Valentine's Day Craft Kits for Troops on a Budget (Earn Petals and Save Money!)

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New Daisy troops are short on funds, and leaders may be wondering what their girls can do to celebrate Valentine's Day. You can earn different Daisy petals during this meeting. For example, you can earn the Friendly and Helpful petal or Light Green Considerate and Caring petal by giving their creations to someone else.

Your time is also a very valuable asset, and by using Valentine's Day craft kits that are prepackaged and ready to use, you are able to save time and money. This is especially true if you are selling cookies this season!

Image created by the author in Canva

For an easy Valentine's Day meeting, you can read a short children's Valentine's Day book, do one of these crafts, and then decorate heart shaped cookies (if you have time) or just have a small treat to end your meeting.

Here are some inexpensive Valentine's Day Craft kits for your scouts to do. Look for coupons codes and free shipping deals.

These are just a few of the prepackaged Valentine's Day Craft Kits available. You can view the complete line here.

Helpful shopping hints:

1. Look ahead to spring and other holidays you may want to use party goods and craft kits for your celebration.

2. Time is money. If you cannot get to the free shipping amount, then just pay the shipping and be done.

Valentine Mouse Candy Craft Kit 

Available at Oriental Trading

This craft kit is from the "less than perfect" section. All you need to do is add your own glue! These come in a set of 12.

Hamster Wheel Sign Craft Kit

Available at Oriental Trading

Kids will "wheelie" like handing these out to family and friends! They come 12 to a package.

Foam Rainbow Valentine Card Craft Kit

Available at Oriental Trading

Also available prepackaged and 12 to a set, this less than perfect Valentine's Day craft kit just needs you to add glue when putting it together.

DIY Charm Bracelet

Available at Oriental Trading

This DIY charm bracelet set is great for smaller troops on a budget, since each kit comes with 2 DIY bracelets.

What will you be doing with your troop this Valentine's Day?

How to Earn the Yellow Daisy Girl Scout Petal Friendly and Helpful WIth a Daisy Poem

Updated October 2019

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Earning the yellow Daisy Girl Scout petal, "friendly and helpful" is easy to do with this inexpensive Daisy Girl Scout craft. In fact, you can create two different books and have a few weeks worth of activities for very little money.

These books should be done during the first month or two of your troop's year. The reason for this is the yellow Daisy Girl Scout petal is for being friendly and helpful, two things the girls need to be if you want your Girl Scout meetings to go smoothly and without incident.

The materials you need depend on how you wish to go about creating your book. If you want to create a "big book" use poster board for each line of the poem or couplet. If you want to make it smaller, buy 9 x 12 cardstock and have the girls use that to write and draw on.

Picture from Pixabay

In addition to the writing poster board, you will also need for the first idea:

• Markers or Glitter Markers
• Crayons
• Stickers (optional)
• Glue and glitter (optional, but use newspaper if you decide to add bling to the poster)
• Hole puncher
• Three binder rings

Glitter Markers from Amazon

Since Daisy Girl Scouts are in kindergarten or first grade, and can range in age from five to seven, it is best that you or your co-leader write out the words to the poem so all your girls have to do are the illustrations. You may also want to have one or two parent volunteers to keep the girls on track and to give assistance.

Here is the poem. My friend sent it to me via email, and I do not know to whom I should give credit.

A Poem for Daisy Troops

I AM A DAISY,

I AM A FLOWER.

I AM A YOUNG GIRL WITH SO MUCH POWER.

I WILL GIVE MY HAND TO MY FRIENDS IN NEED,

I WILL ALWAYS STRIVE TO SUCCEED.
I LOVE TO LEARN, I LOVE TO WRITE,

I LOVE TO SHARE AND I NEVER FIGHT.
I WILL ALWAYS SHOW THE BEST OF ME.

I WILL ALWAYS BE THE BEST I CAN BE.

I AM A DAISY, WHICH GIVES ME POWER

I AM A DAISY, I AM A FLOWER.

With your troop, read the poem and discuss what it means. Depending on how many girls you have, you will break them up into groups to illustrate the line or lines they have been given. Monitor each group so they are illustrating to match the lines they are given.

Before binding, if you desire, you can have the book laminated. You can use your troop dues to pay for this.

An alternative to this poem to earn the yellow Daisy petal is to do the same thing, only use the Girl Scout Law:

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

For this yellow Daisy petal project, you can have the girls create a page for each petal for themselves. You can do this throughout the year as a closing activity and at the year's end. You may want to cut petals out of felt for the girls to glue onto each page. The girls will have a beautiful book of their Daisy Scouting year!

