World Thinking Day Stickers

Daisy leaders, you know as well as I do that children love stickers! As a teacher, it always amazes me how the power of a colorful, sticky piece of paper is something that will motivate youngsters to do what you want them to do and to achieve your desired results.

For this World Thinking Day, you Daisy Scouts would love to have a sticker to commemorate the occasion.  

This one is from Dazzle and it contains 20 stickers per sheet for the smaller stickers and there are 6 for the larger size. It is available in glossy or matte finishes.

World Thinking Day Sticker by TodaysEvent
Make stickers online at zazzle.com

It is also available in round or square pins as well.

How to Earn the Orange Daisy Petal With a Chore Chart

Being responsible is a part of growing up. We are not doing our children a favor by doing everything for them.  When I taught public school, year after year I was constantly amazed at how many children were not responsible for any chores around the house, not even making their own beds.  While in my classroom, they enjoyed organizing, prepping  and cleaning up.  They thought it was fun!

Taking care of pets, setting the table for dinner, and making her own bed are chores that kindergarten and first grade Daisy Girl Scouts can easily do. Children love to be helpful, as it makes them feel more grown up.  It also gives them a feeling of pride and accomplishment to say, "I did it myself!".  Here is a lesson plan for helping your girls earn the orange Daisy petal "Responsible for What I Say and Do".

Remember to get volunteers! Because you will be using dry erase marker, you will need some help as the girls are doing this activity. Ask a parent or member of an older Girl Scout troop to assist you.

Materials You Will Need to Earn the Orange Daisy Petal

Be sure to get everything together before your meeting!

Items you will need for this meeting:

• Dry erase poster board
• Sharpie markers
• Rulers
• Stickers
• Magnet strips
• Extra volunteers
• Optional: Book about being responsible, wallet size photo of each girl to be brought to the meeting, glue sticks

I Am Responsible (Kids of Character) from Amazon

Getting Started

After you have recited the Pledge of Allegiance, the Girl Scout Law and the Girl Scout Promise, it is time to begin your meeting.  You can ask the girls what the word responsible means.  If you have access to a white board, you can use tally marks or numbers to keep track of the responses to the following questions.

Ask the girls if they have any pets and what chores they are responsible for their pets' care (walking the dog, putting out water for the cat, feeding the fish). 

Then ask if they have to make their bed, set the table or clear the table.

Ask what else they are required to do at home.

Once you have all of the responses, talk about personal responsibility. Things like taking a bath or shower, brushing your teeth and hair, and eating right are all part of respecting ourselves and being responsible.

At this point, you can choose to read a book about responsibility or go right to the activity.

Set an Example

It is always best to have a sample project completed for the girls to see. They need a visual and you need to be sure each step is doable for young children.

11 x 14 dry erase poster board from Amazon

The Orange Daisy Petal Activity

Each girl is going to get her own piece of dry erase poster board.  At the top, have her write____________'s Chores with a permanent marker.  Make sure all girls have done this step before moving on to the next.

Then have her write the number "1" and draw a line after it with the ruler. Repeat for up to four chores.

They will leave the lines blank, so they can write in dry erase markers new chores to do at home each week.

Have the girls glue their wallet sized photo in one of the corners of the paper. 

Then they can decorate it with the stickers you have purchased.

When all decorating is done, give each girl two magnetic strips to place on the back.

What is the Girl Scout Slogan? A Great Opening for Your Meeting!

Many people are familiar with the Girl Scout motto "Be Prepared". But are you familiar with the Girl Scout slogan?

"Do a good turn daily" is the slogan that girls are taught when they are just beginning their scouting adventure. It has been a part of the organization since its inception in 1912, when Juliette Gordon Low founded it in Savannah, Georgia.

What it means is that girls should do something good for someone else each and every day. When they are younger, it can be as simple as helping a parent without having been asked or sharing a box of crayons with a friend who forgot hers. As they get older, the things they can do to "do a good turn" can be simple or far more complex, like starting their own community service project or volunteering their time at an animal shelter.

The Girl Scout slogan is really something every person, regardless of whether they are a scout or not, should do every day.

Photo from pixabay.com

For younger Girl Scouts, one way to start a meeting while you are waiting for everyone to arrive is to ask the girls what they did to "do a good turn".  The girls can sit in a circle while you or or co-leader leads the discussion.  In fact, this is a good job to switch off at meetings as you get to know your girls a little bit better by getting a glimpse into their lives. 

