Girl Scouts - Greenville,PA

We bought wood photo frames for $1 and used cement patch to adhere shells, beads, etc... They all talk about that years later.

We made handprint wreaths with each girl's hand on it. They would have lasted better if we laminated them. You can laminate them at teacher stores or office supply stores.

We painted clay pots and planted flowers for Mother's day. They LOVED that.

We made ornaments out of pipe cleaners and beads. They still show them off.

Thanks for being a leader. I hope you enjoy your adventure.

It's been my observation over the years, that the troops that have the most fun, do a wide variety of activities. They are also very familar with the GS rules and ways - quiet sign, formal opening, etc. - it seems to make them connect with each other and function better as a troop.

My girls are a senior and an ambassador. They have helped run several programs for younger girls and volunteer at GS summer camp.

Here are a few things that my girls did as younger scouts or as leaders younger scouts.

*there's a coloring book/pages that you can use to help teach the GS law (sorry, I don't know where to get one) , color a page and talk about things you do everyday that pertain to the law
*a nature scavenger hunt
*sing some camp songs
*make cards - you can make thank you cards that are used by your council, or make holiday cards for our troops or patients at a VA hospital (children's hospitals have some strict rules and regulations so that can be a problem)
*play 2ply (this was thought up by the older girls at camp) - stand in a circle and give each girl a few squares of toilet paper, go around the circle and each girl says something about herself, for example "I have a cat named Fluffy", and she tears of a square and puts it into the pile. Of course, you can do this without the tp, but for some reason it makes the girls participate.
*color hard boiled eggs - the whole purpose is to teach them about mixing colors, start with only blue, red and yellow and mix the colors to make orange, green, etc

go on an outing... inexpensive ones
*a trip to the library, especially if your local library has a childrens section, you can even arrange for a tour
*most of the high schools in our area perform a play in the spring (our HS did Beauty and the Beast), attend as a group, call ahead and see if you can get a group discount
*visit a fire station
*visit a pet store, learn about different pets - learn how to take care of them

some more expensive, but fun outings....
*visit the zoo
*visit a children's museum/science center

Crafts -
*check out Family Fun magazine for some great ideas
*decorate a wooden picture frame - great mother's day project
*make a chia monster - use a small container (school milk carton works well), cover with construction paper and draw a face on one side, fill with some pebbles and dirt, and plant some grass seed, when the grass seed grows it becomes the monster's hair
*bird feeder - tie a string/ribbon on a pine cone, cover the pine cone with peanut butter, roll in bird seed

Working on a strict budget? Before you purchase any supplies, ask the parents if they have any supplies laying around.

Need some help during the meeting? Ask an older troop (juniors, cadettes, or seniors) to come help, or run a meeting. The older girls are often looking for these type of opportunities to help with silver and gold awards, or other badge work.

Good luck!

plant a garden

attend your local volunteer days to help keep the parks looking good

service projects for shelters

visit nursing homes and sing Christmas carols or do activities with partners while visiting

focus on nature--
hunt for bugs and take an inventory of what is found
collect leaves, seeds, rocks

go for a hike in the woods

have a family camping weekend, where the entire family is invited, not just the troop, so that parents can watch and assist their own children overnight in their tents

make recipes that use Girl Scout cookies

non-competitive games

field day games

make a giant mural for various months or holidays together

puppet shows

set up buddies with a Girl Scout troop where the older girls teach them something

see what they can do with a giant box and other recycled supplies

make fun or funny videos advertising Girl Scout cookies

have a sing-a-long

have them build something together

with art, focus on process rather than product--give them the supplies and show them a few techniques, and watch what they can create on their owns

study daisy flowers

Have fun!!

I co-led a brownie scout group when I was in high school.

We got light sensitive paper and had fun exploring shapes and shadows.
We made gak from elmers glue, water and boric acid. (google it!)
I am a spinner, dyer, weaver and knitter so I had the kids dye yarn and knit up hats for them. (you can also dye play silks with koolaid).

I'm not a troop leader, but both of my girls are in Girl Scouts. Last week my second grader's troop took a short hike around a lake and then sat in the grass and painted the scenery. The troop leader brought mini-canvas's for each girl and some really nice paints. They LOVED it! And b/c it's Fall their paintings were beautiful. I think the troop leader is going to see if our local library will display them. Then we'll take the girls over there to see!

Another activity they really liked was planting flowers in front of their school. We did that last Spring, and my daughter commented all the time on how pretty it looked and how the flowers were growing and filling in. She was really proud of that.

Good luck and have fun!

There are so many fun things to do with the girls! However, I see that some moms have taken a lot of time already giving you ideas and I need to be quick. A mom recently shared this link about getting patches at a cheaper rate:http://www.snappylogos.com/products.asp?dept=20

My advice is to look at these patches to get some ideas as to where to take your girls. There are so MANY patches to get ideas from.

omgoodness! i loved being a girls scout we did alot of stuff that i really loved we went o plays on broadway, we took trips to va to luray caverns, we went to museums, we went camping at one of the girlscout camps out here. we earned our cpr cards, but i was a older girl scout. not a daisy. but i guess you could take them to like disney on ice, childrens museums, plant flowers or other plants to show them about the environment. we took a trip to a wildlife reserve.

I am soooo going to pm you. this is my first year as a Daisy leader too and I am sooo lost. I would love a Daisy Friend!!!!

I will pm you the info I sent to VM. Or she an share it with you. I lead a 1st grade Daisy. This is my second year and I love it.