Earning the yellow Daisy petal, Friendly and Helpful, can be a terrific learning experience for both you and your troop.

How to Earn Four Daisy Petals With One Girl Scout Cookie Carton

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Updated February 2024

Are you a first year Daisy Scout leader who has just started a troop this year and your girls are first graders?  If you are, then you only have one year for your girls to learn about and earn all of the Daisy petals. Doing this is important since earning Daisy petals are the foundation for all of the scouting years ahead.

I know that many new leaders wonder if you can earn more than one Daisy petal at a meeting. While it is ideal to only do one per session so that the concepts are taught on their own, the reality is that time is short if you meet twice a month during the school year and you only have one year to earn the petals. Therefore, it is certainly acceptable for you to earn more than one Daisy petal at a meeting. There are no Girl Scout police looking over your shoulder to reprimand you if you do. Besides, you are a volunteer. If anyone did say something to you, you need to tell that person that you are a volunteer and will do things for your troop the way you see fit. (and the earlier you do this the better!)

Earn Four Daisy Petals With One Girl Scout Cookie Carton

In this resource, you will find three different Daisy meetings. In each one, your troop will earn two, three or four petals. One of them is earning four petals with one cookie carton.

Available on TpT

Included in this resource:

• Earn Two Daisy Petals With One Two Liter Bottle (Green and Rose)
• Earn Three Daisy Petals With One Pringles Can (Orange, Yellow, Green)
• Earn Four Daisy Petals With One Girl Scout Cookie Carton (Yellow, Green, Light Green, Rose)
• All printables
• All materials lists

For leaders who are short on time for earning Daisy petals, earning multiple petals is one meeting is a way to accomplish your troop goals.

How to Earn the Orange Girl Scout Daisy Petal Responsible for What I Say and Do

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Updated October 2019

As a Daisy Girl Scout leader, you will need to help the girls earn the orange Daisy petal, "Responsible for What I Say and Do." As they grow from Daisy Scouts to Brownies, to Juniors and beyond, they will need to run certain parts of the meetings, as well as the Pledge of Allegiance, the Girl Scout Promise and the Girl Scout Law.

Photo by Anna Earl on Unsplash

The girls will need to have a Kaper chart for different jobs. A chore chart will help the girls be more responsible at home, earning the orange petal. You can also use this craft to earn the yellow petal, "Friendly and Helpful", as they are being helpful, too.

A great book to read to earn this Daisy petal.

Available on Amazon

What Exactly Does Responsibility Mean? 

At the beginning of your meeting, ask the girls what the word "responsibility" means. Ask them what they are responsible for at their Daisy meetings, in their classrooms, and in their homes. Then ask them what happens when jobs don't get done. Think of some scenarios, for example, what if a teacher did not prepare her lessons for the day? What happens if you do not take care of your pet? What happens is no one goes to the grocery store? Tell the girls that they are going to make a chart that lists five chores they will be responsible for at home. 

Materials 

8 x 11 construction paper, all the same light color, one for each girl (prepped for them-see directions)

Markers

Prep Work

On a piece of construction paper, write ________________'s Responsibility Chart. Number from 1-5 and write lines. Leave enough room for the girls to trace her hand. Make a few extra copies of the chart in case one of the girls makes a mistake.

Image created by Hannah Gold on Picmonkey

Time for the Craft

In pencil, have the girls trace their hand. They can decorate the hand with markers. When they take them home, have their parents talk about what chores they will write in.

Hand Stickers from Amazon

At your next Daisy Girl Scout meeting, ask the girls what their chores are and if they are actually doing them!  See if they are really earning the orange Daisy petal or if they need a new lesson in being responsible.

Always have some Daisy Girl Scout coloring pages available to keep the early finishers occupied while the others complete their craft.  This will keep these girls out of trouble so you can hep the others complete the task at hand.

How to Earn the Yellow Daisy Petal Friendly and Helpful With The Invisible Boy

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UPDATED OCTOBER 2019

While there is no particular order in which the Daisy petals need to be earned, after first earning the Blue Promise Center, one of the next ones that I feel should be taught is the yellow Daisy petal, Friendly and Helpful. One of your jobs as a leader is to foster positive relationships within your troop...to have the girls become sisters in scouting (another petal that should be among the first to be earned, in my opinion).  After all, you are going into this hoping to lead a troop of girls for many years to come. Even if the girls are not friends outside of troop time, while they are with you, they need to get along.

