One of my favorite things about leading Girl Scout Juniors instead of Brownies is the patrol system. We used it in my Junior troop when I was a girl, but I didn't realize just how effective and useful it is until I tried it as a leader. Patrols are small groups within the troop. The … Continue reading Patrol Power!
grade-schooler
Outdoor Fun skit ideas
One of the requirements for the Outdoor Fun badge is to do skits demonstrating that you know the necessary skills for outdoor activities. My experience in earning this particular badge as a Girl Scout, and in doing similar projects with my troop as a leader, indicated that girls tend to jump on the first ideas … Continue reading Outdoor Fun skit ideas
Menu Selection System
Here is one way for Girl Scouts (or any other group) to agree on what meals to have at camp or some other occasion. I've used it twice, with great success. First, have the girls brainstorm menu ideas. Then, between meetings, leaders sort out the ideas that are affordable and feasible for the cooking equipment, budget, and time … Continue reading Menu Selection System
Some Word Games
On the way back from Fairfield to the Chicago train station, we stopped at an Iowa truckstop restaurant called Gramma's Kitchen. One of the puzzles on the children's menu was this: "How many words can you make out of the letters in GRAMMA'S KITCHEN?" I glanced idly at it and thought, gram . . . ram … Continue reading Some Word Games
Calming Chaos in Girl Scout Troop Meetings
I can't, by a long shot, claim to have solved the problem of a group of Girl Scouts (or anybody!) dissolving into chaos when everybody is excited, we're trying to do one or more activities, there are various supplies and logistics to be coordinated, and/or there's some type of distraction! However, over my five years … Continue reading Calming Chaos in Girl Scout Troop Meetings
Supermarket Field Trip
My Girl Scout troop did this activity with Brownies earning the Penny Power Try-It and Daisies earning the Make the World a Better Place petal. It also would apply to several Junior badges that have an activity about caring for the needy, about nutrition, or about comparison shopping. Divide into teams of 3-5 girls and … Continue reading Supermarket Field Trip
Consumer Taste Test
This educational activity is suitable for school or any type of youth (or even adult) group; I did it with Girl Scouts. It is a great way to teach the principle that brand-name products aren't necessarily any different from less expensive store brands. Sometimes I add an activity to a Girl Scout badge, something that … Continue reading Consumer Taste Test
Girl Scout Troop Budgeting Process
This is one method for deciding how the troop will spend its money. I used it very successfully a few years ago with a Daisy/Brownie troop of 18 girls ages 5-9. Deciding how to spend the cookie sale profits is an activity for the Penny Power Try-It or Cookies Count badge. First, in a troop meeting, brainstorm … Continue reading Girl Scout Troop Budgeting Process
Kaper Chart
Kaper is the word Girl Scouts use for any of the little tasks that make a meeting or activity possible. As a Junior leader, I use the patrol system and give each patrol a responsibility, but when I was an assistant Brownie leader one of my roles in the troop was to make the kaper … Continue reading Kaper Chart
The Frog Game
Here's a game I learned at camp many years ago. It's a fun way to fill those moments when you need something to do that doesn't require any special equipment. We used to play it when we got to the dining hall early and were waiting for the dinner bell to ring! Shhh, don't tell the kids, but … Continue reading The Frog Game
Great system, bad example!
We've been struggling with our three-year-old's demanding behavior and angry outbursts and have sought help from several books. The most recent was Easy to Love, Difficult to Discipline by Becky Bailey, frequently recommended in online discussions. Overall, it's an okay book. The main idea is that a conflict is an opportunity to teach your child skills he … Continue reading Great system, bad example!
How the Cabana Bench Got Its Name
A tale of my childhood, retold in celebration of Mother's Day. When I was in first grade, my mother became annoyed that she kept finding my shoes in the middle of the floor in various public rooms of the house. At first, she dealt with this the way most parents--trying to teach orderly living skills and … Continue reading How the Cabana Bench Got Its Name
Bagel! Bagel! Bagel!
Last winter, one of my Girl Scouts was singing this parody of the Dreidel song traditionally sung on Hanukkah: Bagel! Bagel! Bagel! I made it out of snow. I baked it in the oven. Where did my bagel go? My family found this song hilarious and sang it over and over again. Within a couple … Continue reading Bagel! Bagel! Bagel!
Nightmare Management
My own child so far has not had much trouble with scary dreams or bedtime anxiety, but here are two ideas--one from my own childhood experience, one from my brother's--that I've never seen in professional advice on getting nightmare-prone children to sleep:I had a tendency to imagine things lurking in the dark. Sometimes I got so … Continue reading Nightmare Management
Breaking the shell of shyness
I was a shy child. I liked to be around people and was very interested in them, but for some reason I found it difficult to talk to unfamiliar people or even to feel that they were looking at me, and I was nervous that I might do something "wrong" that would make people yell at or laugh … Continue reading Breaking the shell of shyness
The TV Game
My brother and cousins and I came up with this game when we had been sent to play in an upstairs room at our grandparents' house and were wishing there was a television to watch... One person is the TV. Everybody else sits down facing TV, each holding an invisible remote control. TV stands there looking blank until … Continue reading The TV Game
Children as Household Helpers
Projects that benefit the whole family, done by parent(s) and child(ren) working together, give a child a sense of being useful in the family. Feeling that he can do valuable work may help him to focus more on the needs of the family than his own needs and wants. We've found that Nicholas tends to be very calm … Continue reading Children as Household Helpers
The Earthling's Handbook 