World Thinking Day, February 22nd

Greetings to all Girl Guides and Scouts on World Thinking Day!  What is it?  Every year on the birthday of Lord and Lady Baden Powell**, TEN MILLION Guides and Scouts all over the world think about each other, and about how we, together, can made a difference in the world.  Each year WAGGGS (The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts) chooses a theme and invites girls to learn about a problem and think about how they can help.  Past themes have included stopping the spread of infectious diseases, expanding access to clean water, and other important causes.  This year's theme is CONNECT!


Each year WAGGGS creates activity packets for all age levels of girls.  Well do I remember setting up 5 gallon buckets of water in our church parking lot and challenging my Cadettes to see how far they could carry them, to emphasize how important it is to women and girls and families to have access to clean water.  Many girls spend their whole day, every day, searching for water and carrying it long distances to their families.  I remember setting up a cot with a mosquito net, and demonstrating to 60 Brownies how a simple net can stop the spread of malaria - and raising money with the girls to donate nets to someone in Africa.  I hope all the girls remember those activities too!

This year, WAGGGS has gone back to the beginning of the tradition (90 years ago in 1926!) and invites us you to explore and celebrate the meaningful connections that make our lives better, whether to the people closest to us, to a place we care about, or to a Girl Guide or Girl Scout friend on the other side of the world. 

Here are website links with more information for you.  You can get the activity packs and use them with your troops and scouts!  Here's a photo of this year's patch.  AND NO YOU HAVEN'T MISSED IT JUST BECAUSE IT'S NO LONGER FEBRUARY 22ND, many of the activities are designed to take more than one day to complete, especially for older girls - so WTD can be any and every day!

http://www.girlscouts.org/en/about-girl-scouts/global/world-thinking-day.html

https://www.wagggs.org/en/what-we-do/world-thinking-day/


**Yes, they both were born on February 22nd.  And that's why that day was chosen.

Little Books 2

Here is a small photo book, made from a slightly used, dime a dozen (well, I wish they were that cheap, but it's a good excuse to clean out those file cabinets!) file folder and some scrapbook paper.

 The book measures 6.5" x 6.5", the pages 6" by 6".  The left over folder bits can be made into tags, as shown, or inner pockets (which I chose not to do.)  Each piece of 12 x 12 scrapbook paper can be cut in half or quarters. 

 The half pages I glued together on the side and bottom edge, and punched on the folded edge, to form the pockets.

 Envelopes and cardstock form places to put photos, or they can be glued on the scrapbook paper directly.

Sending our love!

Little Books

The GE committee is in the workshop creation phase of the year.  If you would like to present a workshop, or you have an idea of a workshop you would like us to offer, please email us right now!  Our address is gsgreatescape@yahoo.com

I've been making some little books this winter - scrapbooks from file folders and little folded books (Lois taught a workshop on that in 2014.)

I used a file folder, some paint chips and scrapbook paper, paper punches, a scrap of lace, and my nephew's Christmas card to make this gift for my sister, the grandmother of the lovely children in the photos.

Our First Link Party!

Laura from Decor to Adore has been a great friend to this blog and she invited us to her link party, "Thoughts of Home on Thursday."  I linked up the post "Gracious Living In A Blizzard" that shows how The GE Committee moves into a cabin and in tag team fashion, turns a typical GS cabin space into a warm, cozy weekend home.  Please visit Laura's post here.

She's got some good blogging friends for you to discover.  Reading about how people order their lives and enhance their living spaces has been helpful as I spruce up my new house - and ideas for GE workshops come thick and fast when bloggers start posting about decorating for fall and winter holidays!  Plus recipes, gardening tips, and more!