Photo from Pixabay and altered by the author in Canva

A book that simply touched my heart is The Invisible Boy by Tracy Ludwig. I guarantee it will pull at yours as well, as the author writes about experiences that most of us have had at one time or another during our childhood.

The Invisible Boy Available in Different Formats on Amazon

This book is the story of Brian, who is invisible to his classmates. When the book begins, Brian is drawn in black and white, while everything around him is in color. We read about two of his classmates, Sophie and Nathan take up a lot of space. You can ask the girls what does that mean?

My heart broke as I read...the author touches upon so many real life situations that children face and we adults are not there to protect them. Parents and leaders need to stop and talk as they read this book.

Other situations that Brian faces are:

• Not being picked for a team
• Talking about a party Brian was not invited to while sitting at lunch (is that being considerate and caring?)

One day, a new boy named Justin comes and the kids give him the once over. At lunch, he eats with chopsticks and the other children make fun of his lunch...all that is except Brian. He overhears what is happening, as he is sitting alone, and he wonders if it is worse to be laughed at or worse to be sitting alone-invisible.

Photo from Pixabay

Brian, who has a kind heart, draws a picture and writes a nice note on it and puts it in Justin's cubby. At recess, Justin thanks Brian, who is now illustrated with a bit of color. But, as Brian is once again left out in class, he is black and white...that is until Justin invited him to be a part of his group. This illustration jumps out as you can see how others make Brian feel like he does not matter.

After Justin gives Brian a compliment, he is in full color. At last, he is invited to sit with the others at lunch and becomes visible to everyone else.

Once you are done with the book, you can follow it up with a discussion of the story and this simple craft.

Materials

• White paper
• Pencils
• Markers or crayons

Have the girls fold the paper in half. Give each girl a pencil and have her draw her entire self and how she would feel if she were treated like Brian. 

When they are done with that, have them draw a happy picture of themselves in color.

To finish, ask the girls what they could do to make someone comfortable and included what if a new girl joined their troop. How would they make her feel colorful and not black and white?

A Fun Hedgehog Book to Help Earn the Yellow Daisy Petal Friendly and Helpful

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Updated October 2019

For many troops selling Girl Scout cookies this year, one of the incentives the children can earn is the hedgehog plush. If this is one your prizes, then your girls are well aware of this animal.

Image created by the author on Canva

Here is a wonderful book that ties in the hedgehog and will help your girls earn the yellow Daisy petal, Friendly and Helpful.

Available on Amazon

You can start the meeting by asking the girls why having a friend is important and asking how friends help each other.

In this story, Isaac is a hedgehog who has never had a friend. Ask the girls how would that make them feel?  Is it better to have a friend or not have one?

Then read to them this delightful tale of how Isaac learns that having a friend and being a friend is a good thing.

After the story is over,ask the girls the lesson that Isaac learned...friends are good to have around when you need someone!

To tie in the friendship theme, I found this craft for a Friendship Apple Tree.  You can have the girls do this individually or make one large one for your troop.

Here is my personal twist to this craft so you can do this as a group.

Materials

Apple template

Posterboard

Black Sharpie

White construction paper

Scotch tape

Hedgehog stickers

Stickers Available on Amazon

You will need to decide ahead of time if you want the girls to trace and cut out the apple shape or if you want to do this ahead of time. You can also decide if you are going to use construction paper to make a tree trunk and leaves or have the girls help out and take turns coloring part of it in.

Have each girl tell you one way she could be either friendly or helpful. Write it down, have her write her name on it, and have the girl color it in and cut it out if you did not do this. Have her place a hedgehog sticker on it.

When all the girls are done, then they can help each other out by taping another girl's apple to the tree.

If you have time for a healthy snack, you can bring in a few different varieties of apples for the girls to sample.

If you want more ideas on how to earn the yellow Daisy petal, you can check out these other blog posts.

How to Earn the Yellow Daisy Petal Friendly and Helpful

*This post contains affiliate links.

Updated November 2019

This is a really fun activity to have your young Girl Scout troop earn the yellow Daisy petal “Friendly and Helpful”. Daisy Girl Scouts are in kindergarten and first grade, and children this age really love to help. Leaders, use this natural affinity for helpfulness to your advantage!

Materials Needed for the Meeting

Book to read

Helper template made and ready to color

Scissors

Crayons or markers

Small plastic bag with Daisy’s name on it

After you have done the Pledge of Allegiance, the Girl Scout Promise and Girl Scout Law, sit your girls down and ask them what it means to be helpful. Then ask them how they are helpful in school, at troop meetings and at home. You can also incorporate the “friendly” aspect of the petal by asking the girls to explain how being helpful is also being friendly towards others.

