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! 

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!