The key to not having this turn into a gab fest is to set limits. You may want to pass along a special stuffed toy that is your troop mascot, and whomever is holding the toy "has the floor" (a great term to teach younger girls!).  This child can tell ONE THING that she did since you last met that was a good deed.

Do not feel badly if a child goes on and on and needs to be cut off.  As a teacher, I always have at least one child every year who can tell quite a long story. It is important to emphasize keeping it short and sweet and letting the talkative child know that it is time for the next girl to share. She can tell you more later in the meeting one on one during the activity time.

Then she passes the stuffed toy to the next child. A girl does not have to share, she can pass. 

What have you done to "do a good turn" today?

Activities for World Thinking Day 2015

While you are knee deep in cookies and petals right now, one of the three major Girl Scout holidays is right around the corner and you need to start planning now for your February meeting!

What is World Thinking Day?

World Thinking Day is celebrated every year on February 22nd. Girl Scouts and Girl Guides around the world do activities from other countries to celebrate their sisterhood in scouting. Of course, if your meeting is not held on the exact day, you can still celebrate!  Plan you festivities on the meeting day closest to the date.

Photo from pixabay.com

Each year a different theme is selected.  For World Thinking Day 2015, the theme is "We can create peace through partnerships."

Girls can easily understand the concept of helping others and cooperation.  Any child who has played on a team knows the importance of getting along and working together for a common goal.

Since you are leading young children, it can be a really simple thing for you to plan.  You can pick one country and have the girls look at pictures or girls from those countries dressed in their uniform (you can search for these on the internet).

You can then ask the girls what they know about this country.

More fun can involve:

Playing games from this country
Eating foods from this country
Doing a craft or a Girl Scout Swap from this country

No need to worry about where to find all these things!  Here is a list of resources for you from my other Girl Scout blog!

World Thinking Day Games

World Thinking Day Resources

World Thinking Day Passports

Activities for Daisies from the GSA website

What are you planning to do for World Thinking Day 2015?

Daisy Girl Scout Activities-10 Ways to Earn the Spring Green Daisy Petal, Considerate and Caring

As a Girl Scout leader, you are in charge of finding age appropriate activities for your troop so they can earn their ten Daisy petals. Since girls at this level of scouting are between the ages of five and seven, the activities you choose to do must be very hands on and concrete, as that is the stage of development they are at.

One of the easiest Daisy Girl Scout petals to earn is the spring green-Considerate and Caring. Being kind to one another, helping our fellow human beings, and showing empathy towards others makes our world a better place to live in. When we as Girl Scout leaders teach our girls how to act towards others, we are hopefully planting the seeds of kindness that will pay off not only in the present, but in the future.

There are many activities that your troop can do to earn the spring green Daisy petal. Here are ten to try!

As the troop leader, you will have to plan everything in advance. Make sure you have all of the materials purchased. Ask your co-leader to assist you in getting organized and email parents if your activity will require additional volunteers.

Photo by Hannah Gold

Make a Holiday in a Bag Project to Earn the Spring Green Daisy Petal

My troop has done this activity for several years during the holiday season. Every Christmas, my troop decorates and stuffs bags for a group of homeless men. We fill it with socks, snacks, and cards.

This activity can also be done for Thanksgiving, with the bags filled with stuffing mix, canned gravy, corn, boxed mashed potato mix and cranberry sauce, and a sweet treat like brownie mix. Cards can be made by tracing the girls hands in the shape of a turkey.

When I make my troop plans for the year, I like to buy all of my craft items at once in bulk. It saves me time and money, and writing one troop check makes it easier for my treasurer to keep track of our expenses. Making multiple trips to the store or paying for shipping on different orders just wastes my precious resources.

If you decide to make a holiday in a bag, here are some things you will need:

• White gift bags-They are a blank slate and easy to decorate
• Themed holiday stickers
• Matching tissue paper
• Cardstock and holiday stickers for cards

More Activities for Your Girls to Do

By US Navy (File:Guantanamo Bay Gazette -- 2011-07-22.pdf) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

There are so many ways for your girls to show that they care for other people. The girls can make cards to send to our soldiers overseas, as well as send care packages. We have a grassroots organization in our community that does this, and one year we even baked cookies for the troops to be delivered in time for Christmas. Another time, one of my twins’ classmates had a father stationed overseas, so the class sent him packages of food and other items for him to share with others.

