If you want to take a break from regular badge work, here is a once every four years Girl Scout Leap Year meeting.
*This post contains affiliate links.
For many leaders who are in the cookie zone, the end of February may seem like a long way off. Booth sales, cookie meetings, and cookie cupboard pickups are front and center right now. Even though it is a few weeks away, it isn’t too soon to start planning your upcoming meetings.
This year, in 2024, leaders have the once every four years opportunity to celebrate Leap Year with their troop. Daisies don’t remember what a Leap Year is, as they were toddlers the last time one occurred in 2020.
Leaders, here is an opportunity for your troop to celebrate February 29th, 2024 with this Girl Scout Leap Year Meeting resource.
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 canread 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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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?
Learning time management is very important for Girl Scout leaders. Children who are left to their own devices can get into trouble! In a previous blog post that has many sources for free Girl Scout Daisy coloring pages, I shared some reasons why time management is so important.
Now with the Thanksgiving season coming upon us, here are some free printable Thanksgiving coloring pages to have printed out and on hand for your meetings. These can be transformed into cards, glued onto contruction paper for place mats, or cut out and used for other crafts.
*This post contains affiliate links. One way your troop and just celebrate the season. You do not want the girls in your troop who do not celebrate Christmas to feel left out or uncomfortable if you make everything about Christmas.
If you have a mixed religious group of girls, then making ornaments is out. However, making crafts with snowmen and snowflakes that celebrate newly arrived winter season, which starts December 21st, is perfect for everyone. These items can be used as gifts for family members-you can add an additional craft of decorating white tissue paper and having the girls wrap it up for the gift recipient. Or the girls can keep them for themselves. Put on the Frozen soundtrack, give the girls a treat of snowflake shaped cookies, have some coloring pages or easy games ready, and have an easy and relaxed meeting because you deserve it! Here are some ready made craft kits for you to use with your troop. All of these kits are from Amazon and come 12 to a set. If you are using one that requires a photo, then either take one of the girls to have cut an ready for your meeting or you can ask the parents for one two meetings in advance. That way, you give yourself the cushion of time and can also take a picture to print out in case the child does not come in with one to use. Magic Scratch Snowman Kit
This sparkling mosaic craft kit is a wonderful activity for those snowy, cold winter days! Easy for little fingers to construct, these signs are a cute way to decorate for Christmas and make a fantastic classroom project. Deck the walls - and the door - in glittering snowmen! Includes self-adhesive foam pieces and satin cord. Makes 12.
This beaded snowman charm bracelet craft kit makes a fun project for frosty winter days. Includes plastic beads and enamel charms on a 12" stretchy cord. All craft kit pieces are pre-packaged for individual use. Kits include instructions and extra pieces.
A wonderfully wintery addition to holiday crafts for kids, these necklaces come with a charm that looks like a mini snow globe with a smiling snowman inside. Includes 2" plastic globe, foam pieces and a nylon breakaway cord. 30" Makes 12. All craft kit pieces are pre-packaged for individual use. Kits include instructions.
*This post contains affiliate links. Updated October 2019 If you have taken on the monumental task of becoming a Daisy Girl Scout leader, then you are going to need a few tricks up your sleeve to keep the girls actively engaged and with you. One tool to have in your leader toolbox is to use coloring pages as a sponge activity when girls first enter the meeting room. This gets them focused while the others are trickling in. These same pages can also be used at the end of an activity to keep those who finish early quietly entertained.
Another activity you will want to do with your Daisy Scouts is sing scouting songs. You have heard the expression “music calms the savage beast?” Well, little girls are not beasts, but things can easily get led astray if you do not keep them on task.
Singing is a great way to begin or end a meeting or do as an activity while you are having you are meeting.
Photos from Pixabay and altered by the author on Canva
Music and Learning Go Hand in Hand Like Peanut Butter and Jelly
There is more to it than fun!
Every culture has a rich history of songs. It one way that stories were told and were passed down from one generation to the next. From an early age, children are taught through song the alphabet, how to count, and other important preschool skills. The hand movements associated with these songs helps develop eye-hand coordination and well as memorization skills. It also helps with listening skills, as children need to hear the words carefully in order to repeat them.
Music is a social activity for children. Rhythm and counting beats is taught with others in a joyful setting in music classes or just marching around the room with Mommy or Daddy at home. Gross motor development is learned when children learn song and dance, like The Alley Cat or The Hokey Pokey. Music does not judge, all children can do it, no matter what their ability level is. This is not a subject that is graded.
That is why a well prepared Girl Scout leader will have a few songs on her phone or other electronic device so their girls can dance and sing. And you can join them! They would get a real kick out of that!
Some adults won't sing in public because they cannot carry a tune. Don't concern yourself with this! The girls will sense your joy and happiness while you are singing and only focus on that.
