Friday, February 28, 2014

Cheap and Easy Daisy Crafts Using Muffin/Cupcake Liners

This blog post was inspired by a great find.  At the Michael's 80% off post-Valentine's Day craft sale, I scored a basket full of muffin liners for 39 cents a piece. I bake a lot and I do not care what my liners look like-it what it holds that counts!

That got me to thinking about my Daisy Girl Scout leader days, when a walk into the craft store led me to the children's crafting department.  Now that my girls are fifth grade Juniors, I do not often think about easy crafts for Daisy Scouts.  


But my muffin liner stash had the wheels in my head turning.




easy Daisy Girl Scout craft

Photo credit: cohdra from morguefile.com

Saint Patrick's Day is around the corner, and there will be clearance liners for that, too. You can also use a coupon to buy a package of plain white liners. These crafts would make great Mother's Day projects or even a community service project to help earn the yellow Friendly and Helpful  or the spring green Daisy petal Considerate and Caring.

Crafts do not have to be complicated or expensive.  A little bit of savvy shopping and some ideas go a long way!

Here are some muffin liner craft ideas for you to use with your troop!

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Girl Scout Craft Supplies

One thing Daisy Girl Scout love are anything related to the Girl Scout logo. It took them awhile, but the Girl Scouts of America finally came out with a line of official products for leaders to use with their troops.

These items can be used for all sorts of crafting. Sometimes it is nice to go to a meeting without having a ton of prep work to do,  These kits make your time together fun and simple!

Here are some of the Girl Scout craft supplies your troop can use:




250 I Love Girl Scouts (GS) Beads from Amazon

Makes 6 suncatchers from Amazon
Make It Bake It Craft Kit from Amazon

Monday, February 24, 2014

Are You Ready for Girl Scout Week 2014?

Updated October 2019

Sometimes it is nice to take a break from your regular meetings and do something different that is Girl Scout related. 



Girl Scout Week is the perfect opportunity to do just that.  Whether you are doing a community service project, planning a field trip or doing a special Girl Scout craft to honor this special week, take the time to plan and enjoy it.


If your girls want to earn a fun patch for this, be sure to order yours ahead, as they will be hard to find once the holiday is over!  Here are some more ideas for your girls to do earn your patch.

Thursday, February 20, 2014

How to Earn the Purple Daisy Petal-Respect Myself and Others

*This post contains affiliate links.

*Updated March 2019

As a parent, teacher and Girl Scout leader, I constantly find myself at odds with what I see in children's media today. Although shows aimed at preschoolers have plenty to offer in regard to respecting others, once children reach the Disney Channel/ Teen Nick stage, it all goes downhill. The banter between children and adults is oftentimes not acceptable, in my opinion.  I could not imagine ever speaking to either of my parents like they do and still be alive today to type about it!


How to Earn the Purple Daisy Petal-Respect Myself and Others

Picture from Pixabay


As leaders, we have no control over what our girls watch, but when they are with us, we are responsible for how they act with each other.

Your girls may be together for many years.  As Daisies, you are setting the groundwork on what kinds of behaviors are acceptable and unacceptable. You cannot be wishy-washy on this, or else you will be in for many problems.


To earn the purple Daisy petal, you can read any one of a number of children's books to launch the meeting. A classic tale is this one, Chrysanthemum, by Kevin Henkes.



Read Chrysanthemum to earn the Purple Daisy Petal, Respect Myself and Others
Available on Amazon


Chrysanthemum loves her name until she gets to school and the children tease her about it. It seems a bit odd now, with as children having unusual names is commonplace. But it is important to talk about how she is feeling and what the children are doing wrong-they are not acting the way a Girl Scout should! Once you are done reading the story, this activity is one that ties in nicely and one that I did with my Junior troop.

Materials

Markers

White computer paper

Have each girl write her name on the paper in marker any way she wants. Bubble letter, block letters, in different colors-it does not matter. When they are all done, have them crumple up the paper and gently throw them at each other like a snowball fight.

Then have the girls pick up one paper (not theirs) and try to smooth out the wrinkles.  Of course, they cannot. It is the same with words, you cannot unsay what you have said, and if you say something disrespectful, you cannot take it back.

If you have time, ask the girls some nice things to say about each other or ways to compliment someone.


You can also do this craft to extend the lesson from the book.


Materials


Heart Picture Frame 


This set comes in a five pack






Heart picture frame to earn purple Daisy petal




Alphabet Foam Letters

Use these foam letters to make a picture frame to earn the Purple Daisy petal


Before the meeting, take out the letters that spell each girl's name and place it in a baggie. Separate the teacher stickers to remove the ones that refer to doing a good job or doing nice work on a paper.

