Girl Scout Meeting #12

Meeting twelve was a hodge podge of make up work. We are able to get through almost every step per badge in one meeting but sometimes we need to finish up a step or two. We also worked on the Brownie Quest and Agent of Change journeys.

Pledge/Promise

Snack/Dance Party

DAISY

Considerate and Caring

Read Zinni's story

We broke into levels this meeting and the daisy girls worked on a petal. They read Zinni's story and talked through what happened. 

Share a Care Jars

For this activity the girls were given jars, stickers, and ribbons to decorate. The girls had so much fun working on these! They all looked great!

Soldier Thank You Cards

Each daisy made a thank you card for a soldier!

BROWNIE/JUNIOR

Brainstorming

We sat down and talked about our community, what it needed, and what we could do to help. The girls had a lot of fantastic ideas! Several of them focused on helping those with physical handicaps. They decided to put on a talent show and all those that attended had bring an item to donate. 

Life Size Me

We had to make up step five of My Best Self. The girls broke off into pairs and traced each other.

Marching

Most girls completed the Celebrate Community Legacy badge but we had a few that still needed to complete a step. I taught the girls the basics of marching. Now, I'm not very good at it and my husband (a former Cavalier) would probably have had a fit to see it, but the girls had fun!

My Family Story

The girls were given the My Family Story packet to work on over break. They were asked to bring in a special family piece and we talked about them. 

Girl Scout Meeting #11

Meeting eleven was actually a field trip! We took a walk to a local polling place on election day! We luckily live in a small town so we were able to walk from the school to the municipal building in about twenty minutes. This was a multi level trip that finished up "I Promised A Girl Scout I Would Vote" and also Celebrate Community Legacy badge for brownies.

BROWNIE

Celebrate Community Legacy badge

Step 1 - Explore Community Symbols

On our way to the polling center the girls were tasked with calling out when they'd spot an American flag. They yelled out "flag, flag!". Our numbers were a little off but I think we spotted around seven flags on the way. 

Step 2 - Sing Together

While walking the girls sang whatever patriotic songs they could think of. They knew a little bit of "America The Beautiful", and "You're A Grand Old Flag". They also went on to sing a few Christmas carols, ha ha.

Step 3 - Follow The Parade

Most of the girls completed this step last month. We were in a community parade. For those that missed it, I will teach them to march at our next meeting!

Step 4 - Be A Landmark Detective

The original school in our town was destroyed by a tornado in 1986. There is a landmark that happened to be on our way to the municipal building! We stopped and the girls took turns reading about the tornado. The moms also told stories about where they were when the school was destroyed.

Step 5 - Join A Ceremony Or Celebration

Once we arrived at the polling location the girls cheered on voters! They had signs and handed out candy. We also gave thank you cards to the poll workers. Of course, it started to rain so we were all soaked! We were not allowed to get within 50 feet of the entrance so we were just standing in the rain for about fifteen minutes. 

The field trip was a lot of fun. I'm glad the girls got to see democracy in action. 

Girl Scout Meeting #10

Meeting ten was a fun one because we got to celebrate Juliette Gordon Low's birthday! We have about thirteen new girls so majority of them had never heard of her. I haven't really taken much time with her history. We've always had so many girls and they're still pretty young. Maybe next year we'll get more into it. 

GS Way Legacy badge

Step 1 - Sing Everywhere

We all got in a circle and did the Hokey Pokey! That dance is so tiring! All the girls were short of breath, and so was I. I talked to the girls about how singing songs is a girl scout tradition and asked them to think of other times we've sang together. The most memorable was our camp last year with older scouts.

Step 2 - Celebrate JGL's Birthday

Each year the girls are given a cupcake with a candle. We sing happy birthday and blow out candles. 

Step 3 - Share Sisterhood

For this step the girls all worked together on a mural. We have over twenty girls so it was a very full and colorful mural! This also went toward our Painter Legacy badge. 

Step 4 - Leave a Place Better Than You Found It.

All the girls pitched in and cleaned up our meeting spot. They always do a good job with this. We had a lot of trash during this meeting so it was a bit more work.

