Girl Scouts - Shreveport,LA

It's been awhile since I was a troop leader but I found the badge books for the different age levels easy to follow. One science idea, if there is a badge for this age group, cut and color rocket ships, attach them to old film canisters, the type for 35 mm cameras, add water then add an alka seltzer tablet and close the canister. The idea is to see how far up the rocket ship will travel. You then ask what other items can be used for fuel such as baking soda or any other item that produces gas.

I believe they also had a sign language badge. Contact Delgado Community College in New Orleans, they have a sign language interpreting training program, students are always looking for activities to use their interpreting skills. You might be able to get someone to volunteer their services for one day and teach the girls how to say mom, dad, hungry and learn the abc's.

Hope this helped. My daugher is 19 years old and was in girl scout till she was 16. She's made some of her best and closest friends through girl scout and so have I. Enjoy and good luck.

The brownie binder tells you exactly what you have to do for the girls to earn badges with several options for each step--do you have one? I use my daughter's. I think there are 5 steps for each badge. I think Daisies are more flexible. There is tons on stuff on the web though--just try some searches! I'm an assistant leader, but I know our leader is in some kind of internet group for Brownie leaders (kind like Mamasource for Girl Scouts, I think), so there's lots out there to browse.

I'm a troop leader too, we should network on ideas. My troop is a brownie troop, but next year we're going to have daisies as well. I'm a new leader, so it's a process! What I do is, go to the girl scout retail store and look at all the badges they offer, and plan activities for the girls to earn those badges. They had a food drive badge, so we held a food drive for thanksgiving. They have a roller skating badge, so we have planned a roller skating field trip. Have fun with it!

You should be meeting with other troop leaders in your area on a regular basis. Our service unit holds leader meetings once every other month, does your service unit meet regularly? That's a great place to connect and share ideas. I would also suggest reaching out to other leaders at your school, they can guide you and give advice on what has and has not worked for them. Find out who your school organizer is and go from there. She should be able to give you a list of leaders at your school as well as their contact information. Other than that, just follow the program (Journey's books.) You should be able to come up with some relevant activities in a number of areas, particularly community service (volunteering, holding community food/clothing drives, etc.) skill building (arts and crafts, math and science activities) and personal/social skills (taking care of your mind and body, healthy habits and choices, getting along with friends, problem solving.)
I hope this helps, I know it can be overwhelming at first! That's why it's so important to reach out to fellow leaders. PM me if you want some more specific ideas, we did a LOT of fun stuff at that age :)

Hi! Like Mamazita, my first thought was: Do you have Service Unit meetings? If not -- your SU should be holding them! That is how you meet other troop leaders and can ask them for ideas. If you don't have or can't attend SU meetings, is there a way that your SU or Council can put you in touch with other Daisy leaders in your area, maybe ones with more experience? I'd e-mail someone at SU or Council abou it today.

And yes, do follow the badge books (in the case of Daises, it's "Petals" rather than badges, unless that's been altered -- I am a Juniors leader so I'm not sure about Daisies). There are new "Journey" programs for older girls and there may be one for Daisies too. Find a GS shop or go online and order the relevant program materials and books for Daisy level. If you already have materials , is the problem that you're finding them tough to use or you've already used them all and need more ideas?

It sounds like you're a new troop leader, maybe? If you feel lost, do contact other troop leaders, your SU leader or the Council rep who covers your area, and ask for ideas. This should be fun for you, not overwhelming. If you have not done your Daisy level required leader training yet, get it as soon as possible - it will be a HUGE help. If you did get it and it wasn't great -- maybe contact the trainer and say you're struggling with ideas. If you did it only online and not in person -- try to find an in-person session and attend it even if you already technically are trained; you will find a lot of help doing it in person with other leaders who are in the same boat as you.

Daisies could visit the local retirement home or Senior Center, you could earmark cookies to take to them or make cards that simply say, 'Hi'. Brownies could do the same but also they are old enough for a car wash. Oriental Trading Co. has alot of things that are inexpensive to make that could fit some kind of badge. Has 'Earth Day' passed? Did your troop attend? I don't remember exactly but I know it was around this time of year. You can alwayz take a trip to the local 'Girl Scout Store' & simply ask & look around. They can do 'fun' badges to wear as well as the others. Have you attended the meetings for leaders? Most leaders there are nice & will answer any/all of your questions. Have fun with your girls is the main thing, I did a BD party each month (if you have girls with BD's in that month) we went bowling, skating, threw a dance party for Halloween & Christmas, my girls were in two local parades, we volunteered for our community grand opening of the park. Brownies can go camping for a weekend, I think Daisy's only go for the day but you can ask at a leader meeting. You can do SO many things, let your imagination take you walking, OH YEAH a nature walk!

Enjoy your girls!