Dozen of page links help new troop leaders learn the ropes and manage troops with ease.…

Explore all of the ways you can help your girl scout earn the Gloria (purple) petal. Browse the list or bring it to your next troop meeting and receive your "Respect Myself and Others" badge.

Girl Scout Recruitment Flyer Template Free Printable according to the 9 Prime Ideas by Two Package for daisy, event, cub, poster, editable, Word, PDF, PSD.

Don’t we all wish our kids were more responsible? Here are 10 ways to help your younger scouts learn about being responsible for what they say and do.

Find Snacks, Crafts, Activities, Printables and Books to support your first steps as a Daisy Girl Scout!

Here are some ideas to engage girls as they learn to be courageous and strong.

While we may be in the weeks before Halloween and Girl Scout Founder's Day, it isn't too early to think about thinking about and planning your November meetings. Image created by the author on Canva With Thanksgiving only a month away, this is a good time to think about having a Girl Scout Friendsgiving meeting with your troop. You can these earn up to three Daisy petals while during this meeting Green Daisy Petal-Use Resources Wisely Rose Daisy Petal-Make the World a Better Place Yellow Daisy Petal-Friendly and Helpful Because every Council has different Covid safety rules about where your can meet and the activities you can do, you might have to tweak some of the ideas here. Hosting a Girl Scout Friendsgiving If you are planning to serve food, you will have to consider the following: Does it need to be individually packaged? Do girls in your troop have dietary restrictions due to allergies or religious beliefs? What will you be serving? Bite sized items or a complete meal? Whatever you decide to do food-wise, a SignUp Genius is my favorite way to get help, stay organized, and keep everyone in the loop. You can also ask for paper goods and beverages as well on your sign up. Girl Scout Friendsgiving Crafts for Daisies Image created by the author on Canva Earn the Green Daisy Petal In order to earn the Green Daisy petal, Use Resources Wisely, you can do a toilet paper tube turkey craft. There are many ways to create one. Here are some images and sites for you to use. Earn the Rose Daisy Petal During your meeting, girls can make Thanksgiving cards to be distributed to a senior citizen facility. Earn the Yellow Daisy Petal If you are able to serve Thanksgiving fare, ask families to bring a traditional favorite food that is on their holiday table. Girls can help their parent prepare the dish (helpful) and then share it with the troop (friendly). The girls can also have a chance to speak and explain a bit about the dish that is being served. Another way for your troop to earn the yellow Daisy petal is to make an edible cornicopia. Get enough supplies for them to make two-one to eat and one to share with someone in their family. The girls can help clean up, which is helpful, and another way to earn the yellow petal. What are you doing with your Daisy troop this November?

The Lupe, Honest and Fair petal is the sky blue petal usually at the 12:00 position on the Daisy flower. When a Girl Scout Daisy has earned the Lupe petal, she will know how to be honest and fair, just like Lupe the Lupine It was a cool, breezy day in the Daisy Flower Garden. The Flower Friends were ready to have some fun. “I have an idea,” Lupe the Lupine told the rest of the Flower Friends. “Let’s play a game of tag!” “I’d like to jump rope,” Gerri said. “Or maybe we could swing or go on the s

This summer we will finally have a return to normalcy. Included in this return are the summer Olympics that will be hosted in Tokyo, Japan. Delayed due to the pandemic, these athletes have had to train longer and harder that their counterparts from previous years. Whether you are winding down for the summer or have plans for outdoor gatherings, I wrote a post on my main Girl Scout blog that can help you celebrate the summer games. Image created by the author on Canva Come on over and read "30 Fun Ideas for an Olympic Themed Girl Scout Meeting". You will find 30 ideas-outdoor games, snacks and more-related to the Olympics.