This album has all the songs a leader needs to bring music to her meetings. This compilation is made just for Girl Scout Daisies. There are other versions for the other levels as the girls get older. Some of the songs you can purchase are:
Amazing Daisies
We Are One Voice
Move Your Dancing Feet
Alice the Camel
Ladybug
The Sun Goes Up, The Sun Comes Down
Olayo
A World of Thanks
Most songs are about a minute long, with some being more and other less. Because they are short, they will be easy for your girls to learn. You can purchase one or all of them and previews are available before you buy.
More Girl Scout Daisy Songs
Here are a few more song ideas to get you started. I'm a Girl Scout Daisy This is sung to the tune of "I'm a Little Teapot" Daisy Happy Face Song This is sung to the tune of the "Brownie Smile Song". Daisy This is sung to the tune of "A BIcycle Built for Two". You can find even more Girl Scout Daisy songs here. Here are some cute Daisy videos.
Your very first Girl Scout Daisy meeting does not need to be stressful. Here is a quick and easy idea for new leaders to use.
*This post contains affiliate links. Updated August 2021
The time is fast approaching for your very first Daisy Girl Scout Meeting. Before you let the feeling of panic set in, take a deep breath and get yourself prepared.
Do Your Paperwork and Get the Training
Before you schedule your very first Girl Scout Daisy meeting, you need to have all of yourpaperwork completed and handed in. Many Councils now offer online training that you can do at your convenience. Check that you have all of the girls' forms and that you have been scheduled for a specific meeting place and time. If you have not been assigned a meeting place, you may not get together with your girls. Contact the Service Unit team member in charge of this task and get a printout of your meeting schedule. My troop always met in the art room of the elementary school where most of the girls went, so the school secretary and custodians also had the schedule as well. Everyone needs to be on the same page so your space is not given to someone else at the time you will be meeting.
All of the required new Leader Training workshops need to be taken before you have your first Daisy meeting. Keep any paperwork proving you have completed your training in your leader binder so you always know where it is. Failure to do these two things will lead to problems if, heaven forbid, a girl becomes injured while under your care. The Girl Scouts of the USA does have insurance, but only covers incidents if everything is done properly.
Meet the Parents
You will want to have parents attending the first troop meeting. This way your co-leader and you can share your goals and expectations with girls and their parents. You can also ask for volunteers, as they will be needed for busy crafts, as well as asking a parent to be the troop treasurer. Any volunteer at a meeting must be registered and background checked! Have any necessary paperwork and information ready to be handed out to parents who want to assist. No paperwork=no helping at meetings. It is that simple. Since many parents work or have other children who need to be watched, emailing the parents a few weeks in advance of your first Daisy meeting will help them clear their calendars. Advance notice is always very much appreciated and puts you in their good graces.
First Daisy Meeting
You need to prepare a craft that the girls can do on their own during your very first Daisy meeting. This way you can speak to the parents without too many interruptions. This article will give you a list of leader essentials that you will need for every meeting.
Here is what I did at my first troop meeting:
I bought a large piece of white poster board. In my favorite Cherry Liney font I typed up "Daisy Troop _____" (our troop number). I glued it in an arc and then glued a large blue circle for the center of the petal.
I cut and pasteda petal shape and printed it onto card stock (you can also do this free hand). I cut out enough for each girl and a few extra (always do that-young girls will make mistakes!).
While the parents and I spoke, each girl used magic markers to write her name and decorate the petal. It was easy to check on the girls, as they were at the next table.
When all of the girls were done, each glued her petal around the center. I brought this poster to each of our meetings throughout our first year. It can be converted to a Kaper Chart if you want and you can also add Daisy stickers.
At the end of our very first Daisy Girl Scout meeting, we sang "Make New Friends", did the "Friendship Squeeze" and went home. I wish I had brought my camera so we had a keepsake for our Girl Scout scrapbook. Don't forget to bring yours and start documenting your troop's journey!
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 it all 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
A start to finish plan for your very first Girl Scout Daisy meeting that includes:
Are you a brand new Daisy Girl Scout leader getting ready for her very first troop meeting? Are you feeling a bit nervous about how you are going to handle and prepare for it?
Take a breath! Every single leader has been there before. Even I get butterflies when it is time for my first meeting of the year, because as the girls mature, I have to make sure that our meetings are as girl led as possible (which is hard for me!), as well as ensure that they are all “considerate and caring” as well as “friendly and helpful” to each other. Group dynamics change as girls get older.
As a veteran Girl Scout leader since 2008, I have been there and done that. Here is some advice taken from my own experience, to help you as you establish your very own troop.
Your audience is only 5 or 6 years old. They are much easier to please than a room full of adults. These little girls are very excited to begin their Girl Scout experience, so just about anything you do is going to go over well.
Just be firm and consistent with the rules, and things should be fine.
2. Be Prepared
This motto is one that I live by as a teacher, a leader and as a mother. Even this week, as I prepared for my very first Senior Girl Scout meeting of the year, I made sure that I had extra activities planned in case things take a shorter amount of time than I anticipated.
