Sunday, September 25, 2011

The Songs We Are Using

If you do a Google search and type in "girl scout songs," you will be amazed at how many there are! I remember learning quite a few during my years as a Girl Scout, but not as many as the search turned up. Daisies are primarily 5 and 6 year olds, so they might not remember a lot of songs, hence why we limited it to 4 (5 if you count the friendship song).


DAISY HAPPY FACE SONG
Tune: Brownie Smile Song
I've something in my little hand that you just cannot see...
It's very very special and it's now a part of me.
The Girl Scout Daisies showed me how to put it into place...
And when I clap my little hands you'll see my HAPPY FACE!!!
Motions:
First line: Cup both hands together, palms together
Second line: Bring cupped hands to chest over heart
Third line: Open hands and cover face with open hands
Fourth line: Clap on the word “clap” then place hands under chin and smile

DAISY SCOUT SONG
Tune- Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
Daisy Scouts are bright and gay,
See us work, and see us play.
We can dance, and we can sing.
We can do most anything.
We have fun, and help each day.
Daisy Scouts are here to stay.

I'M A LITTLE DAISY
Tune- I'm a Little Teapot
I'm a little Daisy, dressed in blue
I am a Girl Scout, you are too
When I go to meetings, I sing and shout
I love being a Daisy Girl Scout!
Motions-
I'm a little... hands together, at side of face, head tilted.
dressed in... hands pick up hem of uniform smock
I am a Girl Scout...make the GS sign
you are too... point to neighbors
When I go...hands out, palms up
I sing and shout...hands cup around mouth
I love... point to heart
Daisy Girl Scout...clap once on each word

DAISY BINGO
Sung to the tune of Bingo, sung 5 times, each time replacing a letter with a clap
There was a girl who had some fun
And Daisy was her name-o
D-A-I-S-Y, D-A-I-S-Y, D-A-I-S-Y,
And Daisy was her name-o!



FRIENDSHIP SONG (with all 8 verses)

Make new friends,
but keep the old.
One is silver,
the other is gold.

A circle is round,
it has no end.
That's how long,
I will be your friend.

A fire burns bright,
it warms the heart.
We've been friends,
from the very start.

You have one hand,
I have the other.
Put them together,
We have each other.

Silver is precious,
Gold is too.
I am precious,
and so are you.

You help me,
and I'll help you
and together
we will see it through.

The sky is blue
The Earth is green
I can help
to keep it clean

Across the land
Across the sea
Friends forever
We will always be



So far, the girls have done an amazing job learning the songs. As I said once before, these girls are SMART! Maybe during the second semester of school we'll switch it up and learn 4 new songs.

Meeting Two!

I must say, after our second meeting, I have a LOT more respect for teachers of younger children than I did before! My leader and I only spend about an hour and half with these girls each week, but man, it can be draining at times! It's worth it though. They all seemed to enjoy this week's meeting, and they got to learn a few things.

We were able to start our meeting with our normal routine this week. We did the potty and water fountain shuffle, and then lined up to say the pledge. After that, we began to teach them the Girl Scout Promise, which then lead into teaching the Girl Scout Law. Some of the girls remembered it from the previous year, which really surprised me. The girls in our troop are incredibly smart!!! Our next point of business was teaching them a new song. My leader and I decided that instead of singing the same song at every meeting opener, we would rotate about four songs to give them some variety. We learned the first song last week, and it was hit. I'll make a fresh post for you all with the songs we choose.

For our first activity, we did that trefoil project I mentioned, just like this one. It was a great way for the girls to learn and remember the Girl Scout sign. It was also the perfect transition into learning more about the promise, which lead into our next activity.

Our flower craft seemed to be a huge hit with the girls. Our fearless leader also took it as a great way to remind the girls to share. She gathered all the crayons we needed ahead of time and divvied them up. A few colors we had extras, while others the girls had to take turns with. We did have a few girls who got impatient and kept trying to get ahead, but you know how some kids can be!

Next we did our snack and closing circle. We finally got a chance to do our friendship circle the proper way, and teach them the friendship song. We only taught them the first verse, but also in part because we couldn't remember the other verses. Last night, my leader and I learned that there are eight (I know!!!) verses in total to the friendship song! Maybe later on we'll teach them one more verse, but, these are a bunch of five and six year olds, so we'll see.

Next week, we will be playing Red Rover, Red Rover, Girl Scout style!

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Meeting Two Prep

For our second meeting, we will be learning about the Girl Scout Law. We will also be introducing the girls to the Daisy petals. My awesome leader and I were up late this past Saturday night trying to come up with an activity. During some chit chat, I remembered that I was saving toilet paper rolls to make this craft. That's when it hit us- instead of using 6 petals, like the craft calls for, use 10 and have the girls color them while we talk about it. It was going to take some prep work though....

With fifteen girls in the troop, we had to use all of the toilet paper rolls I had been collecting. We also made a couple extras to use as an example. To complete the flowers, we took some blue construction paper and cut out circles that we later glued on to it.

What you will need:
38 used rolls of toilet paper, cut in fourths (for 15- 10 petals per flower, one roll yields 4 petals)
15 blue, circle cut outs (can be done with one sheet of blue construction paper)
hot glue

What you will need for the meeting:
Crayons or markers in each of the petal colors- violet, light blue, yellow, light green, red, orange, purple., magenta, green, rose

The ahead of time prep:
For the toilet paper rolls, simply flatten them before you cut them. It doesn't have to be perfect, just cut in fourths. After that's done, cut out your blue center.


The original craft has you gluing each piece and holding it together with clothes pins. For this, you'll use your glue gun and place some glue at the edge of each piece to stack them up, like s0


Repeat this until you have all 10 petals glued. At that point, you will let them fan out to glue them together



Once you have that done, simply glue the blue center on


Tada! A nice Daisy for the Daisies to decorate



I'll let you know how it goes. Hopefully it will be a hit, and something easy for the girls to do.

Our First Meeting

Well, we survived our first meeting last week. It was a bit of an eye opener for me, though. My last experience leading a troop was when I was in college, and I co-lead a junior's troop. Daisies are a whole other world. For starters, they need to be kept occupied at all times and you have to switch up the activities every 10-15 minutes to keep them from being bored.

The run down... our first meeting was an introduction to the year for the girls. We learned a song, introduced ourselves to each other, did a coloring activity relating to our introductions, and taught the girls about the friendship circle. On paper, it really doesn't sound like a lot, but with 15 little girls running around, it took up the entire time!

Our coloring activity... our awesome leader found some booklets that teachers often use at the begining of the school year, similar to this one. The girls were able to draw pictures of themselves and their families, things they like to do, their pets, favorite foods and more. Once they were done, we all sat in a circle and shared these things. It was also a great opportunity for everyone to learn each others names and learn a little bit about each other.

Stay tuned for a post about meeting two's activity (it's really cool!)