Daisy Girl Scout Ornaments

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If you are wondering what kind of gift to give your daughter, granddaughter, or favorite Girl Scout, these ornaments will make the perfect gift to give. Ornaments tell a story of a person’s life-from their very first Christmas to that fun family vacation, what a person likes at a certain point in his or her life is reflected as each ornament is carefully take out of the box.

Image created on Canva

Starting your daughter's Girl Scout ornament collection as a Daisy will become a wonderful tradition for you. Each year as she puts her special scouting ornament on the tree, she will remember her years in her troop with fondness.

Personalized Daisy Girl Scout Ornaments

There are a number of easy to personalize gifts available on Zazzle, including Girl Scout Christmas ornaments. Just select the one you want, the shape of the ornament, and insert a photo if that is an option for that style. Then add a name and the year and voila, you have an ornament to commemorate her year as a Girl Scout.

Ornaments come with different skin tones and hair colors. These are just a few of what Zazzle offers.

Daisy Scout Ornament
by Scrappintwins

Daisy Scout Sled Black Hair Ceramic Ornament
by SunsetScouts

Daisy Scout Sled Brunette Snowflake Pewter Christmas Ornament
by SunsetScouts

Daisy Blonde Hair Pine Wreath With Bow Ornament
by SunsetScouts

Daisy Dark Skin Blue Pine Wreath Ornament
by SunsetScouts

Daisy Dark Skin Snowflake Frame Ceramic Ornament
by SunsetScouts

Daisy Red Hair Green Frame Candycanes Metal Ornament
by SunsetScouts

Daisy Black Hair Frame Bells Metal Ornament
by SunsetScouts

4 Blog Posts to Help You Navigate the December Holidays With Your Troop

If you have walked around any store in the past few weeks, you know that the holidays are all around you. While shopping in my local Walmart this past October, the trifacta of holidays were in full display, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. It was like all three just blended into the other.

If you are a new Daisy leader, this will be your first holiday season with your girls. You have choices to make that will create a tradition that you may want to continue, so you have to be careful when choosing what to do. 

What am I talking about?

I am talking about celebrating Christmas with your troop. 

Images from Ivorymix and Pixabay and altered by the author in Canva

Girl Scouts is a non-denominational activity. It is not affiliated with any particular religious group. If you start celebrating religious holidays with your troop, it may be an issue to take away your traditions and celebration if a new girl joins your troop and she does not celebrate this December holiday (or may be agnostic or atheist and not celebrate any kind of religious holiday at all).

I am Jewish and do not celebrate Christmas. As the leader, I made the decision during our first year as a troop to not do anything related to this holiday or to do a gift exchange of any sort. My personal experience as a child with this was not a positive one, and with my older daughter's troop, this activity proved to be a dud for some of the girls. The girls in my troop, both Jewish and Christian, received enough gifts and went to plenty of celebrations during the holiday season, so there was no reason to add another one. Instead, my troop always does a community service project in lieu of a party because there are so many others in need.

Over the years, I have written several blog posts on this topic. As new leaders, you probably have not read them, and so I am bringing these to your attention so you can be inclusive and understanding to girls of different faiths in your group. Please do not assume that these girls families "won't mind" you celebrating a holiday with them that they do not celebrate. Many are not like me and do not want to rock the boat and are afraid to have their child seen in an unkind light.

Other December Meeting Ideas

In this blog post, 10 Activities Your Girl Scout Troop Can Do This Holiday Season, I share 10 things you can do with a troop that have nothing to do with the celebrating Christmas or Chanukah.

Read the blog post here

Having Holiday Parties for Only One Holiday

In this blog post, I wrote about what I was reading from Facebook groups about what leaders had to say about this matter. I was floored at the insensitivity of some of these women and was inspired to share what it looked like from the other side of the fence. Girl Scouts is about inclusion above all else.

Read the blog post here

Winter Craft Ideas

If you want to have a celebration, then the crafts need to be non-denominations. You can read here some fun winter crafts for your troop to do.

Image Created on Canva

Being a Sensitive Leader

In this blog post, you can read my opinion on this matter and why December does not have to be all about Christmas, but it can be about giving to others.

