WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF DAISY GIRL SCOUTS
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Who’s a Daisy?
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Sample Schedules of a Daisy Year
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Ideas for Petals
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Tips from Experience
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Resources & Websites for Daisies
WHO’S
A DAISY?:
Daisy Girl Scouts (Founder Juilette Gordon Low's nickname)
is the youngest level of Girl Scouting and is comprised of girls five years old
or in kindergarten. This program introduces girls to group projects,
established routines, fun and friendship.
By including "sharing time" as part of the troop
meeting, girls develop relationships and communication skills. Encouraged to
express interests, feelings and daily experiences, they learn the importance of
sharing with, and listening to others. For many, Girl Scouting is a first-time
activity outside the home or school, and for some, it
is their first opportunity to see themselves as individuals.
Daisy Girl Scouts are encouraged to participate in simple
group activities, songs, games, and short-term projects. Some successful
activities may include making puzzles, drawing pictures, reading books, or
playing a game everyone can enjoy. with the
imagination and curiosity of Daisy Girl Scouts, every meeting can be a learning
experience.
Daisy Girl Scout troops usually meet once a week for 45
minutes to an hour. A typical meeting may include an opening (singing a song or
reciting the Girl Scout Promise), planning activities, enjoying sharing time
and snack time, followed by cleanup and a closing (forming the "Friendship
Circle" or singing a goodbye song).
Daisy
Girl Scouts grow up so fast...but with guidance, support, and Girl Scouting
incentive. They grow in the light of
giving and sharing!
SAMPLE
SCHEDULES OF A YEAR
Daisy Troop 316
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September
25: Getting to know you
Trefoil name tags
Daisy coloring sheet and explain the
colors and patches
Cut out hand, glue in promise position
to paper with promise typed on it so they can learn it for next meeting.
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October 9:
Recite promise, earn promise center
Craft - scrapbooks
Song/game
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October 23:
Halloween
party
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November 6:
Pinning ceremony, earn Promise center
Craft- make bracelets to give to
eachother, earn violet petal “Be a sister…”
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November 20:
Pizza Party at
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December 4:
Christmas cards for soldiers, earn rose
petal “Make the world a better place”
Draw names for gift exchange
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December 18:
Holiday Party
and Gift exchange
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January 22:
Had a soldier come in and talk to the
girls about authority and respect of self and others. Played Simon Says and
earned magenta and purple petals.
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February 5:
Candle making demonstration, girls helped with
wicks and wrapped candles to give to Moms. Earned yellow
petal.
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February 26:
Worked on
scrapbooks, had CM consultant come in.
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March 12:
Made terrariums out of plastic soda bottles and planted
seeds. Earned dark green ahd orange petals.
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March 26:
Earned red and light blue patches. Obstacle course in the playground at school. The girls loved
it.
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April 9:
DQ for ice
cream party and tour. Girls got to make their own ice cream cones.
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April 23:
Build a Bear
party
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May 7:
Made
invitations for Daisy Celebration Dinner/Bridging
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May 21:
Bridging/Celebration
Dinner at House of
TROOP 421:
Oct 5: First meeting. Learned
the Promise to the tune of Yankee Doodle (On my honor I will try to serve God
and my country, to help people at all
times and live by the Girl Scout Law). Singing it made it a snap to learn. Made bracelets using beads in the colors of the daisy petals that
correspond to the law. I got the supplies locally, but
ww.makingfriends.com has some great scout kits.
Oct 19: Investiture Ceremony - girls were pinned with
their Daisy pin, given a daisy flower, said the promise as a group. This was
done in front of
the parents at the end of our meeting. Earned Be a Sister to Every Girl Scout
Petal by making Cardboard paper dolls from United Art. These fit together like
puzzle pieces. They glued on yarn hair, googly
eyes, I had cut clothes out from fabric and they glued on. After this meeting,
parents could apply the violet petal (Be a Sister...) and the center of the
Daisy for learning the promise and the American Flag.
Nov 9:
Responsibility for What I Say and Do
This was a discussion. Everyone drew a Daisy, then crumpled up the paper. Then we all opened the paper up
again and tried to smooth it
out. This was to illustrate that when you hurt someone's feelings, it can leave
lasting marks, etc. Then we made a turkey craft for Thanksgiving. Sent note
home asking for parents to teach their
daughters about recycling and ask them to email what their daughters have
recycled before the next meeting.
Nov 16: Make the World a Better Place & Use
Resources Wisely Discussed recycling.
Made a craft out of leftover items found around the house (packing peanuts,
cardboard tubes, etc.
