Girl Scout Daisy Cookie Sale Resources

*This post contains affiliate links. 

It's that time of year...Girl Scout cookie season!

If you decided to take the plunge and sell cookies with your troop, here are some blog posts from the past to help you get your bearings.

One thing that girls love is to receive recognition for their accomplishments (and come to think of it, don't we all love to be recognized for a job well done?)

In my Teachers Pay Teachers shop, I have a Girl Scout Daisy Certificate and Cookie Box Label product.  

The 9 items included in this resource are:

• First Cookie Booth certificate
• Daisy Specific Congratulations certificate
• Hard Work certificate
• Enthusiastic Helper certificate
• First Cookie Booth certificate
• Certificate of Appreciation for the girls' help
• Certificate of Thanks for Cookie Mom
• Certificate of Thanks for Cookie Dad
• Set of 8 Daisy "Thank You" labels girls can cut and paste to their cookie boxes

Every girl is going to contribute in one way or another. Some may have a lot of parental support while others will have none. Girls who help at meetings can also be recognized for their efforts.

These certificates can be given at your troop cookie selling celebration. They are perfect for Girl Scout scrapbooks!

What are your cookie goals for the year?

Thanksgiving Crafts and Games for In Person and Virtual Girl Scout Meetings

Here are some fresh and fun Thanksgiving crafts and games ideas that will make your Thanksgiving themed Girl Scout meeting more fun, whether you are in person or are meeting virtually.

*This post contains affiliate links.

With the weather getting colder in most parts of the country, leaders who have been able to meet in person with their troop may now finding themselves working virtually. There is, of course, a huge difference in the way the two are conducted. It is far easier to keep the girls’ attention when you are meeting in person. With the Thanksgiving holiday season right around the corner, here are some fun things you can do to liven up your in person or virtual meetings.

Image created by the author on Canva

Before Your Meeting

Before your meeting, give the parents a RSVP date because you need to order items. No RSVP, no fun bag for the meeting. This needs to be made clear to the parents, as I have read on several Facebook posts in various Girl Scout troops that leaders are spending time and money and girls are not showing up or logging in. That depletes your time, your enthusiasm, and your troop bank account.

After you have received your RSVPs for the meeting, put all of the items you will be using in a bag and labeled for each girl. By doing it this way, the girls get what they get and there no complaining should be tolerated because it is handed out randomly. Parents can do porch pick up for the items.

Thanksgiving Sunglasses

This set includes three designs with three of each. They are made of durable cardboard. What a hoot these would be on your virtual or in person meeting!

 

  Available on Amazon

 

  Available on Amazon

Turkey Headbands

These headbands will transform your troop into a bunch of turkeys! This set comes with 12 headbands.

 

  

  Available on Amazon

Thanksgiving Bingo

In your bag, place 1 or 2 Bingo cards for each girl. You can add candy corn for markers as you call each game.

 

  

Available on Amazon

Make Thanksgiving Cards for Family or as a Community Service Project

You can arrange with a local nursing home to deliver Thanksgiving cards your troop made. Use sturdy cardstock so they can stand alone. Use these fall foam stickers to make them pop. Children can write a message on the inside of their card and sign, for safety reasons, only their first name.

These are peel and stick foam stickers that are easy for the girls to use.

 

Available on Amazon

Make a Fall Necklace

Another fun activity that can be done in person or virtually is to have your girls create a fall necklace. Provide the elastic in the bag as well as the beads.

 

  

  Available on Amazon

A Fun Game to Play

Do you need a time filler or something to do while you are waiting for the other girls to show up? Here are 50 Thanksgiving Would You Rather questions for kids.

What are you planning for your Thanksgiving meeting?

Host a Girl Scout Friendsgiving and Earn Three Daisy Petals

While we may be in the weeks before Halloween and Girl Scout Founder's Day, it isn't too early to think about thinking about and planning your November meetings.

Image created by the author on Canva

With Thanksgiving only a month away, this is a good time to think about having a Girl Scout Friendsgiving meeting with your troop. You can these earn up to three Daisy petals while during this meeting

Green Daisy Petal-Use Resources Wisely

Rose Daisy Petal-Make the World a Better Place

Yellow Daisy Petal-Friendly and Helpful

Because every Council has different Covid safety rules about where your can meet and the activities you can do, you might have to tweak some of the ideas here. 