Image from Pixabay and altered by the author on Canva

Fun and Easy Thanksgiving Meeting Idea for Daisy Scouts

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Updated October 2019

It is that time of year when all of the weeks turn into a blur because the holidays are coming fast and furious! As a leader, you have so many obligations outside of Girl Scout that all you want to do is figure out how to have a meeting and make it easy on yourself.

Image created on Canva

This is where Thanksgiving craft kits come in handy. You can make this meeting more of a festive atmosphere than a badge/petal meeting.

The children learn about the holiday in school, so they have some knowledge about it. Here is a simple meeting format.

Discuss the meaning of Thanksgiving and what the children are thankful for. Then have them do one of the following crafts.




Once the craft is over, you can sing some Thanksgiving songs together. You can find them here at DLTK You can also find more songs here at Everything Preschool.

Don't forget to have a Thanksgiving coloring page in case you finish faster than you thought you would!

Earn Daisy Petals With Easy Girl Scout Beading Crafts

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Updated October 2019

Girl Scout beading projects make for easy meetings, especially during the busy upcoming holiday season.  There are many beading crafts available online or in craft stores.

Photo from Pixabay

This Girl Scout Law beading craft is perfect for Daisies. Be sure to have a few volunteers on hand to help the girls.

Materials

Pony Beads

Available on Amazon

Heart Beads

Available on Amazon

Elastic

Available on Amazon

Before the meeting, separate the beads into sandwich bags, one set for each girl. Included in each bag should be the pony beads, the heart beads, and the elastic already cut and knotted. Decide in advance if you are making bracelets or necklaces. 

As the girls bead, have them pick up a color that you call. For example, you can say "Everyone, please hold up a red bead. What does it stand for? Can you give me an example of this?"

For Brownies and Juniors, this craft is a great ice breaker for the first meeting of the year.  Or they could make this necklace as part of being a sister to every Girl Scout when working with a younger Daisy troop.

If your troop is able to do fundraisers, they can make bead bracelets and sell them at craft fairs or to people they know. It is inexpensive to buy beads in bulk packages.  Girls can also make bracelets and necklaces as holiday gifts for friends and family.

Girl Scout Swaps are also fun for girls to do and share with other Girl Scouts. Beads can be used for an assortment of easy to make Swaps.

Girl Scout Daisy Leader Uniform Ideas

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Updated November 2019

Another topic of conversation that frequently comes up in the beginning of the scouting year is what kind of uniform a Girl Scout leader should wear, if she wears one at all. To be honest, I have never worn anything that resembles a uniform. When my girls were younger, I typically came straight from work, with a short pit stop to grab a cup of coffee from home. Wearing anything nice to preschool is just not something I did, as our motto is "dress for mess".  I did not dress sloppy, but nothing nice, like silk pants or a blouse, like I would wear to my elementary school teacher job back in the day.

Image from Pixabay and altered by the author in Canva

Also, cost is another factor in deciding whether or not you want to purchase anything official from the Girl Scout Shop. The items for adult leaders are quite expensive, at least from my vantage point. During most of my years as a leader, money was incredibly tight for my family. Spending fifty dollars on a navy cardigan was not happening, especially when I could purchase something similar for much less money. If you are looking for something "scouty" to wear on your Girl Scout outings and at your meetings, you might like some of these tee shirts. 

*Please note that these shirts are all customizable! You can change the colors and the wording, as well as the fonts to suit your style. You can even change the style of the shirt and add your troop number. 

*Zazzle frequently has coupon codes to reduce the cost of your shirts.

  Proud to Be a Troop Leader Shirt 
by TalkSnarkytoMe

  Proud Daisy Troop Leader Daisy Rows T-Shirt 
by SunsetScouts

 

Create Your Own Free Girl Scout Bingo Cards

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For those of you who have perused through this blog, you might have seen me mention that I am a teacher and have been once since 1987. Teachers spend a lot of their own money out of pocket, and we make do with as many donated and recycled materials as possible. Being an expert in this area made me stretch those dues my troop collected, as we did not sell cookies. 

Image from Pixabay and altered by the author in Canva

For new leaders and those who need to stretch you dollars as far as possible, I have found a great site for you. You can make your own Bingo cards here at My Free Bingo Cards.

For Daisy leaders, you can make Bingo cards for the Girl Scout Law. You can also make cards for Cookie Season if you decide to sell them.

