to watch them all line up and get ready.  Then I had to make a mad dash for the door to attend the Parents meeting for her Company Dance.  (I even tried to call in on the meeting and was told I had to be there!)  At 28, I still feel like a kid sometimes.  Good thing was that Jon was able to stay and take pictures and keep Nicholas occupied while I got to vote on fundraiser activities.  (Needless to say, I really felt I could have been excused on that so called "Parent Meeting".)

I talked with Seasan's troop leader about the patches and she said to just document all the activities we do and keep a log/journal of the completed items.  That works out great as I already had began to mark the items and dates as we did them.

Black Dimond Council

We got the badges from the Black Diamond Council in the mail today!  They are as follows:

Aquaculture
Coal
Insect
Mystery
Underground Railroad
Weather
Native American Lore

and..
Aquaculture Junior Badge

Yes, I know..a little weird to pre-buy a Junior Badge.  I figured with the shipping and handling I might as well just buy it now as her grandfather worked for the USGS and will love teaching this to her.  When she becomes a Junior she can do it again and do some of the older activities with him.

The Coal badge was for her to do with her dad.  He was a coal miner in Tennessee until he got hurt.  I thought it would be a good activity for her and him to do together when they see each other next time.

The rest of them are just fun activities to work on.  Although I have to admit, the insect one is cute, the Native American one is a really cool design, and the Mystery one has pink trim..need I say more?

Why the Challenge?

Some people might ask why?  Why the goal of a patch/try-it a week?  All I can say is I want my kids to experience everything and I think that this may help with that.  I love arts and crafts, largely due to three factors in my life.  1. My mother, 2. My father, and 3. Girl Scouts.  My mother taught me how to sew and cook, my father to hunt and camp, and Girl Scouts taught me how to have fun hiking, and campfire cooking, and beading, and, well you get the picture. 

As I read through the over 200 council's own patches about activities to learn about native American culture, early settlers, every sport imaginable, different cities, historical structures, nature, and so many more items, I can only look forward to the array of activities offered.  This challenge will not only help my daughter experience a lot of new activities, but it will also create some great family memories for Jon, Nicholas, and myself as well.  I think these next two years will be exciting and interesting and I can't wait to see the scrapbook I can make from all the adventures!

Gymnastics Try-it

So this is the first one we are going to work on together.  It should be rather easy as she is in gymnastics.  Some of the activities we have to do are as follows:

1. Learn basic safety rules
2. Learn about the 4 events and try 2 basic moves (class)
3. Discuss taking care of your body
4. Make a short routine
5. Observe an event



Gymnastics Try-it