Skills for Around the Home - Part 2

                                    
                                                    

                         


Cleaning...the last thing most of us ever wants to do, and yet it is really important, to keep our enviroment healthy! 


So, the best way to tackle cleaning chores is Just Get it Done!

What needs to be done to clean your whole house...make a list of the chores for each room.  Who does this in your house?  Do you have any ideas to make it easier to get the chores done? 

                                          

Something I do it make sure I have everything I need to get the job done.  I have all my supplies in a bucket, easy to get to.  I have my cleaning cloths in the same place and I try to stick to a schedule.  So I clean the upstairs bathroom on Saturdays, I vaccum on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays...

Toxic Cleaning Supplies                                           

There is a lot of talk about what is in our cleaning products.  Is it safe for the environment?  Is it safe for you to use?  Do the cleaning products contain ingredients that are cancer causing? Or are they manufactured in a way that is harmful to the environment?  Do some research and see for yourself, what chemicals you would like to be using...Start reading labels and looking for the harmful ingredients.  Are there alternatives that you could use?

Here are some helpful sites to go to:

http://environmentaldefence.ca/campaigns/toxic-nation

http://housekeeping.about.com/od/environment/tp/8-Places-To-Use-Baking-Soda.htm

http://housekeeping.about.com/od/environment/bb/Buy-Green-Cleaning-Supplies.htm

http://www.styleathome.com/decorating-and-design/green-living/environmentally-friendly-cleaning-products/a/1167

http://mommyfootprint.com/home-made-eco-friendly-cleaning-solutions/

Happy Cleaning!

Make an Ice Lantern!!

How to Make an Ice Lantern!

During this March Break...you might want to get a bit creative!  I know the weather is not too cold, but you can still enjoy an Ice Lantern without snow!



Here are the steps:

First you need a container large enough to hold a candle inside also you will need something to suspend inside the larger container.  I have a milk carton and a plastic container:

Fill the carton with water.  If you want your ice candle to be clear, use distilled water:

I put some marbles in the plastic container so it would be weighted down and not float in the water.  Also, you want it suspended in the water, not touching the sides.  I plan to suspend it with the elastic band:

Here you see the plastic container centered in the water:

After a few days in the freezer....

Here is my candle outside!

Thinking Day 2012

Together We can Save our Planet!!

Click this link to view my Thinking Day greeting to you!
http://ggcgirls.girlguides.ca/ggcgirls/fun_stuff/ecards/view_ecard.php?ecardText=1329924010

The World Thinking Day theme for 2012 is "we can save our planet," based on U.N. Millennium Development Goal 7: Ensuring environmental sustainability.

We all know that Thinking Day is the mutual birthday of Lord and Lady Baden-Powell.  Help celebrate by doing something good for your world

What are you doing for Thinking Day?


There are lots of ways that you can help to Save our Planet...recycling, using less resources (water, electricity), reusing things (plastic bags..)

The Our Environment badge has many activities that you might like to look at. There is even a World Thinking Day badge, that you may be interested in earning.  You can find the information on the WAGGGS site.  If you need help, let me know, I'd be glad to get involved! 

There are lots of need resources on the WAGGGS site...you might be interested in viewing the Thinking Day card from countries around the world...here is the link:
http://www.worldthinkingday.org/en/news/21699

Happy Valentines Day!

Well, Today is the day of Love!  But...I think it is a good day for some fun too!


Here are some Valentines Jokes...but the trick is the answer is in code form.

Have fun!

What did one pickle say to the other?

!xm xt llxd txxrg x nxxm xxY

What do farmers give their wives on Valentine's day?

!sxssxk dnx sgxH

What did the chocolate syrup say to the ice cream?

!xxy nx txxws m'x

What is a vampire's sweetheard called?

!dnxxrf-lxxhg sxH

What did the stamp say to the envelope?

!xxy nx kcxts m'x



Dinner Party

Have you ever planned a dinner party?  My teen age daughter decided to have one just before school started back for the new year.

                                            


On the Friday before, my husband broke one of our dinner plates, so we only had 5 left.

                                                      


Well, that seemed like a good excuse for me to go out and buy some new dishes!  (ok, so I'm not suggesting you buy new dishes whenever you plan a dinner party...it was just a convenient excuse for me!) 

Well, the party went really well...of course I helped out alot.... cooking the pasta, heating the garlic bread, clearing the table...but I really didn't mind, and the girls had a lot of fun, lots of laughs! 

You might like to plan a dinner party too, (sorry, I can't come to do the messy work!) and that is one of the activities in Skills for Around the Home. 

You need to complete 4 activities for this module...some of them may be things you already do, so this may be an easy module to obtain.

Here are some things to do...

Plan a dinner for a group of friends or your family.   You could do a fancy brunch meal, too.  Decide what you will serve and make a grocery list.  Will you have a theme? Some ideas may be:  Ground Hog Day dinner, Full Moon dinner, Snowman Celebration dinner, Mexican theme, Italian theme, Chinese New Year, a favorite movie....what are you thinking of?