If you do not have a local organization, here is a list of places where you can send cards and needed items to those who protect and serve.

Thinking of Others is Both Considerate and Caring

Before doing your activity, ask your girls how they feel when someone is not being either considerate or caring. Brainstorm ways to turn the situation around and turn a negative into a positive.

While many youth groups and youth organizations got to senior citizen homes to sing songs for the holidays, that is another activity that your troop can do any time of year! How about singing some sweet spring or summer songs or some Girl Scout classics? That would brighten the day of any senior. Join forces with another local Daisy troop to promote sisterhood-the more the merrier!

A fourth activity that your troop can do to earn the spring green Daisy petal is to fill backpacks with school supplies. My older daughter’s troop did this every year right before school began, and it helped instill in the girls that not every child has parents who can start the academic year off with all new supplies.

Make a Girl Scout Swap for Your Sister Scouts

A Girl Scout Swap is a tradition. Swaps began back in the days when Girl Guides and Girl Scouts swapped items in the name of scouting sisterhood and friendship.. Today, Swaps stands for "Special Whatchamacallits Affectionately Pinned Somewhere".

 

  I Love GS Scouts Swaps Kit - Makes 48 pins from Amazon

Girl Scout Swap Kits make it easy on a leader. There is no need to gather all the materials when they are all included in the kit. You can exchange these little crafts with a local troop or one that is far away. My troop sent Swaps to a troop in Arizona, where my friend's daughter was a scout. If you need a Daisy pen pal to do an exchange, you can ask on the Girl Scout Moms forum on Babycenter.com

Five More Ideas to Help You Earn the Spring Green Petal

In your area, find a local organization that needs your help and create an activity for your girls to do. For example, is there a local animal shelter that needs some donations? Your girls can collect things from home and then you can take a field trip to drop them off and pet the animals.

If all of your girls attend the same school, does a teacher needs help collating papers or sorting math manipulatives? Does the PTA need help setting up the prize booth at the carnival?

If it is a special holiday, like Mother’s Day or Father’s Day when you are earning this petal, have your girls make a gift for that person to show how much they care.

Check and see if a local preschool is in need of books. Since Daisy Scouts are older, they may no longer need some of the books they had used when they were younger. Make sure they are in useable condition.

The tenth activity for your troop to do involves the lost art of making thank you cards. Have the girls think of someone who has helped them and have them make a card showing their gratitude. Use glitter and stickers to really jazz it up!

Girl Scout Daisy Cookie Selling Tips

It is that time of year...Girl Scout cookie selling time! 

Let me state for the record that I am not a fan of first year leaders selling cookies.  While the collective memory is quickly fading, I remember a time when Daisy Girl Scouts were not permitted to sell cookies at all.  That was something to grow into. 

Prior to 2008, the Daisy Girl Scout program was a soft and gentle introduction to the world of girl scouting.  It was a one year program designed to introduce kindergarten children to the fundamentals of being a Girl Scout. There was no Journeys program.  All a leader was required to do was have her troop earn the ten petals and blue promise center using fun activities and field trips. Fundraising was not a focus at all...giving leaders a year to grow into their roles and having the girls enjoy the scouting experience is what it was all about.

That all changed in 2008 with the introduction of the Journeys program and changing the Daisy level to kindergarten and first grade. For the first time ever, Daisy Scouts were permitted to sell cookies.

I, for one, think that it is a mistake.

By U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Lesley Lykins [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

New leaders have their hands full just trying to figure out how to run a meeting, what the Council rules are, how to plan activities...it is a lot of work for anyone, especially a person who has never had to be in charge of a group of children before. While selling Girl Scout cookies as second year Daisy Scouts is a viable way to raise troop funds, it is not really necessary to do when you have only met a handful of times.  It is something to strive for in your second year.

But if you are reading this and have already committed to selling cookies, I have written a very detailed article about how to avoid cookie drama.  Yes, there is tons of drama this time of year and while leaders cannot control all of it, there is some that you can control.  