For the next part of the meeting, you can read a book. Each has something different to offer, so choose which one you think fits best with your girls.

The first book is the Caldecott winner, No David by David Shannon. A simple picture book with only a few words on each page, David does not listen to his mother. He continually makes mess after mess. After each page, you can ask the girls how David is not being helpful and how he cold have been helpful.

No, David! Available on Amazon

The second book choice is from Joy Berry’s Let’s Talk About series. This one is about being helpful, and how Max, the central character, has to learn to help himself (a very important life lesson). As you read the book, discuss about how Max is behaving and how his behavior could improve.

Available on Amazon

A third book choice is something the girls can relate to, as it is about a girl who is there age. Mary helps pick blueberries for her neighbor, who in turn bakes them into muffins to hand out to others, and these people help others. It is a delightful story that will engage your troop. You can even incorporate the Girl Scout slogan, "Do a good turn daily."

Available on Amazon

After reading one of the books, it is craft time for earning the yellow Daisy petal!

Tell the girls that they are going to color in helper cards that you have created. When they go around the house and help, they can leave one where the job is done.

While you can design these any way you want, I love the cheri liney font, as it creates bubble letters for the girls to color in. You can make six or eight per page that reads “A Daisy Was Here.” You can use cardstock or plain white computer paper, whichever you have handy. You may also want to pre-fold the paper so it is easier for the girls to cut.

Or you can use the template I have linked in the "Materials" section that is shaped like a daisy.

Have them color in each card and decorate the borders any way they like. Then have them cut along the folds and put into their plastic bags.

The girls will be excited to use the cards they made for earning the yellow Daisy Girl Scout petal, friendly and helpful. Encourage them to share what they did at the next meeting!

Girl Scout Daisy Meeting Ideas January to May

Happy New Year! It is time to get back into your Daisy Girl Scout leader mode after spending a week or more off from school with your kids. You are now ready to begin your journey through the second half of your first Daisy Girl Scout year. These meeting ideas will get you through to May, when many troops stop meeting for the summer.

Just like the first eight Daisy leader meetings, you can do most of these activities in any order you wish. If you live in a cold area, you may have to adjust your schedule for snow days, as when school is closed you won't be meeting. Be sure to remember to plan it out with you co-leader and share the responsibilities of planning your meetings. Get everything you plan to do in writing, send her an email with what you both agreed to set out an accomplish, and tackle each meeting together.

Sales Alert!

Look for after holiday sales for savings on craft materials for the rest of the year. Remember to bring your troop checkbook and your Tax Exempt ID paper.

Your Ninth Daisy Girl Scout Meeting-Earn the Orange Daisy Petal Responsible for What I Say and Do

Many adults make New Year's resolutions at the beginning of the year. You can tie in this idea with earning the orange Daisy petal and being responsible for your own actions. Talk to the girls about what it means to be responsible.

Ask them if they have any responibilities to do at home, like make their bed or clean up after dinner. You can read a book about being responsible at this point or just jump right into the activity.Tell your girls that Daisy Girl Scouts need to be responsible for bringing their books and vests to each troop meeting. Being organizedis being responsible, so they are going to make their own Daisy Girl Scout tote bag and keep all things Girl Scout related in that bag;. They will be responsible for bringing the bag to every meeting from now on.

Earn the Orange Daisy Petal with These Craft Items

Here is everything you need for your girls to make their own "responsibility bags". The great thing about this craft is that the girls will use their bags for years to come. The Sharpies and fabric markers are an investment, because if they are stored properly, they can also be used for many years for all kinds of crafts and community service projects. Foam flower shapes can be used for all kinds of projects, too. Cards, making gift bags, and puppets are just a few uses for them.

 

  12 Canvas Tote Bags ~ Natural Color ~ 8" X 8" from Amazon

 

  Crayola Fine Line Fabric Markers, 10 Count from Amazon

Field Trip

If you live in a cold climate with heavy snowfall, it may be wise not to plan any field trips until spring. That way you do not spend a lot of time planning an activity that has to be cancelled due to inclement weather. You don't want to disappoint the girls!

Your Tenth Daisy Girl Scout Meeting-Earn the Yellow Daisy Petal Friendly and Helpful

Being friendly and helpful ties in nicely with being responsible. For this activity, the girls are going to create "helpful" slips to leave around the house. Complete directions for earning the yellow Daisy petal can be found in this article.

If you know of an older Brownie or Junior troop who wants to be friendly and helpful, ask them to come to a meeting and help the girls make bracelets or some other cool project. This promotes sisterhood among the different Girl Scout levels. The older girls also serve as role models to the younger girls.

