We have a troop that consists of 4 daisies, 6 brownies, and 11 juniors. It’s a healthy size troop and while our meeting room perfectly accommodates us, working as a large group on one activity at a time is never successful. That’s when attention issues surface at their finest and girls get bored. A solution to this problem is breaking the troop up into smaller groups and having them rotate activities. You might want to incorporate patrols into your troop organization for this reason.
Posts tagged #petal badge
Daisy Scout: Respect Authority
Does anyone feel like this is not the most amusing petal to the girls? LOL
The best way I can recommend having your girls complete this badge is through a field trip. There are so many places in your community that girls don't always get to see so take this chance and get out with the girls. I'm not even going to suggest meeting activities because they will just stare at you like some boring teacher. You know the stare I'm talking about....
Our girls love visiting new places and this was the perfect opportunity to show them something they might not have seen before.
For this petal we did two different trips. Before we adventured, we had a brief discussion on what authority was and why it was important. We talked about how laws keep everyone safe and we referenced back to our Girl Scout Law. We also used this opportunity to create rules for our troop that the girls agreed to follow. By creating their own rules and standards we kept the activity girl led!
Field trip ideas
- Police Station
- City Hall
- Court House
- Fire Station
When visiting, it's always kind to bring a little something for your tour guides. The police station and Firefighters love fresh baked cookies!! Make sure to deliver a thank you note as you are leaving or have the girls send one the meeting following the visit. Gratitude is the ultimate form of respect!
If you are not able to take a field trip, this petal is pretty easy to complete in a meeting. Here are some fun activities to liven up the meeting...
- Have the girl makes puppets of different authority figures. Have them create puppet skits where they can act out ways to respect authority.
- Create a set of troop rules that is posted at every meeting. Have each girl add something to the rules.
- Play a game. This one is similar to Simon says except you can pick an authority figure. Bonus points for dress up! You know Firehouse subs has those free plastic fire people hats! Have the girls rotate being the caller.
Don't forget to follow up along on Facebook and Instagram!! Be sure to check out our fun patch programs in the shop!
Brownie Painting Badge
In an effort to keep our year girl led, it was no surprise that this was the first choice when the girls had the option to pick a badge. We had so much fun with this and it's definitely a two meeting badge. There is so much to do that it was impossible to fit it all in an one hour meeting.
Meeting 1: Steps 1-3....
Get Inspired:
The girls used their Girls Guide to Girl Scouting books and viewed the different types of paintings as given in the Painting badge requirements. I really wanted to turn this step into a field trip but we just didn't have the time with the holiday season around the corner but I would highly recommend scouting your area for local small art galleries. When I did my search I found several in our town!
Paint The Real World
The girls had the opportunity to choose between two different painting options (dandelion or footprints in the sand). We actually incorporated step 4 in our paintings without even knowing it by using our feet!
I found bulk canvases on sale at Michael's craft store. You can also find some affordable ones here.
Paint A Mood
We used the suggestion in the Girls Guide and painted our moods with puffy paint! This was so cool and the girls had fun mixing their own puffy paint!
Puffy Paint Recipe:
- 1 part shaving cream
- 1 part glue
- a few drops of food coloring
- (Optional) mix in some flour to add thickness.
Meeting 2: Steps 4-5
Paint Without Brushes
Since the holidays were right around the corner and we were feeling festive we used the stamping method to create wrapping paper out of old paper grocery bags. If you have any daisies in your troop this step will go right along with the clover petal and using resources wisely by recycling paper bags into wrapping paper. We also decorated brown paper gift bags!
Use cookie cutters, cut up sponges, and make your own stamps! It doesn't just have to be for the holidays, you can make birthday wrapping paper for Juliette Gordon Low's birthday, too!
Paint a Mural
Keep this one girl led. Let them decided what mural they want to paint as a troop. Have them draw it our first. We used a poster board. If they are having trouble, guide them with some suggestions. Maybe they can paint a large picture of an animal and each take a part (daisies 3 cheers for animals). Maybe they want to paint a scene with each girl in the troop in it. The options are endless but give them time to think about it.
Daisy Scout: Make the World a Better Place
I think this has to be my favorite line of the Girl Scout Law!
The thing about this petal is that there are thousands of ways one can do this!