Give each girl a heart frame and have her put her name on it with the stickers. She can decorate the rest of it with the teacher stickers. For more variety, you can add some flower or heart stickers as well. Tell the girls to put an image of themselves in there to remind them that they should respect themselves for just the way they are.

How has your troop earned the purple Daisy petal?

Monday, February 17, 2014

Using Your Council's Website

Photo from morguefile.com

Are you aware that your local Girl Scout Council has it's own website? Depending on how informative your Service Unit meetings are and how communicative your contact person is,it may be wise to check out your Council's website on a regular basis.

Besides the necessary forms, you will also find ideas for meetings and activities, as well as what Council wide events are available for your troop to attend.


You will also find the different training courses that are available for you and your co-leader to take. Some are required and others are optional, but necessary for you to take to for any kind of overnight or camping activities.


Have you checked out your local Girl Scout Council's website lately?

Thursday, February 13, 2014

It's Time to Start Planning Girl Scout Week 2014!



The second official Girl Scout holiday is fast approaching, and a leader who is organized will start planning for it in advance so it does not go by unnoticed.

Although the official start date varies year to year, Girl Scout Week always falls sometime during March 12th.  
Photo created by my daughter.  No copying permitted.

Why is that?

Because March 12th is the anniversary of the founding of the Girl Scouts of the USA. Juliette Gordon Low planted the roots on this day in 1912, and so it is an important date for all levels of scouts.

The celebration does not have to be big for Daisy Scouts, but it should be recognized.  It is an opportunity to earn a fun patch for the back of the vest, as well as do a community service project.


In this article, I have listed a ton of resources for leaders of all levels to use. Daisy Scouts can do the chart of activities or a simple project to mark the anniversary of this wonderful organization.


How do you plan on celebrating Girl Scout Week?


Monday, February 10, 2014

How to Earn the Orange Daisy Petal-Responsible for What I Say and Do

UPDATED JUNE 2019

*This post contains affiliate links.

The orange daisy petal stands for "Responsible for What I Say and Do". There are a myriad of activities that you can do with your girls to teach this concept to them.

One activity to get the point across is to start the meeting like you normally do. Then ask the girls who has the things you need to get the meeting underway. Of course, none of them will have it, as it is not their responsibility, but yours!  Ask the girls what would happen if you really showed up unprepared and you might be amused at the answers you get!


This is an easy and concrete way to demonstrate the concept of responsibility. Things cannot get done and assignments cannot be completed if someone shirks on their responsibilities.



How to Earn the Orange Daisy Petal-Responsible for What I Say and Do

Image by Hannah Gold


You can take this one step further by asking the following questions:

What would happen if the teacher did not brings her lesson plans to school?


What would happen if a police officer did not have her siren working?


What would happen if the fire truck had no hose?


What would happen if a store owner did not bring the keys to unlock the store?


What would happen if a baker forgot to buy the eggs he needed to make a cake for a child's birthday?


If you want to make it more personal and on their level, you could ask:


What happens if Mommy or Daddy does not do the laundry?


What would happen if no one went food shopping?


What would happen if you do not put all of the puzzle pieces away?

What happens if we forget to feed the cat or walk the dog?


Once you establish that everyone has responsibilities, then it is time for an activity.


Ask the girls what kinds of activities they are responsible for at home.  If you have a white board, list them there.


I found these adorable chore charts that you can download and print.  The girls do not need to fill in every line, but they should be able to fill in three or four!


How to Earn the Orange Daisy Petal-Responsible for What I Say and Do


Once that is filled it, mount it with glue sticks on orange 9 x 12 paper and have the girls decorate the border with these adorable Daisy stickers.   These can be used for many crafts throughout the year!


You can send home one or two extra copies of the chore chart for parents to have on hand and print themselves.  They can staple it over the one that is mounted.

At the end of the meeting, ask the girls what they can do at their meetings to make sure that they are acting like responsible Daisy Scouts.





Monday, February 3, 2014

World Thinking Day 2014 Activities for Daisy Scouts




Image from morgeufile.com


There are three official Girl Scout holidays, and one of them takes place this month.  On February 22, it is World Thinking Day.  It is a day to celebrate the sisterhood of scouting around the world and think of each other. 


Daisy Girl Scouts can earn a fun patch and do activities to celebrate this important Girl Scout holiday.


There is no need to reinvent the wheel or stress out wondering what to do! Here is a list World Thinking Day 2014 activities for Daisy Scouts from the Girl Scouts of America.


When planning your meeting, be sure to structure it with lots of engaging activities.  A brief overview of the country, followed by a craft or game, and then topped off with a sweet treat (if food is permitted at your meeting place and be sure to check for allergies) is a guideline that will work for Daisies.


Enjoy and share what you did with your girls!