Advice for Daisy Leaders
General
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Meetings should be different from school.
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Make sure you include an opportunity to run around a bit.
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Make the girls learn by doing.
Start Up Tips
Suggested list of start up supplies
- Leaders' guide for program level (GSUSA publication - you may want your own personal copy)
- 3-ring binder for troop record storage, e.g. individual girl's records, troop dues records.
- First aid kit (See Safety-Wise p.38,39 for what to include)
- United States flag, small size
- Paper (white and colored construction)
- Markers, pencils
- Unbreakable container for troop monies, e.g. cardboard box, money pouch
- Large calendar/calendar made with newsprint to be used with girls while planning important dates
- 2 large coffee cans or other small boxes with lids for "It" and "Other" boxes.
- Popsicle sticks
- Box of 8 crayons for each girl (a useful hint is to take crayons out of smaller boxes and put them all together)
- Sturdy cardboard box with cover and holes in sides/handles for "Troop Box"
- White glue or glue stick
- Scissors
Optional Supplies
- Large ice cream containers, coffee cans, for stora
Organization Tips
List of things to bring to each meeting
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Attendance List
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First Aid Kit
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Kalper Chart
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Do it-Done Bag
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Annual permission slips
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Cleaning supplies
Kaper Chart
A kaper chart is a task/chore assignment board. It has things on it like who's helping pass out papers, picking out the song of the day, helping
Some possible jobs are: -greeter/name tags, snack person/server, pass out supplies, pack up supplies, clean and wipe tables, sweep floors, take attendance, snacks helper, lead the pledge, help with clean up, help with specific tasks, and more. Every troop is different, so it's a matter of figuring out what works best for your troop.
With Daisy aged scouts, you don't want hard assignments, but you do want to instill a sense of responsibility in them by using the kaper chart. In a way, it covers "responsible for what I say and do" for the whole year. I personally do not advise using a kaper chart during your first meeting, unless you have an established troop. Especially with this age scout, you need to have your first meeting (or even two) just to get a feel for what they are like, so you can make the proper kaper chart. Before hand, you can at least do the basics to put it together, but hold off on the assignments.
Brownie Kaper Chart.pdf
Do it-Done it Bags
These are either two envelopes or two bags with each girls’ name on a slip of paper, popsicle stick, clothes pin or anything else you want to use. Put them all in the Do It bag and as you choose girls to do something or help with something, their paper or stick goes in the Done It bag until, over time, all girls have done something special. Then you return all names to the Do It bag and start over. This can be used for picking buddies, clean up, help the leader, lead the promise, etc.
What to do about girls who missed daisy petals:
From ?:
Some troops did not worry about this. Some troops had the parents individually work with their daughter. One troop had a make-up meeting. At the makeup meeting, they did four petals (2 leaders each did 2 petals at 30 minutes per petal) with small groups of girls. Each girl could make up 2 petals. Girls who didn’t have to make up a petal, made decorations for the bridging party/ceremony. The make-up meeting enabled 7 girls to earn all the daisy petals. It really wasn’t too hard for the leaders because the leaders just did shorter versions of the original daisy petal program.
Behavior Control
Quiet Sign
Explain the Quiet Sign (whole hand-fingers straight up). When you see the quiet sign, you are quiet and you put up your quiet sign until everyone is quiet. Be patient the first few times you use it, as it will take a while for everyone to see others doing the sign and remember what they are suppose to do.
Parking Lot
Have a parking lot poster. When a girl brings up something that is off topic or you don’t have time to discuss at the moment, write the thing on the Parking Lot for discussion later.
Shake your sillies out
When girls are getting antsy and you aren’t able to switch to an active game, tell them to get up and shake their sillies out.
In Charge Girls
If you have one girl who is always taking over cooperative games, give her a job during the game. For example, she can be the referee.
Clean up
At clean up, challenge each girl to find three more pieces of trash or mess when they think they are done.
