Giving girls jobs keep them actively involved with every troop meeting. Here is the easiest Girl Scout Kaper chart that leaders will use for years!
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Over the years, I have written extensively about Girl Scout Kaper charts (you can check out those posts here).
Recently, a leader in a Girl Scout Facebook group recently shared her version of a kaper chart, and it is mic drop genius!
I remember schlepping my large poster board kaper chart in from Daisies until 5th grade Juniors. In bad weather, I had to put it in a black garbage bag so it would not get ruined. It was one more large thing to juggle, along with my leader bag and bags of craft, cooking, or other materials for the meeting. Since we met after school, my daughter could not help me and my co-leader was coming straight from work.
This Girl Scout Kaper chart is not a chart, is easy to carry into each meeting, and is a low out of pocket (and reimbursable) expense.
Girl Scout Kaper Chart (that is not a chart)
These are wrist keychain key tags with a stretchy coil and they come in 10 assorted colors. Write the kaper on each tag and that scout wears that tag during the meeting.
These are wrist keychain key tags with a stretchy coil and they come in 10 assorted colors. Write the kaper on each tag and that scout wears that tag during the meeting.
One way to keep it "fair" with assigning jobs (you know how young children stand on that hill), put the wristlets into a gift bag or lunch bag. As part of you opening, have each girl turn her head and reach into the bag. That is her kaper for that meeting.
If you want, on a simple chart, your co-leader can keep track of who does each job at the meeting.
Need Ideas for Girl Scout Kaper Chart Jobs?
In order for this to work, each scout needs a job. Here are some ideas:
Lead the Pledge of Allegiance
Flag Holder
Lead the Girl Scout Promise and Girl Scout Law
Take attendance
Set up craft stations
Pass out papers or craft supplies
Bathroom buddy
Floater (substitute if someone is absent)
Push in chairs
Clean up crew
Game leader (selects the game your troop will play)
Lead songs
Lead a game
Lead goodbye
What do you think about this kind of Girl Scout kaper chart?
A Girl Scout Kaper Charts gives each girl in your troop a sense of responsibility at each meeting. It does not need to be difficult or expensive to put together. Here are some quick, inexpensive and easy ideas for you to use.
*This post contains affiliate links. Updated August 2021
Having a Kaper Chart is one thing that leaders use to assign jobs to girls and begin their journey to owning their meetings. By the time girls are Cadettes, they should not just be selecting which badges they wish to earn, but also leading their troopmates at the meeting in which they are earning it. But don't worry...your little Daisy Scouts are not there yet!
Image created by the author on Canva
Young children love to help and take turns doing different jobs. In this blog post, I discussed the benefits of having a Kaper Chart and what kinds of jobs you can assign each girl. Last year, I shared with leaders a list of resources that can be used for Kaper Charts. You can read it here. Your co-leader and you will have to decide how often to rotate jobs. There is no right or wrong way to do it.
Using my 13 years of Girl Scout leadership experience, I have opened a Teachers Pay Teachers store to create materials I wish I had when my troop was younger.
These Girl Scout Daisy Kaper Chart Job Cards are so simple to use. Just print, cut them out, and put on your poster board. They are colorful and feature Daisy Scouts! There are also blanks for you to fill in as well.
You can find them here, as well as many other things for Daisy leaders.
Materials to Make a Kaper Chart You do not have to get all Pinteresty with this. A few simple flourishes on white poster board on a trifold is a good base to get started. One of the easiest and versatile things to use are library pockets. These are a staple item for teachers since they are so functional. All you need is for each girl to decorate an index card that has her name on it and that is her name card for the kaper chart for the year.
Another fun accent that is inexpensive and will save you time are another teacher staple, bulletin board letters.
*This post contains affiliate links. UPDATED AUGUST 2019 A Girl Scout Kaper Chart is one way for leaders to get the girls working together as a troop and develop positive self-help skills. When the girls are younger they will only be able to do certain tasks, but as the reigns of leadership get passed onto them year after year, they will be in charge of organizing the jobs they are required to do at each meeting. (If you want to read about the different kinds of jobs girls can have, please read this blog post about Girl Scout Kaper charts) Whether you are a new Daisy leader or are entering your second year, you will want to have a portable and easy to use and maintain chore chart. In fact, creating a Kaper chart makes an excellent first meeting idea, and you can read about it in this blog post.
Image created by the author in Canva
If you do not want to spend time and effort creating the perfect kaper chart, you can buy a ready made chart and have it laminated. This way, you can change the jobs every meeting or two and use it year after year.
This Helper Chart comes with everything you need for troops with 12 or fewer girls. You can use the back of the card and a graphic that you print out yourself for jobs that are not listed here.
Another option is to buy a job poster like this one. Cover the word "Class" with the words "Girl Scout" and then have it laminated. Use a dry erase marker to write the jobs and the names of the girls.
Purchase a large piece of poster board and decorate it with these adorable owls. This set comes with 34 owls and 10 moon pieces. Laminate them so that the jobs can be changed as the girls get older.
A Kaper chart is a Girl Scout tradition and a good way to start having the girls be responsible.
Planning Your first few Girl Scout Daisy meetings does not have to be hard. Here is an easy idea to make a Girl Scout kaper chart to do with your girls that gives them a sense of responsibility.
