America, The Beautiful
Lesser known, but just as beautiful a song, we often reserved America The Beautiful for our ceremonies where parents were invited. The song was originally written in the 1880s by Katherine Lee Bates and the music was composed by church organist Samuel A. Ward (from Wikipedia)
O beautiful for spacious skies for amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties above the fruited plain.
America; America! God shed His grace on thee,
And crown they good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
O beautiful for pilgrim feet whose stern impassioned stress,
A thoroughfare for freedom beat across the wilderness.
America; America! God mend thine ev’ry flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control
Thy liberty in law.
O beautiful for glorious tale of liberating strife,
When valiantly for man’s avail, Men lavished precious life.
America; America! May God thy gold refine,
Till all success be nobleness
And ev’ry gain divine.
O beautiful for patriot dream that sees beyond the years,
Thine alabaster cities gleam undimmed by human tears.
America; America! God shed his grace on thee,
And crown they good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
The Star-Spangled Banner
I’d say that most children in America are taught The Star-Spangled Banner at some point, but even adults need the lyrics for reference sometimes, especially for that second verse that they never sing at baseball games, do they? As the National Anthem for the United States, it’s important for girls to learn the song for official troop ceremonies and events!
Oh, say! Can you see by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro’ the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watch’d were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof thro’ the night that our flag was still there.
Oh say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave.
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?Oh, thus be it ever when free men shall stand
Between their lov’d homes and war’s desolation;
Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the heav’n-rescued land
Praise the pow’r that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto “In God is our trust.”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Buy the Girl Scout Pocket Songbook here for full sheet music.
Summer Key Chain & Necklace
This Summer Key Chain & Necklace project is perfect to celebrate the coming of summer! You can easily customize it by finding beads or charms that reflect any of the activities your troop did over the summer. For example, if your girls went to summer camp, you could find wooden beads or a metal tree charm to attach to the end of the key chain.
Want to share photos of your troop and finished projects? Contact Us!
Materials Needed:
- Alphabet beads
- Assorted summer-themed beads
- Plastic lacing
- Scissors
- Large plastic hooks
Necklace Directions:
- Thread large turtle bead onto necklace cord.
- Working on one side at a time, add a star then alphabet beads to spell “summer”. Add another star, contrasting bead, and another star.
- On the opposite side, add a star then alphabet beads to spell “rocks”, using a heart bead as the “o”. Add another star, contrasting bead, and another star.
- Tie off the cord at the ends.
Keychain Directions:
- Cut a 12″ piece of stretch lacing. Fold it in half and place the folded end through the hole at the bottom of the plastic hook, bringing the ends through the look creating a “larks head” knot onto the keyring.
- With the cords together, slide on a silver bead, palm tree bead, and another silver bead.
- Separate the cords and ad beads as desired to personalize the key chain with a name, troop number, camp name, unit, or anything else you want!
- Bring both sides together again and add a silver bead, a sun bead, and another silver bead.
- Tie the ends together and trim the excess cording.
Safety Tips!
- Adult supervision is required when using scissors.
