How to Earn All Four Girl Scout Daisy Financial Leaves

If you have decided to sell cookies with your Daisy troop and need some guidance on how to earn the Girl Scout Daisy Financial Leaves, here are meeting plans for you to earn each one.

While there is no specific order to earn the leaves, it is my opinion that the Money Counts leaf, which exposes the girls to money, should be the first one you do with them.

How to Earn the Girl Scout Daisy Money Counts Leaf

Here is the meeting plan for your girls to earn the Girl Scout Daisy Money Counts leaf.

How to Earn the Girl Scout Daisy Talk It Up Leaf

In this blog post you will find everything you need to know to earn the Girl Scout Daisy Talk It Up Leaf.

How to Earn the Girl Scout Daisy Making Choices Leaf

Making choices is important. In this blog post, your here are the meeting plans so your troop will earn the Girl Scout Daisy Making Choices Leaf.

How to Earn the Girl Scout Daisy Count It Up Leaf

Here is how your troop can earn the Girl Scout Daisy Count It Up Leaf.

How to Earn the Girl Scout Daisy Talk It Up Leaf

Discover how to earn the Girl Scout Daisy Talk It Up leaf as your troop learns how to use the money it has earned.

Updated January 2021

*Please bear in mind that we are in a pandemic. Skipping cookies this year or having a small sales goal is perfectly acceptable. Years ago, Girl Scout Daisies were not permitted to sell cookies. Their safety and yours is paramount.

The final leaf that your Daisy Girl Scouts can earn is called Talk It Up. At this point, the girls are starting their cookie sales and you will be tracking your progress to reach the goals that you made with the Count It Up leaf. Armed with knowledge about the different types of cookies, what money looks like and knowing what things cost, the girls are ready for the big time!

Here is how your girls can earn the Girl Scout Daisy Talk It Up leaf.

By Dsafdy (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons and altered by the author on Canva

Step 1 How to Earn the Girl Scout Daisy Talk It Up Leaf

Decide How to Use Your Cookie Money

Ask girls if they know what saving money means and discuss why it is important to save. If the girls want to go on a big trip with their earnings, then it cannot all be spent on other things during the rest of the scouting year.

At the end of the sale, make a chart like the one in the Daisy binder and have the girls see the numbers.

Step 2 How to Earn the Girl Scout Daisy Talk It Up Leaf
Talk About How to Use Cookie Money to Help Others

Life isn't always about us. It also has to be about others...that is the crux of the Girl Scout Promise. Friendly and Helpful, Considerate and Caring, Respect Myself and Others... it is what scouts do.

After you have decided on where you want a portion of the money to go, have the girls create a poster to share at your booth. If it an animal shelter, you can print out pictures animals and the organization's logo.

Step 3 How to Earn the Girl Scout Daisy Talk It Up Leaf
Inspire Your Customers

Some girls do not mind talking to strangers while others can do it easily. It is a good idea to role play different cookie scenarios with them so they do not get upset if someone says, "No, thank you" or asks them how the money they raise is used.

How to Earn the Girl Scout Daisy Count It Up Leaf

Discover how to earn the Girl Scout Daisy Count it Up leaf as your troop undertakes the tradition of selling Girl Scout cookies.

Updated January 2021

*Please bear in mind that we are in a pandemic. Skipping cookies this year or having a small sales goal is perfectly acceptable. Years ago, Girl Scout Daisies were not permitted to sell cookies. Their safety and yours is paramount.

The third Daisy leaf in the quartet the girls can earn is called Count It Up. This can be done at the start of cookie selling season. Although I am not a fan of first year leaders selling cookies, if you are going to, start by reading this blog post on 10 Girl Scout Cookie Selling Tips for New Leaders.

Here is how your troop can earn the Daisy Girl Scout Count It Up Leaf.

Photo from Pixabay

Step 1 to Earn the Girl Scout Daisy Count It Up Leaf

Find Out What Cookies Cost

Depending on where you live, Girl Scout cookies cost $4.00 or $5.00 a box. How many one dollar bills is that? If someone gives you a $5.00 bill, how much change should s/he get back?

