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.
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| 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
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| 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
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!
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