Set your goals low for the first year, use this first time out to enjoy the experience and get your feet wet. Do only one or two booth sales and call it a day. Daisy Scouts are young with a limited attention span and endurance for the cold.

Girl Scout Daisy Meeting Ideas January to May

Happy New Year! It is time to get back into your Daisy Girl Scout leader mode after spending a week or more off from school with your kids. You are now ready to begin your journey through the second half of your first Daisy Girl Scout year. These meeting ideas will get you through to May, when many troops stop meeting for the summer.

Just like the first eight Daisy leader meetings, you can do most of these activities in any order you wish. If you live in a cold area, you may have to adjust your schedule for snow days, as when school is closed you won't be meeting. Be sure to remember to plan it out with you co-leader and share the responsibilities of planning your meetings. Get everything you plan to do in writing, send her an email with what you both agreed to set out an accomplish, and tackle each meeting together.

Sales Alert!

Look for after holiday sales for savings on craft materials for the rest of the year. Remember to bring your troop checkbook and your Tax Exempt ID paper.

Your Ninth Daisy Girl Scout Meeting-Earn the Orange Daisy Petal Responsible for What I Say and Do

Many adults make New Year's resolutions at the beginning of the year. You can tie in this idea with earning the orange Daisy petal and being responsible for your own actions. Talk to the girls about what it means to be responsible.

Ask them if they have any responibilities to do at home, like make their bed or clean up after dinner. You can read a book about being responsible at this point or just jump right into the activity.Tell your girls that Daisy Girl Scouts need to be responsible for bringing their books and vests to each troop meeting. Being organizedis being responsible, so they are going to make their own Daisy Girl Scout tote bag and keep all things Girl Scout related in that bag;. They will be responsible for bringing the bag to every meeting from now on.

Earn the Orange Daisy Petal with These Craft Items

Here is everything you need for your girls to make their own "responsibility bags". The great thing about this craft is that the girls will use their bags for years to come. The Sharpies and fabric markers are an investment, because if they are stored properly, they can also be used for many years for all kinds of crafts and community service projects. Foam flower shapes can be used for all kinds of projects, too. Cards, making gift bags, and puppets are just a few uses for them.

 

  12 Canvas Tote Bags ~ Natural Color ~ 8" X 8" from Amazon

 

  Crayola Fine Line Fabric Markers, 10 Count from Amazon

Field Trip

If you live in a cold climate with heavy snowfall, it may be wise not to plan any field trips until spring. That way you do not spend a lot of time planning an activity that has to be cancelled due to inclement weather. You don't want to disappoint the girls!

Your Tenth Daisy Girl Scout Meeting-Earn the Yellow Daisy Petal Friendly and Helpful

Being friendly and helpful ties in nicely with being responsible. For this activity, the girls are going to create "helpful" slips to leave around the house. Complete directions for earning the yellow Daisy petal can be found in this article.

If you know of an older Brownie or Junior troop who wants to be friendly and helpful, ask them to come to a meeting and help the girls make bracelets or some other cool project. This promotes sisterhood among the different Girl Scout levels. The older girls also serve as role models to the younger girls.

 

  Being Helpful (Citizenship) from Amazon

Selling Cookies

If your Daisy troop is selling Girl Scout cookies, you will need to plan a meeting or two around that. Girls earn badges and leaves for cookie sales!

Your Eleventh Daisy Girl Scout Meeting-Earn the Light Blue Daisy Petal Honest and Fair

In February, we celebrate the birthday of two of our greatest presidents, Washington and Lincoln. Both have stories that tie in with being honest. There is the tale about George chopping down the cherry tree and how he could not tell a lie when asked if he did it. And of course, there is "Honest Abe" Lincoln!

Discuss with your girls why it is important to be honest and not lie, and how they feel if someone has not been truthful to them. Following the discussion, you can do with activities with fair and unfair spinners or unequal amounts of candy to drive the point across.

Make Contact

If you are following this guide, this would be the time to make contact with an organization that needs assistance so you are prepared for the March community service project.

Your Twelfth Daisy Girl Scout Meeting-World Thinking Day Activities 

Photo from pixabay.com

Celebrate this special Girl Scout holiday!

Every year on February 22nd, Girl Scouts and Girl Guides around the world honor each other and the sisterhood of Girl Scouting with World Thinking Day. Each year World Thinking Day has a theme, and according to the Girl Scouts of America website, the year 2015 is dedicated to ending poverty.