I have made several different sets for my Hebrew School classes. I run them off on colored cardstock and store them in a plastic Ziplock bag. I have Bingo chips that I use as markers so the cards can be used again and again. You can make the cards as easy or as difficult as you want. Make sure you run off the calling page and the words that you have used.

You can play this game as a time filler with one child or as teams (sisterhood!). You do not have to give out a prize...I do not. It is just a fun thing to do during a meeting!

How to Earn The Daisy Girl Scout Blue Promise Center

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One the first things you will do as a Girl Scout leader is to help your troop earn the Daisy Girl Scout blue promise center. During your first year of Daisies, you will be doing activities with your girls so they can earn every petal for their uniform.

Image used with Permission from the artist and graphic 

created by the author on Canva

Buy this image on stickers, tote bags, water bottles and more on Redbubble

When working on earning the blue promise center, or any other Daisy petal, you must always remember that you are working with girls who are between five and seven years old. They are in kindergarten and in first grade, and most of them will not be able to sit still for long periods of time, nor can most of them read. Whatever activities you choose to do should be engaging and extremely concrete and hands on.

Before you hold your meeting, you should get the following materials:

• Pony beads in every color of the Daisy petals
• The book A Promise is a Promise by Robert Munsch

Available on Amazon

• Elastic for the bracelet cut and knotted at one end
• Bowls to hold the beads
• Daisy coloring page

How to Run the Meeting 

Earning the Daisy blue promise center should come right after your very first Daisy Girl Scout meeting. After saying the Pledge of Allegiance and saying the Girl Scout Promise and Law, have your troop sit on the carpet in a circle. Ask them what a “promise” is. After soliciting a few answers, then ask them how it makes them feel when someone breaks a promise to them.

Tie what they say into what they, as Daisy Girl Scouts, choose to promise:

On my honor, I will try:
To serve God and my country,
To help people at all times,
And to live by the Girl Scout Law.

They are promising to live by the Girl Scout Law, which always follows the promise:

I will do my best to be
honest and fair,
friendly and helpful,
considerate and caring,
courageous and strong, and
responsible for what I say and do,
and to

respect myself and others,
respect authority,
use resources wisely,
make the world a better place, and
be a sister to every Girl Scout.

Tell the girls that each week, they will be doing activities that tie into one or more of these laws. As soon as they complete an activity, they will earn a Daisy petal, and at the end of the year, they will have the entire flower sewn onto their vest or tunic.

In order to earn the petals, they must first earn the blue Daisy promise center, and that is what they will be doing today

Next, read the book A Promise is a Promise by Robert Munsch. He is a beloved author of children’s books and the girls are almost all likely to be familiar with him.

When the story is over, have the girls go to the table and help them bead their bracelets. Make sure they use each color of the Daisy petal, so it is complete. They can make patterns or string them on randomly. 

Early finishers can do a Daisy coloring sheet so the others can finish their bracelets without being disturbed.

Save a trip to the Girl Scout Shop!

These petals and many other Girl Scout Daisy items are 

available online at Boscov's!

When I led my Daisy troop, I bought the petal set like this one for every girl from the dues I collected and gave each parent the set. I told them what to iron on at the end of each meeting. By doing it this way, you are no longer responsible for this task. If a petal is lost, a parent needs to purchase a new one on her own time and on her own dime.

Once you have earned the Daisy blue promise center, you can earn the petals in any order that you choose.

What have you done to earn the Girl Scout Daisy blue Promise Center?

10 Fun Girl Scout Founder's Day Activities for Daisies

Girl Scout Founder's Day is October 31st. It is the birthday of Juliette Gordon Low, the woman who founded the Girl Scouts of the USA. Girls at every level of scouts, even the youngest Daisy, can learn about Juliette and do something in her honor.

Fun fact, Daisy was Ms. Low's nickname.

One of your October meetings can be devoted to celebrating her life and why she is so important to Girl Scouts everywhere. If you are planning on doing some kind of craft, then it is important to order your supplies soon.

Here is a roundup of ideas for your troop to do this month.