I have been my younger daughter’s Girl Scout leader since 2008, when I started my troop of six little Daisy Scouts. Like many leaders, I felt a bit overwhelmed when I first started, even though I had been an elementary school and preschool teacher since 1987. My leadership training was practically non-existent, and the internet did not have many resources available. Every time I had a meeting, I had to create my own lesson plan on how to go about it. As a teacher for over three decades, I have been planning activities for children for my entire career...long before you could do an online search on how to do something. When I attended my monthly Service Unit meetings, I spoke with other Daisy leaders who did not have my professional background. They felt a bit lost as to what to do and where to start. Image created by the author in Canva That is why I started my original Girl Scout blog, Girl Scout Leader, in January of 2010. I wanted to reach out to other leaders and help them as we traveled on this wonderful leader journey together. Over time, my blog evolved as my troop grew older. It is like an online diary of what my girls have done since kindergarten! In the past two years, the GSUSA has added 22 different badges for leaders to do with their troop! There are a lot of choices. I personally believe that the first year of Daisy Scouts should focus on the petals and the Promise Center. Badge work can be a great addition to second year leaders or as a change of pace meeting during the first year when you feel comfortable changing things up. Because your life is so busy, I created these easy to use meeting plans so you can select the one you wish do, go through it, tweak it to meet your needs, and then have your meeting. I have removed the hours of internet and Pinterest searching for you, thereby streamlining your planning process. Image from Pixabay The purpose of this blog is to make your life as a leader easier. Every single badge in the new program has its own page with a detailed lesson plan with the steps necessary to earn that particular Daisy badge. With ideas and resources readily at hand, I hope you bookmark this site as your “go to” place for earning your Daisy badges. Less time planning means more time for you to enjoy the meeting instead of stressing about what to do and how to do it. One more thing...it is okay to take two meetings to earn one badge. This is not a competition with other leaders as to who has more "stuff" on their vest or tunic. Earning badges is a learning experience, and it takes TIME to learn. Don't rush the process, enjoy it. Please note: If you are viewing this on a mobile device, you will need to click the second arrow at the top right of the page to view the pages (which will appear as a scroll at the bottom for the badges) or you can click on "Web Version".

Inside: Over 20 ideas for earning the Honest and Fair Petal. Crafts, Activities, Printables, Books and Sample Meetings.

Learn how your troop can earn more than one Girl Scout Daisy petal during one meeting.

Join us on our Daisy Girl Scout journey as we plan a meeting for each petal. We are sharing our tips for Mari's petal: Responsible for What I Say and Do.

Learn how your troop can earn more than one Girl Scout Daisy petal during one meeting.

