WOW Wonders of Water is part of It's Your Planet-Love It series. 1. Explore the wonders of water by finding out more about its importance and how it's used around the world. 2. Plan a Take Action project, such as making informative posters, promoting recycling at school, or planting low-water gardens. 3. Earn 4 leadership awards: The LOVE Water Award, the SAVE Water Award, the SHARE Water Award, and the WOW! Award. If you're a Girl Scout volunteer, go to Volunteer Toolkit for complete meeting pl

Activities for the Girl Scout Brownies Money Manager badge: learn about sources of income, that a budget is a plan for how to spend and save income, and opportunity cost.

*This post contains affiliate links. Updated April 2023 One of the parts of the Girl Scout Law is to “Use Resources Wisely”. As a child of the 70’s, I used to watch the Public Service Announcements with Woodsy Owl, who taught us to not pollute. People who cared for the environment were seen as “crunchy granola types” and were very advant garde for the time. The only reason adults of that time were conservationists was to save money. Turning out the lights when they were not in use was not to save the Earth, but to save your parents’ wallets. My children have grown up with recycle bins at home, at school, at local parks, and at our synagogue. This is simply a way of life now and throwing paper goods or cans and bottles is only done by accident. Canvas bags are kept in my car for quick errands and a large bag of them is taken to the supermarket for each weekly trip. Image from Pixabay and used by the author in Canva Many children today are also eating a lot cleaner that I did as a child. Bologna sandwiches on Wonder Bread with Hi C punch in my thermos and a Twinkie for dessert was a normal lunch. Today, kids are eating non-sulfate lunch meats on wheat bread or bringing hummus with vegetables as a lunch. Juice is organic or kids simply drink water. Snacks are natural and made with no high fructose corn syrup. Because the concept of saving the earth, eating healthy and using natural products is a part of our lifestyle now and even our school curriculum, earning the Brownie Household Elf Badge is an easy Try It to earn in one meeting. Step 1 Save Energy This is an easy part of the badge to earn because the girls should have a wide knowledge base. Read one of these books for children that is directly related to saving energy as a launch for discussion. This book for kids is available on Amazon This book shares the story of what happens to a community that has a power blackout. It is available on Amazon. One way to extend this discussion at home is to put the girls "in charge" of making sure the lights are turned off when a room is empty. Have them search for "vampire energy eaters", aka,things that are plugged in when not in use. Have them ask an adult to unplug it for them. Step 2 Save Water Another quick step is to discuss ways that you can save water. Shorter showers, turning off the water when brushing their teeth and not letting the water run when the dishes are being done are just a few things to list. Your co-leader or you can write down the response to send in a follow-up email to parents. Step 3 Go Natural (craft) Materials Spray bottle Ingredients to make your cleaner (your choice-sites for recipes below) Paper or plastic tablecloth to protect the table Sieve for pouring Labels for bottles Many household cleaners are full of strong and powerful chemicals that can cause reactions in some people. Our ancestors knew the cleaning power of baking soda and vinegar long before Windex was invented. You can have the girls make their own natural spray cleaner. You can purchase cheap spray bottles at the Dollar Store or a big box retailer. Depending on what you decide to make, you can make your own labels for the girls to place on them once the mix has been made. Here are a few sites for you to check out and see which natural cleaner you want to make. 10 All Natural Cleaning Solutions to Scrub Every Inch of Your Home 2 Chemical-Free Recipes for DIY Spring Cleaning 25 DIY Green Cleaning Recipes for The Whole House Step 4 Reuse or Recycle As a teacher, I have always saved everything because you never know when it can be repurposed for a craft! In past generations, things were rarely tossed out, they were used up until they could not be used anymore. This is a great time to do intertwine a community service project. For the Bronze Award, my troop made toys for the animals at a local no-kill shelter. We made cat toys our of toilet paper tubes and tug toys for dogs out of tee shirts. If these crafts are not for your troop, then they can decorate canvas tote bags that they can bring to the store when they are out shopping with their parents. Instead of a boring old bag, they can really bling theirs out! Use stampers, jewels, Sharpies...anything you want! Available on Amazon, this tote bag comes in a bulk set of 12 and measures 8 inches by 8 inches with a 5 inch drop handle. Fabric Markers from Amazon Step 5 Clear the Air (craft) Having fresh air to breathe inside our homes is important. Sometimes things get stinky and we need to make it smell fresher. If you want, bring in a can of freshener and have the girls try to read the ingredients. Pretty scary! Image from Pixabay and used by the author in Canva Instead, you can use another spray bottle and make your own room freshener. Here are some recipes that do not require heating. Homemade Air Freshener Top 12 Green DIY Air Fresheners How have your girls earned the Brownie Household Elf Try it?

