Sample Meeting for Blended Troop of Brownies and Juniors

If you have read this blog in the past, you may recall that this is our first year as a blended troop with Brownies and Juniors.  In the five years I've served as a Girl Scout troop leader, I have often wondered how leaders of blended troops juggle girls of different ages within the same troop?  How did they plan meetings to help satisfy steps for various badges at different levels?  I will admit the planning process can be overwhelming at times even for a troop that is not blended.  It is frustrating and disappointing for both leaders and girls when the plans do not go as anticipated.  In this post, I will outline the agenda for a recent meeting during which our plans did go as anticipated.

Last Wednesday, we decided to make dog toys to donate to a local animal shelter.  We were going to visit the shelter during the second half of our meeting.  The day before our meeting, I discovered we weren't able to visit the shelter because the lobby and bathrooms were being remodeled.  The volunteers at the shelter were unable to accommodate groups and offered to reschedule our visit.  I scrambled to prepare short projects and activities that would fill the 90 minutes we would spend together.  

Once the girls had left the meeting that evening, I decided it actually ended up being, in my opinion, the "perfect meeting."  I thought I would share the agenda here.  

4:15pm   Girls arrive.  
              Kapers assigned.  
              Recite Girl Scout Promise.  
              Sing Girl Scout Law song.
              Share:  Review Troop Rules.  We had a new girl join our troop in 
                         January.  The other leaders and I decided we should review our 
                         troop rules for everyone's benefit.  The girls each had an 
                         opportunity to share one rule for our troop, and we
                         leaders chimed in as well.
               Troop Business:  With Cookie Booth sales coming up in March, our 
                                        Cookie Mom asked the girls to vote on a few 
                                        important details.

4:45pm   Service Project:  T-shirt Dog Toys

5:00pm   Craft:  Metal Washer Necklaces

The Juniors are working on their Jeweler badge.  Step 2 of this badge is "Make Jewelry with Metal."  The Brownies and Juniors made metal washer necklaces during the meeting.  After considering several different ways to decorate the 1.25" diameter washers, I decided we would use scrapbook paper and Mod Podge. There are a million tutorials and blog posts available online, describing how to make washer necklaces. Here's how our girls made their necklaces:

• Prior to the meeting, I grabbed a scrap piece of paper.  I could have easily traced the washer with a pencil on the reverse side of the paper before cutting it out with scissors, but I decided to use my Cricut.  I chose the Simply Sweet cartridge to cut out a 1.25" circle.  I saved the negative part of the paper square for the girls to use as a template during the meeting.  I flipped the circle over, placed the washer on top and lined up the edges, and traced the inside circle onto the paper.  I used a standard hole punch to cut the hole in the middle of the circle.

• During the meeting, the girls chose a patterned piece of paper.  I helped them use the paper template to decide which part of the pattern they would like for their necklaces.  We cut the circles, and the girls cut out the middle hole as described above.

• They used paint brushes to apply Mod Podge to one side of the metal washer.  They covered the washer with the paper circle, making sure to align the edges of the paper with the edges of the washer.  They applied another coat of Mod Podge.  

• I came across some very small letter beads that had been given to me by a family member years ago.  I invited the girls to use these letters on their necklaces.  Some of the girls chose to write "love," "bff," or their names.  We dabbed a little more Mod Podge around each of the letters, hoping they would dry securely.  A hairdryer was used to help with the drying process.  We let the necklaces dry completely as we continued with the meeting.  Before the girls left, we finished their necklaces.  They chose to use a ribbon, yarn, or parachute cord we had remaining from past projects.  We tied a cow hitch (knot) by making a loop in the middle of the ribbon and threading the loop through the middle hole of the washer.  We took the two ends of the ribbon and passed them through the loop, pulling the ends to tighten the hitch on the washer.  The girls were familiar with this knot because they used them when they made macrame bracelets last month. 

5:20pm   Morse Code.
Step 2 for the Junior Detective badge is "Communicate in Code."  My husband and I recently started watching Downton Abbey.  In the first minute of the first episode of the first season, I saw characters using Morse Code to relay the shocking message about the sinking of the Titanic.  Before the meeting, I cued up the clip so the girls could see Morse Code in action.   