*This post contains affiliate links. Updated August 2019 Daisy Girl Scout leaders certainly have their hands full if they are starting a new troop. Here is a meeting outline for the first half of the year. Remember to be flexible and have fun! Congratulations on becoming a Daisy Girl Scout leader! You have done what many are unwilling to do...step up to the plate and give a group of young girls an opportunity to be a Girl Scout.. Even if you were a Girl Scout as a child, being a leader is a totally different experience, as well as a big responsibility. Besides being concerned with the pre-troop meeting paperwork, you have to plan what the girls are going to do each and every time you get together. The following is a guideline for creating your Daisy Girl Scout meetings, based on meeting twice a week from September to December. Feel free to adapt it to your schedule, as you may find some activities are better suited for your troop to do later in the year. Photo from Pixabay First Meeting Prep Work and Supplies For your craft, you will need to run off this Daisy petal worksheet on cardstock. Have blue tissue paper cut into squares for the promise center and bowls to place them in. The girls will use crayons to color the petals and crumple and glue the tissue paper to the center. Your First Daisy Girl Scout Meeting-September Your first meeting with your Daisy Scouts should involve a "getting to know you" or "ice breaker" activity. It is a good idea to have the parents stay and see how their girls are doing and how a meeting is run. You can also have a short parent meeting while the girls are crafting to discuss the year and to answer any questions.After saying the Pledge of Alligence, the Girl Scout Promise and the Girl Scout law (which the girls will repeat after you), have the girls sit in a circle and introduce yourself and your co-leader. Pass around an object (a silk flower daisy from the Dollar Store would be a fun idea) and have the girls tell their names, their school, and one special thing about them. Girls at this age will want to tell stories...gently remind them to keep it to one thing and then pass the daisy to the next girl. Next, it is time for the craft. First Meeting Prep Work and Supplies For your craft, you will need to run off this Daisy petal worksheet on cardstock. Have blue tissue paper cut into squares for the promise center and bowls to place them in. The girls will use crayons to color the petals and crumple and glue the tissue paper to the center. Make sure you only have crayons that represent the Daisy petals for the girls to use so no mistakes are made. The order they color them in does not matter. Have the girls color first, then glue the blue center so you avoid gluey arms. Take a picture of each girl with her Daisy as a keepsake of her first Daisy meeting.Close with the Girl Scout friendship squeeze and song and take a deep breath! You did it! The Girl Scout Friendship Song This is how you end your meetings. The girls stand together in a circle with hands crossed. The leader gives the girl on her right a gentle squeeze. It is passed around the circle and when it comes back to her, you sing this song.These girls sing it beautifully, and even add the final two lines! Your Second Daisy Girl Scout Meeting-Earn the Blue Promise Center Available on Amazon Before you can earn any of the Daisy Girl Scout petals, you will need to earn the blue promise center first . After all, the petals are centered on the Girl Scout Promise, and they need to be ironed around something. There are many children's books, like Robert Munsch's pictured here, that can help you teach this concept.After reading the story, you can make promise chart. At DKTK's website, you can make a customized chore chart for your meeting.. Ask the girls what they can promise to do at home to help out. Tell them that they have to return the chart to the next meeting and see if they kept their promises. The Daisy Girl Scout Song At each meeting, make a song part of your agenda. Here is an adorable song sung to the tune "I'm a Little Teapot". Start Your Scrapbook! When my troop were Daisies, my co-leader started taking pictures at each meeting. This morphed into our perpetual Girl Scout scrapbook. Now we are Juniors, and the girls love to look back at their Daisy and Brownie years! My daughter's scrapbook has years of memories in it. Now she is a Cadette and it is fun to look back and see how all the girls have grown up! Your Third Daisy Girl Scout Meeting-Earn the Violet Daisy Petal Fostering friendship among your girls is essential to having a successful troop. As the leader, you are volunteering a lot of personal time, and you want the meetings to be something that both the girls and you look forward to attending. Nipping girl drama and cliques from the beginning and being firm about how the girls treat each other will lead to less drama and more harmonious meetings.Earning the violet daisy petal, be a sister to every Girl Scout, fosters this concept. An activity I created and did with my Daisy Girl Scout troop was to make a Daisy chain of friendship. The only materials you need are markers, strips of copy paper, and one stapler per volunteer. It is a very easy and budget friendly petal for your troop to earn. Handy Links for Leaders How to Earn the Rose Daisy Petal Activities to earn the Rose Daisy Petal, Make the World a Better Place. Daisy Girl Scout Activities: Spring is Around the Corner-Time to Plan an Outdoor Field Trip! Planning a field trip to earn a Daisy petal. How to Celebrate Girl Scout Founder's Day and Earn the Orange Daisy Petal Girl Scouts have many reasons to celebrate during the month of October