Looking to earn the Junior Practice With Purpose badge? Check out these 5 fun activities to help girls develop their skills and achieve their goals. From creating a practice schedule to setting personal targets, these activities will inspire and motivate young girls on their journey to success. Get started today and watch your girls thrive!

*This post contains affiliate links. Updated April 2023 Mysteries have been popular with children since the days of The Hardy Boys ad Nancy Drew. Solving a mystery ties into so many real world problem solving skills for relationships and future jobs. This is a very hands on badge with lot son activity to keep the girls interested. Here is how your troop can earn the Junior Girl Scout Detective badge. Photo from Pixabay Step 1 Practice the Power of Observation With so many kids walking around with their heads down and looking at their phones, they miss a whole lot of the world going by. The power of observation helps the girls pick out the smallest details. A detective has to view the scene of a crime to find hidden clues that a criminal unintentionally left behind. This is a fun activity that the girls can do in pairs or by themselves. There are many printables for finding what the difference is between two pictures. Step 2 Communicate in Code Photo from Pixabay Girls today may learn about computer coding, but do they know about Morse code and why it was invented? Give the girls a brief history lesson about it and then have them invent their own code in teams. They need 26 items to represent each letter of the alphabet. They code can be a mix of numbers, shapes and alternative letters or punctuation marks. Have them send a message to another group with a copy of their code so the others can decipher it. Step 3 Fingerprint for Fun No set of fingerprints are the same-not even with identical twins. You can have the girls make a fun art project for this step. Materials Ed Eberly's Fun Print Book Available on Amazon Pack of 15 Ink Pads from Amazon White paper Have the girls create a picture from the Ed Eberly pages using their thumbprints or fingerprints. The girls can compare how their prints differ from a friends. For a troop project, have each girl make her name in fingerprint letters. Take a picture of her holding it for your Girl Scout scrapbook. Step 4 Try Out Detective Science Graphology is the study of handwriting. Supposedly one can figure out someone’s personality traits based upon how s/he writes. Although not a proven since at all, it will be fun for the girls to try. Have the girls write a sentence of your choosing in their regular handwriting. The have them write it again with their other hand. Then have them write it a third time, intentionally trying to change how they form their letters. Have another scout compare the three styles and see if they are consistent. Step 5 Step 5 Follow the Clues to Solve a Real Mystery Photo from Pixabay Before the meeting, wrap up a treat for each girl. Depending on how many groups you will divide the girls into, make one large box for each group that is wrapped and will contain the treat. Hide the boxes and write at least three clues for the girls to follow so that they find the box. Then they can eat the treat!

Junior - Social Butterfly Badge We obtained the Social Butterfly badge in November prior to Thanksgiving and the Winter Holidays. Th...

Did you know there are Junior Ranger Specialty Badges you can earn while visiting different parks or some are avilabile online? Check it out!

Earn the Junior Detective Badge with these 5 fun activities! From fingerprint analysis to solving mysteries, these engaging activities will have your girls excited about detective work. Get started on your investigative journey today and unlock the world of clues, puzzles, and problem-solving. Don't miss out on the opportunity to develop critical thinking skills and unleash your inner detective. Embark on an adventure and earn your Junior Detective Badge with these thrilling activities!

f you’re working with Junior Girl Scouts who aspire to become better artists, the Junior Drawing Badge is an excellent starting point. Let’s explore some creative ideas with these 6 fun ideas to use with your troop

If you love the national parks as much as we do, this Junior Ranger Badge Display is a great way to display your pin collection!

*This post contains affiliate links. *Updated April 2023 Shopping…it is an activity that most girls love! During the years your girls are Juniors, the awareness of brands and where people shop becomes more evident. The tween years are ones that advertisers heavily market to because they have many wants and Madison Avenue knows how to trigger them. Earning the Girl Scout Junior Savvy Shopper badge is one where we can help guide girls to see what they truly need and what they are convinced they want. Image created by the author on Canva Step 1 Explore Your Needs and Wants Materials One piece of posterboard divided with one side for “Needs” and the other side for “Wants” Pictures of needs and wants cut out from magazines and Sunday circulars Glue At this age children have probably learned all about needs versus wants in school. Briefly talk about this and ask some questions: We need cars to get to work. But do we need a $60,000 car versus one that is $10,000? We need to wear clothes. Does it matter where you buy them? We need to eat food. Is the store brand always better to eat than the name brand? Photo from Pixabay Lay the pictures on the table and have the girls talk about where they need to glue the different items. Talk about why they chose the categories they did. Step 2 Look Into Why You Want What You Want Ask the girls why they want something. What influences them? Commercials? Ads in a magazine? A website? Who influences them-A celebrity? A best friend? An older sibling? Talk about fads from your childhood. For me, it was Wacky Pack stickers, mood rings and Klick Klacks. Have the girls heard of these things before? What is a fad now that they feel that they must have? How do they know about it? Step 3 Find Out What Makes People Happy About What They Buy In small groups, give the girls five minutes to talk about one thing they absolutely love that she bought or one thing she wishes she had not wasted her money on. Then have the groups share. Step 4 Learn How to Decide What to Buy Here is an opportunity to go on a field trip and do community service. Go to the grocery store or a big box store with your troop and some parent volunteers. Give them each group ten dollars and the mission to buy as much nutritious food as they can for that amount. Have a meeting place where the girls can compare their purchases and see what each of them picked. Image created by the author on canva Check out and if possible, deliver the packages afterwards. Make a Plan to Buy Something You Need or Want This final step is perfect for teaching the girls how to spend their cookie money. Tell the girls how much money the troop earned and ask how it needs to be earmarked, What percentage will go to a charity? What percentage will go to a big trip or event? How much will be saved for next year? Creating and planning are both very important parts of being a savvy shopper. You cannot spend what you have not earned!

