*This post contains affiliate links.
My life has gotten busier and I have not had time to tell you about our field trip to Build-A-Bear!
Before the trip, I had given the parents two choices-one was just for the official Girl Scout bear and the other was for the bear and the uniform.
Photo by Hannah Gold
Those were the only two options and no additional money was permitted to be brought along. When I collected the checks, eight of my nine girls were getting both the bear and the uniform. I contacted the mother of the one girl to inform her that her daughter was the only one not buying a uniform. She asked her daughter, in front of me, if she wanted to reconsider her choice. The girl said no, she did not want the uniform.
I did this as a courtesy to the family and for ourselves, to prevent any unnecessary drama about her not getting a uniform while all the other girls did. And no, this decision was not based on any financial issues. She simply did not want the uniform.
On the day of the trip, I decided to take a ride to the mall and scout the best way to enter. Our mall has undergone major renovations, and all of the entrances have changed, even though the Build-A-Bear location had not. I also checked out the new food court to see what treat we could get the girls after making our bears.
As always, I made the car assignments ahead of time so there would be no drama when placing girls in a van. Remember, with fourth grade girls, preemptive strikes are necessary.
When my co-leader, our parent volunteer and I picked the girls up, they were so excited! My troop had a half-day of school and there was no lunch, so the girls ate in our cars on the way to the mall.
Since it was a Monday afternoon, the mall was fairly empty and no one else was in the store for most of the time that we were there. The party leader was very good and the girls were actively engaged the entire time.
My son came along and he bought Eric from Happy Feet, a blue Hanukkah sweater and the tallit and kippah for his outfit.
When it was time to pay there was an issue with the troop check (even though it had been pre-approved with the manager to pay for the trip with it so I could get the tax exemption). The delay turned out to be a good thing, because my co-leader found a pamphlet with a 10% off Build-A-Bear coupon on a purchase over $200. That 10% savings paid for half of the ice cream treat that the girls had when we left the store.
Going to Build-A-Bear was an exciting Girl Scout field trip and one that I can highly recommend for your girls.
Hi- where did you buy the build a bear fun patch?
Hi! Thank you for reading my blog post. This was written several years ago when Build-A-Bear gave these patches as part of the experience. You can find them on eBay or for sale in Girl Scout Facebook groups. Good luck on your search!