Founder's Day is one of them! Here is how to earn a Daisy petal and learn about Juliette Gordon Low. Earn the Violet Daisy Petal Be A Sister to Every Girl Scout Learn how to earn the Violet Daisy Girl Scout petal! Add a Girl Scout SWAP to Your Meeting! Girl Scout Swaps are tiny crafts that Girl Scouts exchange with one another. For Daisies, they should be simple and easy to assemble. There are many Girl Scout SWAP kits that you can buy for very little money. Daisy Scouts cannot have a very complicated craft. If the degree of difficulty is too great, it will frustrate the girls as they try to make it. No need for tears while you are doing a fun Girl Scout tradition! Your Fourth Daisy Girl Scout Meeting Celebrate Girl Scout Founder's Day! Juliette Gordon Low By Edward Hughes (1832-1908), painter. (Daderot (I took this photograph)) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons On October 31, 1860, Juliette Gordon Low, founder of the Girl Scouts of the USA, was born. Scouts of all levels celebrate her birthday at a meeting during the month of October. "Daisy", her nickname, came from a world of wealth, so she could do anything she wanted. When she began the Girl Scouts, she included everyone, no matter their financial status, color, or religion. In fact, three of the original Girl Scout leaders were Jewish, and this was in the South in 1912. In my article Girl Scout Founder's Day-Activities for All Levels of Scouts, I wrote detailed plans on how Daisy Girl Scouts can celebrate.You can also double up and earn the orange Daisy petal and celebrate Girl Scout Founder's Day. You can accomplish two things in one meeting! Use paint, Sharpies and/or jewels to decorate your pots. Available on Amazon in a 12 pack. This is a simple craft. Buy blue and white paint and a few black Sharpie pens. Girls can write their name in Sharpie on the rim and then paint a picture. While waiting their turn, girls can work on a coloring sheet or another small birthday project you have planned for them, like decorating cupcakes you made for this occasion. Your Fifth and Sixth Daisy Meetings Go on a Field Trip and Earn the Magenta Daisy Petal Photo from pixabay.com Going on a field trip is fun. To earn the magenta Daisy petal, Respect Authority, visit a firehouse or a police station. These trips are free and a great way for these community helpers to interact with your girls. Contact your Service Unit to learn how to fill out the forms and get the needed permission to take a trip. You need to give a minimum of two weeks notice, more is even better. For your sixth meeting, the girls can write thank you cards. This can be tied into "giving thanks" and the Thanksgiving holiday which is right around the corner. Read a book about The holiday and do a fun Thanksgiving craft to finish up the meeting. Field Trip Tips Plan your field trip at least four weeks in advance. Get your trip approval number and the required number of volunteers to accompany your troop. All paperwork should be handed in to you one week prior to the trip. As I tell my girls, "No slip, no trip!" Thanksgiving Crafts Once November comes around, the holiday season is in full swing. Along with your usual festivities, you have added planning Daisy meetings to your personal agenda. You can make meeting planning easier by doing a craft with a ready made craft kit. These can then be donated to a senior center when they are completed. This is an easy service project and is just one to incorporate any of the Daisy petals that inspire kindness and making the world better.These easy to make Thanksgiving crafts are perfect for Daisy Girl Scouts and easy for you, their leader! Your Seventh Daisy Girl Scout Meeting-Do a Community Service Project and Earn the Rose Daisy Petal As you enter the month of December, people tend to be in a jollier mood, as the winter holidays are arriving. Chanukah and Christmas are a time for celebrating, but not everyone is able to due to difficult financial circumstances. These are the items the girls placed in a decorated gift bag along with a card they made. A washcloth, socks, soap and candy were what we included. Photo by Hannah Gold. Before your meeting, find a local charity that needs some help and see what your girls can do to help make the world a better place and earn the rose Daisy petal. My troop made gifts and cards and donated snack foods to a group of homeless men who travel to different churches and synagogues in our area until they are back on their feet. It is a wonderful interfaith project that we participate in almost every year. Girl Scout Law Song Children can remember a lot from a song. Many adults can sing the Preamble to the Constitution because of School House Rock! Your Eighth Daisy Girl Scout Meeting Make Gifts and Have a Party For your final Daisy meeting before the winter break, the girls will be super excited. To keep with the holiday theme, have them make gifts for someone in their family. Be sensitive to what holidays the girls in your troop celebrate. Making ornaments is not appropriate for those who do not celebrate Christmas. What can you make? Any kind of kid friendly craft will work. Some ideas are: Scratch Off Frame Kit from Amazon These eight ideas for Daisy Girl Scout meetings should get your first few months off to a great start. One Final Tip-Shop the Sales The week after Christmas is one of the best times to shop for craft materials for your Girl Scout troop. Holiday items are normally 50% off for a few days after Christmas, then right before New year's they go way down to 75%. Red items can be for Valentine's Day, green for spring projects. Snowmen and snowflakes can be used for winter crafts.