I would definitely leave it up to the girls on this one. Ask them what it means to make the world a better place and have them come up with ideas they can do as a troop. If they are having trouble coming up with their own make some suggestions or give them starter ideas. When girls talk about and feel a connection with the cause it's much more meaningful to them and they will gain more out of the experience than just picking something for them.
Daisy Scout: Respect Myself and Others
We worked on our Gloria Petal (Respect myself and others) while completing our 3 Cheers for Animals journey. For this adventure the girls participated in a yoga class. There is a yoga studio in our area that specifically has Girl Scout programs that are tailored to this badge! It was a small flat rate for the whole thing so I totally felt like it was a steal! I highly encourage you to search around your community for similar scout programs... there are many you might not be aware of!
Water Bottle Lanterns for kids camping (Clover Petal)!
Bella recently made a YouTube video of a fun craft her Girl Scouts did during an indoor camp out! This was a super cute idea and easy enough for the Daisies (ages 6-7).
They also "used resources wisely" by recycling a water bottle.
Daisy Scout Love Tubes: Zinni Considerate and Caring Petal
I loved this idea so much! All the girls were so excited and the parents loved it too!!!
It was part of a Valentines celebration but this can really be done so many different ways all throughout the year.
Love Tubes:
Materials:
- Crystal light tubes (shown in pictures), toilet paper or paper towel roll use resources wisely!
- craft paper
- Pencil, Markers or crayons (to write with)
- fun stickers
- Red Sharpi
- cloth squares (2 for each tube) *if your using toilet paper rolls
- rubber bands (2 for each tubes) *if your using toilet paper rolls
- tape or washi tape
Using toilet paper rolls-cut your craft paper to the size of your paper roll. Enough to wrap around the tube and an extra half inch. Use tape to secure the paper. If you have some extra on the ends you can fold it over the role. Seal one end with a piece one of the square cloths and a rubber band.
For everything else- Have each girl put her name on their tube with the sharpi marker.
Cut out strips of craft paper for the girls to write their notes on. I suggest a width of inch. Length will depend on the size of your tube.
Start with one of your girls and have each of the girl scout sisters write something nice on a strip of the craft paper. It can be one word or a sentence. **I actually wrote out several different words for the girls to use in case they got stuck. Having the words in front of them or on a sheet of paper will help with the spelling and keep the notes a surprise!
When the girls are done writing their "caring" notes, have them put them in the girls tube and seal it up with the lid. If using a toilet paper roll, use the other piece of cloth and rubber band. Have each girl decorate their own tube with stickers or washi tape and they're done!
Don't let the girls read them until they get home or the end of the meeting. It can be a surprise!
Make sure you complete one for each girl scout in the troop even if she is not present. Our girls really loved this idea and it was a nice self-esteem booster!
Daisy Flower Garden Journey: Session 3
"He who plants a garden plants happiness." ~Chinese proverb
Hey Troop Leaders!
Last spring our troop journeyed through the Daisy Flower Garden. You can actually find the first two sessions here:
Daisy Flower Garden Journey: Session 1
Daisy Flower Garden Journey: Session 2 (Bees)
Session 3 Theme: Flower parts and Seeds
For session 3 of the Daisy Flower Garden Journey our focus was on the parts of the flower and how flowers produce seeds.
Start up Activity:
Have the girls color the Mari page and/or PG. 44 and 45 in the GB (Welcome to the Daisy Flower Garden ) If you remember from previous sessions, I printed out copies of these pages and pasted them into their Garden Journal. This is a great way to record their seedlings current progress.
Have the Girl Scouts water their seedlings!
Activity: Read Chapter 3: Amazing Daisy and Her Flower Family from GB
Activity: Flower art project
Girls this age love expressing themselves through art and this is a wonderful activity that they enjoyed. I would keep this one easy and let the girls run with it. Prior to the meeting send out an email or letter asking the girls to bring supplies from home. Try not to buy anything new and encourage the girls to use what they already have as all Girls Scouts "use resources wisely." I created a template that I would love to share with you all and can be found here: Flower outline template
Possible ideas for materials
- tissue paper
- construction paper
- pipe cleaners
- yarn
- bird seed
- cupcake liners
- crayons
- glue
- beads
- sequins
- Flower template
Here is the project done a couple different ways.
1. Freestyle drawing.
My daughter used tissue paper to represent the seed. She also colored all the parts of the flower that we discussed.
