FRG Leaders

This is a fabulous book for kids whose Soldier is deployed.

This month, our kids listened to the story, Night Catch, at our FRG Family Night.  From the Amazon.com website description:

When a Soldier's work takes him half-way around the world, he enlists the help of the North Star for a nightly game of catch with his son.  Night Catch is a timeless story that connects families while they are apart and offers comforting hope for their reunion.

The kids each got a bag of "Galaxy Play Dough" which was homemade play dough colored dark blue with glitter in a Ziploc baggie.  They also enjoyed using black construction paper, silver star stickers, hole punchers, and chalk to make their own constellations.

More fun ideas for this theme can be found at this Pinterest board:  Night Catch FRG Meeting.

One of our FRG Leaders recently came up with the idea to create a "We are thankful for our Red Dragon Soldiers" banner to display in the unit headquarters. She did a great job and it turned out really cute.

She cut 150 feathers out of cardstock paper in fall colors while another very talented leader drew and cut out the turkey shapes.  At our November FRG Family Night (which is basically a battalion-wide FRG Meeting), each person was asked to write their Soldier's name and explain why they were thankful for him/her.  The kids did a great job drawing pictures and the spouses had some wonderfully heartfelt words to share.

The day after the meeting, three ladies met together to put the banner together and display it in our battalion's headquarters.  We look forward to our heroes reading the sweet words written about them!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Kids start the meeting making "I am thankful for ..." mini books and decorating their turkey feathers.

Working on the turkey feathers!

Putting the banner up in battalion headquarters

Close-up of a small turkey

Close-up of another small turkey

We are thankful for our Red Dragon Soldiers!

The lovely ladies who made this happen for us!

Our recent FRG meeting was focused on Superheroes.  We started with an Italian Night potluck (which was delicious!) and watched a short slide show featuring our heroes in Iraq.  The kids always love getting a glimpse of the Soldiers before they head off to their corner of the room for fun kid stuff.

While the adults heard a report from downrange, listened to a guest speaker, asked questions, and met in their battery/company FRG groups, the kids were having some superhero fun.

After eating, the kids created a background on construction paper for their paper hero (already on the tables).  They added scenery and taped their super hero on the page.  We actually found a superhero bulletin board set at a local teachers' store with some cut outs of superheroes to use.

The volunteer leader then asked the kids what heroes do.  They save people, they get the bad guys, and they protect us all came out in the discussion.  It was the perfect lead-in to read Hero Dad by Melinda Hardin.  This book compares super heroes to US Soldiers!  One line from the book reads, "He doesn't wear rocket-propelled boots -- he wears Army boots!" One of the last lines, especially meaningful for our kids whose parent is deployed, reads, "Sometimes he has to go away for long trips, but that's what superheroes have to do."

After reading the book, one of our Soldier heroes demonstrated his protective gear.  The kids really seemed to enjoy seeing the uniforms like their own Soldiers wear and loved hearing about the safety and abilities the different pieces offered.

Next, the kids colored their own superhero masks and each received a superhero cape!  A wonderful volunteer cut simple capes from fabric and added a velcro tab for closure.  The kids loved them and enjoyed using their superhero powers.

We then created "Hero" banners to send to our Soldiers downrange.  We previously asked Families to bring a photo of their Soldier and Family to share.  We passed out some paper 'speech bubbles' for Families to write their message on, then taped these onto the butcher-paper banners with the photos ... superhero comic book style.  A border of ACU-patterned duct tape completed the banners and added some stability to them to alleviate tearing.

A copy of the movie "The Incredibles" was playing for the kids while parents were preparing to leave and it worked out very well keeping our littlest heroes entertained while the meeting wrapped up.  We also made sure every unit spouse left with a Superhero magnet, reminding them of their very own super powers.

Our Soldiers' wives are heroes, too, and went home with a magnet to remind them of their super powers.

This FRG Meeting started with a Super Italian Night Potluck dinner.  A favorite for kids AND adults!

Kids colored a Super Hero background for their paper hero then decorated their own Super Hero masks.  Here, kids listen to the book Hero Dad.

After hearing the book (that compared Super Hero traits to our Soldier heroes), one of our unit Soldiers showed off some of his 'super' Army gear.  The kids loved this.

Dragon capes for the younger boys.

Pink camo for the girls

And 'dragon flames' for the bigger boys.

Here are all of our SUPER hero kids!

Two of our fabulous FRG Leaders with their "Hero" banner, complete with photos and speech bubbles.

Check out all of the Super Hero photos on the unit's Facebook page.

For more Superhero ideas, check out this Superhero Pinterest Board.

For a peek at the meeting's agenda, see the unit's SlideShare page.

Boo Boo Bear's Mission

The kids watched the slide show with us then moved to the back of the room (with a temporary divider) to have some fun with our childcare team. After they enjoyed dinner together, they created their own picnic scenes using these cute sticker kits from Oriental Trading Company.
A volunteer then read a book titled BooBoo Bear's Mission, a cute true story of a teddy bear who travels to Iraq to carry a Family's love until they can be together again.  Each child then received an adorable "Battalion Buddy" from the amazing group, Operation Gratitude.  Each box contained a stuffed animal in camoflauge plus two boxes of Girl Scout cookies.  If your FRG hasn't ordered these before and your Soldiers are deployed, contact them today!  It's a great deal and the kids were thrilled with their gifts!

The meeting started with a potluck "Picnic" dinner.

Kids enjoyed a picnic dinner then created their own picnic scene with stickers.  Oriental Trading is such a great resource for fun and inexpensive crafts for kids!

"We Love You 'Beary' Much" banner from the kids for their Soldiers.

Kids open their Operation Gratitude box ... containing a stuffed animal in camo plus two boxes of Girl Scout cookies.  So fun!

Kids with their 'battalion buddies' from Operation Gratitude!

See more photos at the battalion Facebook photo album:  August FRG Family Night.

For more ideas on this FRG Meeting theme, visit:

FRG Meeting: Teddy Bear Picnic on Pinterest

Picnic Food Ideas on Pinterest

Here's how one FRG recently hosted a battalion-level meeting with a "Paper Hug" theme.  Check out lots of fun ideas for this theme at Pinterest: A Paper Hug FRG Meeting!

The childcare team read a book titled, "A Paper Hug" to the kids.  It's a must-have book for military kids.  You can view it here on Amazon.com:  A Paper Hug by Stephanie Skolmoski.

After reading and discussing the book, all children created paper hugs from construction paper and yarn to send to their Soldiers.  Adults assisted the kids in measuring their 'wingspan' and cut yarn to match.  The kids traced and cut out the shape of each of their hands then taped it all together to create a paper hug.

Here, a volunteer helps measure the length of one child's 'hug' to create his paper hug for his Soldier.

After creating paper hugs and decorating the letters to their Soldiers, the kids were able to write and draw on a "Paper Hug" banner to be sent downrange to the Soldiers.

While the kids were participating in all the paper hug fun, the FRG meeting went on in the adjoining room.  The agenda included a letter from the downrange commander, update from forward, photo slide show of Soldiers in action, OPSEC information from the brigade rear detachment commander, and break-outs into small groups (by battery/company).  Adults were informed of what their kids were doing and encouraged to also add a note to Soldiers on the banner.