What are your favorite ideas for earning Daisy Girl Scout Petals? I led my daughter’s Daisy Troop the past two years, with lots of help from a co-leader and some other parents, and we had a g…

The Girl Scout Bronze Award is the highest honor your Juniors can ear. Get your girls brainstorming with this list of ideas.

Fun Ways Your Scouts Can Earn Their Be A Sister To Every Girl Petal I know as a Daisy Leader we are always trying to come up with new and exciting ways to earn the Daisy Petals. Over the last 10 years, I have had multiple Daisy groups; this week I want to share …

A place for leaders to find ideas to use at your events and meetings. Ideas for Girl Scouts, or other organization inspiring girls to be leaders of tomorrow.

The Vi, Be a Sister to Every Girl Scout Daisy petal is the violet petal usually at the 11:00 position on Daisy flower. When a Girl Scout Daisy has earned her Vi Petal, she will know how to be a sister to every Girl Scout, just like Vi the Violet. The Flower Friends were excited – the morning mail had just arrived! “Look at all the postcards we got,” Vi said. “Let’s take turns reading them out loud.” “That sounds like fun!” Rosie said. The Flower Friends sat in a circle. Vi handed each one a pos

Getting Started with Girl Scouts Daisies and Brownies

A place for leaders to find ideas to use at your events and meetings. Ideas for Girl Scouts, or other organization inspiring girls to be leaders of tomorrow.

For Leaders Pressed for Time, Have a Girl Scout Tea Party and Earn Three Daisy Petals at Once *This post contains affiliate links. Upda...

Checklists below include badges released as of July 2024! If you'd like checklists for the retired 2001 set of badges, please scroll...

Ideas to engage girl scouts as they learn what it means to respect authority and earn their magenta daisy petal

Thank you for many requests, I have now created Junior Kaper Chart :-) With help of this Kaper Chart, Juniors will learn to manage their tasks, communicate with each other, and work together to make the meetings successful! To create the chart, simply download the files, (edit/add where necessary), print the pages on letter-sized paper, preferably on cardstock for durability. Once printed, laminated, and cut into individual pieces, attach them to a Tri-Fold Presentation Board (48 x 36) or a 22" x 28" Poster, depending on the size of your Kaper Chart. To meet your specific needs, I have included both non-editable and editable PDF files(and/or JPEGs). To utilize the editable files, please download "Adobe Acrobat Reader", a free app from Adobe. This listing offers an instant download, and no physical items will be shipped. To attach the printables, please purchase "the base" separately, such as a Tri-Fold Presentation Board (48 x 36) or a Large Poster (at least 22" x 28"). Additionally, you will need popsicle sticks to attach each girl's picture. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- FILE INCLUDES - letter sized PDF otherwise stated -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) Editable - Junior pictures & Backing 2) Editable Kaper Chart Pockets (2 non-editable pages, 2 editable pages) 3) Editable Green TROOP numbers PDF 4) Non-editable Promise and Law Panel (PDF & JPEG) 5) Kaper Chart - Title (JPG) 6) Editable Meeting Agenda 7) Editable Meeting Schedule - side panel note (text fully editable, suitable for any other topic) 8) Editable Note - Fully editable text, I use this for Troop business-related matters (e.g., Troop Dues) 9) Troop Rules - One editable file, one non-editable file 10) Girl Scout logo and Junior Logo for decoration purposes (JPGs) 11) Girl Scout Quotes for Panel decorations (e.g., "Be Prepared," "Do A Good Turn Daily") 12) Cute Decoration icons (for any leftover spaces) 13) Song Panel (3 non-editable pages, 4th page editable for adding new songs) 14) Anything Tags (1 page, 3 sizes for additional tags, add girl's names or words like "field trips" for reuse) 15) Cute rainbow-colored Troop Number tag (in case you prefer this color over green) 16) Junior Badge reference 17 Editable Birthday Girl Panel 18) Editable Troop calendar 19)Girl Scout Song Book Once you purchase the file, you can access the downloads from the Etsy server. The files have been zipped into 2 zip files, so please decompress them. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOW IT WORKS -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. INSTANTLY DOWNLOAD YOUR FILES After payment, follow the link to your Etsy Download page (or find it on your Etsy Purchases page) and click on the Download Now button. I have zipped the files into 2 zip files. So please decompress the files. 2. OPEN YOUR FILES IN ADOBE READER Some files are editable PDF and it will ONLY work properly in Adobe Acrobat Reader. Please make sure you have the latest version installed – download it for FREE at http://get.adobe.com/reader/ ** Adobe will try to upsell you Adobe Acrobat PRO but you do NOT need PRO version. You can download "Acrobat Reader" which is free. 3. PERSONALIZE YOUR FILES With your file open in Adobe Reader, just type over our sample text. Save any changes you make. 4. CHOOSE YOUR PAPER All designs are formatted to print on US Letter (8.5 x 11) size paper. We recommend printing on 200gsm white cardstock and laminate them for a durability. Also, if you laminate it, you can write directly. (Ie, Troop dues might change time to time. So instead of printing out, you can just write with washable marker). 5. PRINT YOUR FILES Print at home or take files to a print shop (ex: Staples, Office Depot, Kinkos, Fedex Copy Center). Make sure your print shop opens the files in LATEST version of Adobe Reader. 6. TRIM YOUR DESIGNS Trim/cut out using scissors, craft knife, paper trimmer or punch. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- TERMS OF USE -------------------------------------------------------------------------- This file is for personal use only ie. it is not to be used for commercial purposes. You may not copy, share, sell or distribute the file in any form. This listing includes digital files only. No physical items will be shipped.

