Choose one activity from each step.
STEP 1: Prepare for your adventure A geocache is basically a little hidden treasure box. Using GPS, you can find a box someone has left. What does GPS mean? Look up some examples of what the boxes you might find look like. 1. With an adult, visit an official geocaching site. Here are 2: www.geocaching.com, www.navicache.com 2. Attend a geocaching event and talk to geocachers. STEP 2: Learn to use a GPS receiver GPS coordinates are measurements called latitude (north/south) and longitude (east/west). The point on earth where the two measurements meet is the GPS location. You can download a GPS receiver on a cell phone or tablet with your parents permission. 1. Find the GPS coordinates for 3 places. Places can include a street sign, a tree, your front steps, etc 2. Hide an item and have a friend find it using GPS coordinates. STEP 3: Make a trade item When you find a box, there will be an item in there for you. You will need to leave an item behind. Something inexpensive like a card or small toy. 1. Make something that represents Girl Scouts to leave in a box. Consider a patch or a SWAP. You can search online for tons of SWAPs ideas. 2. Make a piece of jewelry like a pin or a friendship bracelet. 3. Make something that represents you like a drawing, collage, etc But for safety, it shouldn’t have any personal info like your actual photo or address. STEP 4: Go on a geocaching adventure On a geocaching website, with your parent, set up an account. Pick an area where there are several geocaches and plan a day to go find them. 1. Go hiking! Find caches while on a hike in the wild. Don’t forget to bring a picnic lunch. 2. Try a multi-cache. A mutli-cache involves you going to 2 or more places before you find the final container. You will use hints at each place to get to the box. 3. Do a themed geocaching adventure! Some geocaches are themed. You might have to solve a mystery or puzzle to find these. STEP 5: Take part in a bug’s travels A Travel Bug is a small item with a special tag that goes from cache to cache. Each bug has a special number. You enter it into geocaching.com and can see where it has been. You decide where you want it to go. When someone finds the bug, they move it to help move it towards it’s goal. 1. Make a bug! Go to https://shop.geocaching.com/ to purchase one. 2. Hide a bug with a goal of traveling with Girl Scouts… like “I want this to travel to Our Chalet in Switzerland” 3. Track a bugs travels. Go to geocaching.com and search for a big that has been to at least 4 places. On a map, chart it’s travels. What can you find out about the area’s it has visited? Maybe you can even find a bug and help it on its way.
0 Comments
Choose one activity from each step.
STEP 1: Learning about digital cameras 1. Interview a professional photographer. 2. Teach yourself the basics. Spend time reading and watching videos on both basics and tips on hoe to make the most of a digital camera. STEP 2: Take pictures! 1. Take pictures of friends in with different backgrounds and poses. If you have a self timer setting on your camera, use it and join the pictures. 2. Photograph a landscape. Take pictures of pretty locations. Consider the time of day and the lighting. STEP 3: Edit 3 photos 1. Look at the pictures you took in step 2. Maybe someone had red eye, maybe it was too dark… whatever the problem, try your hand at photo editing to fix the problem. 2. Add something to one of your pictures. Make it special.. It could be text, putting 2 photos together, adding a digital sticker, etc. STEP 4: Make a digital photo project 1. Make a photo collage.. It can be digital or physical. 2. Make a photo gift for someone. STEP 5: Share! 1. Make a digital album to share with friends or family. 2. Start an online photo journal.. With an adults help, post one photo per day for a week for friends and family to see. Don’t forget to write captions for each so everyone can follow and comment. Choose one activity from each step.