One of our co-leaders shared this worksheet she had come across when preparing a homeschool lesson for her daughters:  

http://www.magictreehouse.com/teachersclub/resource_center/pdfs/17-save-our-ship.pdf 

I printed copies of the worksheets.  Our girls used the Morse Code key on the worksheet to decipher the message to the captain of the Titanic.

 

During this portion of the meeting, we had some time to work on a handwriting activity.  Step 4 of the Junior Detective badge is "Try Out Detective Science."  I remembered using a book called Love Your Handwriting by Heidi Swapp when I was into writing titles for my scrapbook pages.  I modified one of Heidi's activities for our girls to work on during this meeting.  The girls played with their handwriting by writing the word trefoil in various ways.  Once they had completed the worksheet, they exchanged papers and examined the similarities and differences in their handwriting.




5:45pm   Braille.  
In this post, I described how our Brownies and Juniors learned about Braille.  During this meeting, they were able to complete some steps for the Brownie Senses badge and the Junior Detectives badge.

6:00pm   Closing.  Our girls love to end the meeting by singing "Make New Friends" and doing the friendship squeeze.

Please note that we don't always incorporate each of these components into every meeting.  It happened to work out this time, so I thought it was worth sharing on this blog.  Thank you for reading!

Investiture and Rededication Ceremony

During our first meeting of 2015, we held an Investiture and Rededication Ceremony to welcome a new member into our troop.  "Investiture welcomes new members, girls or adults, into the Girl Scout family for the first time. Girls receive their Girl Scout, Girl Scout Brownie, or Girl Scout Daisy pin at this time."  "Rededication Ceremonies are an opportunity for girls and adults to renew their commitment to the Girl Scout Promise and Law."  It is suggested by Council that these ceremonies be held each year, and I read that many troops hold a joint Investiture and Rededication Ceremony in October, when the Girl Scout year begins.  I will admit that our older girls are in their fifth year as Girl Scouts, and this was only our second ceremony.  When our girls began their first year as Daisy Girl Scouts in kindergarten, we held an Investiture Ceremony.  You can read all about that sweet ceremony here.  

To begin our Investiture and Rededication Ceremony, I described the difference between the two types of ceremonies to the girls.  I explained the importance of the Girl Scout membership pin.  We welcomed the newest member into our troop.  I continued by reading the story of Juliette Gordon Low and her magnificent strand of pearls:

"In the early years of Girl Scouting Juliette Gordon Low, or Daisy as she was affectionately known, dedicated almost all of her personal assets to pay for the expenses of the movement. Her vision and passion for helping girls became self-sufficent, strong leaders was the moving force in her life; no sacrifice was too great for her girls.
Daisy owned a magnificent strand of pearls - one of her most cherished possessions. She loved her pearls; they were beautiful and quite valuable, and Daisy reserved them for special occasions.
By 1915, if the organization was to continue to grow, funds were desperately needed. To support the movement for another year, Daisy sold her exquisite pearls, once again putting the needs of the girls over her personal desires."

Each girl then had the opportunity to share what they would do to help others if they suddenly had a great deal of money.  (Side note:  At the suggestion of one of our co-leaders, I emailed our families a few days before the meeting and requested they ask the girls the following question:  "If you were given a lot of money, or if you sold something really valuable, or if you won the lottery, what would you do with that money to bless or help others?"  Asking this question in advance was brilliant (Thank you, Mandy!).  The girls had their answers prepared for the ceremony, and more importantly, it gave them an opportunity to talk about serious issues with their families.  We knew if we didn't give them time to consider their answers, we would have had blank stares and shrugging shoulders during the meeting).  As I mentioned in a previous post, children are natural helpers.  They have good hearts.  A few of the girls said they would use their money to help homeless people.  A couple of the girls mentioned giving the money to an animal protection organization.  One girl wanted to help children battling life-threatening illnesses by providing these children and their families a free Disney vacation through Give the Kids the World.  Another girl wanted to give her money to Friends of Bethany.
 