Easy Flower Pot Craft

Community Service Craft/Project 

Candy Gift Craft/Project (Scroll down to meeting number four)

Fun Founder's Day Craft

Girl Scout Founder's Day Fun

Earn the Green Daisy Petal with This Easy Founder's Day Craft

Earn the Orange Daisy Petal for Girl Scout Founder's Day

Girl Scout Founder's Day Birthday in a Bag Community Service Project

Last Minute Founder's Day Projects

How to Celebrate Girl Scout Founder's Day



What is your troop doing for Girl Scout Founder's Day?

Girl Scout Daisy Songs Every Leader Should Know

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Updated October 2019

If you have taken on the monumental task of becoming a Daisy Girl Scout leader, then you are going to need a few tricks up your sleeve to keep the girls actively engaged and with you.  One tool to have in your leader toolbox  is to use coloring pages as a sponge activity when girls first enter the meeting room. This gets them focused while the others are trickling in. These same pages can also be used at the end of an activity to keep those who finish early quietly entertained.

Another activity you will want to do with your Daisy Scouts is sing scouting songs. You have heard the expression “music calms the savage beast?”  Well, little girls are not beasts, but things can easily get led astray if you do not keep them on task.  

Singing is a great way to begin or end a meeting or do as an activity while you are having you are meeting.

Photos from Pixabay and altered by the author on Canva

Music and Learning Go Hand in Hand Like Peanut Butter and Jelly

There is more to it than fun!

Every culture has a rich history of songs.  It one way that stories were told and were passed down from one generation to the next.  From an early age, children are taught through song the alphabet, how to count, and other important preschool skills. The hand movements associated with these songs helps develop eye-hand coordination and well as memorization skills.  It also helps with listening skills, as children need to hear the words carefully in order to repeat them.


Music is a social activity for children. Rhythm and counting beats is taught with others in a joyful setting in music classes or just marching around the room with Mommy or Daddy at home.  Gross motor development is learned when children learn song and dance, like The Alley Cat or The Hokey Pokey.

Music does not judge, all children can do it, no matter what their ability level is. This is not a subject that is graded.


That is why a well prepared Girl Scout leader will have a few songs on her phone  or other electronic device so their girls can dance and sing. And you can join them!  They would get a real kick out of that!

Some adults won't sing in public because they cannot carry a tune. Don't concern yourself with this! The girls will sense your joy and happiness while you are singing and only focus on that.

Download These Songs for Your Girls!

 

Available on Amazon

This album has all the songs a leader needs to bring music to her meetings. This compilation is made just for Girl Scout Daisies. There are other versions for the other levels as the girls get older. Some of the songs you can purchase are:

• Amazing Daisies
• We Are One Voice
• Move Your Dancing Feet
• Alice the Camel
• Ladybug
• The Sun Goes Up, The Sun Comes Down
• Olayo
• A World of Thanks

Most songs are about a minute long, with some being more and other less. Because they are short, they will be easy for your girls to learn. You can purchase one or all of them and previews are available before you buy.

More Girl Scout Daisy Songs

Here are a few more song ideas to get you started.

I'm a Girl Scout Daisy 
This is sung to the tune of "I'm a Little Teapot"

Daisy Happy Face Song
This is sung to the tune of the "Brownie Smile Song".

Daisy
This is sung to the tune of "A BIcycle Built for Two".

You can find even more Girl Scout Daisy songs here.

Here are some cute Daisy videos.

Do you sing with your Daisy troop?

Training for Girl Scout Leaders

As an adult volunteer, it is important that you keep up to date with your Girl Scout training for leaders. No matter what level of scouts you guide, there are required classes that leaders must to take.

Why Take Girl Scout Leader Training?

Even though the majority of leaders are already parents, there are different developmental milestones at each level. If you are the leader for your oldest child, you have not yet gone through the social, developmental and emotional growth of that child. There are enormous differences between a kindergarten Daisy and a sixth grade Cadette.

For example, there is a 7.5 year age difference between my two daughters. I have already experienced all the joys and thrills of young adolescence, middle school, and high school with my older daughter.

Image created on Canva

Because I already have parenting experience with girls, I know what to expect. Armed with this knowledge, I will be doing my best to circumvent any of the pitfalls that I know come with girls who are in the fourth grade, the age of my Junior Girl Scout troop.

