Pre-Meeting: For the pre-meeting, I had a little packet of activities for the girls to do. They all related to the Fall Sale--a nut search, a maze, and some magazine-related activities.
Opening: We said the pledge, the promise, and the law. The girls were really excited to look at the kaper chart to see what their jobs were!
Song: I gave the kaper girl 2 choices: the Daisy Gathering Song and Have You Ever Seen a Daisy. She chose the first one.
Circle: For the first part of our circle, we played a guessing game with the collages the girls had made last time. I showed them the collage, and they had to guess who it belonged to. I had asked the parents of the girls who weren't there last time to have their daughters make a collage so that nobody felt left out. They guessed them pretty quickly. Then we played an Energizer called Boom!--We went around the circle counting up, and each time a girl was supposed to say a number with a 3 in it, she shouted Boom! instead. The second part of the circle we used to talk about the Fall Sale. I tried to keep it pretty simple. I showed the girls the incentives they could earn and asked them which candy/chocolate/nuts they'd like to try. Then we made goals. Our troop goal was to sell 200 items.
Snack
Activity: For our activity, we made a tree mural. Everyone participated in drawing the tree trunk, the leaves, and the roots. In the roots, we wrote down things we like to do. We also decorated foam hands to glue to the tree (though some girls wanted to take theirs home instead!). We'll use the tree for decoration during our Investiture Ceremony.
Game: We played The Wind Blows. The girls seemed to have fun, and nobody got too excited or got hurt, so I'm counting this as a win!
Closing: For the Closing, we sang Make New Friends, then did Fists of Five: I asked a question, and the girls rated their answers from 1 to 5. Right now, it looks like I have one girl who doesn't really like arts and crafts, and one girl didn't like the game we played today. And nobody really liked the song today. But overall, everyone seemed to have fun! We did the Friendship Squeeze--one of our kapers is to start that--and that was it!
P.S. The girls' parents are amazing this year. While I try to have the girls clean up after themselves--and there's 2 spots on the kaper chart for clean-up--they of course don't get everything all put away. But the parents have been so helpful at finishing up the cleaning, which saves me soooo much time. So thank you, parents! I really appreciate it!
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Meeting 2: September
Pre-Meeting: I had the "What's in the Bag?" game set up. Girls had to reach inside paper bags to feel the items inside--but they couldn't look! They drew or described what they thought was inside. The bags had a mitten, a spoon, a small cat-shaped ring holder, puzzle pieces, and an umbrella.
Opening: We said the Pledge of Allegiance, the Girl Scout Promise, and I taught the girls the Girl Scout Law.
Song: The kaper girl chose to sing "Make New Friends."
Energizer: We did a quick energizer called "Dum Dum Dah Dah."
Circle: Several new girls joined at this meeting, so we played Lucy Lemon. (My name is Jacy, and I'm bringing Jambalaya to the picnic). I introduced the kaper charts to the girls--the first jobs had already been taken care of. They were really excited about the chart! Then, I revealed what had been in the bags! We went around the circle for each bag, having the girls guess what was inside. I was surprised at how easily they guessed all the items--next time, I'll have to choose some more difficult things to guess!
Snack
Activity: The girls made "All About Me" collages, putting their names on the back. We'll use these at the next meeting!
Game: I had planned to play "The Wind Blows," but we ran out of time! Next meeting we'll work it in, though, since the girls seemed excited about it.
Closing: We gave the Friendship Squeeze.
Opening: We said the Pledge of Allegiance, the Girl Scout Promise, and I taught the girls the Girl Scout Law.
Song: The kaper girl chose to sing "Make New Friends."
Energizer: We did a quick energizer called "Dum Dum Dah Dah."
Circle: Several new girls joined at this meeting, so we played Lucy Lemon. (My name is Jacy, and I'm bringing Jambalaya to the picnic). I introduced the kaper charts to the girls--the first jobs had already been taken care of. They were really excited about the chart! Then, I revealed what had been in the bags! We went around the circle for each bag, having the girls guess what was inside. I was surprised at how easily they guessed all the items--next time, I'll have to choose some more difficult things to guess!
Snack
Activity: The girls made "All About Me" collages, putting their names on the back. We'll use these at the next meeting!
Game: I had planned to play "The Wind Blows," but we ran out of time! Next meeting we'll work it in, though, since the girls seemed excited about it.
Closing: We gave the Friendship Squeeze.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
September Event: Teddy Bear Tea Party
As a way to recruit new Scouts and kick off the new year of Scouting, we held a Teddy Bear Tea Party in conjunction with a Brownie troop. The event was based off a GSCNC program, but you can find more ideas here. Our event was 2 hours long, but I'd recommend keeping it shorter, about an hour and a half.