We gathered around the island in my kitchen for a candle ceremony:

ALL:  (Recite the Girl Scout Promise)  "On my honor, I will try to serve God and my country (leader lights one of three candles), to help people at all times (leader lights second of three candles), and to live by the Girl Scout Law."  (leader lights third of three candles).
ALL:  "I will do my best to be..." 
GIRL 1:  honest and fair
GIRL 2:  friendly and helpful
GIRL 3:  considerate and caring
GIRL 4:  courageous and strong
GIRL 5:  responsible for what I say and do, and to
GIRL 6:  respect myself and others
GIRL 7:  respect authority
GIRL 8:  use resources wisely
GIRL 9:  make the world a better place
GIRL 10:  and be a sister to every Girl Scout.
*Prior to the ceremony, we stuck one birthday candle in each cupcake.  When the girl read her Law component, she held her cupcake and tipped the candle into the flame of one of the candles lit by a leader.  (Thank you for that suggestion, Amy!) 
Once the candles were all lit, we sang the Girl Scout Law song.   

 
This ceremony lasted about 30 minutes because I first wanted to explain what was going to happen, what they needed to do, and the girls got in position.  Of course there are always a few giggles and sweet shenanigans... 

We spent the first half hour of our meeting reviewing for the Cookie Sale that starts January 9th in our area.  Check out this link to see how we prepared for the Cookie Sale when our girls were Daisies.  We spent the remaining half hour of the meeting completing the Energy Expert Patch Workbook from Consumers Energy.  We requested the free patches for our Brownies and Juniors last spring.  As of June 1, 2014, the free patch program is only available for Michigan residents.  The Brownie and Junior Workbooks are slightly different, but they were similar enough to complete together.  As we worked through the packet, we skipped a few activities and asked that they finish them at home.  When we began talking about conductors and insulators, the 4th graders got really excited.  They had been studying that unit in science class, and their test was scheduled for the following morning!  Overall, I think they enjoyed earning the Energy Expert patch.  Thank you for reading!

Additional Kaper Chart Ideas

In a previous post, I provided a detailed description of the kaper chart we used when our girls were Daisies.  Our kaper chart needed to be changed to better meet the needs of our smaller Brownie troop. 

To make this kaper chart, I used a glue stick to adhere an 8.5x11" piece of cardstock to a thin piece of cardboard.  The white tags originally came in a package from a craft store, but they could easily be made from cardstock by cutting a rectangle and snipping the two corners off one end.  The kaper titles were cut using the Cricut Simply Sweet cartridge.  I purchased some Brownie Girl Scout stickers from Michaels.  We used the stickers to decorate the pill bottle first aid kits at camp.  There were plenty of stickers remaining, so I used them to decorate this kaper chart.  The clothespins are the same ones we have used for the past two years.  (I did write the names of the girls on the flip side of each clothespin so their names would be facing the right direction when clipped to the left side of the chart.  Unfortunately I thought to do this after I had taken this photo). 

We will recite the Pledge of Allegiance, the Girl Scout Promise, and the Girl Scout Law at every meeting.  We will have someone perform the closing before we dismiss each meeting.  We may not have a craft, sing a song, or play a game each time we are together.  We decided that the girls who do not happen to have an assigned kaper are helpers for that particular meeting. The kapers are recorded along with attendance to ensure everyone has an opportunity to do each job.

In late September of this year, we had our first camping overnight trip.  I wanted to create a kaper chart specifically for use at mealtime while we were at camp.  I looked at different images of kaper charts online for inspiration.  This was the final product:

I used a glue stick to adhere a 12x12" piece of cardstock to a thin piece of cardboard.  I realize this chart is rather busy.  Looking back, I should have probably used a larger piece of posterboard and cut it to down to 15x15" or even 18x18".  The title was cut using the Simply Sweet Cricut cartridge.  The critters were created using the Give a Hoot Cricut cartridge.

The kapers are listed down the left side of the chart.  Those assigned to be the HOSTESS set the table and made an announcement to everyone that it was time to wash hands and find a seat at the table.  Those assigned to be SERVERS passed out drinks and delivered individual plates to each girl at the table.  Those assigned to CLEAN UP cleared the table and tossed garbage into the trash can or recycling bin. 

We divided our girls into equal groups (we have six girls, so we had three groups of two).  Two girls were assigned to be hedgehogs. Two other girls were assigned to be owls while the remaining two girls were in the peacock group.  For example, The hedgehogs were hostesses at dinner.  They served the meal at breakfast.  They would have cleaned up at lunch if we had eaten lunch at camp.  This chart met our needs.  The girls remembered their groups, so meals went rather smoothly.

Our neighbors at the lodge happened to be a troop of seventh graders.  They were finishing their dinner while we were sitting down to eat.  We invited the older girls to teach our Brownies a grace to sing before dinner. The older girls jumped at the opportunity and immediately began singing the "Superman" grace.  I found this rendition on YouTube. 