*This post contains affiliate links. Updated April 2023 Waking up and starting the day on the right foot is important whether you are seven years old or seventy. Being organized and “ready to launch” gets any person’s day off on the right start. With the right clothing set out the night before, bookbag packed and lunch in the refrigerator ready to go, it is the starting point of a great day! Earning the My Great Day Brownie badge is easy to do and can easily be done in one meeting. Image from Pixabay and altered by the author in Canva Step 1 Start Your Day Right If you have a regular routine to starting your meeting, this is the time to do it out of order. This will confuse the girls and be a great start to discussing why it is important to be organized. You may even want to throw in how you “forgot” to bring the craft materials for today’s project and see how they react. Then start your meeting as you normally would. Talk about why routines are important-from setting their alarm clock to setting out their clothes the next day (and checking the weather forecast to see what they need to be comfortable). It is very stressful to not know what to wear, time is ticking and the school bus is on it’s way! Step 2 Sort Your Stuff (craft) Step 3 Make Homework a Breeze Everything should have a place or a home so it can be found when you need it. While some people are naturally more organized, others can use a little more help in this department. This helps with doing homework. Ask the girls how they can be more organized when it is time to do their work. Do they need a break when they get home? A snack? Time to run outside before settling in? You can have the girls create a desk organizer two different ways. Organizer #1 Materials Cleaned out aluminum cans (one for each girl) White wrapping paper Labels Glue/tape Crayons/markers You will want to save your aluminum cans from the recycling bucket and wash them out for this craft. I prefer to do things like this instead of asking the girls to bring it in so I know that I have what I need and I can prep the materials before the meeting. No surprises and the meeting is off to a great start! Precut the wrapping paper so it is the correct size for the cans (cut extra pieces in case the girls make a mistake). Give each girl a piece of wrapping paper to color and decorate. Then have them glue it to the can. Organizer #2 Acrylic organizer Foam plates Puffy paint A second way to make an organizer is to purchase this acrylic one that has many compartments. ` Acrylic Organizer from Amazon The girls can decorate them with puffy paints and bring them home on heavy foam plates. Step 4 Plan Ahead Using a paper calendar may be old fashioned, but it makes sense to me! Seeing what you have planned each and every day is one way to stay organized and never worry about your battery dying like on your phone! To make this easier, print out a calendar for the next month. Tell the girls that they are going to color code their activities. For example, if they have dance every Tuesday and Thursday, then in blue marker they should write “Dance” and the time. If they have soccer, then use a red marker to write “Soccer”on those days. Of course, use green marker to write in your Girl Scout meetings and trips! You can download a free calendar month here or here. Step 5 Get Others Organized One way to help out at home is to make a family chore chart for dinner. Some jobs to include are: Dinner prep Setting the table Clearing the table Wiping down the table Washing the dishes Loading the dishwasher You can find different chore charts to print here. Image from Pixabay and altered by the author on Canva How have you earned the Brownie My Great Day badge?