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Updated August 2021 Planning your first Daisy meeting will fill you with excitement-and to be honest, a bit of nerves. Even though I have been teaching since 1987, even now as I begin a new school year, I get butterflies. I want to be able to connect with my students so we all can get the best from our time together.
One of the things I do to alleviate those nerves is to plan. Being organized has been key to my success as a teacher and as a leader. Think about it…if you have no idea what you are doing or are running around at the very last minute trying to put your meeting together, the stress will be evident to the girls. Having all of your ideas, materials and thoughts organized will make your meeting go smoother and it will soothe your nerves as well.
If you are planning on using a kaper chart right away, then you will want to discuss what this is and why you have one at your first meeting.
If you like this idea, email the girls' parents before you meet to bring in a face picture of their daughter that you will be using for this craft activity. They can also email a picture for you to print out.
This set of wooden stick people has 50 to a package, leaving you many extra to use for other projects to use as new girls are added to your troop. It would even be fun to collect these at the end of the year and store in a box, and then make a new one at the beginning of the next scouting year. When the girls are older, you can give them as a gift in a decorated jar when they bridge.
Or you can have the girls place them on the first page of their Girl Scout scrapbook as the start page for the new year.
First have the girls color in the body. They can write their name on the bottom of the stick, as well as the year. Once all of the coloring is done, glue the face on.
Keep these in a plastic baggie that you can attach to the kaper chart or keep in your leader bag.
*This post contains affiliate links. Updated August 2021 Girl Scout Kaper charts give the girls jobs that teach responsibility, promote teamwork and sisterhood, and keep the meetings flowing. Kaper Charts Help Your Girl Scout Meetings Run Smoothly No matter how old the girls in your troop are, from the youngest Daisy Scouts to the oldest Ambassadors, every person needs to have a part in running the meeting. While young girls will not participate in planning the activities you will be doing, they can help out in other ways.A guide for this is a Girl Scout kaper chart.A kaper is a chore that is assigned to each girl. This is one way for leaders to have decisions already made and not assign an arbitrary job to a scout. Can you actually remember who helped to pass out the papers two weeks ago or who was assigned to clean up duty? This takes the guesswork out of who has to do lead the Pledge of Allegiance and who leads the Friendship Song at the end of the meeting.
Why Should Leaders Use Kaper Charts?
The Benefits of Everyone Pitching In
There are many benefits for leaders who use this system of assigning chores. First of all, it keeps things organized and equal. A kaper chart prevents whining and cries of "It's not fair! I don't want to do that!". Assigning tasks is not arbitrary, but done on a scheduled rotation. Kapers are not punishments, they are expectations. If a girl is assigned a job that she does not like one week, the next time you are together she can look forward to having a different job to do, as kapers rotate. Everyone has to pitch in, as there are no excuses when it comes to doing a chore.
It is also a valuable life lesson as each day passes, there may be things that we don't want to do, but we must for the betterment of everyone. Sure, I don't like to empty the dishwasher, but if I don't, then dirty dishes will pile in the sink and create a mess, bring bugs, and have odors from food that is not washed away. So, I empty the dishwasher to prevent all of these things from happening! Also, having jobs at each meeting teaches the girls patience. Sometimes, we actually have to wait to have a turn at a job. Another benefit is that girls have a sense ownership of the tasks they are assigned to do and a sense of pride when they complete the job.
Materials for Creating Your Charts
Kaper charts can be made simple or elaborate-it depends on the leader and how crafty she is and how much time she wants to devote to making her chart. One thing to bare in mind is that over the years, girls will come into your troop and others will leave. Make sure whatever you create can easily be changed.
Therefore, it is important to create a kaper chart that can adjust for the natural ebb and flow of attrition that is a part of scouting. If you don't do this, then you will need to make a new chart every year. Whatever you make, be sure to save your receipts so you can be reimbursed with your troop dues.
In my Teachers Pay Teachers shop, I created colorful Girl Scout Kaper Chart job cards for each level. These are both colorful and inexpensive. Simply print, cut them out, and adhere to your poster board!
The kinds of jobs your troop will do will largely depend on these factors:
The age of the scouts
How many girls are in your troop (Smaller troops need fewer jobs and younger troops need simpler jobs)
Since troop size varies, so will the jobs that are given. It is imperative that every girl gets something to do, that everyone matters and is needed. Therefore, no job is too big or too small.
By yourself or with your co-leader, brainstorm the kinds of jobs your girls can handle. See which ones can be done solo and which need a patrol or group to complete. When your girls are older, then they can assign the jobs to each other.
Here are just a few examples of jobs that girls can do at each meeting:
Lead the Pledge of Allegiance
Lead the Girl Scout Promise and Girl Scout Law
Take attendance
Set up craft stations
Pass out papers
Bathroom buddy
Clean up crew
Lead songs
Lead a game
Lead goodbye
Kaper Chart Ideas and Leader Resources
Daisy Girl Scouts are in kindergarten and first grade, and at the beginning of the year, only a handful can red. Kaper charts need to use pictures as guides for each assignment. Using the girls' photograph is also a helpful visual clue for what job she is assigned to do at the meeting.Brownie Girl Scouts and older can help make the chart at their first meeting and help contribute to creating new jobs.
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