Step 5 - Enjoy Girl Scout Traditions

We finally got around to doing a Friendship Circle!!! I've wanted to do one since the start of the year but we've always ran out of time. 

No photos for this meeting. I am the worst at remembering! 

Girl Scout Meeting #9

We are participating in the GSCI patch program "I Promised A Girl Scout I Would Vote". Meeting nine focused on steps one and two. I think the parents and I were more excited about this patch program than the girls, haha. I'm glad that GSCI offered it though. I think it's important to teach the girls early on about voting, women's rights, and democracy. We had a guest speaker from Indiana Kid's Election. She was great with the girls and really got them to open up and participate. 

I Promised A Girl Scout I Would Vote

Step 1 - The Election Process 

Ashley taught the girls about who was eligible to vote, how to register, and what the voting process looks like, She also talked about how voting has changed to include women and minorities.

Step 2 - Who Represents Me?

When asked, "who is running for President?" all the hands went up! It was amazing to see how these little minds had already been shaped and formed opinions. We live in a dominant Republican state but there were a few girls who respected both candidates. They wanted to know if Ashley had voted, and more importantly, who she had voted for. She thankfully didn't divulge all the information. 

Step 3 - Get The Word Out

We sent home baggies with voter buttons and instructions. The girls are to encourage five adults to vote on election day.

We will complete steps four and five at our next field trip! We are visiting a local polling station on election day. The girls made thank you cards and will hand them out to poll workers. They also made signs and will cheer on voters!

Girl Scout Meeting #8

It's hard to believe we've already had eight meetings! This scout year is just flying by! We split the girls into groups at the beginning of the meeting to focus on journeys. Later, we brought everyone together to work on the Brownie Dancer badge. I'm kicking myself because we didn't get any photos!

Pledge/Promise

Snack 

DAISY

Between Earth and Sky - Blue Bucket

Bucket of Feelings

The girls were to sit in a circle and share how they were feeling. A helper explained how they could feel more than one emotion at a time. They then took turns expressing how they felt. They could use words or movement. The girls were all handed a piece of paper and were asking to draw or write their feelings and then place them in the bucket.

BROWNIE/JUNIOR

Brownie Quest/Agent of Change

Circle Map

The girls were to create circle maps with five circles

1.Me

2. My Family

3. My Girl Scout Troop

4. My Community

5. The World

via

We then brought all the levels together to work on the Brownie Dancer badge.

Step 1 - Warm up

We stood in a circle and did group stretches.

Step 2 - Try A New Dance

I played a YouTube video about dancercise. The girls followed along with the video.

Step 3 - Learn An Old Dance

For this step we watched another video about swing dancing. I wanted to find a dance that was popular during the time girl scouts was founded. 

Step 4 - Make Up A Dance

Since we have such a large group we broke the girls into pairs. They spent about ten minutes coming up with their signature move. 

Step 5 - Dance for Parents

The pairs took turns showing off their moves to the group and parents. They had so much fun doing this! They came up with a lot of really creative moves!

Girl Scout Meeting #7

This meeting was actually a field trip! We focused on the Brownie Painter Legacy badge and the Junior Drawing Legacy badge. I planned and booked this trip all the way back in July. I didn't realize it would fall during parent/teacher conference! We had a few girls that were unable to attend.

BROWNIE

Painter Legacy Badge

Step 1 - Get inspired

We visited a local art museum for the first part of this badge. The tour guide took us around the building and spoke to the girls about the different types of paintings. I was really impressed with how well he spoke to them. He kept it age appropriate and they understood what he was talking about. 

This facility also offers tuition free art classes! When I booked the trip I sent a copy of the Painter requirements in the hopes we'd be able to get through a few, if not all of the steps. It didn't really work out that way, like at all, but the girls had a fun time regardless!

Step 3 - Paint a mood

The girls were given a pumpkin paper and eater colors to work with. They were able to choose how they wanted their pumpkin to look by mixing colors how they envisioned. I'm going to call this painting a mood. 