Hosting a Girl Scout Friendsgiving

If you are planning to serve food, you will have to consider the following:

• Does it need to be individually packaged?
• Do girls in your troop have dietary restrictions due to allergies or religious beliefs?
• What will you be serving? Bite sized items or a complete meal?

Whatever you decide to do food-wise, a SignUp Genius is my favorite way to get help, stay organized, and keep everyone in the loop. You can also ask for paper goods and beverages as well on your sign up.

Girl Scout Friendsgiving Crafts for Daisies

Image created by the author on Canva

Earn the Green Daisy Petal

In order to earn the Green Daisy petal, Use Resources Wisely, you can do a toilet paper tube turkey craft. There are many ways to create one. Here are some images and sites for you to use. 

Earn the Rose Daisy Petal

During your meeting, girls can make Thanksgiving cards to be distributed to a senior citizen facility.

Earn the Yellow Daisy Petal

If you are able to serve Thanksgiving fare, ask families to bring a traditional favorite food that is on their holiday table. Girls can help their parent prepare the dish (helpful) and then share it with the troop (friendly). The girls can also have a chance to speak and explain a bit about the dish that is being served.

Another way for your troop to earn the yellow Daisy petal is to make an edible cornicopia. Get enough supplies for them to make two-one to eat and one to share with someone in their family.

The girls can help clean up, which is helpful, and another way to earn the yellow petal.

What are you doing with your Daisy troop this November?

10 Tips for Recruiting Girl Scouts

You are full of enthusiasm to start leading a new troop of Girl Scout Daisies. When you check your roster, there are only two other girls listed besides your daughter. How can you recruit more girls?

Here are 10 tips to help increase your ranks.

1. First of all, relax. Back to school is a busy time for everyone, and parents are working out the logistics of work and activities. Plus, not everyone is gung ho to start a kindergartener on a new activitiy when their chld is adjusting to a new school. You may see your numbers increase as the school year progresses and word gets out that there is a troop available.

Image created by the author on Canva

My troop started out with six in kindergarten and we went to twelve by first grade (my maximum number). 

2. Ask the school if they can send around a flyer to knidergarten and/or first grade classes advertising your troop. In all my years as a parent and a teacher, this was something my local Service Unit did every fall. If yours does not, ask if they will.

3. If your school has a parent run Facebook group for each grade level, you can share in that space that you are starting a new troop. No such group? Start one!

4. Do you pick up your child at school? If you are permitted to congregate in the open space, you can talk to other parents about your troop. They may not know one exists so close by.

5. Have your daughter talk about Girl Scouts with her friends. Invite them to a meeting (check you Council rules about bringing a friend).

Image created by the author on Canva

6. Post in a local parent Facebook or Nextdoor page about your troop. Remember to include the meeting time and place so people who respond know when and where the meetings take place.

7. Call your Council and make sure your troop is listed in the Service catalog. 

8. Have the parents of girls in your troop reach out to their friends with girls the same age who are eligible to join.

9. Contact your Service Unit Manager and ask for her gudiance. 

10. If you have any local MOMs groups or Parents of Twins groups, see if you can send a flyer or speak at their meeting.

I hope these 10 tips for recruiting Girl Scouts to your troop.

What have you done to add more girls?

Over 25 Easy Girl Scout Founder’s Day Ideas

 
On October 31st each year, Girl Scout Founder’s Day is celebrated by troops around the country. Here are some fun and easy ideas for you to do with your troop.

There are three holidays on the Girl Scout calendar each year. Depending on how you look at it, Girl Scout Founder’s Day is either the last one (if you go by the Gregorian calendar) or the first one if you go by the scouting calendar (the new scouting year begins on October 1st).

Either way, this is a fun meeting to have with your troop, no matter what level they are.

Image creaed by the author on Canva

Who is Juliette Gordon Low?

Juliette “Daisy” Gordon Low is the fearless leader who founded the Girl Scouts of the USA and was born on October 31, 1860.

For a full article full of facts that you can share with your troop, you can read all about Ms. Low here on the GSUSA website.