When searching online, I found that there are many variations of this grace.  The lyrics we were introduced to went something like...
     Thank you God for giving us food.  
     Thank you God for giving us food.  
     For the beautiful day. 
     For the friends that we make.  
     We thank you, God, for giving us food.

Please feel free to share any of your variations of this grace.  I would love to hear them and share them with our girls.  Thanks for reading! 

"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!

Lead, Guide, Direct...

GSUSA has developed a National Program Portfolio that "is designed to help girls develop as leaders and build confidence by learning new skills."  This program has two parts:  the National Leadership Journeys and The Daisy Girls' Guide to Girl Scouting.  I do not have any experience with the Journeys.  However, the Journeys link provided in this post states "On every leadership journey, everything girls do...is aimed at giving them the benefits of the Girl Scout 'Keys to Leadership':  Discover, Connect, Take Action."  The Journeys at each level of Girl Scouts are designed to complement The Girls' Guide to Girl Scouting.

The Guides are divided into three sections:  handbook, badges, my Girl Scouts.  I purchased a Daisy binder for my own use.  After flipping through it, I decided to save our families some money and developed my own version of the Guide for each girl in our troop.  I took advantage of back-to-school sales and purchased royal blue folders with pockets and clips for $0.15 each.  I spent one evening creating a Word document including the following information:

1. Girl Scout Mission, Promise, and Law
2. Girl Scout Calendar--including dates and descriptions for Thinking Day, Girl Scout Birthday, and Founder's Day
3. Ceremonies--including descriptions of Opening, Closing, Investiture, and Bridging Ceremonies
4. Girl Scout Sign, Handshake, Slogan, and Motto
5. Daisy Girl Scout Petals--including the Law component and its corresponding petal color
6. Our Uniform--including an explanation as to why we wear a uniform, a description of the Daisy pin and the WAGGGS pin and where these pins are placed on the uniform
7. Service Projects--I will include this section in a future post...
8. Our Flag and the Pledge of Allegiance--including a description of the meaning of the flag's colors and how to stand while reciting the Pledge.  I also added definitions of the larger words to help the younger girls.
9. Songs--including lyrics (only) to the following songs (all were copied and pasted from various websites):  "Daisy Gathering Song," "Make New Friends (But Keep the Old)," "America the Beautiful," "My Country, 'Tis of Thee," "God Bless America," "This Land is Your Land," and the first verse of the "Star Spangled Banner."  I included definitions of many of the words in the "Star Spangled Banner" along with the story of the meaning of our National Anthem.  

I printed out the 10 pages of text for each girl, punched holes in the left margin, and secured them neatly in the clips of the folder.  I printed out a tag that I taped on the front of each folder.  I used Times New Roman (34 font) to type "Brooke's Guide to Daisy Girl Scouts," for example.  

I used Excel to create a Service Project Record Sheet, and I used Word to modify a Daisy Petal Checklist I found online.  These forms are kept in the blue folders.  I update them regularly, so the girls and their families can follow their progress.

Whether you choose to purchase a Girls' Guide from the Council Shop or create something similar on your own, this is a great resource for the girls.  Thanks for reading!

At each meeting we take turns assigning kapers. That's a fancy way of saying chore.

If you have spent any time with girls in Kindergarten and 1st grade, you know that "No one knows fancy like Nancy."  A kaper is a fancy word for chore.  A kaper chart "can be used to clarify which individual...is responsible for completing a specific job" (angelfire).  Such charts ensure that everyone in the troop plays a part in the meeting.  Shortly after our recruitment meeting, I searched the Internet for kaper chart ideas.  My favorite descriptions were found on scoutmom.net while my favorite images were seen on Google.  I combined several ideas and sketched three kaper charts on paper to show to our young troop.  I introduced the idea of kapers to the girls by discussing Fancy Nancy and her love for big fancy words.  During that meeting they voted for their favorite chart which is pictured here: 

I LOVE to scrapbook, so I have some tools that made crafting this kaper chart a cinch.  I used the Creative Memories Jumbo Circle Pattern to cut out an 11.5" circle from a 12x12" piece of white cardstock.  This could easily be done by tracing a large plate and cutting the paper with scissors.  I then mounted the cardstock on a piece of cardboard that was cut to the same size.  I divided the circle into ten pieces before assigning each slice a job with a black permanent marker.  The possibilities of specific kapers you could include on the chart are endless.  This Girl Scout site may also be helpful.  I used my Cricut to cut out the 3" blue scalloped circle (Mini Monograms cartridge) and the 2.5" white flower (George cartridge).  I used a .5" circle punch to cut the yellow center.  Then each piece was glued in the center of the chart.  I wrote each girl's name on a wooden clothespin.  These clothespins are clipped onto the kaper chart before the beginning of each meeting.  