We will have to make up steps two, four, and five another time! We'll also have to completely redo the Junior Drawing Legacy badge. The main thing is the girls enjoyed it! 

Girl Scout Meeting #6

We worked on the junior Musician badge for this meeting. We had a guest speaker teach the girls about music! The juniors earned their Musician badge and the daisies and brownies earned fun patches!

This meeting was chaotic, and the chaos started bright and early in the morning. We normally meet in our school cafeteria right after school gets out. This particular day was also the school carnival. The weather turned bad so everything had to be moved in. We were unable to have our meeting in the same spot. School had already started and I had the guest speaker lined up. I called around and a local church let us use their facility. We had to take trips back and forth to transport all the girls from the school to the church. Of course it was pouring down rain! It was all very exciting.

Pledge

Promise

Junior Musician

Step 1 - Explore how music is made

Our guest speaker, Heidi, brought in different instruments and spoke in length to the girls about them. She played each one and talked about what musical family they belonged in. 

Step 2 - Travel around the world of music

This step was a lot of fun. I played pop songs from three different countries. We listened to the Macarena and learned the dance moves! We also listened to Gangnam Style and Zou Bisou Bisou.

Step 3 - Check out the music in your life

Heidi is a retired band director. She spoke to the girls about conducting and even taught them how to do it! She brought in big Mickey Mouse gloves and some of the girls got to wear them while conducting.

Step 4 - Make your own music

For this step the girls made their own musical instruments. They took two paper plates and put dried beans between them. The plates were stapled and the girls could decorate them as they wanted. It got real loud real quick!

Step 5 - Perform your music

Heidi conducted the girls in a fun little song! 

Girl Scout Meeting #5

We split the levels up again for this meeting. I try to combine all the girls for big events, guest speakers, and field trips. The daisies have to get through the petals and the brownies and juniors are working through their journeys. 

Snack/Dance Party

Pledge

Promise

DAISY

Friendly and Helpful

Read Sunny's story

Sunny the Sunflower is the second flower garden friend. The daisy helper read the story with the girls. They then went through the talking prompts at the end.

Story Based Mural

The daisies had to work together to create a mural. There was a little bit of bickering and the girls had to be reminded to be fair and work together.

Helping Hand Tree
Trace a hand three times and cut them out. Then glue them into the shape of a tree. I already had trunks and stars ready. The girls had to glue it all together. They had to write three helpful things on the hands. I didn't get any photos of the meeting.

This leads to another dead link but I've included the Pinterest link. Via

Coloring Book
The girls worked on their Sunny the Sunflower page. they were able to work on it during the Fall Product Sales parent meeting.

BROWNIE

My Best Self

The brownies and juniors worked alongside each other. The juniors worked on a different badge and it had slightly different requirements.

Step 1 - Get To Know Your Body
The girls filled out and colored My Elf Self. It can be found in the My Best Self badge guide.


via

Step 2 - Eat Healthy 
I brought in three healthy foods. I asked the girls what each were. Some were new to them and others they'd tried before. It was a big hit. Turns out the girls are all about the food!
1. Pumpkin Seeds
2.Mango
3. Green Peppers

Step 3 - Find Out How Your Body Works
I brought in five different types of bandages. We sat in a circle and talked about the different uses.

Step 4 - Something That Bugs You
The girls were asked to draw five things that make them happy.

We ran out of time for step 5, so that will be combined with other badges in a make up session.

JUNIORS

Staying Fit

Step 1 - Will be completed at a later time
The juniors worked on the My Elf Self with the brownies

Step 2 - Label Detective
The juniors were given three food labels to compare. They had to find out which one was the healthiest and why. They also tried the new foods with the brownies.

Step 3 - Dear Self
This went along with the brownie Step 4. They were given journals and were tasked with writing their feelings.

Step 4 - Health Truths
We all learned about bandages and their uses.

Step 5 - Healthy Family
I sent home step 5. The girls are to complete healthy activities with their families.