Pre-Meeting: As the girls came in, they sat at the table and colored a picture of their teddy bear (or other stuffed pal) while I checked them in, had parents sign permission slips, etc.
Opening: We said the Girl Scout Promise as a group, teaching the girls who didn't already know it.
Circle: We sat in the Friendship Circle, then went around and introduced ourselves, plus our bears, telling everyone something we liked to do and something the bears liked to do. A lot of girls said their bears liked to sleep! One girl said she and her bear friend liked to snuggle--adorbs!
Song: The girls voted between the Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear song and The Bear Song. After we sang their choice (Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear), the girls sat down for storytime. I read Three Stories You Can Read to Your Teddy Bear, which is a really sweet story about a bear who figures out how to walk when his friend isn't around--though he falls on his nose quite a bit!
Snack: It's tea time! We had lemonade and apple juice to drink, Teddy Grahams, grapes, and chocolate-covered strawberries. I also made cucumber sandwiches and PB&J sandwiches as an alternative (I cut them all into triangles, like tea sandwiches. Surprisingly, I had a few girls who didn't like PB&J or the cucumber sandwiches. Luckily, we had enough other food that they didn't feel left out, but it might be worth sending a menu to parents to avoid any potential problems. (Note: When parents RSVP'd, I asked them to note any potential food allergies. Nobody in my group did, but make sure the menu is safe for everyone to eat!)
Game: Since "Tiger, Cowgirl, Princess" had been such a hit at my last meeting, and because we had quite a bit of extra time, I decided to have the girls play again at the tea party. The girls who didn't know how to play were able to catch on right away, and they seemed to enjoy it as much as everyone else! Then we played Mrs. Bear, Are You Awake? which got a bit too loud, considering we were meeting in the library's meeting room.
Closing: For closing, we did the Friendship Squeeze.
We had some extra time still left over, so thankfully one of the mothers stepped in and taught the girls how to play Human Knot. Yay, moms!
What other ideas would have been fun for a Teddy Bear Tea Party? Did you have a recruiting event? Leave a message in the comments section!
Pre-Meeting: As the girls came in, they sat at the table and colored a picture of their teddy bear (or other stuffed pal) while I checked them in, had parents sign permission slips, etc.
Opening: We said the Girl Scout Promise as a group, teaching the girls who didn't already know it.
Circle: We sat in the Friendship Circle, then went around and introduced ourselves, plus our bears, telling everyone something we liked to do and something the bears liked to do. A lot of girls said their bears liked to sleep! One girl said she and her bear friend liked to snuggle--adorbs!
Song: The girls voted between the Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear song and The Bear Song. After we sang their choice (Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear), the girls sat down for storytime. I read Three Stories You Can Read to Your Teddy Bear, which is a really sweet story about a bear who figures out how to walk when his friend isn't around--though he falls on his nose quite a bit!
Snack: It's tea time! We had lemonade and apple juice to drink, Teddy Grahams, grapes, and chocolate-covered strawberries. I also made cucumber sandwiches and PB&J sandwiches as an alternative (I cut them all into triangles, like tea sandwiches. Surprisingly, I had a few girls who didn't like PB&J or the cucumber sandwiches. Luckily, we had enough other food that they didn't feel left out, but it might be worth sending a menu to parents to avoid any potential problems. (Note: When parents RSVP'd, I asked them to note any potential food allergies. Nobody in my group did, but make sure the menu is safe for everyone to eat!)
Game: Since "Tiger, Cowgirl, Princess" had been such a hit at my last meeting, and because we had quite a bit of extra time, I decided to have the girls play again at the tea party. The girls who didn't know how to play were able to catch on right away, and they seemed to enjoy it as much as everyone else! Then we played Mrs. Bear, Are You Awake? which got a bit too loud, considering we were meeting in the library's meeting room.
Closing: For closing, we did the Friendship Squeeze.
We had some extra time still left over, so thankfully one of the mothers stepped in and taught the girls how to play Human Knot. Yay, moms!
What other ideas would have been fun for a Teddy Bear Tea Party? Did you have a recruiting event? Leave a message in the comments section!
Friday, September 2, 2011
Meeting 1: September
Pre-Meeting: As girls arrived, they made nametags out of construction paper (folded lengthwise). They wrote their names and drew something they like to do.
