The 10 Essential Elements for Troops

As a Girl Scout volunteer, you can use the 10 Essential Elements to partner with girls and their families, whether your troop meets for a few months or over the course of a year. Click here for a one-page handout that lists the Essential Elements and their definitions.

To support you in the important work you do with girls, we’re offering the following resources for each Essential Element.

Many of these resources are pulled directly from the Adult Guides for the National Leadership Journeys. The Journeys are the core leadership development curriculum for Girl Scouting. There are three Journeys—with a book for girls to enjoy and an Adult Guide for volunteers to use—for each Girl Scout grade level.

The Daisy Journeys are: Welcome to the Daisy Flower Garden, Between Earth and Sky, and 5 Flowers, 4 Stories, 3 Cheers for Animals! Be sure to get your own Adult Guide, which includes step-by-step instructions for each session, as well as helpful tips for guiding girls.

1. Welcome Families to Girl Scouts of the USA

2. Show Girls They Belong to a Big Sisterhood

3. Guide Girls to Develop as Leaders

4. Empower Girls to Take Action in Their Communities

5. Support Girls to Build Skills Through Proficiency Badges

6. Expand Girls’ View of the World

7. Celebrate with Ceremonies and Traditions

8. Use a Girl-Friendly Approach

9. Encourage Girls to Earn and Learn Through the Cookie Program

10. Inspire Girls to Continue Growing Through Girl Scouts

1. Welcome Families to Girl Scouts of the USA

Take time—on the phone, online, or in life — to tell grown-ups what Girl Scouting does for girls and why it matters! When they know how important Girl Scouting is, they’ll be more ready to pitch in to help.

Find Out What Daisies Do

Click here for The Girl Scout Daisy Experience. You can print this colorful map to show families or you can scroll over the map for informational pop-ups.

Give grown-ups copies of the What Daisies Do handout to take home.

Meet the Flower Friends

Print the Flower Friends stickers and use them to introduce girls and grown-ups to the Flower Friends—each one stands for a line of the Girl Scout Law. Invite everybody to take a sticker that stands for the line that means the most to them.

Print the Flower Friends coloring pages. Let girls color them at a meeting or take them home to share with their families.

Find Out How Daisies Become Leaders

National Leadership Journeys are our core leadership development program. They help girls at each level develop leadership skills. Make copies of the What to Pack for the Journey handout to give grown-ups an overview of what girls do on a Journey.

Use the Welcome Letters below to introduce families to what girls will learn on each Journey. Then go over the Family and Friends Checklist for each Journey with families to show how they can help their Daisy and the troop have a great year.

Welcome to the Daisy Flower Garden

Welcome Letter for Welcome to the Daisy Flower Garden

Family and Friends Checklist for Welcome to the Daisy Flower Garden

Between Earth and Sky

Welcome Letter for Between Earth and Sky

Family and Friends Checklist for Between Earth and Sky

3 Cheers for Animals!

Welcome Letter for 3 Cheers for Animals!

Family and Friends Checklist for 3 Cheers for Animals!

2. Show Girls They Belong in a Big Sisterhood

Girls love to know that they are part of something big and that they can have an impact on the world—and Girl Scouting is huge! The Movement includes millions of girls who all share an important mission—making the world a better place.

Of course, younger girls often think that Girl Scouting is only their individual troop.

To share the excitement of the big network they’ve joined, show Daisies Our Girl Scout World map, Girl Scout Councils map, and the list of USA Girl Scouts Overseas. Talk about the hundreds of thousands of other Daisies—just like them—around the country. Then add the millions of older Girl Scouts in the United States and other countries. Finish by talking about the millions of Girl Guides, our sisters around the globe, who share our values and mission.

Use the activities below—taken from the Journey Adult Guides—to show girls that they belong to a big sisterhood.

Welcome to the Daisy Flower Garden

In Session 1 of this Journey, girls learn the Girl Scout Promise. This connects all Girl Scouts around the world, because every girl who is or was a Girl Scout says the same promise.

Remind girls of their big network during the opening ceremony for Session 5, when they learn to say “hello” in Japanese.

Between Earth and Sky

In Session 1 of this Journey, girls form a Daisy circle in the opening ceremony. When you explain that Daisies do this to mark special times, add that hundreds of thousands of Daisies around the country are doing the same thing.

3 Cheers for Animals!

In Session 1 of this Journey, the opening ceremony is called “Animals Around the World.” When you talk about different countries and the animals that live there, remind girls of their Girl Scout sisters who live around the world.

