Free Girl Scout World Thinking Day 2019 Resources for Leaders

In just a few short weeks, on February 22nd, it is going to be Girl Scout World Thinking Day 2019.

Just what is Girl Scout World Thinking Day?

According the the GSUSA website, World Thinking Day is a celebration of Girl Scouts and Girl Guides everywhere...over 150 countries around the world! Scouts work on making changes in the world to make a better place for everyone.

Every year a new theme is selected, and this year it is Leadership. 

If you are knee deep in cookies sales or are just trying to figure out how to earn petals at each meeting, have no fear! I have free World Thinking Day resources for you to use and a simple five step meeting plan that any leader can implement.

World Thinking Day 2019 Meeting Plans

In this blog post, I have created an incredibly easy meeting plan for you to use. Since the girls are Daisy Scouts, you can select the country and do what works easiest for you. 

Free Girl Scout World Thinking Day 2019 Resources

On my main Girl Scout blog, I have a long post with lots of free WTYD resources, including games to play and free printable passports for you to print and use. You can find them here.

What are your plans for World Thinking Day?

New Thin Mints® Cookie Bear Has Arrived at Build a Bear

Young Scouts love to go to Build a Bear with their earned cookie money. Here is the newest bear in the Girl Scout line!

*This post contains affiliate links.

She's finally here! The brand new Thin Mints® Cookie Bear is now available at Build a Bear.

Available at Build a Bear

Make a sweet new friendship with your own Thin Mints® Cookie Bear! With mint-colored fur and a fun doodle print on the ears and paw pads, this bear is the perfect companion for all the unforgettable experiences that come with being a Girl Scout.

Available at Build a Bear

This is gift set of the new bear and the dress. This fashionable outfit is available separately.

Find these fun items and all Build a Bear Girl Scout items here. Buy them before they sell out!

10 Free Printables for Girl Scout Cookie Season-Thank You Notes, Door Hangers and More

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.

Image from Canva

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.

Girl Scout Thank You cards and printables can be found:

Fashionable Moms Updated 2019 free printables. Go to the Google Drive link to see them all

Troop Leader Mom Door hangers for people who are not home

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

Mommy Snippets Bookmark thank you

Get Smoore Printable Thank you

Sowdering About Printable Door Hangers

10 Girl Scout Cookie Booth Selling Tips

Updated December 2021

In many parts of the country, it is Girl Scout cookie selling season. As a new leader, I am sure you have many questions about what to do and how to do it.

Images by Hannah Gold and altered by the author in Canva

One of the ways to get your troop to sell like a team is to work cookie booths. Girl Scout Daisies need to have fewer booths and shorter work times than older scouts, but this is still the number one way for troops to sell massive quantities of cookies.

On my main Girl Scout leader blog, you can read 10 Girl Scout Cookie Booth Selling Tips-How to Rock Your Booth and Increase Sales This Cookie Season. All of these tips will work for younger scouts.

Good luck with your sales!

5 Activities to Earn the Light Blue Daisy Petal Honest and Fair

One of the things in life that gets to people is the fairness and unfairness of things that happen. To little girls, being fair means being equal with others, whether it is a level playing field (everyone having the same equipment) or having the same amount of an object. 

There are many great ideas on how to earn the light blue Daisy petal, Honest and Fair. You may want to start the meeting with examples of situations that are fair and not fair. Girls can stand up if it is fair or stay seated if it is unfair. This will help keep the girls actively engaged. After they decided what the answer is, ask them why they chose the answer they did.

Image from Pixabay and altered by the author in Canva

Here are some examples of fair and unfair situations. You may also want to point out that fair does not always mean equal. The older you become the more privileges kids have.

-Your brother/sister gets two scoops of ice cream for dessert and you get one.
-You did not do your chores and now you do not get your weekly allowance.
-Your leader cancels the Girl Scout field trip because one girl did not behave.
-The leader never changes the Kaper Chart jobs.
-Team A has 10 players and Team B has 5.
-Your older sibling has a later bedtime than you do.
-Your 17 year old sister can drive the family car but you cannot.
-You save a seat at the lunch table for one person and no one else can sit there.