STEP 1: Animate your own artwork 1. Make a flip book! Take a small pad of paper. On each piece of paper, starting from the back and moving forward, draw a picture. On the next page (moving forward!) draw the same picture but slightly different. Keep drawing on each page altering your drawing a little. When you are done, flip through your pictures (starting from the back) to see your pictures in action! 2. Try stop action animation. This is sort of like your flip book but with clay (or play-do, or small moveable toys). You can watch films like Wallace and Gromit for samples of clay stop action movies (or “claymation”). Now it’s your turn! Create a small set, choose your characters and make a short film (it doesn’t have to be any longer than 10 seconds if you want). What will your character do? Take a picture. Move your character just slightly and take a new picture. Keep going until your characters action is complete. Upload your pictures to a computer and make a slideshow. Set the timer on the slide show to 0 seconds between pictures. Press play and enjoy your movie! STEP 2: Dig into video game development 1. Try computer program that allows you to create an interactive story or game using characters they provide. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has one called Scratch. Carnegie Mellon University has one called Alice. You can search for other free programs too. 2. Take a look at one of these videos to learn about game designers: Day at Work: Video Game Designer How the inventor of Mario designs a game STEP 3: Try the science of amusement park rides 1. 1. Catapult something! Make a catapult out of household items… check out instructions below. 2. Look into centrifugal force. Did you know if you fill a bucket with water and spin it in a circle the water won’t splash out? It’s all due to centrifugal force. Try it in your backyard. Learn how centrifugal force and amusement park rides are related. STEP 4: Create your own special effects 1. Make a blue screen (or “Green” screen). Learn about chroma-key technology called “blue-screen”. Once you learn about it, try it for yourself. Try putting a picture of yourself or someone else in all sorts of different backgrounds. 2. Make 3-d glasses! (Get an adult to help.) First find an old or cheap pair of sunglasses. Carefully pop out the plastic lenses. Now cut 2 holes the same size as the lenses in a clear sheet of transparency, cellophane or acetate. Use markers to color one lens red and the other blues. Put your new lens in the frame. Put the red on the left and blue on the right. Try them out with a 3D photo! STEP 5: Surf a sound wave 1. Go on an elephant hike! Take two 16 ounce paper or plastic cups. Cut a pair of 2 inch slits down the side of each. They should be about an inch apart. This creates a flap. Cut off the flap. The opening is where your ear will sit. The bottom of the cup should be at the back of your ear. Hike for 5 minutes without them and see what you hear. Now hike 5 more minutes with your elephant ears. How did your hearing change? 2. Play around with GarageBand or similar computer program that allows you to layer instrumental sounds and riffs to create your own musical composition. Choose one activity from each step.
STEP 1: Start moving! 1. do 30 minutes of aerobic activity 3 days for 2 weeks. What’s aerobic activity? Aerobic activity is anything that gets your heart beating fast. Some examples are jump roping, biking, dancing, etc. Have fun! 2. Find a way to make your day more active. For example, instead of an elevator, take the stairs. If there is a shorter and longer way somewhere in your house, choose the longer way. How can you get more activity in your everyday life besides exercising? STEP 2: Keep your fit body fueled! 1. Choose 5 nutrients (like calcium, zinc, vitamin c, protein, carbohydrates, etc). Find out why the five you choose are important. Now head to your kitchen and find foods that have those in them by reading a nutrition label. 2. Learn the basics of food labels. Grab a box or can of something in your kitchen and turn it to the back. What information is on a food label? What’s important to know about each of those things? Which item in your kitchen would make a healthy snack? Compare 3 food labels to fund out! STEP 3: Know how to stress less! 1. Sometimes, just writing down what we feel and how our day is going makes us feel better. Try keeping a diary of your feelings for a week. Write or draw how you feel each day. The next week, don’t write anything. Could you tell a difference in how you felt? BONUS: next time you feel stressed, write what is bothering you on a scrap of paper… then tear it up and throw it away… did it help? 2. Create a stress free zone! Find a place in or outside your home that is totally stress free. Maybe it’s a comfy corner in your room (or even your closet), maybe it’s under a tree in your yard… get creative. What do you need there to help you de-stress? A radio so you can dance, a diary, or maybe nothing at all. Set up your space and use it this week whenever you need to. STEP 4: Get the truth about health! 1. Talk to a health professional or watch 2 of these videos below: Doctor Checkup for Kids - Types of Doctors - Social Studies | Kids Academy What's the Job of a School Nurse? What does a pharmacist do? 2. Find truth in advertising. With an adults permission, grab a magazine in the house and find an add for a health or beauty product. Look at what the ad says it will do. Now with an adult (you can go to the library for help) look into whether or not the claims they make are true. For more fun, use the add and make a collage stating some of the true health information you learned and share it with the troop. STEP 5: Help your family stay fit! 1. With an adult, plan a healthy dinner. Create a menu together and shop for ingredients. Cook and eat together. Take time to talk about the flavors you like in the food. Maybe even end the night with a board game. 2. Be active together! Take a hike, a walk around the neighborhood, play in the yard… whatever it is, find a physical activity you can enjoy as a family. Choose 1 item to do in each step.