More serious issues
See this handout which has detail discussions for more persistent issues (from Girl Scout Council of the Nation's Capital)
Behavior modification strategies.pdf
Meeting Tips
General Meeting Overview
Start the meeting with a simple flag ceremony and end it with a song and circle. The girls respond well to a standard routine. Have a simple story to tell the girls that relates to the petal (part of the GS law) that you are doing (i.e. a Princess being considerate and kind, a story about a bunny family recycling different things every day of the week). Talk about that part of the law with the girls. Then do an activity/craft or game related to that petal.
A general meeting plan.
Opening Activity – that girls can do as they come in at different times
Open Meeting
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Pledge of Allegiance
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Girl Scout Pledge
Daisy Circle-This is when the girls become part of a formal group decision-making and discussion process. This is an organized time for girls to express their ideas and talk about activities they enjoy. It’s also a time to share or collect permission slips, dues, etc.
Activity
Clean up
Daisy Circle – give out handouts, pass out completed projects
Friendship Circle - All girls stand in a circle. They place their right arm over their left arm. Hold hands with the girls next to you.
Friendship Squeeze-This is done in a Friendship Circle. One girl starts. With her right hand she squeezes her neighbor’s left hand. Then that girl squeezes with her right hand. One by one, each girl passes on the squeeze until it travels all around the circle.
Opening Activity
Coloring sheet is the best.
Placemats
You can use laminate placemats to tell the girls where they will sit during a certain time.
This is how you teach a song
From ?:
Practice song-leading by yourself, in front of a mirror:
1. Get the group's attention and introduce the song briefly. Tell some interesting bit about it or ask the group to listen for something special.
2. While the girls listen, sing the song through, establishing the rhythm.
3. If you have asked questions, give the group time to answer.
4. Next, sing one line at a time, asking the group to listen first and then echo softly.
5. Then, still softly until they are sure of the melody, have girls sing the whole song through with you. Teach one stanza at a time.
6. Repeat once or twice if girls are still interested. Otherwise go on to some other activity and later in the meeting come back to the song again.
7. Pitch the key for children a little higher than is comfortable for you, unless you have a naturally high voice.
8. Many children tend to sing very loudly. Help them learn the difference between singing and shouting.
9. Resist the temptation to use song sheets! Don't do it!
Can find where I got this from
How to Teach Games:
From ?:
1. Be sure you know how to play the game. Have the necessary equipment and the playing area defined.
2. Give directions to the group.
3. It is often helpful to demonstrate the action with a small group of children or another adult.
4. Stall off action until you are ready. Example "After I'm finished..."
"When I tell you...," "In a few minutes we..."
5. Give very clear directions on how you want the group to proceed. In a single line, two lines, sitting in a circle on the rug, standing single file behind the chalked line, etc.
6. Vary the way teams are formed and "it" is chosen.
7. Start the game as soon as possible--explanation can continue as the game is played.
8. When group is large divide into smaller groups for maximum participation.
9. Stop when enthusiasm is high--they will want to play it again.
Can find where I got this from
General tips for games
When you have a game where everyone has to get a turn, we had the girls who had gotten a turn put their knees up, so that we could tell who needed a turn.
Getting girl involvement
Early in the year meeting
Have the girls draw a picture or write what they would like to do during the year. This gave one troop leader a lot of great ideas for activities.
Voting with stars
Tell the girls that today you need their help to decide what kind of things they would like to do as Girl Scout Daisies. Show them the brainstorming poster you have made. Have a chart with all the possible activities that the girls could do. Talk about the activities listed. Encourage the girls to think of other ideas to add or specific activities they would like to do. Add them to the list.
ACTIVITY: Explain to the girls that they will vote to decide which activities they would like to do. Give each girl 4 stars to color and cut out. Have the girls glue the stars in the activity boxes that they are most interested
Voting with your feet
If you want the girls to decide something, set up a picture of each choice on different walls. Explain each choice in an enthusiastic attractive way. Then let the girls vote with their feet. Have them go to the poster that is their choice. If there is more than two choices, remove the least popular choice and let the girls at the least popular choice vote again.
Cookie Selling
Have the girls decide what the money will be used for.
Make sure that they can explain this to customers.
Remind parents that the goal is to have the girls sell the cookies. Remember to let them do the talking when they are selling the cookies.
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