Have a few Daisy Girl Scout coloring pages or games as back up. When they were younger, my troop loved to play Chinese jump rope, and it is always in my leader bag if we have a few extra minutes before our meeting ends. It also helps get their energy out if you have been sitting around too long, and it makes clean up go faster. The girls want to play!
This book is filled with classic game for your troop and it is for all levels. There are games for small groups, large groups, indoor activities and outdoors. too. It is also a resource for international games as well.
3. Create a Kaper Chart
Little girls love to help, and a Girl Scout Kaper chart is a great way to have girls participate in their own meeting. Give a girl a job or have two girls share one. It teaches them to be “responsible for what I day and do”.
While there are many wonderful Kaper Chart ideas on the internet, keep it simple for your first year. Think about where you want to invest your energy...making a chart that is used for a few minutes at each meeting or planning for each meeting. I love Pinterest...but it is not necessary to get carried away and spend hours and a lot of money on a Kaper Chart.
I have written several blog posts over the years about creating a simple Kaper Chart with inexpensive ready made items. You can find them here...just keep scrolling for each article.
4. Make Sure Each Meeting Has a Routine
School teachers know that routine is a way to give young children a sense of security and to help them stay on task. Young children need to know what to expect next. For example, each meeting should begin with the Pledge of Allegiance, the Girl Scout Promise and the Girl Scout Law.
Then you do your planned activities. Have a signal for the final five minutes before it is time to clean up. Close your meetings with the Make New Friends song and the Friendship Squeeze (you can find a video tutorial on each in this blog post).
There is no right or wrong way to have a meeting-do what works for your co-leader and you. Just be sure you keep to your schedule so you can complete the activities that you have planned.
5. Have Two Co-Leaders Instead of One
(and make sure your other parents are registered volunteers)
I have seen this time and again on the Girl Scout forums and Facebook groups that I read. There is occasional drama between leaders and co-leaders, and in the end, someone leaves. If you have at least two co-leaders, if someone decides this is not for her or you have some mama drama, your troop can still continue without disruption.
If you think getting parent permission forms on time is difficult, try finding another mom to step up and help you!
An extra co-leader right from the start also makes it easier to delegate tasks and leading meetings. One person can be in charge of field trips, another can be the treasurer, another in charge of buying the craft materials…why have it all of the planning responsibilities on your shoulders?
My book has chapters about how to get organized, launch your troop, and how to keep things going. There are also many useful resources for new leaders to use to help them get on their way to a fun filled year.
I have had different experiences with snack time. When my older daughter was a scout, her leaders requested that one girl bring it in for everybody, as they met directly after school. We had one parent who always forgot, and the leader had to bring it in for the girls. It really wasn’t fair to anybody involved.
That is why I decided that when my troop met after school, girls would bring their own snacks. That way, everyone gets to eat a treat that she likes and I do not have to worry about anybody’s food allergies. I did have a bag of pretzels or a granola bar in my bag because there is usually one child who forgets.
A note about food allergies…if you are meeting in a facility that is not your home, do not permit peanut products as snacks. Many schools and places of worship are peanut-free environments, and parents who have children with food allergies count on those places as being safe for their child.
7. Bring a Camera
My troop has been creating a perpetual Girl Scout scrapbook since their second year of Daisies. It is nice to have some photos of their time together as a troop. These can be shared on a private Shutterfly site or you can use them for your own scrapbooks.
If you decide to print the pictures, save your receipt so you can be reimbursed.
8. Network With Other Daisy Leaders
It is a good idea to attend your monthly Service Unit Meetings. Not only will you get the information you need about what is going on in your local council, you can talk to other leaders on your level. This is how I learned about a few free field trips in my area.
You can also ask Brownie leaders for assistance, as more than likely they were newbies just like you not that long ago. Ask your Service Unit to set time aside for networking at some of your meetings.
9. Don’t Do a Girl Scout Journey Your First Year
Many brand new Daisy leaders do not realize that they do not have to do a Girl Scout Journey until they are Juniors and want to earn the Bronze Award. Before 2008, Daisy Scouts was a one year program for kindergarteners. It was a year based on earning Daisy petals and getting familiar with the Girl Scout Law and Promise.
All that changed with the advent of the Journeys program. You can do it if you want, but my advice would be to wait until the second year and you have earned your Daisy petals. That way you are not trying to do both petals and Journeys at once. Focus on one aspect of the scouting program at a time.
10. You Do Not Have to Sell Cookies
Years ago, selling Girl Scout cookies was only for older girls-Daisies were not permitted to sell them. It gave new leaders a chance to breathe and to get to know how the other aspects of Girl Scout worked.
Now they can.
Selling cookies is an optional activity. I could not imagine selling them my very first year, on top of learning the ropes.
The tips for starting your Daisy Girl Scout troop are meant to help and guide you as you discover the joys of being a leader. Good luck!