Girl Scout Meeting #4

We split apart by levels again at this meeting. I like having the daisies separate because the curriculum is very different. I know you can combine it with the older levels, but there's something special about the petals and the flower friends. I keep the brownies and juniors together. We only have two juniors and so far they've only both been at one meeting at the same time. One junior is completely new to scouts, so it's good for her to follow along with the brownies. 

Snack/Dance Party

Pledge

Promise

We  then split into levels

DAISY

Honest and Fair

Read Lupe's story

Lupe the Lupine is the first of the flower friends. We will read each story based on the petals. The leader then goes through the talking prompts with the girls

Pick Three Games

The girls were asked to pick three games. They were to take turns and be fair. They chose, "duck, duck, goose", "red light, green light", and "Simon says". 

Candy Game

The girls were asked to empty a bag of candy and divide it evenly among  themselves.  They were  then allowed to eat it.

Coloring Book

The daisies ended their meeting by coloring the Lupe page!

BROWNIE/JUNIOR

Brownie Ring

The girls were to complete the Family Star activity for homework. We went around the circle and talked about what was special about each family member. 

Brownie Quest - Agent of Change

Page 52 and 33

I asked Story why the girls didn't work in the book. I know they do book work at school so I couldn't figure out what was different. She said the teacher goes through it with them, she doesn't just tell them to turn to a page and complete it. I tried that and it worked great! We went through the questions with them and they really enjoyed it.

Team Building - Loop the Hoop

This was a really fun activity. The girls divided into two circles. They were to pass a hula hoop from girl to girl without letting go of each other's hands. They thought this was awesome! 

Blindfold Game

The girls broke into three groups of four. They took turns being blindfolded and had their team lead them without touching.

Homework 

We decided to send more of the book work home and focus on the activities at the meetings. The brownies were told to complete page 54, talk about Cambell's house and page 55, Healthy Living Activity. The juniors were told to complete pages 34-35 and also 45-63. The juniors have a lot more book work, but that just seems to go with the grade level. They seem to like it, so that's good!

Girl Scout Meeting #3

All levels came together for our third meeting. We did an Investiture/Rededication Ceremony. It was the first time our troop held this event. My first year as leader was a mess. I didn't really know what I was doing and barely scraped by. Second year I was heavily pregnant and went on maternity leave for a few weeks. Third years the charm!

Because we are a multi level troop I broke the ceremony into parts. We didn't have snack or dance party this meeting because we had a pizza party at the end!

Pledge/Promise

Daisy Flower Ring Ceremony

I looked on Pinterest - because, duh - for daisy investiture ideas. Honestly, I couldn't find a lot for that level. I did however see a neat idea for a daisy flower ring. It goes to a dead link so I kind of made it up to fit our troop. I took a hula hoop and taped faux flowers to it. The girls took turns stepping through the flower ring. I then handed them certificates!

Brownie Pond Ceremony

Now, there's a ton on Pinterest for a brownie investiture! I decided to do the brownie pond. This one is just a photo with no link. I started by reading "The Brownie Story". The girls enjoyed listening but seemed to get bored about half way through. Finley, my two year old, decided to get everyone's attention. We were all sitting in a circle and she stood in the middle and loudly started singing, "We Are The Champions" by Queen. The girls, and parents, thought it was hilarious! It took several minutes to settle everyone back down. When I started reading again, they were paying attention. 

Girls too turns walking around the "pond" while the group chanted the rhyme. We have fourteen brownies, so this took a little bit of time! We had originally planned on holding a junior candle ceremony too, but I couldn't find flameless candles in time. Totally my failure. We have two juniors so they just did the brownie pond too. 

Refreshments

I invited the parents to attend but kept the event informal. We meet right after school so it's difficult for some parents to get there after work. We had pizza and drinks! 

The end of our last meeting was a bit chaotic with collecting dues, handing out papers, and parents turning in forms. We started a new system that seems to be working so far. I'll take photos and explain more about it in a few weeks. I want to make sure its successful.

Girl Scout Meeting #2

We split apart into level groups for this meeting. The daisies focused on learning the girl scout promise and what it means to be a girl scout. The brownies and juniors were combined today. We started The Brownie Quest and Agent Of Change journey series. The journeys seem to be better structured for these levels. I'm not a fan of the daisy journeys. 

