"One generation plants the trees, another gets the shade." --Chinese Proverb

When researching different meeting ideas for our Daisy troop, I found the cutest craft idea online.  I thought it would be perfect for the girls to do during one of our fall meetings.  I designed a lesson around the craft to help the girls in our troop earn the rose petal for their Daisy Petals set.  The rose petal stands for making the world a better place.

Prior to the meeting, I collected all the supplies necessary to complete our craft.  We provided black construction paper for the background, brown construction paper for the tree trunk, pencils, scissors, glue and glue sticks, and 1.5"x 1.5" tissue paper squares in orange, yellow, and red.  These squares were cut in advance.  I used the Creative Memories Square Maker to accomplish this task.  I was able to cut multiple pieces of tissue paper at once, so it took minutes to finish.

We began our meeting by reciting the Girl Scout Promise and the Pledge of Allegiance.  Since it was close to Halloween, we asked the girls about their favorite Halloween candy.  After they had each shared with the group, I explained that this meeting's activities were going to help them earn the rose petal.  We asked the girls what trees provide for us.  Some of their answers were as follows:  sap, syrup, shade, leaves, fruit, flowers, paper, and wood.  We discussed the importance of planting new trees and protecting the ones growing around us.  We talked about how Daisy Girl Scouts can make the world a better place with regards to trees.  They suggested planting trees with the troop or their families, raking leaves for neighbors, and recycling paper products at home and school.  By this point, they were ready for the craft.

 The girls traced their handprint on the brown construction paper and then cut along the lines.  At this time, they had been in Kindergarten for about a month.  Naturally, some of the girls needed a little assistance with the scissors.  They used the glue stick to adhere the tree trunk to the black construction paper.  The troop leaders applied dots of glue where the girls desired to place their leaves.  (Remember they were pretty young.  We were trying to avoid a tremendous mess!)  They wrapped the individual tissue paper squares around the eraser end of a pencil and stuck them onto the dots of glue.  They used white crayons to write their name on the paper.  Many of them chose to decorate their tree with spiders, birds, and nests.  This craft could be done in the springtime, using green, pink, and white tissue paper squares.

Thank you for reading!