Easy Girl Scout Founder’s Day Meeting Plans for All Levels

Since starting my Girl Scout leader blog in January of 2010, I have written many blog posts on how my troop celebrated Girl Scout Founder’s Day. I also wrote posts with many other ideas on how you can celebrate with your troop.

In September, I went through each Girl Scout Founder’s Day blog post and updated them. All told, there are over 25 different ways your troop can celebrate during their meeting.

Check out each article and find the plans that will work for your troop!

A Quick and Easy Service Project for World Food Day and Founder’s Day

Celebrating Girl Scout Founder’s Day During a Pandemic (I was hoping not to ever use this one again, but with the Delta variant, some girls cannot meet in person again this year.)

10 Easy to Organize Girl Scout Founder’s Day Meeting Ideas

Friday Freebie Girl Scout Founder’s Day Girl Craft for Daisies and Brownies

Easy Girl Scout Founder’s Day Community Service Project for October 31st

11 Easy Girl Scout Founder’s Day Meeting Ideas

Girl Scout Founder’s Day Ceremonies

How My Junior Troop Celebrate Founder’s Day by Doing the Birthday in a Bag Service Project

Easy Girl Scout Founder’s Day Craft

Girl Scout Founder’s Day Activities for All Levels of Scouts

Easy Girl Scout Founder’s Day Craft

Image created by the auhor on Canva

What is your troop planning to do for Girl Scout Founder’s Day?

Free Girl Scout Daisy Poem for Leaders

Girl Scout Daisy leaders, here is a freebie just for you!

In the fall, brand new Daisy leaders will meet their troop and start their scouting journey together. One thing a leader might host is a Girl Scout Daisy investiture ceremony. For free resources on how to create this short and simple ceremony for Daisies, you can read this post.

Image created by the author on Canva

In my Teachers Pay Teachers store, Leadership Made Simple, I have just uploaded a free Girl Scout Daisy poem for an Investiture or Rededication ceremony.

The resource has two different pages:

• A poem to read set against a field of daisies. This is great for scrapbooks.
• A coloring page that can be used at a later time that features the poem.

You can find my free Girl Scout Daisy poem for investiture ceremonies here.

10 Free Girl Scout Daisy Investiture Resources

Here are free Girl Scout Daisy Investiture resources for leaders to help them plan their very first Girl Scout ceremony.

There are many different ceremonies that are a part of Girl Scouting, and one of them is the Investiture. Simply stated, this ceremony is to welcome girls to the sisterhood of Girl Scouting. Many new Daisy troops hold one a few weeks into the genesis of their troop. Older girls welcome new scouts to their troop by having a Rededication/Investiture ceremony.

Image created on Canva by the author

This is  very simple and should not be something to cause a brand new leader any kinds of stress. You can do this towards the end of a meeting or at the very beginning, your choice. It is done with parents so they can see their daughters begin their Girl Scout career.

Hosting a Daisy Girl Scout Investiture ceremony should take place after meeting a few times simply because you do not know the girls all that well and they know very little, if anything, about being a Girl Scout. You get time to practice the Girl Scout Law and Girl Scout Promise and begin to gel as a unit. 

Before the ceremony, make sure you have purchased the Girl Scout Daisy and Girl Scout pins ahead of time. Girls should have purchased a yellow tab for this.

During the meeting before your ceremony, the girls can make a simple invitation. 

Image by Workandapix on Pixabay

Materials

• Blue Construction paper
• Printed Daisy flower coloring page or Daisy stickers that fit on the front of the card
• Ceremony details printed out to fit on the inside of the card
• Glue
• Crayons
• Scissors

Have the girls color in the Daisy, cut it out and glue it to the front of the blue construction paper. On the inside, have them glue the details that you have printed out. 

For example, you can write:

Daisy Troop 12345

Invites you to their 

Investiture Ceremony

on

October 21, 2021

at

6:30

Here are 10 free resources for your Girl Scout Daisy Investiture ceremoney.

Teachers Pay Teachers-A Daisy poem for you to read.

Girl Scouts of Western Washington have several short ceremonies.

Girl Scouts of Kentucky have a short and sweet ceremony.

Girl Scout Carolina Peaks to Piedmont has two pages for leaders.

