Games and Closing

The final two parts of the meeting are the Game and Closing sections.

Game: The games section gives girls a chance to be active for a time during the meeting, plus they're interacting with each other in a positive way. If you can, this is a great way to reinforce what you've learned during the meeting. If you learned the Girl Scout Handshake, for example, you can incorporate that into the Handshake Game.
Make it GSLE: Try using cooperative or noncompetitive games instead of traditional games with winners and losers. Not only will you have fewer tears to dry, you'll be promoting girls working together to solve problems.

Closing: The Closing signals the end of the meeting. The most popular closing ceremony is the Friendship Squeeze (but watch out for girls starting to "squeeze" each other too hard!), though you can make this part of the meeting fit your group however you like. It's also a great idea to praise the girls for doing something well to encourage them.
Make it GSLE: Try asking the girls for feedback at the end of each meeting. Questions like "did you have fun?" "did you learn anything?" "should we do this type of thing again?" and "what was your favorite part of the meeting?" ensure that the girls' voices are being heard, allowing them to direct the troop activities. A simple way to ask for feedback is to use the Fists of Five: After you ask a question, each girl shows on her hand how much she agrees. For example, if you ask, "Did you have fun today?" and most girls put up one finger, you might want to adjust the type of activities you're planning. If most girls put up four or five fingers, though, it's been a successful meeting!

Bonus Section! Energizers: Energizers are something I plan to incorporate into most meetings this year. After all, girls ages 5 to 6 have a lot of energy and short attention spans. Try having a few energizers that require no equipment ready to break out whenever you see the girls getting restless. These should be quick activities (no more than 5 minutes) that get the wiggles out and refocus their attention on the task at hand.

What type of Closing ceremony do you use? Do you have any great Energizers that work wonders? Leave a message in the comments section below!