Nov 30: Respect Myself and
Others Everyone brought a
"collection" to share with the group. Care Bears, rocks, shells,
Barbies, etc. Girls earned My Collection fun patch too. Drew names for upcoming
gift exchange and gave parents restaurant invites.
Dec 15: Restaurant night at Max & Erma's. Worked
on manners and ordering our food. Earned Restaurant night fun
patch. Did gift exchange. Sent
thank you note to manager. I had made aprons for the girls out of
bandanas and gave them. Passed around sign up for cookie
exchange so we wouldn't
have all the same type.
Jan 11:
Respect Authority
This was earned by baking cookies with Mom prior to
the meeting. The girls brought their cookies already wrapped in small packages
for a cookie exchange. We baked enough to also take some into the school
office. Earned Mommy & Me fun patch.
Jan 26: Considerate & Caring
Made valentines. Girls signed and made as many as they could. Put them in bags
according to their name for next meeting at nursing home.
Feb 9: Courageous & Strong
Met at Country Charm nursing home. We sang a few songs (Did You Ever See a
Daisy, I am a Little Daisy, You Are My Sunshine) and then each girl was given
their bag of valentines to give out.
Feb 23:
Pizza Party fun patch. Met at
March 15: JoAnn's Etc. $7.50 per
girl paid by parent, not out of dues. Brought t-shirts to
decorate with fabric paint. Also did face painting on each
other. They loved this. JoAnn's had a craft teacher lead them which was great. Earned Arts and Crafts fun patch.
March 22: Health Fun Patch. Color food pyramid. We had
a nutritionist mom who did this meeting for me.
April 4:
Archiver's - they do free classes for scouts. We made book marks and a Father's
Day card.
April 19: Worked on requirement for bridging to
Brownies. We had to do an activity with a Brownie. We had one come to our
meeting and talk about
her troop and badges. We also made "Sit Upons" at this meeting.
May ?
Did a nature walk in
Also in May we did our Bridging ceremony
IDEAS
FOR PETALS: There are additional ideas posted on the sample
schedules.
Light Blue - Honest & Fair
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Have a game day and talk about how it's not fun to
play with cheaters. (I'm sure you can find better words than that!!)
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Have an Egg Hunt for our "honest and
fair" petal. Allow each girl to find 5 eggs. Once they reach their goal
they have to assist the other girls until everyone finds 5 eggs. Talk about how
fun it is to help each other. (You can vary this according to season or
holiday).
Yellow - Friendly & Helpful
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Read the Brownie Story. Each time the girls hear
the word helpful, have them stand up and shout "Helpful!" Then send
them home with little sheets of paper that say, "A Girl Scout was
here." Each time they do a good deed/chore without being asked, they can
leave a slip of paper.
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Talk about taking care of pets and animal safety.
Visited a local veterinarian's office, and make a pet supplies donation to a
local animal shelter.
Spring Green - Considerate & Caring
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Secret pals! - Have each girl pick out of a hat and
bring a special gift or "secret admirer" message to the next meeting
- something they've made themselves. Evenn better - send the gift in the mail or
drop it off on the front porch - girls love getting mail. Then you could have
each girl bring a card to the next meeting to reveal herself.
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Make cards to take to a nursing home and then go
and spend time with the older folks of your town. Visiting is fun during holidays,
but remember it's nice to visit any time of the year.
Red -
Courageous & Strong
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Practicing for a ceremony (Investiture/Bridging) is
a good way to earn this. Talk about how it is sometimes scary to get up in
front of people and that it takes "courage" and "strength."
Then practice your ceremony until everyone feels comfortable with their parts.
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Play a game called "Emotions." It
requires the girls to pick out of a hat a paper that has an emotion on it, like
Happy, Sad, Mad, Glad, Excited, Hurt, etc. Have adults help with the reading
and have each girl stand in front of the group and act out the emotion without
talking. If your girls are shy, it could take quite a bit of courage to stand
up there and do that in front of everyone.
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Host a fashion show or an imaginary pet show (use
stuffed animals)- another opportunity to stand out in
front of people.
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Plan a field trip without mommy! Parents or older
girls from another troop can help you out with this. Girls really get the chance to grow without parents hovering over them. Walk to a
local restaurant or ice cream parlor, or visit your neighborhood - go to the
post office, police station, etc.
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Try different foods that you have never tried.
(Check for allergies).
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Learn about what it means to be strong not just by
lifting weights but strong in mind too.
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Make a growth chart to hang in their rooms so they
can see how they grow.
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Do a service project that helps the environment.
Pick up trash around the school, park or playground (wear gloves, of course!).