World Thinking Day used to be a patch earned and placed on the back of the vest. It is now an official Girl Scout award that Daisy Girl Scouts can earn! You can earn the award one of two ways.There are a list of activities just for Daisies at the Girl Scouts of America website. Just follow those to earn the award.If you want to do something else, you can pick a country and do hands on activities for it. For example, let's say you want to study Japan. You can:

1. Make passports for Japan. This passport, and those for other countries can be found at the Making Friends website.

2. Do a Japanese craft like origami.

3. Bring in a Japanese dessert for the girls to eat with chopsticks

4. Make a Girl Scout Swap that ties into that country.

Your Thirteenth Meeting-Earn the Spring Green Daisy Petal Considerate and Caring

Photo by Hannah Gold

Like the yellow Daisy petal, this one revolves around being empathetic towards others. When I was a Daisy Scout leader, my girls decorated shoe boxes and filled them with items for little girls who lived in a homeless shelter. The directions for this activity can be found in this blog post on how to earn the spring green daisy petal considerate and caring and on this one as well.

Your Fourteenth Daisy Meeting

Field Trip!

With the weather becoming milder, now is the perfect time to go on a field trip. There are many places that your girls can go to for free or fro a small fee. Be sure to get all of your paperwork done in advance and that all of the proper coursework has been done.

Trip approvers need at least two weeks advanced notice to get your outing approved...be nice and give them four. Remember, safety first! Safety guidelines and instructions for all kinds of field trips can be found at your local council website under Safety Checkpoints.

Your Fifteenth Meeting-Earn the Rose Daisy Petal Make the World a Better Place

Spring is here! With Earth Day being celebrated on April 22nd, this is the perfect time for this activity. Anything that has to do with recycling will be perfect to earn this petal.The book Miss Rumphius is one of the best to share with your girls while earning this petal.

Miss Rumphius from Amazon

Just One Meeting

Because of Spring Break, my troop has always met only once during the month of April.  If you find this happening to you and you want another meeting, schedule a field trip for the girls or have an informal meeting at a local park or playground.

Your Sixteenth Daisy Meeting-Earn the Purple Daisy Petal Respect Myself and Others

Respect is important no matter what age you are. The girls need to respect each other and get along, and they need to respect your co-leader and you and the time you put into each and every meeting.And most importantly, they need to like themselves.The Jamie Lee Curtis book entitled I'm Gonna Like Me is the best book to start the meeting.

Book from Amazon

Your Final Daisy Meeting of the Year

Party Time!

You made it...the final Daisy Girl Scout meeting of the year! Since you have already earned all of your Daisy petals, it's time to celebrate. Look how far your girls and you have come since September.If you are planning a party, make sure to contact the parents in advance to bring in items and ask for a few volunteers to stay. The girls will be excited and extra coverage is always needed at times like these.

Caspari Daisy Paper Salad/Dessert Plates, Pack of 8

Plan a fun Daisy craft that is simple to make and present the girls with a certificate of completion. They aren't bridging, but finishing the first year of Girl Scouts is an exciting milestone for them. Once the party is over, sit back, relax and pat yourself on the back for a job well done.

Free Girl Scout Cookie Printable Thank You Cards,Tags, and More

Updated February 2019 

For a newer, larger list of printables for this year, please see this blog post.

If you are selling Girl Scout cookies this year, it is the perfect time to throw in a lesson on good manners and to teach the girls about being considerate and caring (they can even earn the spring green petal by doing this activity).

Here is a list of resources for you to use with your troop.  These are free printable Girl Scout cookie thank you cards and tags. You can have the girls attach them to the boxes they sell and have them sign their first name only, or you can have them sign with the troop number.

If you do not wish to print these from your own printer and use up all of your own ink,then I suggest going to your nearest Kinko's or Staples and printing them there.  Save your receipt to be reimbursed.

Photo from pixabay.com

Girl Scout Thank You cards and printables can be found:


MissyBalance (girls can color these in if you want)

Flickr.com ABC Bakers Thank You card page

Fashionable Moms  Printable stickers to put on each box

Fashionable Moms Girl Scout Thank You certificates

Fashionable Moms Cookie Box Wrap