 

  Being Helpful (Citizenship) from Amazon

Selling Cookies

If your Daisy troop is selling Girl Scout cookies, you will need to plan a meeting or two around that. Girls earn badges and leaves for cookie sales!

Your Eleventh Daisy Girl Scout Meeting-Earn the Light Blue Daisy Petal Honest and Fair

In February, we celebrate the birthday of two of our greatest presidents, Washington and Lincoln. Both have stories that tie in with being honest. There is the tale about George chopping down the cherry tree and how he could not tell a lie when asked if he did it. And of course, there is "Honest Abe" Lincoln!

Discuss with your girls why it is important to be honest and not lie, and how they feel if someone has not been truthful to them. Following the discussion, you can do with activities with fair and unfair spinners or unequal amounts of candy to drive the point across.

Make Contact

If you are following this guide, this would be the time to make contact with an organization that needs assistance so you are prepared for the March community service project.

Your Twelfth Daisy Girl Scout Meeting-World Thinking Day Activities 

Photo from pixabay.com

Celebrate this special Girl Scout holiday!

Every year on February 22nd, Girl Scouts and Girl Guides around the world honor each other and the sisterhood of Girl Scouting with World Thinking Day. Each year World Thinking Day has a theme, and according to the Girl Scouts of America website, the year 2015 is dedicated to ending poverty.

World Thinking Day used to be a patch earned and placed on the back of the vest. It is now an official Girl Scout award that Daisy Girl Scouts can earn! You can earn the award one of two ways.There are a list of activities just for Daisies at the Girl Scouts of America website. Just follow those to earn the award.If you want to do something else, you can pick a country and do hands on activities for it. For example, let's say you want to study Japan. You can:

1. Make passports for Japan. This passport, and those for other countries can be found at the Making Friends website.

2. Do a Japanese craft like origami.

3. Bring in a Japanese dessert for the girls to eat with chopsticks

4. Make a Girl Scout Swap that ties into that country.

Your Thirteenth Meeting-Earn the Spring Green Daisy Petal Considerate and Caring

Photo by Hannah Gold

Like the yellow Daisy petal, this one revolves around being empathetic towards others. When I was a Daisy Scout leader, my girls decorated shoe boxes and filled them with items for little girls who lived in a homeless shelter. The directions for this activity can be found in this blog post on how to earn the spring green daisy petal considerate and caring and on this one as well.

Your Fourteenth Daisy Meeting

Field Trip!

With the weather becoming milder, now is the perfect time to go on a field trip. There are many places that your girls can go to for free or fro a small fee. Be sure to get all of your paperwork done in advance and that all of the proper coursework has been done.

Trip approvers need at least two weeks advanced notice to get your outing approved...be nice and give them four. Remember, safety first! Safety guidelines and instructions for all kinds of field trips can be found at your local council website under Safety Checkpoints.

Your Fifteenth Meeting-Earn the Rose Daisy Petal Make the World a Better Place

Spring is here! With Earth Day being celebrated on April 22nd, this is the perfect time for this activity. Anything that has to do with recycling will be perfect to earn this petal.The book Miss Rumphius is one of the best to share with your girls while earning this petal.

Miss Rumphius from Amazon

Just One Meeting

Because of Spring Break, my troop has always met only once during the month of April.  If you find this happening to you and you want another meeting, schedule a field trip for the girls or have an informal meeting at a local park or playground.

Your Sixteenth Daisy Meeting-Earn the Purple Daisy Petal Respect Myself and Others

Respect is important no matter what age you are. The girls need to respect each other and get along, and they need to respect your co-leader and you and the time you put into each and every meeting.And most importantly, they need to like themselves.The Jamie Lee Curtis book entitled I'm Gonna Like Me is the best book to start the meeting.

Book from Amazon

Your Final Daisy Meeting of the Year

Party Time!

You made it...the final Daisy Girl Scout meeting of the year! Since you have already earned all of your Daisy petals, it's time to celebrate. Look how far your girls and you have come since September.If you are planning a party, make sure to contact the parents in advance to bring in items and ask for a few volunteers to stay. The girls will be excited and extra coverage is always needed at times like these.

Caspari Daisy Paper Salad/Dessert Plates, Pack of 8

Plan a fun Daisy craft that is simple to make and present the girls with a certificate of completion. They aren't bridging, but finishing the first year of Girl Scouts is an exciting milestone for them. Once the party is over, sit back, relax and pat yourself on the back for a job well done.