Want to increase your Daisy Girl Scouts understanding of being honest and fair? Check out these badge ideas for the Daisy Petal and have your girls show their commitment to being Honest and Fair. Get inspiring badge ideas now!

Taking your troop into the great outdoors does not need to be stressful. This Easy Girl Scout Camping Meal Guide is for all scouting levels and will help you and your troop plan meals that please every palate.

Join us on our Junior journey as we explore the AMUSE Junior Journey for Girl Scouts. Our guide is packed full of tips and plans to complete this journey in a day or in multiple meetings for your girls.

Whether you fell into being a Leader, or have been dreaming about it for years, check out these tips from someone who just finished her first year.

*This post contains affiliate links. Updated October 2019 Working with kindergarten and first grade girls is a rewarding and enriching experience for adult leaders, as well as a fun time for the children in your troop. One of the most important things Girl Scout leaders need to do is foster friendship among their group. More than likely, these girls will be together for many years as a troop earning patches and badges, taking field trips and doing community service projects. Getting along is imperative to avoid drama and hurt feelings, as well as makes the time you spend together more enjoyable. You will look forward to your troop meetings if everyone gets along (at least most of the time!) Photo from Pixabay That is why the violet petal, "Be a Sister to Every Girl Scout" is one to earn once you earned the blue promise center. An easy and inexpensive Daisy Girl Scout activity is the "Daisy Chain of Friendship". Materials Needed Computer paper, cut into thirds (the long way) Magic markers One stapler per adult volunteer Pre Meeting Prep Work Before the meeting, cut 8x11 white computer paper into strips approximately three inches thick. You need to make one bundle of strips for each child in your troop. For example, if you have ten girls in your troop, you will need ten bundles of ten strips (100 strips). Paper clip them together. Note: Make sure you make an extra bundle of strips for any child who make mistakes, as well as a paper chain of three or four links to show as an example. Children need a visual to see what it is that you want them to do. Starting The Meeting Photo from Pixabay At the meeting, ask the girls what it means to "be a sister to every girl scout". Discuss ways to be kind to each other during the meeting, at school and at home. You may even want to read a book about friendship to the girls to start this meeting. Available on Amazon Show the troop your paper chain. Explain that each girl is going to decorate her strip with her own name. She can write her name in bubble letters, block letters, squiggly letters, etc, and then draw designs around her name. Note: If you have more than ten girls, limit each piece of paper to just her name until all the names are completed. Then she can begin decorating the individual strips. When each girl is done with her strips, place them on another table, separated into piles (ten girls, ten piles). The next child lays her strips on top of these, until each pile has ten unique names. Troop leaders and volunteers will help the girls staple them into a paper chain. For those who finish early, have some coloring pages available so they will keep busy. By earning the violet petal, "Be a Sister to Every Girl Scout", your troop will start off the year on the right foot.