*This post contains affiliate links. Updated April 2023 Most young girls love to dance. They are not self-conscious about how they look the way many adults are and it is such a fun from of self-expression. There are probably many girls in your troop who take dance lessons as one of their extra-curricular activities. To earn the Dancer Badge, you can take a field trip to a dance studio for a free class. Another way to earn it is to have an older girl who has been taking dance for many years come and do this Try It for you. The third way to earn this badge is to lead it yourself. Be sure to email the parents and let them know for their daughters to dress comfortably for the meeting, as they will be moving a lot! Sneakers and leggings or sweatpants would be most appropriate. If the girls have dance clothes they want to wear. let them! This Try It is very similar to the old Junior Dance badge that my troop earned a few years ago. It was one of the most fun meetings we have ever had! Step 1 Warm Up No matter what physical activity you are going to do, it is important to warm up for 5-10 minutes to get the body ready. Deep breathing, gentle stretching and slow movements are all a part of the warm up. This is also a good place for the girls to get out their giggles. Step 2 Try a New Dance There are so many wonderful and easy dances to do! When I did the Junior dance badge, I taught my girls how to do the Alley Cat. I downloaded the song to my phone and had a speaker so we could learn it. It is also an old school dance that none of them had ever tried before and it was easy for them to do. Other dances you can teach the girls are: The Electric Slide The Twist The Charleston The Cotton Eyed Joe The Macarena You can even try teaching an international dance like: The Irish Jig The Mexican Hat Dance The Hora I did these with my troop and found videos on YouTube to help me learn the steps. This album has songs that you can download individually to your phone or iPad and play for the girls as they earn this badge. Step 3 Make Up a Dance A dance can tell a story. You will divide the girls into groups and they will have about 15 minutes to create a simple dance that will tell a tale. If the girls cannot think of anything, have some backup ideas like: Cleaning your room Going on a roller coaster The first day of school Having to move to a new school Another option for making up a dance is to give each group a bag of props, and they have to incorporate the props into the dance! Lots of room for imagination! Step 4 Teach Your Dance Each group gets to show their dance one time and then have the others follow their lead. Be sure that every group takes a turn. Another way to do this is have the girls perform their dance and the other girls have to guess what the story is about. Step 5 Calm Breathing Learning how to control your breath helps calm frazzled nerves. If a child is nervous about performing in her group dance, then you might want to do this step before step 4. Here is a helpful video.

The Home Scientist Try-it is part of the “It's Your World - Change It!” badge set introduced in 2011. For the badges released in 2011, scouts must complete all of the activities listed to earn the badge. Make your own ice cream. Our scouts really loved making their own ice cream! The Girl Scout website now has a recipe for “Kick the Can” Ice Cream or you can make ice cream in a bag.. Ask the girls why you need salt to make ice cream? Why doesn't it make the ice cream melt, like it does snow? Ans

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I think the girls enjoyed earning this badge and from a leader standpoint it was a good teaching moment. My girls come from a very fortunate area and I think it is hard for them to imagine not having the essentials. So to introduce them to the fact that many children struggle each day to find a healthy meal, that some children wear used shoes because they cannot afford new and going to school and having enough school supplies is a blessing, was a great learning experience. I began my meeting by asking the girls if anyone knew what the word "philanthropy" meant? No one knew. So I gave them the long, official definition and received a lot of blank stares. I broke the definition down to a simple sentence, a "Philanthropist" is someone who makes sure people have what they need. Then the girls understood and joined in the conversation lending examples to helping others through church, school and the community. Next we gave 4 examples of how a person or Girl Scout can become a Philanthropist: 1. Give to charities as much as you can, but still providing for your own needs. 