Cranford Girl Scouts has a ceremony for Daisies.

Girl Scouts of Western New York has a few pages for leaders to use with Daisy Scouts.

Keeping It Easy and Simple is a blogger who shares about her ceremony.

Daisy Leader Garden is a blog post where a leader of kindergarten Daisy Scouts shares what she did. Not traditional, but her troop had fun!

Troop 2932's leader shares what she did with her Daisies.

Scouting Out Adventure is another leader's Investiture ceremony.

There are also many videos on YouTube featuring Daisy Investiture ceremonies. This will help those who are more visual.

Are you planning on having a Daisy Girl Scout Investiture Ceremony? Please share what you did and how it went!

 

Teachers Pay Teachers Site-Wide Sale August 3rd-4th

Are you a leader in need of resources for the new scouting year? Teachers Pay Teachers site-wide sale is just what you need to get Back to Troop resources at a discounted price.

*This post contains affiliate links.

If you want some easy to use ideas for running your troop, then head on over to my Teachers Pay Teachers store, Leadership Made Simple, to get Back to Troop items for your troop. Everything is on sale for 25% off! This sale takes place four times a year.

In my store you will find items for:

Daisies

Brownies

Juniors

Cadettes

Image from The Old Barn Teaching Co on TpT and used with permission on Canva

Girl Scout Daisy Start Up Kit for New Leaders

Are you a brand new Girl Scout Daisy leader or know someone who is? My Girl Scout Daisy Start Up Kit is just what she needs to get ready for her first meeting.

*This post contains affiliate links.

Summer time has always been a down time for me with my real world jobs and an up time for my onine writing. I am fortuante enough to work in a profession that is family friendly. It is also writer friendly as well. With my older daughter grown and flown and my younger two busy with jobs, college, and cosemtology school, I have more quiet time to myself. I especially enjoy my mornings writing in my shady backyard, or when the weather is not cooperative, writing in my sunroom.

This quiet time has given me the opportunity to work on my newest venture, my Teachers Pay Teachers store, Leadership Made Simple.

Image created by the author on Canva

Starting Something New

I felt like a brand new blogger all over again as I learned the ropes of Teachers Pay Teachers (TpT). When I launched my Girl Scout Leader blog in January of 2010, I had absolutely no clue what I was doing. It was only over time that I learned. And when I migrated the blog from Blogger to Wordpress, it was once again starting over.

This past December, I started watching one YouTube video after another on how TpT works, taking notes in my sprial notebook, and then trying out what I saw on my laptop over and over again. Trust me, it was frustrating, especially the technical aspects of Google Slides and learning how to "flatten" a product. As a preschool teacher, technology is not a part of my classroom. In my role as a Hebrew School teacher, we had limited technology use before Covid hit. It wasn't until March 2020 that we were forced to be experts.

Because leaders were meeting virtually, I developed a "Would You Rather" game that they could use that way. In addition, I created a free World Thinking Day Planner for their personal use and a Word Search that could be put in meeting bags with other materials.

I cannot tell you how long it took me to figuure all of that out.

I am incredibly grateful to all of the TpT YouTubers who taught me how to open up my shop, create a product, and then upload it. Without them, there would be no shop!

The Genesis of the Girl Scout Daisy Start Up Kit

We all get comfortable doing things we know how to do. I have been teaching since 1987, and I can walk into any classroom and teach a lesson. It is second nature to me. I led my daughter's troop for 13 years, so if I was going to start a new Kindergarten Daisy troop this fall, I could do it.

And as I just decribed in the previous paragraphs, I needed to learn a whole new skill set to start my Teachers Pay Teachers store. I had plenty of help from other Teacher/Authors who have videos and blog posts and materials on TpT for me to download. By no means am I am expert yet! There is still so much to learn and I am happy to master each aspect of TpT one product at a time.

Being a TpT newbie taught me how important it is to have a hand up and step-by-step guides to get started, especially to someone who had not taught with all of this new technology. It made me think about all the new leaders who will be joining the ranks this summer and fall. What is out there to guide them?

The Girl Scout Daisy Start Up Kit is Born

It took me a long time to create the Girl Scout Daisy Starter Kit, and not just beacause of the technology! I would create, edit, and then add more content. I would put it aside for a few days, and look at it again with fresh eyes and a refreshed brain. I added more content. Finally it was finished!