During the fall of 2023, GSUSA released three new "maker" badges for Daisies, Brownies and Juniors. This post will take a look at the Daisy Craft and Tinker Badge. Requirements: According to Badge Explorer, Daisies find out how how to make objects and then tinker to make them better. They: Learn the basics Craft with purpose and Tinker with your craft When you've earned this badge, you'll know how to craft and tinker to make useful objects. Opening Activity As an opening activity for meeting 1, VTK recommends having a variety of craft supplies available and asking the girls to make anything they like from those supplies. These creations can be discussed in opening circle. Learn the Basics There are two suggested paths for this step. The first is called Find the Right Tool. First the meanings of craft, tool, material and maker are discussed. Then the girls discuss some crafts/makers and the tools and materials they use. Next, the girls are given rulers, and it is explained that makers use rulers to measure and the girls use the rulers to measure various things. Finally, the girls do a leader-selected craft, but before doing so, look at the provided materials and tools and identify whether each is a material or a tool. Projects suggested in VTK are constructing an upcycled building with used Styrofoam, using screws and nails; making a fruit salad using a plastic knife, an apple slicer and a spoon; a simple sewing or knitting project; and sculpting from clay using tools. The other option is to Find Crafts and Inventions Around You. Again there is a discussion of the meanings of craft, tool, material and maker and of how various makers use different materials and tools. The ruler exercise is also repeated. The difference is that instead of making something, girls search their environment for crafted objects. The leader asks questions of the girls regarding the crafts. The purpose of the discussion is to explain how things are made, why, and what they are made of and made with. Opening Activity 2 For the second meeting the leader is to have a variety of useful objects available. As girls come in, they pick one and answer the question "What is it used for?". They then sketch other ideas for how the object could be used. For example a mug is for drinking but it can also be used to hold things. The girls discuss their ideas during opening circle. Craft With a Purpose The first choice for Craft with a Purpose is Solve a Problem. After discussing the use of some things they use in daily life, why they use them and how they could be better, the leader explains that a craft is a piece of art that has a purpose, and that makers create them with features and that the person who uses the craft is a user. Then the girls brainstorm crafts they have seen and the purpose thereof. Next, the girls brainstorm problem they have seen and crafts that could be the solution. Finally, they talk about the craft they are to make. They are supposed to identify the purpose of the craft, the parts it needs to fulfill its purpose and any features that could be added to make it more useful. After the discussion, the girls make the craft. Suggested crafts are a paper fan, a bag for books, a birdhouse or a beaded necklace. The other option is Make a Gift. The discussion is the same as above, except that the girls pick someone to give the craft to and imagine how that person would use it. Suggested crafts are a pinch pot, a pillow, a picture frame or a coin purse. Tinker With Your Craft While VTK offers the choice of Add Something New or Change It Up, both steps involve discussion of the word tinker, meaning to change something to make it better or more useful. The girls brainstorm how, using materials supplied, they could either add something to their prior craft for change it up, to make it better or more useful. Girls first sketch how they would change their craft and then change it. The discussion focuses on making it better for its purpose. After the crafts are finished the girls share them and describe the purpose, parts, features, user, tools and material, and how they tinkered with the craft. VTK Resources VTK offers a variety of resources to help leaders with this badge: Badge/Award overview is a 2 page (printed) document that helps the leader prepare for this badge Meeting Overview is another two page document going over the badge for leaders Meeting Plan is a four page document that includes the scripts given in VTK Materials List: This is pretty useless because there are so many choices for the crafts Words to Know: 12 vocabulary words with definitions Project Idea: Sculpt a Pinch Pot. Gives directions on how to make a pinch pot and suggestions about how to tinker with it Making for Families: A two page document included with all the new badges this year Get Making with Girl Scouts: a seven page document on how to incorporate Making into your Girl Scout Activities My Comments: I once heard that Girl Scouts was all about the three C's: Camping, Crafts and Cookies--and it was not said in a complimentary way. I have seen (and yes, I'll admit, have had my troop make) crafts of somewhat dubious value. They are good for filling up a large block of time and, for the most part, girls, especially Daisy-age girls, enjoy them. I like the way this badge seeks to teach girls words involved with making things and the way it encourages them to think of how they can craft useful things. I have mixed feelings about the very open-ended nature of the crafts. I like the idea that just about any craft I want to do with the girls would fit into this badge. We can make jewelry, make containers out of just about anything, do pottery, sew or even do something as simple as a paper fan. On the other hand, I'd really rather see badges devoted to particular crafts that helped me as a non-crafty leader know what is important to teach about that craft. This is also a badge I could see taking more than two meetings, depending on the crafts you pick. I haven't looked at the older girl badges yet, but I'm assuming that the same projects could be used for all the girls in a Daisy through Junior troop.

This flower friend reminds girls to be responsible for what they say and do.…

Here is a Girl Scout Daisy poem that can lead you into a fun activity or use at an Investiture or Rededication Ceremony.

Your very first Girl Scout Daisy meeting does not need to be stressful. Here is a quick and easy idea for new leaders to use. *This post co...