Snack/Dance Party

Pledge

Promise

Brownie Circle

I actually completely forgot about the brownie circle for this meeting. Our snack time was a bit off so it kind of threw me.

At this point we split into our separate groups

DAISY

Girl Scout Promise Activity

The girls cut out a hand print and glued it into the right position for the girl scout sign. They also cout out the promise and glued it too.

Flower Activity

They were to color a daisy flower that had all the petal named

Letter Writing Activity

We asked the girls to write a letter to themselves about their first week or year as a girl scout. 

Coloring Book

Each daisy has a coloring book. It has a page for each petal friend. They will end each meeting with the coloring book.

BROWNIE/JUNIOR

Brownie - Design A Patch Step 1 & 2

We started the meeting by brainstorming on a skill we could learn. The girls shouted out a lot of really great ideas. Some of my favorites were tree tapping and Latin. They narrowed it down and decided to learn how to speak in a foreign language. They couldn't decide which language though. I think they'll probably be tasked with picking whichever language they'd like and then learning ten words.

Ball Toss

The girls stood in a circle and tossed the ball. If the ball was thrown to you, you were to say a special skill that is unique to you. My Co-Leader wrote down each girl and skill on a star. 

Brownie Quest - Agent of Change

Discovering Me page 49 and 13

This didn't go as well as I'd have hoped. The girls had a hard time understanding what to do. I don't think they really grasped the concept. Hopefully it'll work out better next time.

Search

I scattered individual lines of the girl scout law. The girls were supposed to put them in order. They didn't like this activity very much. I wouldn't do it again.

Brownie Quest - Agent of Change 

Discovering Values page 50 and 27

Again, the girls didn't quite grasp what they were supposed to do. I'm worried that the journeys will get a bit boring and tedious. Hopefully I can keep it fun.

Friendship Circle

We didn't get around to doing this again. I really hope we can get to it at the next meeting.

The girls were sent home with the "Making A Family Star" activity. 

This meeting wasn't the best. We're going to tweak a few things in hopes that it goes better next week! Next week we will have an Investiture Ceremony. This will be the first time we've held one!

Girl Scout Meeting #1

A new school year means the start of girl scouts! I kind of fell off the grid last year with these posts. I had a good excuse though! Oliver was a newborn and fall product sale was in full swing. I really hope to keep up with it this year!

We're doing things a little bit different this year. Majority of our troop bridged to brownies!! This year we added in kindergarten and first grade daisies along with fourth grade juniors. Our troop went from twelve to twenty-three! Whew! It's going to be a fun year. Stressful, but fun.

Meeting #1 - Intro

For this meeting we kept all levels together. Most of the meetings will be separated by level. We've got a lot of really wonderful parent volunteers who are willing to help out with all levels. We have a couple girls coming from other schools so I added in an extra half hour at the beginning of the meeting to allow them time to arrive. We fill this time with snack and dance party! I made a CD with age appropriate, girl empowering songs. We meet on Fridays right after school. This gives the girls a chance to burn off some energy and mingle.

Pledge

Promise

Brownie Ring

Introductions

The girls introduced themselves and said something that made them special. They then paired off and we learned how to do the girl scout handshake.

Photo Time

Each year I take a photo of each girl at the beginning of the year. At the end of the year I give them all personalized photo albums. We're trying to be better this year at taking photos. 

Kaper Chart Activity

Each girl was given a clothes pin to decorate. We will use it for our Kapers. Haven't gotten that off the ground yet, but I'm trying!

Friendship Circle

Ideally I'd like to end each meeting with a friendship circle. We just had our second meeting and haven't done it yet. 

This meeting was followed by a brief parent meeting. We changed a lot of the structure of the group and I needed to fill parents in on what was different and what to expect. 

I'm really excited for this year! It has the potential to be great! 