Step 2 to Earn the Girl Scout Daisy Count It Up Leaf
Learn About the Different Kinds of Cookies

Here is an opportunity for a taste testing party (of course, if there are allergies, you will either have to skip this or make sure that child/children does not eat something she shouldn't).  This also does not mean that you have to open one of every flavor, maybe one or two of the classics and one of the newest flavor to join the cookie family.

Photo Collage by Hannah Gold

On my Girl Scout Cookie Selling Ideas Pinterest board, there are a few games that you can make (if you want) to help the girls learn about the cookies they will be selling. 

Step 3 to Earn the Girl Scout Daisy Count It Up Leaf
Set Sales Goals

Materials

• Posterboard
• Markers

Before the meeting, make a large thermometer on a piece of posterboard and entitle it "Troop 12345's Cookie Goals". This is a TROOP GOAL POSTER and not to be an individual girl poster. Cookie season brings out the worst in leaders. Troop money is troop money and if you do not believe me, it is written on page 21 in the official Girl Scouts Blue Book.

Cookie selling is voluntary and I wrote about it in depth in this blog post on my main Girl Scout leader site and in this post on my Daisy blog.

I also have a blog post on why girls do not sell 1,000 boxes of Girl Scout cookies and why leaders need to stop stressing over it. You can read it here.

Talk to your girls about how many boxes they want to sell as a troop. Are they realistic? Young children really do not have a strong concept of numbers that are large, or even small for that matter. It is hard for them to visualize the difference between 100 and 1000. You may want to bring in some kind of visual, like a bag of beans or math chips, to demonstrate the difference.

You may want to make incremental goals with a small reward as you go up the chart. For example, at the 100 box mark you may want to give them a special sticker or a small, edible treat. While not necessary, it does give little girls a reward for the work they are doing.

How to Earn the Girl Scout Daisy Making Choices Leaf

Discover how to earn the Girl Scout Daisy Making Choices leaf as your troop begins to understand the difference between needs and wants.

Updated January 2021

*Please bear in mind that we are in a pandemic. Skipping cookies this year or having a small sales goal is perfectly acceptable. Years ago, Girl Scout Daisies were not permitted to sell cookies. Their safety and yours is paramount.

If you are a parent, then you know the challenges of taking your child out to a store. It does not matter what kind of store it is, almost always, children will find something that they want. Then there is the inevitable conversation about why she cannot have the newly coveted item. And all you hope for is to leave the store without a scene.

It does get a bit better when your child is older because they have a clearer understanding of needs versus wants. My kids still ask for things, and if they truly want it, they have to figure out a way to earn all or part of the money for the item in question if I do not feel it is a need.

The Girl Scout Daisy Making Choices leaf is all about teaching the girls about needs versus wants.

Photo from Pixabay

Step 1 How to Earn the Girl Scout Daisy Making Choices Leaf

Find Out the Difference Between Needs Versus Wants

Materials

Pictures cut out of magazines or printed off the internet of needs (houses, food, clothing) and wants (toys, a swimming pool, a television). They should be large in size so the girls can see it easily.

Sit the girls in a circle and ask what they think they need to live. How is that different from things they want? (you need a house, you do not need a Barbie car).

Show each picture. Have the girls stand up if it is a want and stay seated if it is a need. Ask why they made the choices they did.

Step 2 How to Earn the Girl Scout Daisy Making Choices Leaf

Try Setting a Goal and Saving for What You Want

Materials

• Goal chart (search for one that you like online)
• Crayons or markers

This step ties in with the third step of the Money Counts leaf. Once you find out what the item you want costs, then you have to figure out a way to earn the money to buy it.

Ask the girls to think about one thing they want to buy but have not earned the money for it yet.  Talk about ways to achieve that goal. Can they do chores around the house or save money from birthdays or holidays?

Have the girls color around the goal chart and write the name of what they want at the top. At home they can find out how much the item costs and then start working towards that goal.

Step 3 How to Earn the Girl Scout Daisy Making Choices Leaf

Help Others With What They Need and Want

Ask the girls to imagine what they feel like when they are hungry. Is it a good feeling?  How do they feel if they are wearing shoes that are too small-can they run and play like they do if they are wearing shoes that fit?