2. Cupcake liners and bird seed.
I had some cupcake liners leftover from a previous party. They were already in the shape of a flower so this worked perfectly!
Activity: Paper Marigold for Mari petal "Responsible for what I say and do"
This activity is in place of not in addition to the flower art project. Make a paper marigold for Mari and talk about what it means to be responsible for what they say and do. Tell the girls by taking care of their seedlings they are being responsible. Ask the girls what other ways they are responsible at home?.... chores, making their bed, taking care of a pet, ect...
Here is a great example of another troop leader who did a marigold tissue flower.
Closing Ceremony:
Friendship Squeeze and presenting of badges! Girls earned their Watering Can Award and their Mari petal (Responsible for what I say and do). Woo hoo double whammy!
"A garden is a grand teacher. It teaches patience and careful watchfulness; it teaches industry and thrift; above all it teaches entire trust." ~ Gertrude Jekyll
For more resources on the Daisy Flower Garden Journey check out previous sessions....
World Thinking Day preparation - Mexico
I was super excited about this year's World Thinking Day festivities that our council had arranged. In preparation for World Thinking Day, I wanted the girls to really dive into the culture of the country we were hosting. The Girl Scout meeting prior to the event had a three station rotation where each girl contributed to our preparations.
Our Country
Mexico
Table Display
Station 1
Prior to the preparation meeting the girls were assigned a certain topic for Mexico. They had to do a little research and bring any artifacts to the meeting. Some girls researched games, food, music, cultural attire, arts and crafts, population and geographical statistics. This was a great opportunity for the girls to take accountability and ownership of their display.
At the meeting we created our display poster and glued on the pictures that the girls brought.
Recipe
The second station the girls got the opportunity to make a Mexican recipe. We made traditional guacamole.
Ingredients
1 Avocado
1/4 cup minced red onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoon minced jalapeno
1 cup diced tomato
half of a lime squeeze of juice
3 tablespoons of finely chopped cilantro
Mix all the ingredients together and enjoy with chips or on a taco!
Craft
If you notice in the table display picture, you can see the Mexican Sun craft the girls did as part of the last station. We used paper plates, paint, construction paper. They decorated their own versions of the sun art. It turned out great!
Here is a link to the Merry Mexican Suns the girls tried to recreate:
For the girls hard work and preparation they were also able to earn the
Vi petal
badge by
Being A Sister To Every Girl Scout!
Did your troop or council do something special to celebrate World Thinking Day? Please leave a link in the comments so we can all share each others ideas!
Girl Scout Daisy Meeting: Sunny Petal Friendly and Helpful Badge
Here are the three activities our troop did to earn their Sunny Petal. Our meetings last an hour and with the traditional meeting set up (Opening, Business, Activity time, and Closing) you can easily fit these activities in.
Activity 1:
Read the Sunny story
and follow up with discussion questions found in the GS book.
You can also have the girls act out the story for more engagement.
Activity 2: Friendly Greetings!
Use flash cards with different greetings from all over the world. Teach each greeting to the girls and have them repeat back and guess which country or location.
Greetings that we used
Hello
Namaste
Jambo
Bon Jour
Hola
Ni Hao
Guten tag
Activity 3: Pine cone bird feeder project
Give each girl a pine cone and have then create their own bird feeders with peanut butter and bird seed!
*for those with peanut allergies have them use honey instead.
Supplies:
One pine cone for each girl
One spoon for each girl
One piece of yarn or heavy duty string for each girl about a foot long
Plate
Plastic baggies for the girls to take their project home
First, tie the string on to each pine cone. If you don't do this first, there will be a big ol mess later.
Use the spoon to coat each pine cone with a decent amount of peanut butter. Make sure to get between the crevices.
In a separate dish, roll the peanut butter coated pine cone in the bird seed. Be generous with the amount of bird seed you use. Set it aside to harden or place it right in the take home baggie.
Other ideas..
Volunteer at a retirement home or animal shelter.
Meet with another troop and do an activity so the girls have the opportunity to meet with girls they haven't met before and show their friendly side.
Kaper Charts!
This is a great opportunity to introduce kaper charts and have the girls take ownership and help out with each meeting.
Overall, the girls really LOVED the bird feeder activity. I have found with my rowdy troop of 12 girls, the more hands on activities the better!
Happy planning troop leaders!