What is in the Girl Scout Daisy Start Up Kit?

This Girl Scout Daisy Leader Start Up Kit has everything you need to prepare for your first meeting with your troop. There are 17 pages to help you get everything together before you meet with your girls.

Included in this kit:

Preparation Before Your First Meeting Materials

First Daisy Meeting Checklist

Meeting With Your Co-Leader Checklist

10 Essential New Leader Tips

An Easy to Follow Meeting Routine

PLUS

A start to finish plan for your very first Girl Scout Daisy meeting that includes:

Name tags

Three Getting to Know You Games

Two craft choices

Craft templates

Materials list

BONUS Coloring Page

You can purchase your own Girl Scout Daisy Start Up Kit here.

TpT is having their sitewide Back to School sale next week. Follow me, make a Wish List, and get ready to buy at a discount!

What do you wish you had or you knew as a new Daisy leader?

30 Fun Ideas for an Olympic Themed Daisy Meeting

This summer we will finally have a return to normalcy. Included in this return are the summer Olympics that will be hosted in Tokyo, Japan. Delayed due to the pandemic, these athletes have had to train longer and harder that their counterparts from previous years.

Whether you are winding down for the summer or have plans for outdoor gatherings, I wrote a post on my main Girl Scout blog that can help you celebrate the summer games.

Image created by the author on Canva

Come on over and read "30 Fun Ideas for an Olympic Themed Girl Scout Meeting". You will find 30 ideas-outdoor games, snacks and more-related to the Olympics.

Certificates for Finishing First Year Daisy Scouts

It is the end of scouting season for many Girl Scout Daisy leaders. For those who are completing year one, here is a first year Daisy certificate that you can hand out at your end of the year celebration.

Updated April 2022

*This post contains affiliate links.

Congratulations on completing your first year as a Daisy leader! And what a time to start your leadership role-during a world-wide pandemic!

You made it and so did your troop. While some of you are deciding to meet over the summer, I chose not to do that. I carried the load by myself all year, and my teacher brain and school calendar dictated that summer time is my time to rejuvinate. The only time my troop ever met in the summer was when they were Girl Scout Seniors who needed to complete a journey.

This is a non-bridging year for your troop. If you are planning a last Court of Awards or a simple fun last meeting of the year (that is what I did-a field trip or an easy craft and food), you can give your girls a certificate that shows they complete their first year of Girl Scout Daisies.

Image created by the author on Canva

The certificate can be put in their Girl Scout scrapbook or hung in their room.

I created a simple and inexpensive First Year Daisy Certificate on Teachers Pay Teachers.

Please be sure to check it out and rate it. You get points that convert into cash when you buy products and rate them.

For those of you who are bridging, I do have Girl Scout Daisy to Brownie Bridging Certificates.

Are you having an end of the year celebration?

7 Places to Find Free Printable Girl Scout Daisy Bridging Certificates

It's that time of year when your Girl Scout Daisy troop is soon going to bridge to Girl Scout Brownies! It is an exciting time for all of you. To commemorate this auspicious occasion, here are seven places where you can find free printable Girl Scout Bridging Certificates.

For those of you who are starting to plan your Girl Scout Daisy Bridging Ceremony, you may be considering giving the girls something as they cross over the "bridge". Many leaders like to give girls some kind of certificate, which makes the event look so much more grown up and official. 

Image created by the author in Canva.

Clipart by Clipartion on Etsy

There are several free online Girl Scout bridging certificates that you can pring. If you do not want to use your own ink, print one original and take it to your local Staples or Office Max to print. Save the receipt so you can be reimbursed.

You can find free printable Girl Scout bridging certificates at these websites:

Free Printable Certificates

Service Unit 701 Files

Girl Scout Printables

Mighty Girls Rock (must join her Facebook group to print)

My Fashionable Designs

Girl Scouts Carolina Peaks to Piedmont (you can prit one, white out or cover their council name, and just leave "Girl Scouts" on your certificate.)

Teachers Pay Teachers

Are you planning on giving out free printable Girl Scout bridging certificates to your troop?