Girl Scouts - Daisy - Meeting #8 "Tula Petal"

I know I skipped a meeting there. We actually did have a meeting #7 and it wrapped up our first journey, "Welcome To The Daisy Flower Garden". I had been sending copied pages of the book and activities home for the girls to complete. Meeting 7 was to finish it all up. It was also my first meeting back after having the baby.

For meeting #8 the girls worked on their "Tula Petal" which taught them how to be Courageous and Strong.

Meeting #8 "Tula Petal" Courageous and Strong

Pledge of Allegiance 

Girl Scout Promise

Snack/Attendance

Activity/Craft - Anti Bullying Activity

It also happened to be bullying awareness week at the school. I asked the girls what bullying was, and what to do if they saw it happening. I then had them draw a large heart on a piece of paper and cut it out. This was harder than expected. Most of the girls didn't know how to draw a heart. 

After that I had them cut the heart into pieces and then try to glue it back together. 

Read Tula's Story

Activity/Craft - Raw/Boiled Game

The girls had a blast with this activity! I had a dozen eggs and handed one to each girl. Some were hard boiled and others were not! They had to take turns cracking their egg in their hands.

via Girl Scout Leader Connect

Girl Scouts - Daisy - Meeting #6 "Zinni Petal"

I was actually not able to attend the sixth meeting. I had taken two weeks off for maternity leave but our little one decided to come a week later than expected. Luckily I have great parent volunteers who were able to step in and lead the meeting for me!

For this meeting the girls worked on earning their Zinni Petal, which is light green and teaches them how to be considerate and caring.

Meeting # 6 Zinni Petal, Considerate & Caring

Pledge of Allegiance

 Girl Scout Promise

Snack Time/Attendance

Activity/Craft -- Cards for Troops

The girls made cards for troops! They are super sweet!! I will mail them out. The girls received a fun patch for this!

Read Zinni's story

Activity/Craft -- Manners worksheet

There were technical issues so the girls were not able to do this activity.

via Our Girl Scout Troop

Girl Scouts - Daisy - Meeting #5 "Sunny Petal"

For this meeting the girls worked on their "Sunny Petal" which is yellow and teaches them how to be Friendly & Helpful

Meeting #5 "Sunny Petal" Friend;y & Helpful

Pledge of Allegiance

Girl Scout Promise

Snack Time/Attendance

Activity/Craft - Helping Hands

The girls made a booklet of coupons. It's to be given to someone who can then cash in the coupons whenever they choose!

via Girl Scout Troop 1138

Read Sunny's story

Craft/Activity - Sunflower craft

This is a fun craft I wanted to do with the troop last year but ran out of time. I printed off a sunflower template and the girls took tissue paper to make the flower and actual sunflower seeds for the center. 

This blog has since been removed

Send Homework

The girls are still working toward their "Between Earth and Sky" Journey patches! We hope to have it completed in the next few meetings.

Girl Scouts - Daisy - Meeting # 3&4 "Lupe Petal"

For our third and fourth meetings we worked on the "Lupe Petal" which is light blue and teaches the girls the first part of the Girl Scout Law, being Honest & Fair. I divided this petal into two meetings so we could go on a field trip!

Meeting #3 "Lupe Petal" Honest & Fair

Pledge of Allegiance

Girl Scout Promise

Snack Time/Attendance

Activity - Truth or Lie Game

We talked about the difference between a truth and a lie. I had signs set up across the room, "Truth" or "Lie". We took turns saying either truths or lies and the girls had to figure out which it was and then run to the correct sign. They loved this activity!

Read Lupe's story

Lupine Flower Craft

Not our craft, again... But we made something similar

Send homework

Again, we ran out of time! The girls are having a good time, so that's what's most important! They really enjoyed finger painting. Don't blame them! 

Meeting #4 "Lupe Petal" Honest & Fair

For our fourth meeting we took a field trip to Levi Coffin House! My original plan was to take a tour of a courthouse and speak with a judge. That quickly fell apart when I realized it was Labor Day weekend. Luckily we were able to get in at Levi Coffin House. It was a little bit more advanced for the girls, but fun none the less. 

Levi Coffin House