January 2023 Newsletter

Kerry Cordy

A Note From the Founder – Writing Your Own Badges

I get requests all the time for new badges, but it has been quite awhile since I wrote one simply because the topic interested ME. Thanks to my husband and his new espresso maker, I recently became interested in latte art and decided to write a badge so I could learn more about it.

While Curiosity Untamed has thousands of badge options already written and ready to go, the world is full of interesting things to learn about and each person’s curiosity pulls them in a different direction. If you find yourself wanting to learn about a topic we do not yet have a badge on, I encourage you to write your own. You can use our Badge Writing Badge to help you get started.

When writing a badge with small children, you will be amazed at some of the requirements they will come up with. A child’s curiosity about a topic is sometimes much different than an adult’s which leads to some surprising questions, so make sure to involve your kids in the process if you are writing badges for them.

You may order physical badges for what you learn about anytime you wish. I will simply design it when I receive the order if I don’t have a design already. While sharing the requirements you come up with is not required, it is always appreciated. The more our community shares what they write, the faster our badge list grows. While I do edit the badge submissions before putting them on the website, the author is always listed as the person who submitted the original badge requirements to me regardless of how much editing needs to be done. This includes badges written by children that may need a lot of “help” before posting on the website.

Please keep in mind that both my badges to edit and badges to write lists can become quite long so don’t panic if you don’t see your badge listed on the website for several months or more. I process new badges based on a combination of when I received them and how many people I think will be interested in earning them (and sometimes, just because I like the badge idea and want to learn about it myself!)

New Badges Posted

Poetry Memorization, Toy History, World Religions, Latte Art

Badge Sale

Our annual badge sale has begun! All badges are 10% off for the entire month of January. Please do not forget that all badges are made to order and are not refundable so if you buy them, make sure to earn them!

Shop Now!

SWAPS

Our annual March 4th SWAPS event is rapidly approaching. If you wish to participate, you must register before the end of January. SWAP partners will be assigned by Feb. 7 and all SWAPS must be mailed to your partner by March 1.

If you are not familiar with our SWAPS event, every year we encourage members from around the country get to know each other by trading SWAPS.  SWAPS  are small craft  items that can be pinned for display somewhere on a jacket, a backpack, a sash, or a hat and is a perfect way for kids to meet each other and promote friendship. Each SWAP item is a memory of a special event or person and stands for “Souvenir With A Purpose”. Each swap should have a safety pin on the item to attach it to your display. 

The SWAPS tradition originated from the Native American “Potlatch” which is a ceremonial exchange of gifts. SWAPS were introduced into Boy/Girl Scouting/Guiding as a way to introduce one Scout to another and Curiosity Untamed carries on the tradition. We hold an annual SWAPS event through the mail nationwide every year.

If you are looking for craft ideas for your SWAP, search Pinterest or Google “SWAPS Girl Scouts” and then click on images. SWAPS should represent the sender in some fashion and it is traditional to send a letter to your SWAP partner telling them about yourself and where you live.

Rules for participating:

  1. Have a current membership to Curiosity Untamed. (Includes Frontier Girls and Quest Clubs memberships) 
  2. Fill out the registration form on the website and submit it no later than January 31, 2023
  3. SWAPS partners will be assigned by February 7, 2023 via email.
  4. Make enough SWAPS for each member of your partner group/family to receive one. While I try to match similar sized groups/families there is no guarantee, so be prepared to make plenty of SWAPS in case you get matched to a larger group.
  5. Write a letter to include with your SWAPS introducing your group/family and explaining why the SWAP represents you.
  6. Ship your SWAPS no later than March 1, 2023

PLEASE do not register to participate unless you plan to follow through. Every year we have disappointed kids who make and ship SWAPS, but never receive any in return. At the end of the event I try to match up any participants who did not receive anything and give them a chance to try to SWAP with another family/group. Participation is at your own risk.

To register for the 2023 SWAPS event, CLICK HERE.

Resourcefulness Scavenger Hunt

If you are working on the Resourcefulness badge, here is a great activity for the older kids in your troop that focuses on the resources of time, money, and teamwork.  Take a field trip to a large big box store (such as Walmart, Target, Kmart, Shopko, etc.) and send your kids on a resourcefulness scavenger hunt.  Divide the kids into teams and give each team $5.  They have exactly one hour to purchase one item from as many different sections of the store as they can.  For example, they may find a jar of baby food in the Baby section, a ruler in the Office section, a can of beans in the Grocery section, etc.  Only one item per section is allowed.  At the end of the hour, whichever team has the most items purchased within their budget wins the game.

Talk to the kids before they set out about using the resources of time, money and their team to their best advantage.  If the team is even one minute late, they will be disqualified, so time management is essential.  Make sure to allow enough time to get through the checkout line. They will only have $5 and they will need to take sales tax into account when budgeting as well as the actual cost of the items.  Finally, they need to consider the strengths of their team members.  Will they all stay together, or split off into pairs to see what they can find?  Who will keep track of how much of the budget has been used?  Who will keep track of the time to make sure that they are not late?  Don’t forget to tell them that if their team is caught running, yelling, or otherwise misbehaving in the store, that they will be instantly disqualified.

At the end of the game, have all teams turn in their items and sales receipt along with any change.  If a team has more than one item from the same section of the store, only the first one will count.  If there is a tie, say two teams both purchase 6 items, whoever spent the least amount of money wins.  As a prize, have the members of the winning team each choose one item from everything purchased (from all teams).  If you wish to have a 2nd or 3rd place, these team would then get 2nd and 3rd choices of the items purchased. Any leftover items can be donated to a local charity or family.

Don’t forget we have a Resourcefulness Unit Study and Badge Resource post you can use as well.