Set the table to match the occasion.  Will you the table be formal or informal?  Will the cutlery be at each place, wrapped in a napkin or in a jar on the table? 


                          

Laundry

                                                  

Activity #4  covers laundry care.  So I have to admit, I have shrunk several sweaters and other clothes of my daughters' (and own!) over the years.  I don't put any Sweaters in the dryer anymore...too many have come out the size of a newborn!!  If you understand laundry care symbols, this won't happen to you. 



Also you need to know what temperature to wash your clothes in...too hot and your could shrink your favorite sweaters even  before they get in the dryer! 

Try out your sewing skills:

Try making a cloth bag...here is a site you might find useful:
http://momcoloredglasses.com/healthy-living/green-lifestyle/make-a-simple-reusable-cloth-bag/

House Cleaning

Who likes to do house cleaning?

I don't even want to think about it right now!  I will save it for another post!

Snow! Snow! Snow!  

 

Finally we have some snow!  Where I live, it was a very green Chrismas.  But, the new year brought with it SNOW!  We are hoping it will stick around, because we have a birthday party to plan this month.  My daughter will be 13!! and we plan to go sledding.  If it rains again....I really don't want to think about it!

Ahh! Winter!



Maybe you have snow now too?  Do you enjoy the winter weather? Do you get outdoors and do any winter sports?  Do you know anyone who has never experienced winter?  I was talking to someone today...several years ago he moved here from Australia (right now, Australia is having a heatwave!) and thought it was soo cold here in the winter...he didn't go outdoors for 2 years! (well, except to go to work) Now, he enjoys cross country skiing.  Most people who don't enjoy winter, also don't get out into it.  Just imagine what it would have been like for the pioneers who didn't have electricity and other modern conveniences (like furnaces, cars, lights, computers...) In Winter Wonderland (pg 93 of you book) the activities are about just that...what it was like back in the pioneer days, and how to keep active and fit in the Cold Canadian Winter!

You need to do 4 activities to complete the module.  Have a look in your book and choose the ones that interest you...

Here are some sites that might help you

Winter Olympics

http://www.infoplease.com/ipsa/A0115110.html

Winter clothing

http://kidshealth.org/kid/watch/out/winter_sports.html

http://voices.yahoo.com/how-choose-winter-sports-clothing-2533287.html

Pioneer life

http://www.projects.yrdsb.edu.on.ca/pioneer/pioneer_home.htm

http://mrsmacdonald.net/pioneers.htm

Ice Sculpture

http://nica.org/sculpture-gallery-ice-carving.htm

http://www.ehow.com/how_2083154_create-ice-sculptures.html

Winter Solstice

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_solstice

Polar Bears

http://everythingchurchill.com/polar-bears/

Happy New Year, 2012!!

Happy New Year!!

Now is the time for new resolutions and new beginnings.  

Are any of you thinking of New Year's Resolutions?  I found this on the Wikipedia Site and thought it was neat!

                              

Most Resolutions are about life style...loose weight, stop smoking, exercise, get out of debt....but how about

learning

something

new!?

This is actually in the top 10 Resolutions that people make, and one of the easiest, most motivating New Year's resolutions to keep. Also in the top 10 is:

• enjoy life more
• help other people 
• get organized

Actually, we can do all these things with the Pathfinder program this year!

So, where exactly did New Year's Resolutions come from?

The tradition of the New Year's Resolutions goes all the way back to 153 B.C.
Janus, a mythical king of early Rome was placed at the head of the calendar.
With two faces, Janus could look back on past events and forward to the future. Janus became the ancient symbol for resolutions and many Romans looked for forgiveness from their enemies and also exchanged gifts before the beginning of each year.

The Romans named the first month of the year after Janus, the god of beginnings and the guardian of doors and entrances.
He was always depicted with two faces, one on the front of his head and one on the back. Thus he could look backward and forward at the same time. At midnight on December 31, the Romans imagined Janus looking back at the old year and forward to the new.

The Romans began a tradition of exchanging gifts on New Year's Eve by giving one another branches from sacred trees for good fortune. Later, nuts or coins imprinted with the god Janus became more common New Year's gifts.

The celebration of the New Year is the oldest of all holidays. It was first observed in ancient Babylon about 4000 years ago!!

In the years around 2000 BC, Babylonians celebrated the beginning of a new year on what is now March 23, although they themselves had no written calendar.
Late March actually is a logical choice for the beginning of a new year. It is the time of year that spring begins and new crops are planted. January 1, on the other hand, has no astronomical nor agricultural significance. It is purely arbitrary.

The Babylonian New Year celebration lasted for eleven days!! (Wow!! what a party!)  Each day had its own particular mode of celebration, but it is safe to say that modern New Year's Eve festivities pale in comparison.

If you want your own personal New Year's Resolution...

go to the New Year's Resolution Generator

Have Fun!!

Send me your New Years Resolutions!  I will help you Learn Something New this year with Pathfinders!