Juliette Low Fun Patch

Today's meeting was the day after Halloween, and came right after Fall Break, so honestly? I was tired. I'd originally planned to start working on our Painting badge today but after looking over my agenda awhile back, I realized two things:

1. It was going to be too much for me to do right after Fall Break.
2. It probably wasn't a good idea to expect much from the girls the day after Halloween.

Then there was the cost factor. Since we have a large troop, the Painting patch won't be cheap to earn. I will need to purchase specific supplies we do not already have on hand (paints, canvases, etc.). I'm thinking it would be best to hold off on that one until closer to spring, once Cookie Sales have started and we've earned some more money.

So, instead of working on Painting, or some other Legacy badge, we're celebrating Juliette Low's birthday. BUT! We are not having a birthday party. I know, I know. WHY NOT? Everyone does this, don't they? But not me. Not today. The kids are already completely sugar-bombed. They don't need cake.

Let's do something else instead! Let's focus on Juliette herself, and having fun, and leave the sugar out of it for today (and that's okay).

Now, this is NOT earning the "official" Juliette Low badge. That's something completely different. That involves a lot of effort, over a longer period of time (did I mention I'm tired? I am. It's okay. We all get tired sometimes and need a backup plan for those days when we have troop meetings but just want to crawl back in bed).

So today was one of those days.

Now, I did put in effort -- don't get me wrong. But it wasn't difficult. It just involved typing up some things, printing them out, figuring out which way to stick paper in my printer in order to print front and back correctly on every page, and assembling a "book" for each girl. But that was no big deal. I did it in my PJs. I didn't have to leave the house and go searching for supplies....

Here's what you'll need:

- Plain printer paper (no need for card stock)
- Printer (obviously)
- Hole puncher
- String, yarn, or ribbon
- Scissors to cut the yarn
- Crayons, colored pencils, or markers for the girls
- A test page so you know which way to run paper through your printer to print on both sides, so you're not printing the words upside down. ;)

Here are the images I used to create the books (you can do this all on your own, using MS Word though. Make it say whatever you want. Just be sure to leave enough room in the middle of the page -- turned landscape -- so that the holes you punch don't cover up the text):

The cover:

Print this on the other side of the cover:

Print this next:

Print this on the other side of that:

Print this next:

Print this on the other side of that:

Then you take each page and fold it, so the cover is the outside, with the "Travel" page folded as the inside, and so on until you have the "Birthday" page as the most inner part of the book. Mine are kind of random, but that's okay. The only page I wanted to keep cohesive, so to speak, was the birthday one, which is why it's my middle page.

Once you've folded all the pages and tucked them inside each other (so when you open it to the middle, the "Birthday" page is the very middle), press down on the spine crease well so they're all in there snugly, and use a hole puncher to punch four holes in the side of the folded book, like so:

Then take yarn, string, or ribbon and tie two bows through the holes to hold the book together:

Let the girls use crayons or whatever you have on hand to answer the questions or color. Some of mine drew pictures (like for travel) instead of writing out answers. Basically there is no right nor wrong way to do it. It's about connecting our roles as Girl Scouts with Juliette Low's example.

Here's one (she drew a picture of the Polynesian, from Walt Disney World, and said she was courageous by jumping in the pool):

The girls didn't have time to finish in the meeting, because it was a gorgeous day outside and they were stir-crazy from Halloween. So after we worked on the booklets for about 30 minutes, I had them put them in their backpacks to finish at home, and took them out to the playground and let them run around. :) They loved it! It was a free recess. It was a great day.

Here is a fun (not official -- just fun -- they go on the back of vests) patch to mark the occasion. EDIT: If this particular patch is out of stock in your local Council shop, just go online and search for Juliette Low patches. You'll find a pretty wide variety of inexpensive, fun ones. :)

More to come!