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!
Have a cookie booth sale! Be sure to contact your association booth manager to schedule the place and time. Plan for potty breaks, and rotate the girls if you have more than one location. The girls usually have a great time working at booths, and you can have a treat for them afterward like pizza, ice cream, or whatever they have voted on. If you have younger girls, you might consider letting them bring their own money and going for fast food and letting them order their own food. Many young girls may not have had that experience before!
Learn knife safety. Practice on soap bars or peel carrots for snack.
Tie some knots. It's fun to practice with licorice ropes.
Make plans to celebrate the Girl Scout birthday with another troop. Make and decorate cupcakes to share. If you have candles, remember fire safety (put hair up or down the back of the shirt; stop, drop, and roll demonstration; etc. They can't hear this stuff enough!) Make friendship bracelets - two identical: one to keep and one to give to a friend. You can have the five colors of their worlds of Girl Scouting (World of the Arts - Violet, World of the Out of Doors - Gold, World of of People - Blue, World of Today and Tomorrow - Orange, World of Well-Being - Red) plus green and then use three colors at a time. The bracelets could be braided or just knotted at intervals depending on their ages. When they exchange bracelets, have them describe why they chose those colors (my favorite World of Girl Scouts, or my favorite colors, etc).
Make a time line of events in the Girl Scout Movement on a piece of big butcher paper. You can get all of the dates in the handbook. Then let the girls add in their birthdays. Have the girls make their own life-lines with major events in their lives.
On March 3, Japanese Children's Day and Doll Day are celebrated. Fifteen special dolls are arranged in a ceremonial fashion with the Emperor and the Empress in a place of honor. Artificial cherry and orange trees and household utensils are included. Girls dress in formal kimonos and serve tea and cakes to friends. Perhaps you could sample some Japanese food or do origami.
St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on March 17. Have a green meeting where you make green/shamrock crafts or eat green food. Eat potato soup, Irish stew, or make Irish soda bread or even baked potatoes. Have a potato toss.
Learn about snakes. (St. Patrick allegedly chased them out of Ireland.) [Note that in this myth "snakes" were a derogatory term for Pagans living in Ireland at the time. If any families in your troop are practicing Pagans, this could be a touchy holiday for them.] How many kinds of snakes are there? How many are poisonous and how many are beneficial?
Have a shamrock relay by making two large shamrocks out of green paper. Divide into two teams of equal players. Each team receives two shamrocks. At a signal, the team moves forward by stepping on the shamrocks. While standing on one, they must move the other one forward for their next step. If you take a step off the shamrock before getting to the finish line, that player must start over. The first team with all the players across the finish line wins.
Have a potato relay. Make a a line on the floor with masking tape for each team. The object is to roll the potato down the line with a a shillelagh (or a fairly thick, knotted stick). The player then runs the potato back to his team for the next player to use. The first team to get their potato over the finish line wins.
Beginning on March 21, Iranians celebrate the twelve day festival of No-ruz (Noh-rooz). This Muslim festival is symbolic of new life and growth, and the goodness of Allah. The festival table is spread with seven foods, all beginning with the letter "s" plus symbolic items. There is a legend that the earth trembles as the new year begins, so an egg is placed on a mirror and when cannons are shot, the egg trembles. Gardens of Adonis are grown with quick-growing seeds such as lentils and wheat.
Plant some seeds and watch them grow, or plant some seedlings or plants. you could do some beautification at a local park or open space, or even join an effort to rid an area of non-native plants.
Passover is celebrated, which commemorates the Israelites' departure from Egypt and the first barley harvest. This is a family feast of Thanksgiving and freedom, with unleavened bread and many other traditional foods. Sample some of these foods and learn about the traditions.
Talk about good outdoor manners and conservation skills. Know how to protect and appreciate the natural world.
Take part in a conservation service project such as planting seedlings on a hillside to prevent erosion, repair trails, clean fire circles at a park, organize a newspaper or aluminum can recycling project at the girls' schools. Trim bushes to keep paths open, adopt a highway, take down old yard sale signs or flyers posted in the neighborhood. The possibilities are endless!
Hold a "Baby Shower" to benefit babies born to mothers in shelter or jail.
"Adopt" a grandparent at an eldercare home.
Make and fly a kite.
Go on a nature scavenger hunt. Have the girls find (but not pick - just show somebody else [or take a photo]) a smooth edged leaf, a Y shaped twig, something alive, a smooth rock, a pebble smaller than a pea, a pebble as big as a grain of rice, something that looks like something else, something prickly, somebody's food, a dark green and a light green leaf, a pinch of dust, a pretty thing besides a flower, something with more than four legs, something you pick things up with, a leaf with symmetrical veins, something dead, something yucky, something bumpy, a seed that travels by wind, something soft, and something furry.
Make a time line of events in the Girl Scout Movement on a piece of big butcher paper. You can get all of the dates in the handbook. Then let the girls add in their birthdays. Have the girls make their own life-lines with major events in their lives.
"Adopt" a grandparent at an eldercare home.
