Resources for the First Daisy Scout Meeting
Planning an Introduction to Daisy Girl Scout Troops
Jul 9, 2009
Daisy Scouts are the youngest of the Girl Scout Troops, organized for girls in kindergarten and first grade. Daisy Scout Troops are made up of 5-10 girls, and are typically led by parent or community volunteers. This guide is intended to provide resources for new troop leaders for the first Daisy Scout meeting.
Open the Meeting
The circle is a key component to Daisy Scouts (representing the center of the daisy and the Girl Scout Promise), as well as an easy way to make sure everyone is sitting with the group! Have the new Daisy Scouts sit in a circle on the floor and begin each meeting by teaching the Girl Scout Law and the Girl Scout Promise. With children of this age, break the phrases of the Law and the Promise into small pieces, allowing the girls to repeat the phrase.
Introduce the Daisy Scouts to Each Other
An arts and crafts activity is a good idea for all Daisy Scout meetings, but the first meeting provides an easy opportunity for a craft activity – creating name tags! Use foam tags in the colors of the Daisy Scout Petals (see below). Ask each girl to choose her favorite color. Provide stickers, markers, and other decorative elements for the girls to use in creating their name tags. Once the craft activity has been completed, bring the girls back to the circle and ask them to describe the decorations on their name tags.
Learn About Daisy Scouts
The Girl Scouts organization has excellent background material for troop leaders, describing the founder of the Girl Scouts (Juliette Low) and the beginning of the non-profit organization.
Begin simply. The nickname of the Girl Scouts founder, Juliette Gordon Low, was "Daisy", which explains why this age group is called Daisy Scouts. Her birthday was on Halloween (information that is sure to excite the young members in a troop). She loved animals and enjoyed traveling around the world. These simple facts can become the basis for discussion – What animal does each Daisy Scout like the best? Where would they like to travel? When is their birthday?
Talk About Daisy Scout Petals
Each Daisy Girl Scout will work toward completing her "daisy" by learning about each petal. The center of the Daisy represents the Girl Scout Promise. In addition, there are ten petals representing different values and goals, including:
- Light Blue: Honest and Fair
- Yellow: Friendly and Helpful
- Spring Green: Considerate and Caring
- Red: Courageous and Strong
- Orange: Be Responsible for What I Say and Do
- Purple: Respect Myself and Others
- Magenta: Respect Authority
- Green: Use Resources Wisely
- Rose: Make the World a Better Place
- Violet: Be a Sister to Every Girl Scout
Each meeting can be dedicated to earning a petal. The first meeting should simply introduce the concept and show the girls what they will be working toward throughout the year.
Daisy Scout meetings can be effectively planned to fit within a one hour time period, including snacks and an activity. By beginning the first meeting with an introduction to the basic concepts of Daisy Scouts, troop leaders will have an effective base for the rest of the year.
