Brownie Badge: Celebrating Community

"The Girl's Guide to Girl Scouting features seven Legacy badges that build on 100+ years of Girl Scout history. Each of these badges (Artist, Athlete, Citizen, Cook, First Aid, Girl Scout Way, and Naturalist), is available at five levels of Girl Scouting, from Brownie to Ambassador. In addition, the Girl's Guides include lots of details on Girl Scout traditions and history."  The Celebrating Community badge is the Citizen Legacy badge for Brownies.  In this post, I will describe what our troop did to fulfill each of the five steps to earn this badge.

Step 1:  Explore Community Symbols.  Earlier this fall, we volunteered with an organization called Bake Me Home.  Please check out this link for more information about that project.  Before leaving for the event, we decided to go on a flag hunt.  During our 20 minute drive to the Bake Me Home building, the girls watched for different flags we passed along the way.  The girls in my car spotted 58 flags. The girls in our co-leader's car counted 136 flags!  They saw a cemetery that the girls in my car happened to miss.  It was a fun challenge that fostered some friendly competition while allowing the girls to work together.  

Step 2:  Find three celebration songs.  Our girls and their families went Christmas caroling at a nursing home.  While we walked through the halls spreading holiday cheer, we sang "Frosty," "Rudolph," and We Wish You a Merry Christmas" over and over and over...  We had printed the lyrics for many other songs, but these were the songs the girls knew and enjoyed.  We let them sing those songs repeatedly, and the nursing home residents loved it!  We continued our celebration back at home.  You can read more about our caroling event and Christmas party here.

Step 3:  Follow the parade.  For the past two years, the girls in our troop were invited to march in our high school Homecoming Parade.  Our school district was trying to pass a levy.  The girls made signs supporting the school district and the football team.  This year they marched around the football field. 

Step 4:  Be a landmark detective.  Our troop wanted to earn the Potter badge.  To satisfy one of the steps for this badge, we toured the pottery exhibit at the Cincinnati Art Museum.  The Art Museum was built in 1886.  We asked our tour guide to share three facts about the building with us.  

Step 5:  Join a ceremony or celebration.  I can't believe these girls are getting ready to bridge to Juniors!  I still remember our first Daisy meeting like it was yesterday.  We are in the process of planning the bridging ceremony that will take place in May.  During our last meeting, we discussed who we would invite to the ceremony, where we we hold the celebration, what the girls would do, what we would serve our guests, and how we would decorate the space. At our next meeting, the girls will finish all the preparations for their Bridging Ceremony.  Please check back in late May to read about this celebration.