2. Get involved in a charity that interests them. 3. Develop your own Charity. 4. Volunteer We discussed the 10 Most Popularly Searched Charities On-Line: American Red Cross Wounded Warrior Project Heifer Project International Doctors without Borders World Vision St. Jude’s UNICEF Samaritan’s Purse Save the Children I tried to relate charities more to their age level and interests where their "cents" can make a difference: These charities were suggested by the girls: Girl Scouts Children's' Hospitals Humane Society Jump Rope for Heart Rachael Challenge Angel Tree Christmas is for Children Captain Hope Play it Forward Cup of Joe PERSPECTIVE: Next I tried to give the girls a perspective on what things truly cost these days. What does a new car cost? about $10,000 Does a used car cost the same? No Why? Why do we sell used cars? prevent them from going to landfill, cheaper for next user What does it cost for a lunch for a child? $1.27 more for nutritious, healthy food What does it cost for a dinner for four? In home? hard pressed to provide dinners less than $5 ($35/week) and would not provide a lot of variety $100/week for all 3 meals is possible with no snacks etc. (rounding out at $400/mo) Going out to eat? For a family of 4, would cost a minimum of $20 What regular expenses does a homeowner or renter have? Electricity - small apartment approx. $125/mo (Large Home - $300-500) Water - Trash - $15/mo Phone - $50/mo Cable/Internet - $30/mo Alarm Monitoring - $20/mo Lawn Maintenance - $50-100 ACTIVITY: We passed out several Sunday ads saved for a few weeks. We asked the girls to cut out 1 "NEED" item and 1 "WANT" item and glue on 2 separate boards labels appropriately. This made the girls really think about what items they truly need and what items are simply luxuries or wants. Then we discussed the completed boards and made sure the items on each board were appropriate. Supplies: Tape, glue dots OR glue stick 2 Poster or foam boards newspaper ads or magazines scissors Next I described the difference between "Common Sense" and our play on words "Common Cents" I shared a story of the day when one of my daughters helped clean out the car: Taylor accidentally throws out a dime and I told her make sure you pick that dime up and she said why it is just a dime... Every cent can make a difference, especially if we save our change and use it for something good. Girl Scouts would be happy to take $5 of change you have saved and will use it to help buy patches for less fortunate girls. Churches would appreciate this donation and put it to good use as well. So I posed a question to them, "What can a DIME buy today?" (This took quite an internet search to find some good examples, but really opened the girls mind to think about the importance of change) Surprisingly the girls could not think of anything other than maybe candy. What can a dime buy? Change is wonderful at a garage sale or thrift store you can often buy scarves, books and trinket jewelry for 10 cents 5 - 2 cents stamps for use in the mail package of plant seeds on clearance fish at Pets Mart remnants of yarn and fabric school supplies like erasers, pencil sharpeners etc at beginning of school year candy in the penny isle of a dollar store 10 cents flushes your toilet In a 3rd World, poor country your dime can buy a child a meal of rice, oats or porridge After this discussion I encouraged the girls to begin saving their change and to consider donating to a charity of their choice. So we created stained glass banks out of mason chairs to help them collect their spare change. We labeled the banks: "Common Cent$" Supplies: Items: Mason Jars (Wal-Mart brand has no etching on jars and are cheaper 12 jars/$8) paint brushes glass paint (Folk Art Enamels) paint palettes (Wal-Mart $0.98 nice to have for troops for painting projects) sharpies Simple Stencils card stock for lid (neon index cards) Duct tape dixie cups paper towels baby wipes exacto knife to cut change hole (**For Leader use ONLY**) To Print Notes for this badge for easy reference CLICK HERE

