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  2021-01-24

  Almost a Year of Virtual Girl Scout Meetings

  When our Girl Scout troop transitioned online in the spring, we never foresaw the entire year being online. When my best friend/co-leader and I made the calendar in the summer, we originally made it through the end of 2020, thinking that by January we’d be back in person. I guess that shows how short sighted humans can be, a virus doesn’t run on a calendar, so it was silly to think things would be dramatically different without widespread access to a vaccine. So here we are in 2021, pushing through every other week. It has been really great to maintain the normalcy of meeting together, though. All the girls are either going to school on a hybrid (half the week in person, half at home) schedule or a full distance learning schedule, so it’s just nice to have the regular interaction with each other just like they did before quarantine. This also was a perfect opportunity to give the girls increased ownership of the troop. Now that they’re in fourth grade, we have made leadership roles, so the girls are responsible for different parts of the meeting. This takes the pressure off me for having to fill two hours on Zoom in a way that is fun and meaningful and doesn’t feel like school! I absolutely love seeing their creativity in making up games, activities, snacks, and issues/problems in our community they want to help fix. There also are some girls who used to be passive who have really loved this platform and have really stepped into being leaders. I am, however, running low on badges they want to earn that are easy to do over Zoom. The one shared here ended up pretty fun. To earn the “Simple Meals” badge, the girls worked in virtual groups to make different breakfast, lunch, and dinner meals. Then they basically did their own cooking show by walking the other girls through making whatever the dish was. Bonus - everyone was nice and full by the end! I miss my girls terribly, but we are so fortunate to be able to have the girls continue to meet, share, and support each other while we patiently wait for the cases to decrease.
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  2020-06-13

  Art at Home

  As part of a virtual Girl Scout camp out, Karis, age 9, participates in a virtual art class to paint her version of "Starry Night." Girls Scouts has had activities every week of the summer to help girls continue to thrive.
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  2020-07-01

  Our First Trip Out

  My kids and I have not left our street since March due to the continual rise in cases. Despite an all time high and no desire to venture out, my Girl Scout troop needed their cookie prizes and the materials for our end of the year, virtual “Bridging” ceremony. I decided to drop the items on the girls’ doorsteps, wearing a mask, and not actually ring a doorbell but instead text from the safety of my car. Basically, run out, run back to the car. To do so, I enlisted my mom (who lives with us) to drive to lessen the variables for infection. Realizing my kids might want to see the world outside our street, I allowed them to ride in the car. I figured the risk was minimal because I was coming into contact with no one. Both kids have been keeping “quarantine” journals and I found their reflections interesting. My daughter was agitated that so many people we saw were not wearing masks. When we went out, our area had just been re-opened, despite a continual rise in cases. Our state has seen an 80% increase over the last two weeks and, as of today, is re-closing “indoor businesses.” My son, on the other hand, seemed relieved to see that McDonald’s still existed and had an open sign. He told us he was happy everything was “in order.” It makes me wonder what he thought was happening beyond our street. I did stop to take one picture, of our local playground. I was so surprised that every park we passed had the playgrounds roped off. It makes sense, but was eerie to see. I don’t foresee us venturing out again soon.
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  2020-05-05

  Girl Scouts Virtual Experience

  With all in person Girl Scout activities cancelled or postponed, Girl Scouts has been hosting virtual experiences for girls. In this one, Karis (Brownie, age 9), participates in a Q & A with a female astronaut. She was excited to have her question answered, as well as to learn how toilets work in space.