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!
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