STEP 1: Start with a poem There are lots of different types of poetry. They can share feelings, ideas, etc. Get creative with one of the options below. 1. Write a haiku and a limerick. A haiku is a 3 line Japanese poem. They are usually about nature and don’t rhyme. Typically, the first line of Haiku has 5 syllables, the second has 7 syllables, and the third has 5 syllables. A limerick is an Irish poem. It has five lines. They usually are funny. In a limerick, the first, second and fifth line rhyme with each other. Those lines have 7 to 10 syllables. The third and fourth line rhyme with each other and have 5 to 7 syllables. Haiku example: The tree grows outside. Big brown log standing up tall. You are a good tree. Limerick example: There once was a man from Toledo. He flew to New York by torpedo. But on the way there His shoe fell mid air And mud was all over his feet-o. 2. Write a free verse poem. “free verse” means your poem can have however many lines you want and however many syllables you want. It doesn’t even have to rhyme. Create your own free verse poem. STEP 2: Create a short story (you have 3 choices, choose 1) Stories are made up of characters (the people), plot (the action), and setting (where the story happens). Write a 5 page story in one of these styles below. 1. Mystery… There’s usually a detective in a mystery story– like Sammy Keyes or Nancy Drew (check them out!)- and crime. What kind of detective will you write about? Is he/she your age? Are they a kid or an adult? What type of crime will they investigate? 2. Humor… Do you prefer to make people laugh? Amelia Bedelia more your style? Try your hand at writing humor. Don’t forget to create interesting characters! 3. Adventure… Maybe you prefer action packed stories like Whatever After series or the Inkheart series (must reads). Think up your characters. What will they do? How will they do it? STEP 3: Use words to share who you are An autobiography is a story about someone’s life written by that person. A biography is a story about someone’s life written by someone else. Start your story like you did in the last step. Who are your characters? What’s the plot? What’s the setting? Add as much detail as you can so someone reading it feels like they lived through the experience with you. 1. Write about a favorite Girl Scout memory. Were you at camp, a cookie booth, etc? 2. Tell readers about an adventure you went on. What did you learn on that adventure? STEP 4: Write an article An article is a story you find in magazines, newspapers or online. They answer the “5 w’s”… that’s who, what, when, and where and why (and sometimes “how.”) Most start with a sentence that make the reader want to keep reading… like an interesting fact. This is called a “lede”. Your article doesn’t have to be long to answer the 5 W’s. Try using quotes. A good article focuses on facts and not the writer’s opinion. 1. A news story: Choose something happening in scouts, school or another community you are a part of. Write an article answering the 5 w’s and don’t forget a lede. 2. An interview article. Talk to a family member or friend. Ask them questions about an event or themselves. Write an article using their answers. STEP 5: Tell the world what you think An essay gives facts , like an article, but the author puts in some of their opinions on the subject too. Write a 2 page essay on one of the following. Try to include at least 5 facts with your opinion. 1. A favorite animal. 2. A place you’d like to visit. 3. Your favorite book. Choose 1 choice from each step.
STEP 1: Explore how music is made 1. Find out about 3 different instruments. Answer the following about each one - How does it sound (listen to a recording) - When and where is it most played? 2. Match the song! Look up the following types of music. Listen to a song from each type and move you body to match the mood of the music. Is it sad and slow? Happy and fast? Try finding orchestra music, choral or opera music, pop music and marching band music. STEP 2: Travel around the world of music 1. Listen to pop songs from 3 different countries besides America. How do they sound? How are they similar or different to something you hear in America? Do you like them? 2. Choose 3 music composers. Listen to a piece of music from each composer. Where are they from? When did they write the song you heard? Did you like their music? “Music, you know, is like food. You can’t tell what you like until you taste it.” -Girl Scout Handbook, 1953 STEP 3: Check out the music in your life 1. Take a poll. Ask 5 members of your family or friends what their favorite type of music is and why. Have them play or sing their favorite song. Why do they like it? 2. Go to a live musical performance, or watch one on TV. STEP 4: Make your own music 1. Make an instrument. It could be drums, musical glasses, maracas, whatever. You don’t need any special tools to make an instrument. Play a simple song or keep a basic rhythm on your instrument. 2. The words to a song are called “lyrics”. Use a tune you know and make up new words. Many lyrics rhyme. See if you can write lyrics that rhyme too. STEP 5: Perform our music 1. Using an instrument you made or your reworded song from the last step, perform for your family! 2. Teach someone else your song or to play your instrument from the previous step. Complete 1 option from each step.