This Try-it was introduced in 1999 and retired in 2011. In Girl Scouting you make new friends and learn to strengthen the friendships you already have. As with all older Brownie Try-its, scouts need to complete 4 activities to earn the badge. Look for new friends at school or at after school activities. Is there someone who is sitting by herself? Does she look lonely? Go up, smile, and introduce yourself. Then invite her to join you! Celebrate with a friendship bracelet. Give it as a gift, or ma

For over a century, Girl Scouts have proudly worn distinctive uniforms that symbolize the high ideals for which Girl Scouting stands. Uniforms provide unity among Girl Scouts and a feeling…Read On!Junior Uniform Guide

C-store chain will unveil NNEASY Snack Madness, pitting snacks against each other to determine a champion.

The Fair Play Try-it is part of the “Legacy” badge set introduced in 2011. For the badges released in 2011, scouts must complete all of the activities listed to earn the badge. Start the meeting by asking girls why rules are needed for games and sports. The bottom line-it makes game play fair. Now it is time to play a quick game of Simon Says. However, instead of having girls sit out when you do not say “Simon Says”, they sit out if they do the action when you say those words. Ask them if they

*This post contains affiliate links. Updated April 2023 Crafting badges are easily the most popular with girls. Yes, many like to go outdoors and do activities, but when the weather does not permit going outside, badges that focus on making things save the day for leaders. Girls can earn the Brownie Potter badge by taking a field trip to a pottery store and painting an object of their choice. This will fulfill the requirements, but it may also empty your troop bank account, as these places are on the expensive side. Instead of a field trip, why not do this fun activity with your girls? Masterpieces cannot be rushed, so if necessary, use two meeting times to complete the five requirements. Step 1 Find Some Pottery Bring some pottery pieces from home and let the girls touch them. Talk about how it is useful for everyday items. Step 2 Learn More About Clay Since you want to keep the girls interested, you can play a quick fact game with them. You stand in front of the room with the word “True” written on a piece of paper while your co-leader holds one that reads “False”. The read facts about clay and see which side of the room the girls will go to. Of course, you will have to change up the true facts to false, but that is easy to do. Here are some sources for facts. 7 Interesting Clay Facts Clay Facts and Word Search (good for early finishers) Step 3 Make a Pinch Pot Materials Plastic tablecloth Box of Mexican Clay Sharp pencil for each girl or plastic knife and fork Foam plate to carry project home Mexican Potter from Amazon Now is the time for the girls to get busy! Making a pinch pot is a simple thing for girls to do and can be finished during your meeting. Here is a short YouTube video tutorial for you to have the girls view or to watch yourself so you are prepared for the meeting. If you have extra clay and time, you can also make a coil pot as well. Step 4 Make an Art Piece (craft) Art is one of the best ways for a child to express herself. What constitutes a piece of art? That is up to you. Something the girls will enjoy making is their own polymer beads. When these dry, they can be made into necklaces or bracelets. Sculpey Clay is one of the best things to use to make beads. Sculpey Clay from Amazon Here is a tutorial on how to make beads-she provides a supply list in the beginning. If you make some in advance, store the open clay in a plastic bag so it will not dry out. Step 5 Paint and Glaze Glazing is the part of pottery where the finished piece is sealed. If you are not going to go on a field trip to see this in action, you can do this step with this fun activity. Materials White tiles, 4 x 4 in size Sharpies Scrap paper Pencils Spray Sealant Plates for carrying the tile On scrap paper, the girls are going to create a design that they will transfer to the tile. Once they are happy with the design, they can use Sharpies to create it. Once that is complete, take the tile outdoors and spray it with sealant so it will not smudge. How has your troop earned the Brownie Potter badge?

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For Leaders Pressed for Time, Have a Girl Scout Tea Party and Earn Three Daisy Petals at Once *This post contains affiliate links. Updated November 2021 All links work. One of the many joys of being a Daisy Girl Scout leader is that the girls whom you lead are at such an adorable age. Most girls love anything feminine, like dolls, crafts and dress up clothes. You can take advantage of this fun aspect of being a little girl and host a tea party with your troop! This meeting can be a cumulation of earning Daisy petals such as: Yellow-Friendly and Helpful Spring Green-Considerate and Caring Purple-Respect Myself and Others Girls have to use their manners at a tea party, so these three petals tie in, so if you have not earned them already, you can apply them to what you do at this party. Photo from Pixabay and altered by the author in Canva If you want to make this an end of year party or do this in lieu of a December holiday party, then let the parents know ahead of time so they can be sure to attend and get childcare for other siblings. At the meeting before your tea party, the girls can make this newspaper tea party hat. Your co-leader and you can take them home and bring them to the next meeting. And you are also earning the green Daisy petal for "Use Resources Wisely". Buy cheap plastic flowers from the Dollar Store so girls can put two or three on a hat. Tulle is cheap to buy as well. Your girls will be so excited for this meeting! Remember to keep it simple and not overdo it-remember the party is for them, not you or the parents! Keep them involved in as many aspects as you can. Before the meeting, you will need to buy some simple things to make the table sparkle. A simple pink plastic tablecloth will do, as this will not absorb any spills that might happen and the color is just right for little girls. Splurge on some thematic paper plates and napkins like this: Available on Amazon Use the placemats below to set the table right and give the girls something to do while they are waiting. Available on Amazon Food to Serve Since this is tea party for girls, little finger foods should be on the menu. Keep in mind food allergies and where you meet, and it is probably best to forgo the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Serve tiny cookies, fruit and vegetables-finger foods that kids love to eat. Remember, keep it fun and simple so you can enjoy it as well! Available on Amazon Platters should be passed around, and remind the girls to use their manners. A food and a craft that is fun is to have the girls decorate teapot shaped cookies that you baked ahead of time. Ice with white icing from a tub and sprinkle with pastel sugars or Daisy shaped sprinkles. Image created by the author on Canva A Fun Tea Party Craft After the food has been eaten, the girls can use their manners to help clean up the table if you do not have another clean area to use. Otherwise, have the craft set up in another part of the room. Again, simplicity is best. Here are some tea party themed craft kits that come with everything you need. These will make a wonderful souvenir from the party in addition to the Tea Party Fun Patch that you can buy at your local Council Shop. Tea Party Picture Frame from Amazon Girl Scout Daisy Tea Party Favors This pearl necklace party favor can be handed out at the start of the meeting. There are 16 to a pack. Available on Amazon Juliette Gordon Low, the founded the Girl Scouts of the USA in 1912. In the year 1915, money to run the GSUSA was running out. Juliette, a woman of means, sold her favorite pearl necklace to get the money she needed so the Girl Scout movement could continue. Don't forget to bring your camera and take lots of pictures for your Girl Scout scrapbook. A Daisy Girl Scout tea party is a wonderful vent for you to have as one of your fun meetings.