We have 10 girls in our troop which explains why we have 10 different jobs on our kaper chart.  However, there may come a time when someone misses a meeting or we may not sing a song or play a game during a meeting.  Sometimes we may have an activity that requires more than one helper.  We simply adjust the chart to fit our needs for the specific occasion by skipping over a job on the chart or by clipping more than one clothespin on another job.

For our Kickoff Meeting, the first girl to arrive at the meeting (who was not my daughter) had the job of assigning kapers for that meeting.  I placed her clothespin on the "kapers" section of the chart.  The clothespins are stored in a zippie bag.  She was instructed not to look in the bag as she pulled out the next clothespin.  This pin was clipped to the "buddies" section.  She continued to clip each successive pin onto the chart in order around the circle.  I recorded who was assigned each job.  The girl responsible for assigning buddies for this meeting would then get to assign kapers at the beginning of the next meeting.  This way everyone had the chance to do both of these jobs as the year progressed.

Descriptions of the other jobs are as follows:

PROMISE--leads the troop in reciting the Girl Scout Promise

PLEDGE--holds the flag while the troop says the Pledge of Allegiance

CODE--reads the Daisy Code that was developed by the other leader of our  
     troop:
     D     Do unto others as you would have done to you.
     A     Always be respectful of others and our surroundings.
     I      I use my inside voice.
     S     Speak when it is your turn.  Listen when it is not.
     Y     You are the most important part of Daisies.  Have fun!
SHARE--is first to share her answer to a question asked to the troop.  This
      helps them get to know each other.  For example, we asked them their
      favorite ice cream flavor at the Ice Cream Social meeting. 
SONG--chooses which song to sing
GAME--chooses the game to play or goes first if game has been determined
HELPER--passes out supplies or helps clean up
CLOSING--chooses how to close the meeting.  Our girls LOVE the friendship squeeze, so she starts the squeeze. 

I hope this post serves as a springboard for you as you help your girls decide on a kaper chart that best fits the needs of your troop.  Our girls enjoy leading their meetings by being responsible for a specific job.  Please feel free to share your kaper chart ideas here.  Thanks for reading! 

Petals...

ROY G BIV...I think it is safe to say that most of us recall learning this acronym in grade school when we were memorizing the sequence of the colors of the rainbow.  Thanks to a catchy little jingle in an episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, it was easy for my young daughters to remember the color sequence ("Mickey's Color Adventure").  Daisy Girl Scouts can learn the Girl Scout Law, using their knowledge of the rainbow.  This post will hopefully answer questions or start conversations about Daisies for readers who are new to Girl Scouts.

Girls spend their kindergarten and first grade years as Daisy Girl Scouts, learning the Girl Scout Promise and the Girl Scout Law.  They participate in activities designed to help them earn their Daisy petals.  The 10 petals correspond to the 10 components of the Girl Scout Law.  The blue Daisy center represents the Girl Scout Promise. 

Our troop spent their first year earning the DAISY CENTER along with the ORANGE, RED, SPRING GREEN, ROSE, and MAGENTA petals.  They have worked on their DARK PURPLE, LIGHT BLUE, YELLOW, GREEN, and VIOLET petals this year.  It worked best for us to split the petals between the two years instead of working on all of them in one year.  I should mention that we have not tried any of the Daisy Journeys that are available.  Since we focused on half the petals each year, the troop was able to complete a couple different activities for every petal.  During each meeting and outing, we directed their attention to the appropriate part of the Law for repetition and reinforcement.

When I first started as a Daisy leader, I was overwhelmed with the freedom provided to leaders by the organization.  We all function under the same framework, but our options are endless.  I hope you will find my future posts helpful as you navigate your way through your first couple years as a Girl Scout leader.  I know what has worked well for us may not work for others.  I always enjoy hearing what other troops have planned.  Thank you for reading!