STEP 1: Find out about local government. Every town or city has its own form of local government. Find out more about yours in this step. 1. Check out a local town hall meeting. This can be done online. 2. Visit your town hall, city hall, or mayor’s office. Take a field trip with your friends or family and talk to someone in one of these places about your local government. Have them explain all the jobs that are done in your local government and talk to you about local elections. Come up with some questions in advance. Ask any additional questions you think of while you’re there. Town Hall Meetings The purpose of town hall meetings is for government officials to hear the community’s views on public issues. People attending the meeting have the chance to present ideas, voice their opinions, and ask questions. Despite the name, meetings don’t necessarily take place in a town hall—they may be held at the local library or a school building. STEP 2: Find out about state government State governments and the United States government are all made up of three parts. These parts are called the branches of government. 1. Campaign for governor! With help from an adult, find out who your governor is and some of the things they’re responsible for. Now, imagine you’re running for governor. Make a campaign speech to your friends and family about the changes you’d make in your state and the issues you’re most passionate about. Explore an issue. Almost every political issue has people who feel strongly on both sides. Can you think of an example that’s making news in your state right now? With a group of friends or family members, find out everything you can about both sides of an issue. Divide into pairs and debate— then switch sides! After you’ve made the case for each side, talk about whether you think this process can help people see issues in a different way. STEP 3: Find out about our country’s legislative branch The legislative branch, or Congress, is the branch of the United States government that makes laws. There are two groups of people that make up Congress: The House of Representatives and the Senate. Find out more about the legislative branch in this step. 1. Talk about representation. With help from an adult, find out how many women are currently serving in the United States Senate and House of Representatives. Then, find the number of women serving when you were born and when some of the older women in your life were your age. Talk to some of these women about the political shifts they’ve seen over time. Do they believe women are adequately represented in government today? 2. Draft a bill. Read “How a Bill Becomes a Law” below . Then, on your own or in a small group, draft your own bill on a topic or issue that’s important to you. Share your bill with a larger group. Be prepared to defend it and answer questions. STEP 4: Find out about our country’s executive branch The head of the United States’ executive branch is the president. Starting at age 18, citizens of the United States can vote for a new president every four years. 1. Compare presidents and prime ministers. Find a place led by a prime minister—such as the United Kingdom—and compare that role with president of the United States. (You might have an adult show you a video for kids online.) How are they different and alike? Talk about what you read or see with friends or family. For More FUN: Look into a country that has both a president and a prime minister. How do their roles differ? 2. Craft branches. Start by drawing a picture of a tree with three branches, then label the branches with each branch of government. Take the list of people or groups of people in the box on this page and make them into “leaves” for the corresponding branch. You can write them near the branches or cut out leaves from green construction paper and glue or tape them on. STEP 5: Find out about our country’s judicial branch The judicial branch of the government is made up of courts and judges. It’s the branch of the government that evaluates laws. 1. Talk to a lawyer. Have an adult help you contact one to talk about what they do. Why did they choose their profession? How does the judicial branch work with the other two branches of government? What do they think are the most important cases in national history? Ask any other questions you may have. 2. Talk to a judge. Find out about what they do. How does the judicial branch work with the other two branches of government? What’s the difference between the Supreme Court and local courts? How does a case make it to the Supreme Court? Ask any other questions you may have. 3. Talk to a social studies, history, or civics teacher. Find out how they teach their students about the judicial branch. How does the judicial branch work with the other two branches of government? Ask any other questions you may have. Choose and complete one choice from each step.
STEP 1: What does it mean to be an active citizen? 1. With help from your family or other scouts, list 10 things that make an active citizen. Examples, paying sales taxes, following laws, etc. Do you see any similarities to the Girl Scout Law? 2. Do you know anyone who has lived and worked in another country? Ask them what it was like. How was it similar or different to America. Was being an “active citizen” in that country similar to being one here? STEP 2: Go Inside government 1. Interview an elected official. Who decides how long the library is open or which school you can go to? Elected officials! Interview one and talk about how they help the government make decisions, and share ideas about how you can be an active citizen. Does the official have more ideas to add? 2. Chart the government structure for your school district, town, county or state. Make a big, branching chart that shows who has the power to make and change laws. Above is an example using the federal government. Bonus- Look up the following words that relate to the government: Municipality, federal, governor, mayor, constitution STEP 3: Look into laws. 1. For 24 hours, list laws that affect your daily life. For example, you must cross the street at a cross walk, you can’t litter, you have to pay a sales tax for a candy bar. At the end of the day, look at your list, and talk about what the laws do for you and your community. 2. Think about laws you might propose someday. What laws, rules or regulations would you propose in these 3 situations? What should happen to a citizen who doesn’t follow them? Discuss your answers with your family or Girl Scout sisters. - You’re the mayor of the first town on the moon - A toxic-waste dump is being built next to a farm - There is a five-story building with no elevators. It has only one inside staircase. STEP 4: Report on the issues 1. Report on a government meeting. You may or may not be able to attend a meeting in public, but all city and county meetings are filmed. Watch one of your choice. What are the issues they’re talking about? Which is most important to you? Pretend you are a reporter and take notes. Then, write an article about the issue you think is most important. Share it with the troop. 2. Interview a local historian or longtime citizen. Ask about how your community has changed over the years. Is your community still working out the same issues it was 20 years ago? If not, what are the new issues? Turn your interview into a radio program, video or article you can share with the troop. STEP 5:Get involved in community government 1. We are in an election year! Work on someone’s campaign. Use your leadership skills to help out the candidate you believe in. Make posters or buttons, or assist with a speech about the reasons you think this person should be elected. Ask how you can help. 2. Create a pamphlet or poster. Use it to raise awareness about an issue you’d like to change. Maybe you’d like a mural to cover up graffiti in the school bathroom, or to eliminate plastic cups at your place of worship. Get permission before you pass anything out, and think carefully– like a politician– about the words you use. You want to educate and inspire people to take your side, so be respectful of the current administration and citizens in the community. 1. Make a pocket solar system. Share your solar system with others.
|
Archives
September 2020
Categories
All
|