Check out this list of creative junior ranger badge display options and show off the national park junior ranger badges and patches your kids have earned!

New badges this year (2021) include a series of Math in Nature badges sponsored by Johnson & Johnson. This post is taking a look at the activities for the Junior version with the idea of giving leaders a quick resource they can review to decide whether to do the badge. If you decide to do the badge I highly recommend that you review the VTK plans as the given talking points are what connect the activities and math. Requirements According to Badge Explorer: Juniors explore patterns found in nature and use math to create their own. Steps 1. Identify symmetry in nature 2. Explore bilateral symmetry in nature 3. Create nature-inspired art with circular symmetry 4. Find fractals in nature 5. Search for the Fibonacci sequence Purpose When Juniors have earned this badge, they'll know about symmetry, fractals, and the Fibonacci sequence. They'll have identified patterns and shapes in nature. Activities Identify symmetry in nature After a discussion about symmetry and lines of symmetry, the girls either make a symmetrical paper snowflake with six lines of symmetry, find and draw or photograph symmetrical things in nature or team up and follow each other's actions in a symmetrical manner. Explore bilateral symmetry in nature The troop discusses the concept of bilateral symmetry and then does one of the following: Using roll paper, girls team up to trace halfway around each other's bodies. Each girl then finishes her body and fills it in. Discuss what is and isn't symmetrical. Create a butterfly out of wire coat hangers and decorate Take a leaf and fold it in half down the middle and either trace/rub half on paper or press half into clay. Then draw or sculpt the other half Create nature-inspired art with circular symmetry Using materials provided, the troop talks about circular symmetry and then does one of these projects: Using nut butter and birdseed, create a bird feeder with circular symmetry Using items found in nature create an outdoor design that has circular symmetry Using art supplies, create a work of art with circular symmetry Make a tetrahedron This is isn't a badge requirement, but is given as an opening activity. The leader makes a tetrahedron with toothpicks and clay (photo given) and challenges the girls to make the pyramid bigger by adding more triangles. They discuss how this is a never-ending pattern and how nature has never ending patterns. Find Fractals in nature After discussing what fractals are and showing examples like leaves, rivers and lightning bolts, the girls go outside and look for fractals. They then draw them or photograph them. Another option is to talk about fractal flowers and then to make fractal flowers out of pipe cleaners and beads and then to put them together in a bouquet. The final choice is to give each girl a piece of clay and a twig. The clay is pressed flat and the twig pressed in the center of it, flat against the clay. Girls then use a tool to create the tree branches as fractals. Search for the Fibonacci sequence The troop discusses the Fibonacci sequence (talking points given, not hard to follow even if you have no clue what it is) and then girls create a Golden Rectangle (directions given). Then they look for the Fibonacci sequence/spiral in either fruit, flowers or animals. Resources VTK provides several resources for leaders to use with this badge. They include photos of symmetry in nature, photo of a snowflake, photos of butterflies, a page on designing with circular symmetry, photos of art with symmetry, photos of natural fractals, photos showing Fibonacci in nature and directions on how to make a golden rectangle (with illustrations). My Comments My girls wanted more art badges. Well, I just found one, and it teaches some math concepts too. Seriously, don't let the awful design of VTK scare you away. Look at this post, pick out what you want to do. Then go to VTK and, if you haven't done so, create a year plan and add the two meeting plans for this badge to the year plan. Then click on the first meeting and scroll all the way to the bottom. Find the activity you selected and click on it and read the script. You can teach this even if you had no idea that Fibonacci was a thing ten minutes ago.

Help your girls in the 4th - 5th grade learn about the world and earn badges doing it. Plan your troop meetings with ease with these ideas.

Are you ready to inspire your Girl Scout Juniors with practical life skills while having fun? Earning the Junior Budget Maker Badge has never been easier or more exciting, thanks to our curated act…

Ever wanted to know if you can earn National Park Junior Ranger Badges at home? We've got 100+ badges you can do without leaving the house.