Talk to the girls about how each person should help take care of the earth.
Maybe plant a tree or some flowers.
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Get a big sheet of paper and have the girls make a
list of troop rules.
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Copy a picture from a coloring book. Have the girls
color the picture. Have the girls crumple the picture into a ball. Now smooth
out the picture. Note all the wrinkles left on the paper. Explain when you say
something bad or mean it will always leave a mark on that person. Some marks don't
show but others do. A Girl Scout's job is to be responsible and not say things
that might hurt someone on the inside. Discuss what words hurt and what words arenice.
Variation - if you have access to small tubes of toothpaste, (dentist samples)
have them squeeze out the paste as fast as they can, then when they are done,
ask them to put it back in the tube. Moral - sometimes we say things or do
things and don't think about the effect, and we can't take it back. Think
before you speak.
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Responsible for what I do can be as simple as
having the girls always wear their seat belts when in a car.
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Have the girls think about what chore they could do
to help mom around the house and one that they can do at the Daisy meetings to
help out, like take out the trash or push in the chairs at the end of the
meetings. They have a chart to take home and check off for two weeks.
Purple - Respect Myself & Others
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Have a doctor, nurse or dentist talk to the girls
about how important it is to take care of themselves.
Maybe visit their office.
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Put together care packages of toothpaste,
toothbrushes, hairbrushes, wet wipes, soap, and combs. Each girl gets one and donate the others to a shelter. Talk about proper hygiene
and why it is important.
Magenta - Respect Authority
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Take a field trip to the local police station or
fire house for a tour.
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Have someone in authority, principal, police
officer, fire fighter, etc, talk to the girls about what it means to have their
job and how people depend on them.
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Have girls dress up and put on a skit showing
people in authority and why it is important to respect them. For instance:
doctor (if you don't follow doctor's orders you don't get better), teacher,
crossing guard, etc.
Green - Use Resources Wisely
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Gather miscellaneous craft stuff left over from
other projects, then set it out with NO instructions other than "make
something." You'll be surprised at what they come up with, and how
cooperation and working together suddenly happens.
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Collect aluminum cans for recycling.
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Visit a recycling center.
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Make paper from all of our construction paper
scraps.
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Practice some "leave no trace" skills by
cleaning the playground.
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Have a relay race with recyclables. Make a pile of
mixed recyclables (plastics, tin/aluminum, newspapers, etc) and have a separate
box labeled for each type of recyclable. One by one the girls put one item at a
time into the correct box. Give a time limit and they can race against the
clock or each other.
Rose - Make the world a better place
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Plant sunflower and daisy seeds for the girls to
take home.
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Go to a recycling center and practice recycling at
home. (Also good for Use Resources Wisely)
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Help a senior citizen with yard clean up.
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Plant trees on Earth Day.
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Plant a flower garden as a "thank you" to
the church/school where your troop meets.
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Make bird feeders out of recycled materials.
Violet - Be a sister to every Girl Scout
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Find a troop outside of your area to be Pen Pals
with.
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Have a Sister Brownie Troop.
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Have a Thinking Day party.
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Study Girl Guides from other countries, complete
with an appropriate snack and craft.
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Make swaps for sister brownie troop.
Have a Daisy
party for all the Daisy troops in CGSU.
Misc ideas:
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Visit
a pumpkin patch
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Visit
the zoo
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Go
to the movies
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March
in a parade
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Put
on a show – pancake breakfast
TIPS
FROM EXPERIENCE:
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Put the girls’ names on the tag of
their uniform vests. The girls take
their vests off at meetings, etc. and it’s easy to get them confused.
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Ask
questions of “seasoned” leaders or your school organizer. There is a great support system to help you
with this fun adventure.
DUES
TROOP 421: I collected $40 in dues the year I did
Daisies. That paid for everything except the uniforms, Max & Erma's dinner,
the pizza party and the JoAnn's Etc. craft. People paid for those when they came.
DAISY
SUPPLY BOX:
This is provided by the Service Unit.
It will be collected at the end of the year (need the scissors &
books back)
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Markers
RESOURCES
& WEBSITES
FOR
DAISY GS:
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Check
out the “New Leader” information on this website under “Leader Resource”
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www.DaisyGirlScouts@groups.msn.com
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Your
volunteer resource and safety wise books/discs have many samples and
suggestions for new leaders
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Go
web surfing – it is amazing what you will find.
Just put in Daisy Girl Scouts or Girl Scouts.
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Our
council’s website, www.gsci.org, has many
helpful links for forms (attendance sheet, field trip forms, permission slips,
etc.