Opening: I led the girls in the Girl Scout Promise. Some girls were in the troop last year, so they already knew the promise. For the benefit of newer girls, I spoke each line and had them all repeat it after me. Then, we said it all together. (planned time: 5 minutes / actual: 5 minutes)
Song: Instead of a song this meeting, we played a Name Game. The girls stood in a circle. One person said her name and did the action of something she liked to do. It helped to have them draw it on their nametag when they came in so that they had an idea to share! Then, the rest of the girls mimicked the action while saying the girl's name three times. (planned: 10 minutes / actual: 5 minutes)
Circle: I quickly explained the Friendship Circle, and briefly explained our general schedule for meetings. Then, we talked about the meaning of a promise in general, and what that means about the Girl Scout Promise. We created a Troop Agreement of rules to follow while in meetings. (planned: 15 minutes / actual: 10 minutes)
Snack: For the first meeting, I brought trail mix and juice for snack. In future, parents will bring snack. The girls got a chance to socialize with each other, which was great for the newer scouts. All the girls helped to clean up afterward. (planned: 15 minutes / actual: 15 minutes )
Activity: I read the girls a short version of the Juliette Low story. There were several phrases that the girls had to do an action during the story. They loved singing "London Bridge is falling down" and bowing and saying "How do you do" when I said "Lord Baden-Powell." (planned: 15 minutes / actual: 10 minutes)
Game: We played Daisy to Daisy (from the Leaders' Guide). There were 6 girls, so it worked out that everyone had a partner each time they switched. Then, we played Tiger/Princess/Cowgirl. The girls loved making the noises and actions for this game! (planned: 15 minutes / actual: 15 minutes).
Tiger/Princess/Cowgirl
In pairs, the girls stand back to back. On the count of three, they turn around and strike a pose (and make sounds) to be either a tiger, a cowgirl, or a princess. The object of the game is to try and match your partner--though really, it's just fun to pretend!
Closing: I introduced the Friendship Squeeze, then taught the girls the "Good Night, Daisies" song. (planned: 10 minutes / actual: 10 minutes)
"Good Night, Daisies"
Good Night, Daisies,
Good Night, Daisies,
Good Night, Daisies,
We’re sad to see you go.
Since we had some time left, I taught the girls the Button Factory song.
Button Factory
Hello. My name is Jo. And I work in a button factory.
One day, my boss came in and said, "Jo, are you busy?"
I said "no."
Push the button with your right hand.
{Each verse adds an action--right hand, left hand, right leg, left leg, head, tongue. On the final verse, end with '"Jo, are you busy?" I said "yes!"'
What did you do for your first meeting? Leave a message below!
Opening: I led the girls in the Girl Scout Promise. Some girls were in the troop last year, so they already knew the promise. For the benefit of newer girls, I spoke each line and had them all repeat it after me. Then, we said it all together. (planned time: 5 minutes / actual: 5 minutes)
Song: Instead of a song this meeting, we played a Name Game. The girls stood in a circle. One person said her name and did the action of something she liked to do. It helped to have them draw it on their nametag when they came in so that they had an idea to share! Then, the rest of the girls mimicked the action while saying the girl's name three times. (planned: 10 minutes / actual: 5 minutes)
Circle: I quickly explained the Friendship Circle, and briefly explained our general schedule for meetings. Then, we talked about the meaning of a promise in general, and what that means about the Girl Scout Promise. We created a Troop Agreement of rules to follow while in meetings. (planned: 15 minutes / actual: 10 minutes)
Snack: For the first meeting, I brought trail mix and juice for snack. In future, parents will bring snack. The girls got a chance to socialize with each other, which was great for the newer scouts. All the girls helped to clean up afterward. (planned: 15 minutes / actual: 15 minutes )
Activity: I read the girls a short version of the Juliette Low story. There were several phrases that the girls had to do an action during the story. They loved singing "London Bridge is falling down" and bowing and saying "How do you do" when I said "Lord Baden-Powell." (planned: 15 minutes / actual: 10 minutes)
Game: We played Daisy to Daisy (from the Leaders' Guide). There were 6 girls, so it worked out that everyone had a partner each time they switched. Then, we played Tiger/Princess/Cowgirl. The girls loved making the noises and actions for this game! (planned: 15 minutes / actual: 15 minutes).
Tiger/Princess/Cowgirl
In pairs, the girls stand back to back. On the count of three, they turn around and strike a pose (and make sounds) to be either a tiger, a cowgirl, or a princess. The object of the game is to try and match your partner--though really, it's just fun to pretend!
Closing: I introduced the Friendship Squeeze, then taught the girls the "Good Night, Daisies" song. (planned: 10 minutes / actual: 10 minutes)
"Good Night, Daisies"
Good Night, Daisies,
Good Night, Daisies,
Good Night, Daisies,
We’re sad to see you go.
Since we had some time left, I taught the girls the Button Factory song.
Button Factory
Hello. My name is Jo. And I work in a button factory.
One day, my boss came in and said, "Jo, are you busy?"
I said "no."
Push the button with your right hand.
{Each verse adds an action--right hand, left hand, right leg, left leg, head, tongue. On the final verse, end with '"Jo, are you busy?" I said "yes!"'
What did you do for your first meeting? Leave a message below!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)