If you have Junior Troop use these 5 fun activities to earn the Junior Musician badge! From learning a new instrument to creating your own original song, these fun and educational tasks will help you hone your musical skills and earn your badge with your troop.

*This post contains affiliate links. Updated April 2025 The Girl Scouts of the USA have a rich and wonderful history. Founded by Juliette Gordon Low on March 12, 1912, the organization has touched the lives of millions of girls around the world. A woman ahead of her time, Ms. Low wanted girl to experience opportunities that they otherwise would have missed out on. In addition, the movement was very inclusive. Girls who had disabilities were able and encouraged to join-a remarkable thing back in her day. Three of the original leaders from Savannah, Georgia were Jewish and members of Congregation Mickve Israel. Of these three, Mildred Guckenheimer and Leonora Amram served on the very first Girl Scout Council. In 1917, the first African-American troop was formed and in 1921 a Native American troop was established. There is a photograph of an integrated troop dating back to 1941 in Philadelphia, and in the 1950’s, more troops became integrated. Juliette wanted girls to learn about leadership, service, and outdoor skills. In an era when women had very few options and opportunities outside the home, these were offered to girls regardless of where they lived, their faith and their abilities. In order to keep these traditions alive, your troop can earn the Girl Scout Junior Girl Scout Way Legacy badge to learn more about the rich history of Girl Scouting. Five steps are required before a child can receive her badge. Here are some ideas on how to so these steps. Photo created by the author in Canva Step 1 Match Songs to an Occasion Girls Scouts have a rich tradition with song. They sing at the end of each meeting, they sing at camporees, and they sing at ceremonies. Troops end each meeting with the classic Make New Friends: Make new friends, But keep the old. One is silver And the other’s gold. For this step, girls can learn or make up songs and teach them to younger scouts. If they are bridging to Cadettes, this is required as part of the “climb” to the next level. The level of girls that they work with are Brownies, and they can share the sisterhood of scouting with younger children who look up to girls who are heading to middle school. Another part of this step is to learn songs that the girls can sing at their actual bridging ceremony. Because they are older, they need to be an integral part of the ceremony planning. Step 2 Celebrate the Girl Scout Birthday On March 12th of each year, scouts across America celebrate the birthday of the organization. Juniors have been doing this for years, so instead of having a party as a troop meeting, they can organize a party for a younger troop. The troop can create some games for the younger troop to play, like a Juliette Gordon Low trivia game. Or else they can play some traditional games found in the Games for Girl Scouts book. Green and White Plates from Amazon Another thing that they can do for the celebration is get involved in a community service project. This is separate from the Bronze Award if they are working on it. It can be small in nature, but as the Girl Scout motto says, “Do a good turn daily.” No matter how small a project, it is part of the Girl Scout Way to make the world a better place. Step 3 Share Sisterhood We tend to think of sisters as being biologically related to us, but in scouting, all of us are sisters. It is part of the traditional Promise to be a “sister to every Girl Scout”. We treat each other with kindness and respect and expect the same in return. You can get together with another Junior troop and do a Swap exchange or make Swap kits for the upcoming Council camp out. While it is nice to work with younger girls and to serve as role models for them, it is also important for the girls to work with their peers and see scouting as an experience to continue once they are finished with elementary school. If both troops are bridging to Cadettes, then they can plan a mini workshop for a younger group of Daisy or Brownie Scouts and show them what it means to work together. A final activity that your troop can do alone is to go over a vintage Junior badge book and pick one old badge and work on the requirements together. Compare what the girls used to do to what they do now! Step 4 Leave a Place Better Than You Found It Part of the Girl Scout Promise is to make the world a better place. Again, this can be a little community service project that can take place where you meet. Ask whomever is in charge of the building if there is a beautification project that can be done. If so, then the girls can tackle that and beautify their meeting place. It could be as simple as helping teachers change bulletin boards or doing a playground clean up or organizing the art teacher’s supplies for her. Step 5 Enjoy Girl Scout Traditions There are many things that are traditional to Girl Scouts. Any one of these activities qualifies as the final step to earn this tradition rich badge. This video all the Girl Scout traditions in under two minutes. Troops can learn how to do the Girl Scout Flag Ceremony. They can learn some traditional games played both indoors and outdoors. Troops can make Sit Upons for an upcoming camping trip. Groups can make S’mores, a traditional camping food. Together they can make Swaps. Photo by Hannah Gold With a history so rich in tradition, it is no wonder why many troops choose to earn the Junior Girl Scout Way badge.

Junior Girl Scout badge and award tracker. INCLUDES NEW 2023-2024 BADGES Digitally check off badge requirements as girls complete them. Also digitally add the dates completed. **Only name, dates, and check boxes are editable** ***Font size & style are not editable*** You will receive one PDF file to download. Designed to fit 8.5" x 11" paper once printed. Can be used year after year. This file is for personal and troop use only.