Another reason to get training is to follow the safety guidelines established by the GSUSA. You cannot simply take your troop on a camping trip. You need to take the required outdoor courses and abide by the Girl Scouts of the USA guidelines. This is not only for the safety of your girls, which is of the utmost importance, it also insures that you are not personally liable if anything happens to any of the girls while under your care.

What are the Required Leader Training Courses?

There are training classes for leaders at each level. Councils across the country call them by different names, so you will need to check your council’s website for the exact title of your required coursework.

You can check out YouTube for various Councils and their training videos. Yours might have a new one uploaded and ready for you to view.

Girl Scout Leader Training Online

The GSUSA recognizes that leaders have busy lives. One way they help new volunteers is with online scout leader training. There are different online leader training courses available at their website. You will need to register each course and get a password in order to take the online training classes.

When Should I Take Girl Scout Leader Training?

Every level of Girl Scouts has it’s own unique leadership coursework. Typically, if you are a new Daisy Girl Scout leader, you will take your training class as soon as you sign up to lead a troop. 

Photo from Pixabay

For Brownie, Junior and older girls, there are separate leadership training classes to take at each level. While it is optimal to take them at the beginning of the scouting year, it is not always possible. In my area, local training for my level is spotty. I was a Brownie leader for an entire year before the required coursework was given locally. I am happy to volunteer my time, but I refuse to drive an hour each way for a one hour training class.

If you are unsure of what courses you are required to complete, ask your contact person on your Service Unit team. She can guide you and let you know exactly classes are necessary for you to continue meeting safely with your troop.

Where Can Girl Scout Daisy Leaders Find Fun Patches?

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Updated October 2019

When I started leading my Girl Scout Daisy troop back in 2008, I had no idea what the difference was between a Girl Scout badge and a fun patch. A badge is something the girls earn by doing various activities towards a specific goal and is worn on the front of the uniform.

A fun patch can be given for participating in an event or an activity. For example, if your troop does a food drive for a community service project, then you can buy each girl who participated a fun patch for that activity. These are sewn onto the back of a tunic, vest, or sash.

Photos by Hannah Gold and image created on Canva

To tell the truth, I never bought a single fun patch for the girls in my troop during their two years as Daisy Scouts. One reason is that we had no funds other than the $25 dues that I collected from each girl. The other reason is that the Girl Scout store was a trip for me and it was difficult to get there when my children were younger.

Personally, while I see merit in wanting to have some Girl Scout fun patches, I don't understand why every single thing a troop does requires a fun patch. When I see photos of girls who need extra material to put these patches, I think of "mompetition". To me, it screams the following:

"My troop has more patches than your troop." 
"See how active we are." 
"I'm a very involved leader."

Maybe it is because I am an older, wiser mom and troop leader, but I think it is silly to waste all that money on patches. Badges, yes, patches, no. Even when my troop became older, I only bought special fun patches. For example, we scrapbooked for years, so every girl received that patch. For our canned food drive for our Girl Scout 100th anniversary community service project back in 2012, I bought a patch for both of those occasions. When we went on a Build a Bear field trip, each girl received a fun patch as part of the trip.

Photo by Hannah Gold

If you are interested in learning more about fun patches, you can read this blog post that explains it all.

There are many places online where you can buy fun patches for your troop. Here are some of them.

Making Friends

The Making Friends website is one place I used many times over the years when my troop was younger. Not only do they have free printables and craft ideas, they sell tons of reasonably priced fun patches. Sign up for the emails and find out when the sales are happening.

Snappy Logos

Snappy Logos is a site leaders love. Not only can you find reasonably priced patches, there are sale and clearance patches as well. In addition, you have flat rate shipping. You can stock up on your badges and buy them all at once. Don't worry about ordering extras, you can save them for girls who may lose one or you can resell them in Girl Scout Facebook groups.

BCG Patches

This site was launched by Lora Brinkman, a Girl Scout leader who saw her girls bored by traditional programs. In addition to patch programs and patches, she also some downloadable freebies.

Advantage Emblem

This site make all kinds of custom designs and patches. You can find Girl Scout fun patches here.

eBay

You can buy buy one patch or a lot of patches on eBay. Just search what you are looking for and see what pops up in your search.

Fun patches are nice to have, but don't go spending all of your cookie money on dues on them.