March - Cancelled

Our March meetings were both cancelled due to illness.  Thankfully, all is well now and we will resume our regular meeting on Friday, April 6th.

Girls will begin a Dollhouse Miniatures project and boys will begin learning and practicing using Hand Tools.  Both of these projects will continue for 4 consecutive meetings (April and May). 

This will be our last project for the school year.  In June we will have our end-of-year picnic and awards ceremony.  During July and August there will be optional recreational activities planned -- more details to come soon!

February - Sign Language

For the month of February, we learned some basic sign language.  We were blessed to have a great volunteer, Mr. Paul, to come and teach us.  Mr. Paul is currently studying sign language in conjunction with his job and was eager to share what he has learned. 

We learned the manual alphabet and many common words such as colors, numbers, greetings and other words and phrases useful in conversation.  We also learned how to sign important words such as Jesus and pray. The children enjoyed practicing finger-spelling their names. 

The adults were just as interested and eager to learn as the children (if not more so!) and we as a family have continued learning and practicing sign language. 

I apologize for not having pictures - we took lots of videos but no still photos!  Here are some of the signs we learned:

January - Albums

For the month of January we fulfilled the requirements for the Albums badge by making photo albums.  The albums themselves were 6"x6" with plastic sleeves and they were purchased inexpensively at Christmas Tree Shoppes.  We used 12"x12" patterned paper cut down to 6"x6" for background pages, then applied photos and stickers to embellish the pages.  I encouraged the children to decide on a theme for their album.  One did a vacation album of their beach pictures, one did their Christmas vacation to see their grandparents, another did an album to put pictures of their LEGO creations.  Another idea was to put in pictures from each month of 2011.  Some just chose to put in whatever pictures they had.  Everyone had a great time with this project, boys included (though they didn't work on theirs nearly as long as the girls did!) 



Next month: Sign Language!

December 2011 - Christmas Caroling

On December 10, we again visited the Misericordia Nursing Home to sing Christmas Carols for the residents.  We sang for about 30 minutes, mostly traditional Christmas Carols but also a few more modern worship songs.  We were very well-received and had a few residents singing along!  Our group was small but we persevered and sang for the glory of the Lord!  Prior to our visit, we had colored and signed Christmas cards for the residents, so after the singing we handed out the cards.  We made sure each resident received one, even if they were in their rooms and/or sleeping.  Everyone continues to be blessed by this outreach.

Front of card

Inside of card

(Photos will be forthcoming!)

Tonight's meeting - Cancelled

Tonight's meeting is cancelled.  Christmas shoeboxes can be dropped off to me or the church through Sunday.  I will e-mail the songs for Christmas caroling so everyone can get a start on practicing!  We will catch up at our next meeting, Friday, December 2, at the church.  God bless.

October 2011 - Fire Safety

This month we studied Fire Safety.  During our first meeting, we talked about how to make a home fire escape plan.  We discussed different issues and dangers that may arise if a fire breaks out in your home. 

The children also worked on coloring in Christmas cards which we will take to the nursing home in December to hand out to the residents.

Our second meeting was a field trip!  One of our club families have a dad and oldest brother who are both volunteers for their local fire company.  They were gracious enough to give us a tour of the fire station as well as demonstrate smoke alarm safety and answer all the questions we could come up with about being a fireman!

The children really enjoyed trying on all the gear!

But the best part, by far, was climbing in and out and all over those big red trucks!!!

A special thanks to Mr. B and Channing, our brave volunteers!

Thank you for all you do!

September 2011 - Rest Home

We decided to revisit the Rest Home badge this year for a few reasons.  First, I think it was a really great experience for the residents AND the children last year and I'd like to continue visiting there.  Also, we have some families who either didn't complete the badge or weren't in the Club last year and I want them to have the opportunity to earn it.  Even some of the parents were moved out of their comfort zone, I think, when we went and spoke to the residents and also sang Christmas carols and other songs for them.  I think that's a good thing.
At last evening's meeting, we did a Bible study/character lesson on "Compassion" that naturally led into talking about how we can show compassion and love to others, namely the residents at the nursing home.  The children then worked on coloring simple Christmas cards I had made up, printed with John 3:16.  We will hand these out to the folks when we go caroling there in December.  In the Keepers book, they mention that when you visit these people, it may be their first or last opportunity to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ.  Wow.  So I wanted to be sure to include a simple Gospel message on the cards rather than the usual Merry Christmas or other "holiday" greeting.