Girl Scout Week and Founder's Day Fun

My daughter's fifth grade reading class was assigned a historical fiction quilt project this quarter.  Impressed with this assignment, I immediately started brainstorming how this project could be modified for Girl Scouts and even for younger children not involved in Scouts.  Since my daughter was the one completing the work, I asked for her feedback.  After sharing ideas with each other, we thought it could be fun for troops to incorporate this project into a Founder's Day or Girl Scout Week celebration.  Girl Scout Week always includes the organization's birthday, March 12.  After modifying the assignment with Girl Scouts in mind, we came up with the following variations to the original project.

 
1.  Girls of all ages can learn about Juliette Gordon Low, the Founder of Girl Scouts of the USA. 

• Borrow a book about Juliette Gordon Low from the library or your Girl Scout Council.
• Leaders prepare in advance or allow time for the girls to find facts about our Founder on different websites to share with the troop.
• Girls in the troop can perform the Juliette Gordon Low Interactive Story like we did here.  

2.   Specifically for Daisy Girl Scouts:

• Girls in the troop can perform a the Juliette Gordon Low Interactive Story like we did here.  
• Share the story of Juliette Gordon Low and her magnificent strand of pearls as we did during this meeting.
• Before the meeting, divide the paper into nine equal sections. 
• Instruct the girls to draw the following pictures:  Juliette Gordon Low as a young woman, Georgia (known as the Peach State), horses, London (British flag or Big Ben?), Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, a strand of pearls, and the world.  The ninth square could be reserved for each girl to draw what Girl Scouts means to her.  
• The girls can write on their squares, but it's unnecessary if they can remember the story based on the pictures they have drawn.

3.  Specifically for Brownies:

• See #1 and #2 above.
• Have the girls take turns reading The Brownie Story.  A version of the story is included in the Brownie Girl's Guide to Girl Scouts, but there are several creative skits and ceremonies that revolve around this story that can be found online. They could make their quilt squares by following the writing and coloring instructions in the photo posted above. 

4.  Older Girl Scouts may wish to learn about influential women who were once Girl Scouts.  

• A quick online search reveals comprehensive lists of names from which to choose.  
• Each girl selects eight or nine women to learn more about.
• Collect a couple facts about each person.
• Divide the paper into nine equal sections.  Write about and color one section for each of the women.
• That ninth square could be reserved for her to draw and write about what Girl Scouts means to her.

5.  For large troops or when there's not enough time to complete this entire project during a meeting:

• Have the girls work in groups.  
• Each group selects nine influential women who were once Girl Scouts.  
• The girls choose facts about those women for the quilt squares.  
• Give each girl squares that were cut to the desired size prior to the meeting.
• Each girl completes the square(s), depending on the number of girls in the group.  
• Tape the squares together.
• Share the quilts with the rest of the troop.

6.  Not in Scouts?  My daughters love to read.  They often like to write stories and draw pictures.  If you know kids like mine, this could be a great way to entertain them on a day when they claim there's nothing to do. 

• The Who Was series of books by various authors are geared toward readers ages 8 to 12 (grades 3 to 7).  Who Was Anne Frank? is a great example.  These books are around 100 pages long, so it may not take them too long to finish reading before they can get to work on the quilt.

• Brad Meltzer's Ordinary People Change the World is an adorable series geared toward readers ages 5 to 8 (grades K to 3).  Like I am Amelia Earhart, these books are around 40 pages long.  I think older kids would even enjoy Meltzer's stories and the illustrations by Christopher Eliopoulos.  I know I did!    

With help, a preschooler could work on this project to feature his or her favorite books.  Preserving a preschooler's work in a picture frame will be treasured for years to come. 

• Have the child choose his or her favorite books. 
• Using a Sharpie and a ruler, divide a 12"x12" sheet of white cardstock into nine 4"x4" squares or four 6"x6" squares.
• Read one of the books together.
• An adult records the title of the book and what the child reports as his or her favorite part of the story.
• The child draws or colors on the square on his or her own, or an adult can draw a picture for the child to color.  
• Over time, the squares will be completed. 
• Display this art in a 12"x12" frame.

While this began as a language arts project in a traditional classroom, I have shared ways to modify the project for Girl Scouts, kids who love to read, and kids who may need a little encouragement to read more frequently.  If you try this project with the children in your life, I would love to see the finished quilts!  Thank you for reading.