Gir Scout Traditions- Video Tutorials from Other Troops

Updated October 2019

If you were not a Girl Scout as a child or have few memories of your scouting years, here are some video tutorials to help you with your Daisy meetings.

Girl Scout Handshake and Signals

This Junior troop shares the traditional ways leaders get the attention of their troop and other customs specific to Girl Scouting.  Also included are the Promise and Law.

Girl Scout Friendship Song

Here are three older Scouts singing the traditional song with the added second stanza. My troop sings this first and then does the squeeze.

 


Girl Scout Friendship Squeeze

This is done to close your meeting.  Just make sure girls squeeze gently!

How to Earn the Blue Daisy Promise Center

*This post contains affiliate links.

Updated October 2019

Before you earn any of the ten Daisy petals, it makes sense to earn the blue Daisy Promise Center.

Photo from Pixabay

This should be your second meeting, as your first should have been devoted to meeting the parents and getting to low you ice breakers and activities.  Now that you have met once, it is time to get down to the business of learning about the Girl Scout Law.

Here is an easy and straightforward lesson plan on how to run this meeting.

After saying the Pledge of Allegiance and the Girl Scout Promise and Law, gather the girls together on the floor so you can have a talk about what a promise is.  Ask them:

Has someone ever broken a promise to you?  How did it make you feel?

Do you make promises?  How do you try to keep them?

Materials

Pinkalicious Pinkie Promise book

Daisy petal outline run off on card stock for each girl (run off a few extras) Find it here at Twisty Noodle

Glitter watercolor paint

Blue construction paper

Newspaper

Plastic or styrofoam bowls for water

Paper plate to carry picture out at the end of the meeting

Finished product that you did at home so the girls can see what it should look like

Pinkalicious from Amazon

Then it is time to read Pinkilicious Pinkie Promise by Victoria Kahn.  Most girls will be familiar with the character, who is all about the color pink.  In this story, Pinkilicious borrows paint from her friend, Allison. When Allison asks her not to use it all up all the pink, Pinkilicious promises that she won’t.

Well, she not only used up all the pink, but also the red and white, which also make pink.

Pinkilicious apologizes, but Allison is very angry because she broke her promise.  Allison will not each lunch with her, so Pink paints her a blue picture in an attempt to make amends.  it works, and the two are best friends once again.

You can ask the girls if they think this was a good way to apologize and stress the importance of making amends if a promise is broken, even if it was done accidentally.

Watercolor Glitter Paint Available on Amazon

Now it is time for the activity.  While your were reading, your co-leader and parent volunteers should have set up the art area for the activity.  The girls are going to use watercolor paint (paint ties in with the story) to paint the Daisy petal. 

As they paint, talk about what colors to use, as well as the importance of sharing because of what happened in the story you just read. 

When each girl is done, staple or glue the picture to a piece of blue construction paper. Place it on a paper plate so it is stable and can be carried out at the end of the meeting.

If you find yourself with extra time, you can teach the girls some new Daisy Girl Scout songs!

Finish the meeting with the Friendship Squeeze and Friendship Song.

More Tips for Brand New Daisy Scout Leaders

In my last post, I gave all of you a checklist for starting your Daisy troop.

Here are ten more tips for those of you who are just learning the ropes of being a leader.  

Which ones have you found to be the most useful?

The Ultimate New Daisy Girl Scout Leader Checklist

Photo from pixabay.com

Congratulations! You have signed up to be a new Daisy Girl Scout leader and you are excited and nervous to get started.  While the first year is a learning curve, you can avoid some newbie mistakes by talking to your co-leader about the following topics.  Be sure to put everything in writing and send it to all of the parents in your troop so you have a paper trail and no misunderstandings.

Sibling Policy 

There is a very strong likelihood that some of the girls in your troop will have siblings both younger and/or older. What should you do with them?  In this blog post, I go into a lot of detail about this issue.  What you permit now lays the groundwork for the future, and once you start with one way, it is hard to undo later down the road.

Dues

In the beginning, your need for items is small.  There are so many things that you can do for practically nothing! Crafts from recycled materials, free field trips to the police station or to the firehouse, you can definitely get by with little during your first year.

Dues should pay for petals and fun patches, and any craft materials you will be using.

How much in dues you collect depends on the makeup of your group.  One check at the beginning of the year should cover your expenses.  I always asked for $25 during the Daisy years, and increased the amount to $30 for Brownies.

Whatever you do, do not ask for weekly dues. This creates more work for you. What happens if a girl misses a week because her parents forgot?  What is the policy if she is sick and misses a meeting? 

One check for dues, one trip to the bank and you are done.  You can budget better knowing how much you have to spend at the beginning of the year.

Uniforms

What kind of uniform do you want the girls to have?  It does not matter if the girls wear a vest or a tunic-let them choose what they want to wear.  That is all that is required. My girls wore a white shirt and jeans as well, just because they all had these things in their closet already and they looked so darn cute!

I have always been a firm believer in parents buying the uniforms for the girls. Why?  Because if a girl decides not to return for your troop or to Girl Scouts, you are out the money you give them for the uniform.  If a parent buys it, they are out the money. 

Snacks at Meetings

Should you serve snacks at meetings?  I wrote about this in detail on my main Girl Scout blog.  You can read about it here.

Drop Off and Pick Up Times

Photo from pixabay.com

Having parents come on time so you can get the meeting started is imperative.  It is not fair to make the girl who arrived on time wait for the others.  Having a “sponge activity” (something easy to do that relates to what the meeting is about) for the early arrivals keeps the girls engaged and out of trouble.

If a meeting is supposed to begin at 6:30, that is when you start it!  Do not wait because you are teaching the parents that it is okay to be late and that your time is not valuable.

Prompt pick up times are also a must. You have a life as well, and you need to leave and get home to your family.

You need to have a written policy that is signed by the parents so that they know you mean business.  I am not talking about the parent who was late only once, but someone who is habitually late. You need to have an action plan for this parent.

I hope this checklist gets you on the road to fun and productive meetings!