Talk about children who may be lacking in the basics that the girls take for granted. How can they help?

List their ideas and vote on one to work on. Inform the parents that for the next meeting you will collecting items for the organization the girls want to donate to. Remember to contact them prior to the meeting so they do not forget.

How to Earn the Girl Scout Daisy Money Counts Leaf

Discover how to earn the Girl Scout Daisy Money Counts Leaf with your troop, which is the first Financial Literacy leaf to do.

*This post contains affiliate links.



Updated January 2021

*Please bear in mind that we are in a pandemic. Skipping cookies this year or having a small sales goal is perfectly acceptable. Years ago, Girl Scout Daisies were not permitted to sell cookies. Their safety and yours is paramount.

The Financial Literacy leaves are easy to incorporate during Girl Scout Cookie season. Late fall, right before the holidays, is the perfect time to introduce them because advertisements on television, radio and online are all focused on what to buy for someone or what you want someone to buy for you during the upcoming holiday season.

The first leaf to introduce is the Daisy Girl Scout Money Counts leaf. Be prepared to see that young children are not money savvy, and for many, they have never handled coins or bills before. When I was growing up, candy could still be bought for a penny, candy bars for a nickel or a dime, and packs of Donny Osmond cards for 7 cents. When Staples used to have the penny sales a few years ago during the Back to School season, I took my children there to buy items with coins. There is little opportunity for children to do that today.

The point of this leaf is not to make this seem like school, but to introduce money in a fun way.  

Here are activities you can do to help your girls earn the Daisy Money Counts leaf.

Image created on Canva

Step 1 to Earn the Girl Scout Daisy Money Counts Leaf 
Understand Different Kinds of Coins

Before your meeting, you will have to decide whether you are using real coins or play money. Then put the same type and amount of coins in individual baggies for each girl so they can do the activity.

Sit in a circle and do not hand out the girls their individual bags of coins until you are ready to use them. Teacher tip: A child will not pay attention to you, but they will start playing with any object set in front of them.

Hold each coin and talk about it-what is it worth?  Whose picture is on it? Then hold one up at a time in random order and have the girls shout out which coin it is.

Hand out a bag to each girl and have them empty it in front of them. Call out the name of a coin and have each child hold it up.  Then have them make a pattern based on the name of the coin you say. For example, "Lay out each coin as I say it. Penny, penny nickel, nickel, penny, penny, nickel, nickel: etc. Repeat a few times with different combinations. Collect the coins when done.

Another activity you can do with the bag of coins is to have the girls sort them. Place four paper or foam bowls in the center of the floor. Ask the girls to take turns and place whatever you call in the correct bowl. For example, "Place two pennies in the penny bowl."  The bowls can have a coin taped to the outside so the girls know which one to place it in.

A third thing you can do is have the girls examine each coin with a magnifying glass. Discuss how they are the same and different.

Step 2 to Earn the Girl Scout Daisy Money Counts Leaf 

Know More About Paper Money

Play Money Available on Amazon

When it comes to paper bills, I would use play money. This is an investment because there are activities you can do with them to teach the girls about money and giving change when they are older Brownie and Junior Girl Scouts.

Give each girl a play one dollar bill and talk about it. Repeat for the other bills. Then ask them how many one dollar bills equals a five dollar bill? A ten dollar bill? In teams, they can count the money together.

Step 3 to Earn the Girl Scout Daisy Money Counts Leaf
Find Out the Cost of Fun

If you are going to be selling cookies, what are you going to do with the money you make? Many girls want to go to a fun place like Build-a-Bear or make your own pottery class. Of course, this costs money! Talk with them about planning such an activity at the end of the troop year. 

You can use your phone to look up the cost of the trip and break it down for the girls to see.'

In addition, you can ask them what things they like to do that do not cost money and see if you can incorporate some of them into a meeting. For example, going on a hike will cost nothing or playing at the park has not cost as well. Taking a craft class at the library or visiting the Fire House are two more free activities you can do with your troop.