Keepers Badges

Many parents have asked me about the badges, 
how to order, 
what they look like, 
and what to do with them once they have them!  

Here's a little information to help you decide what (and if) to order.

Click on any of the links below, and it will take you directly to the website to order.
Also-on the sidebar, I have listed each topic we have covered, and click on each one to order.

Keepers is a club (think Girl Scouts uniform) that offers girls a cute pink t-shirt,  and they sell a burgundy sash to be worn alone, or on top of the shirt.

The Keepers Sash is used to display membership badges earned. (see below for info about the badges)
They are worn across the chest and secured with a large gold safety pin at the bottom of the sash.

*They also sell the fabric and provide a free pattern if you wish to make your own sash.  I have also heard of people making a banner to hang in the child's room or some place in the home to display.

About the badges:

The badges can be ordered in 4 different forms.

• Pins- Offered in Gold or Silver. The pins are a metal base which are gold or silver plated with a stick pin and a clutch back similiar to a tie tack. The face of the pin has a full color mylar of the particular skill earned. The pins are one-inch in diameter. They have pictures of all of the pins on the order pages.

• Disks- Offered in Gold or Silver.  The disks are a metal base which are gold or silver plated and are designed to attach to a charm bracelet. The face of the disk has a full color mylar of the particular skill earned. The disks are one-inch in diameter. They have pictures of all of the disks on the order pages.

Also, here is the Keeper's Emblem that can be placed at the top of the sash.  It can be ordered in MANY forms! This picture is of the 4" embroidered emblem.  It can also be ordered in the form of the pins/disks.

Okay, now having shown you all that...the next question is...

What do we do with them now?

We do not currently meet as a separate group and wear sashes and t-shirts when we meet.  As of now, we use the program as our one of our coop classes.  However, if there is enough interest, we (OACHE) could start a separate program, and begin meeting and wearing our sashes and t-shirts at each meeting....but, as of right now, that has not been discussed.  So, purchasing the sash/badges are completely optional. 

FYI, last year my son earned many badges for Contenders, but we really didn't see the need to order the badges, because there is not a club meeting to wear them around.  So we made certificates and they were presented at the time of the graduation/end of year ceremony at the same time everyone got the badges handed out.  Another idea we considered was to make or purchase a plaque, and hang the disks from the plaque in his room.

IF you decide you will not be ordering the badges for your girls, but do want them to be recognized for their hard work in class this year, please contact me and I will make up the certificates for the girls.

And lastly, please look over the entire list of skills.  Badges can be earned at home, not just in class.  Your child may earned many more badges than we have covered in class at home!!!

I hope this has answered all questions.  If not, please let me know and I will be glad to help!!!

Sign Language and Decoupage

 One very fun class we did early on in the year was earning our sign language badge.
{but I didn't have my camera :( and I forgot to blog about it until now! }

Sign Language is a means of communicating with our fingers and hands instead of using our mouths.  This skill will help us to speak with thosse people who cannot hear or are hearing impaired.

Mrs. Lanette is very skilled in this area, and took the time to teach the girls this skill, so they would be prepared for whomever God would send their way, so they would be able to communicate with them. She brought in books and showed the girls hands on instruction for many different signs.  

Things we learned to complete  the requirements to earn this badge:
(all the girls met the requirements to earn this badge!)

• Learned the alphabet in sign language and demonstrated this knowledge
• Learned the signs for:
• God  
• Lord
• Jesus Christ
• Please
• Thank You
• You are Welcome
• How are You?
• I love you.
• I am glad to see you.
• Learned to be able to say John 3:16 in sign language
• Learned to be able to sing and sign Jesus Loves Me

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another class I missed blogging about (because I was sick, and no pictures for this class either) was Decoupage.

Decoupage is one of the easiest crafts to do. It always turns out well. Decoupage is simply the art of taking old greeting cards, favorite pictures, beautiful fabrics or papers, or even special Scripture verses, and using them to decorate plaques, keepsake boxes, dishes, and other items. When finished, these can be used to decorate your home, or given as gifts for birthdays or special occasions.

All the girls created a beautiful masterpiece, and completed the requirements for this badge!

Painting

Last week the girls were introduced to the art of painting with acrylic paint on canvas boards.

Many people never try new things because they are afraid they will not be able to do them well enough.  This is a common fear with painting.  Painting is easier than you think, but you will never know if you do not give it a try.

No one is born with the talent to paint.  As with anything, it takes a little learning and a lot of practice.  Taking time to work on this skill provides you with a wonderful learning opportunity!    You may just discover that you do really enjoy painting, and may really excel at it as time passes.

We humans love beauty, and we are made in God's image.  Look at the beauty of the sunset and so many other beautiful facets of our environment that God has painted around us.  Is it any wonder that we should enjoy reproducing some little pieces of that beauty on canvas?

 Things You'll Need:

• Paint (acrylic, oil or watercolor)
• Paintbrushes
• Canvas 
• Palette/Paper plate
• Smock/Garbage Bag
• Cup of Water
• Paper Towel

If the girls wish to earn the Painting Keeper's Badge they will need to complete the following:

• Read a book about painting.  Pay special attention to the instructions and illustrations as you practice.
• Demonstrate how to properly hold the brush.
• Demonstrate several different brush strokes.
• Demonstrate how to mix different colors.

Scrapbooking

The Bible is God’s preservation for man of His Law, doctrine, prophecy, history, the earthly life of Jesus, His resurrection, and so much more. Because of these preserved teachings and history in the Bible, we are permitted to travel back through the pages of time to other people and places.

Scrapbooking is one way to preserve our personal memories, not only for us to remember special times and special people, but for our own future generations to know a little of their own history.

We read aloud the great information about scrapbooking  from the KAH handbook. I showed them a few examples of different types of scrapbooks, and even brought in one that I started when I was 8 years old!!!  (and we learned what not to do!!!)  We discussed what acid-free and lignin-free are, and why they are important terms.  We discussed the importance of page protectors, and using the appropriate materials.  Then we explained the importance of cropping a picture to create a desired focal point.  We used an example of the same picture matted on two different colored backgrounds, and let them see how each color took the eye to a different place. We also talked about the importance of labeling and journaling on the pages.  Then we turned them loose!

We had different solid colored and patterned papers, markers, borders, stickers and scissors available, and allowed each of them to create something that was completely theirs. Accordingly, some were very simple and others were magnificient pieces of art!  It never ceases to amaze me how wonderful and unique God has created each of these girls!

We covered all the requirements today to earn the Scrapbooking Keeper's badge!  All they need to do is put the pages they made today into an album (or 3 ring binder) and keep it up!  We had so much fun today!