Earn your badge in advanced snacking.

If your looking for ideas to make your meeting more fun while learning how to handle and prevent injuries at your troop meetings and take those skills with them no matter where they are, you have come to the right place. Using some of these activities below to make sure everyone has a understanding of what to do in emergency because no matter how safe you are there is always a chance of injury and it is better to have everyone prepared. Below are a few ideas to get you started. Be Prepared To Help Activity Booklet Before jumping into some ideas, do you want to skip all the planning? If so, use this Activity Booklet because when there is an emergency you need to be prepared. This activity booklet will teach girls what to do in an emergency from calling 911, using first aid to treat minor injuries and what to do when outside to prevent injuries all together. Learn more and get yours today! Be sure to also checkout these other activities your girls will love: Being Patriotic: Celebrating Community Activities Get Creative: Inventor Activities Fun For Everyone: Fair Play Activities Other Fun Activities To Try Practice First Aid Teach your girls how to wrap bandages on hands, feet, head and put a arm sling on girls. Have them take turns practicing on each other. How to DO CPR on Babies and Children Teach your girls how how to calmly and effectively help a child in an emergency. The video shows you what to do if a child is choking. First Aid Kit with First Aid Book Purchase a First Aid kit and First Aid Book for kids, and then spend some time going through the book and role playing how to use the items in the First Aid kit to treat a certain type of injury such as a cut or bee sting. Here is a First Aid kit that contains 117 pieces and then this book which is the Kids’ Guide to First Aid: All About Bruises, Burns, Stings, Sprains & Other Ouches. First Aid Fun Patch with activities This is a great fun patch to add to your activities. It even includes suggested ideas to do with group to showcase your girls knowledge of first aid. The “First Aid” Fun Patch is the perfect way to demonstrate that your group has learned the basics of First Aid. Get your fun patch from a great website called MakingFriends If you don’t want to spend the time planning, our Activity Booklet has step-by-step instructions with activities that don’t require any planning other than gathering supplies and printing booklets. What do we do after your girls complete the activities? Well of course give them the badge to display proudly on their vest, they earned it! Additionally If you are like many leaders we want to award our girls when they complete something even beyond just the patch. One great way to show achievement is with a certificate. Don’t worry you don’t have to make them, I found a resource that has done all the work for you and all you have to do is print them and customize the certificates with each girl’s name, badge or award earned, date, and troop leader. Editable certificates perfect for awarding girls after earning a badge. Get Yourself Organized! With this 25-page planner, you'll have everything you need to stay organized and focused as a Girl Scout leader. Being prepared and having all your troop information in one place will save you time and stress, allowing you to focus on creating memorable experiences for your girls. Get your planner today and unleash your organizational superpowers! The planner contains your calendar, meeting planners, rosters and badge trackers in one safe place for when you need it. Read more Enjoy every minute being a leader and continue to inspire your girls!

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Agnes Baden-Powell was Robert Baden-Powell's sister. She was a very accomplished and educated woman, and was an excellent musician, a collector of birds, butterflies and bees, and an admired cook and housekeeper. She also had knowledge of eleven languages, cycled, swum and skated, and stitched - and then went up in - hot air balloons! She even helped one of her brothers build aeroplanes. But of course she is best known for establishing, at her brother's request, the female equivalent of Baden-Powell's Boy Scouts, the Girl Guides. In 1912 she became President of the Girl Guide Association, and she published the first Girl Guide handbook, "The Handbook for the Girl Guides or How Girls Can Help to Build Up the Empire", in the same year. In 1916, when her sister-in-law Olave became Chief Guide, Agnes became President. "Girls must be partners and comrades, rather than dolls." Agnes Baden-Powell