I've worked with Girl Scouts for nearly two decades (it really doesn't feel like that long!) and one of the things I loved most about having a Girl Scout troop was our holiday and seasonal activities. The ideas I share in these monthly posts are from a New Leader Booklet that was shared with me when I started leading Girl Scout troops in the early 2000s. Since our council (and as far as I know any other) no longer shares this information, I want to make it accessible on the internet. Enjoy!
Keep working on Thinking Day activities. Have an imaginary trip around the world and play songs or games or have food from different parts of the world. Make Thinking Day paper chains to count down to Thinking Day. On each chain, write one good deed or nice thing they should do for someone.
Celebrate Lunar New Year. Do some origami or calligraphy. Sample foods, learn about customs, try chopsticks, etc.
Have a "loud singing" contest - especially good for a rainy day when everyone feels cooped up.
Spend time going over personal safety - calling 911. fires, strangers, how not to get lost (and what to do if it happens), etc. There are patch programs that help with teaching these topics - if your council doesn't have one, check out other councils' owns.
Celebrate Valentine's Day. There are lots of crafts, foods, etc. to try. Have the girls bring Valentines for each other, or have them write positive notes about each girl in the troop to exchange. Or, have a Valentine, cookie, sticker, or other exchange.
Discuss that our founder, Juliette Gordon Lowe, was def. Learn the alphabet in sign language. Learn how to say your name. See if you can have a person visit who knows sign language. Perhaps they could teach you to sign a favorite song or the Girl Scout Promise.
In February, The French people have a lemon festival in the town of Menton. A parade of lemon-filled wagons in the lemon parade travels through streets lined with lemon, orange, grapefruit, and tangerine decorations. Make a lemon meringue pie, lemonade, or a lemon tart to celebrate. To learn more about the festival, you can visit this link.
Hold a coat or blanket drive in your community to benefit a homeless shelter.
Learn how to jump rope. Play Double Dutch.
Attending the Thinking Day event is a must! This a great chance for the girls to participate and know that they are part of a larger organization thank just their own troop.
Celebrate Lincoln's birthday with building log cabins or making old-fashioned vegetable or stone soup. Celebrate Washington's birthday - anything with cherries seems to work. Or, get a copy of the children's book George Washington's Breakfast and make food from the book. Or, talk about the presidents in general. How many have their been? What are the requirements for becoming president? Make silhouettes of the girls' heads by shining a light past their profile and tracing onto a piece of black construction paper. Mount on a circular piece of paper. How do the girls think they would look on a coin?
Much of the world celebrates Shrove Tuesday or Carnival, or Fat Tuesday. In South America, there are parades, tricks and revelry, masks and games, and feasting. Cut mask shapes out of fun foam and decorate, make parade floats out of shoe boxes, share Mardi Gras beads, and feast on Cajun food or a king's cake.
First Aid - work on your First Aid badge (each age level has their own) - teach some simple First Aid skills such as what to do for a nose bleed or a knocked out tooth.
Sew dunk bags. These could be made out of open weave dish rags or have duty lace curtain material or any kind of heavy (not tulle) netting material you can find. Sew two pieces of fabric together around three sides. Sew a casing around the top, and insert a drawstring. Practice proper dish washing techniques for camping.
Play the feelings game. Start the discussion by relating an incident where someone's feelings were hurt because of something someone said. Ask the girls to name some feelings. As they name them, write them down on strips of paper (e.g. happy, sad, scared, proud, mad.) Have the girls take turns taking a strip and acting it out without words or sounds. Discuss how you can tell how a person feels by looking at her.
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