1. While doing an craft or activity, give an unfair amount of supplies to each girl. Have them figure out how to divide things evenly. To avoid tears, before starting the craft, tell the girls that the person who put together the craft packets may have made some mistakes putting them together. They need to figure out how to help each other in order to finish the task (this can also be used for the Violet Daisy petal, Be a Sister to Every Girl Scout).

2. Another activity is to give out plastic bags or cups of a wrapped candy, such as Starburst or Hershey Kisses. All have different amounts. Put the girls into small groups and have them divide the candy up so each gets the same amount of candy. If you are not a leader who wants to serve candy or chocolate, you can do this with crayons, beads, or any other object you have on hand.

Image from Pixabay

3. Play the game Musical Chairs. It is a classic on things not being equal!

4. Have each girl lead a game of Simon Says. However, each girl only gets to say 1-2 things and one girl gets to do a lot. Talk about fairness.

5. The Band-Aid Game. This is a free game to download from Teachers Pay Teachers. You can find it here.

For more ideas on how to earn the light blue Daisy Petal, Honest and Fair, you can check out these blog posts (keep scrolling after the first long post to find the others).

Where to Find Free Field Trips for Your Daisy Troop

Updated October 2019

There are many places to find free field trips for your Daisy troop While meetings with the girls are fun, it is a nice change of pace for everyone to get out of the building where you meet and go on a field trip. There are many free field trips for your Daisy troop to go on if you just do a little research.

Your best local resource for finding free field trips for your Daisy troop is to send an email out to your Service Unit team. In your note, ask them to send out an email to all the leaders asking them what kinds of free local field trips other troops in the area have gone on successfully. This can be compiled into a list for all leaders in your Service Unit to use. There are places in your area that you may not be aware of! I should know...this happened to me! 

Image from Pixabay and altered by the author in Canva

There is a nature preserve about ten minutes from where our girls live that led free nature hikes for local Girl Scout troops. I only knew about it because my co-leader had taken her older daughter's troop there years ago. The trip was arranged, the paperwork was filled out, and the girls had a blast!

Another place to find free field trips for your Daisy troop is to ask on your leader Facebook page. When I was a Daisy leader we did not have a leader page, but now we do. You may get answers there if it is an active page.

Your co-leader and you can also brainstorm a list of ideas for places to go. Find some potential dates, split the list, and start calling.

Place to Visit

Police and Fire Stations

Within your community, you can visit your local police and fire stations to earn the Magenta Daisy petal, Respect Myself and Others. You are certainly not the first scout troop to call and ask to visit. When calling, ask how long the tour will take so you can give parents a time for pick up.

Image from Pixabay

Fitness Studios

Another place for a potential free field trip for your Daisy troop is a dance, yoga, or fitness studio. Call and ask if the girls can take a free class. This is great advertising for the studio and the girls can get in some exercise and earn their fitness badges! If you know someone who is a personal trainer, she can come to a meeting and teach the girls a class at no cost. When my troop was second year Brownies, we took a free karate class because one of the parents took her children there and she asked for us. Another great trip that did not cost a penny!

Image from Pixabay

Supermarkets

Many supermarkets will give the girls a "behind the scenes" tour of where their families shop for their weekly groceries. It may amaze them as to how food is prepared-especially the fish department! Along the way, free samples are given out to the hungry girls.

Banks

As part of learning about Financial Literacy, many banks across the country offer free tours to schools, youth groups, and scouts.

Retail Stores

Retailers are another great source for free field trips. Along with asking your local mom and pop stores, there are several major retailers that offer badge earning workshops and tours for all levels of Girl Scouts. You can read about four of them here on my all level Girl Scout website.

Image from Pixabay and altered by the author in Canva

Planning the Trip

After you have chosen the place and the date for your free Girl Scout Daisy field trip, you need to fill out all of the necessary paperwork. Let your Council contact know when you are going and all of the details so you can get your trip approval number. The Girl Scouts are very strict with field trip rules. If you take a trip without permission and something happens, you are not covered by Girl Scout insurance.

All girls need to have their permission slips to go. When you send these home, ask for parent volunteers, especially if you have a young Daisy troop. Parents need to be background checked and a registered volunteer in order to be a driver.

Having a small budget does not mean you cannot take field trips with your troop. Doing a little bit of homework will yield great results.