3. Guide Girls to Develop as Leaders

Girl Scouting wants every girl to know how to be a leader in her own life and in the world around her. Remind girls (and their families!) that they can be leaders by posting this sign to direct them to your meeting place.

Post this sign in your meeting room or on the door—it will remind Daisies and their families of the leadership skills they’re developing.

When you guide girls on a National Leadership Journey, they will experience the three keys to leadership: Discovering Self, Connecting with Others, and Taking Action in the world.

Click on the links below for Journey session descriptions and awards information from the Adult Guides.

Welcome to the Daisy Flower Garden

Read Sample Sessions at a Glance for a description of the sessions in this Journey.

Read Awards in the Daisy Garden for a description of the awards Daisies can earn.

Between Earth and Sky

Read Snapshot of the Journey for a description of the sessions in this Journey.

Read Awards Along the Journey for a description of the awards Daisies can earn.

3 Cheers for Animals!

Read Journey Snapshot for a description of the sessions in this Journey.

Read 3 Leadership Awards for a description of the awards Daisies can earn.

4. Empower Girls to Take Action in Their Communities

Girls want to know they can make a difference in the world around them—which is what you’ll help them do as you guide them on the Take Action project they do as a part of each Journey.

To find out how other Daisies are helping their communities, check out the online Map It! tool, where girls can post their Take Action and Bronze/Silver/Gold award projects.

Girl Scouts often do both community service and Take Action projects. Both kinds of projects help communities in different ways. To complete a Journey, girls need to do a Take Action project (which some organizations call service learning). Click here to download the Community Service and Service Learning: What’s the Difference? handout to find out more.

Each Journey Adult Guide includes sections to help volunteers guide girls on their Take Action projects. Click on the links below to download pages taken from each Journey’s Adult Guide.

Welcome to the Daisy Flower Garden

Use the Take Action Project Brainstorm pages to guide girls as they come up with project ideas.

Between Earth and Sky

Use the How Big a Project? pages to capture girls’ ideas, then guide them to a project that is doable.

3 Cheers for Animals!

Use the Red Robin Project Planner to guide Daisies as they come up with ideas and plan ways to present what they’ve done. (Note that this handout refers to other pages in the Journey Adult Guide.)

5. Support Girls to Build Skills Through Proficiency Badges

Girls are proud to say, “See what I can do now!” when they learn something new. Girl Scout badges focus on building new skills. (At the Daisy level, girls earn Petals and Leaves.)

Print out the Daisy Awards Log to show girls and their families the awards Daisies can earn.

Check out the online Badge Explorer for a fun, interactive way to see the Daisy Petals and Leaves.

6. Expand Girls’ View of the World

As girls explore new ideas, go to new places, and meet new people, their understanding of the world—and of what is possible for them—grows. You can help Daisies by taking them on field trips, inviting guest speakers to meetings, or guiding them in activities that help them learn more about the world.

The Journey Adult Guides include ideas for field trips, guest speakers, and activities that give girls a bigger view of the world. Click on the links below for sample pages from each Journey’s Adult Guide to get you started.

Welcome to the Daisy Flower Garden

The Green Thumb? Have No Fear tip box from this Journey offers ideas for field trips and experts to tap as Daisies learn all about gardens.

Between Earth and Sky

The Daisies and the Great Outdoors offers suggestions for field trips related to the environment.

3 Cheers for Animals!

The Flower Friends, Global Themes activity offers a fun way for girls to explore different cultures and meet people from other parts of the world.

7. Celebrate with Ceremonies and Traditions

Girl Scouts enjoy taking part in time-honored traditions and ceremonies. They also like to make up ceremonies that are especially meaningful to them (in fact, creating brand-new ceremonies is a Girl Scout tradition!).

The Journey Adult Guides include information on beloved traditions and ideas to help girls create new ceremonies tied to Journey themes. Click on the links below for sample pages from each Journey’s Adult Guide to get you started.

Welcome to the Daisy Flower Garden

Girl Scouts love to sing songs—at a meeting, on a hike, or around a campfire! Print Sandy’s Song for Girl Scout Daisies and teach it to the troop. Ask them if they’d like to make up their own opening or closing ceremony using the song.

Between Earth and Sky

The Girl Scout Traditions and Ceremonies will tell you what you need to know to share traditions like the Girl Scout sign, handshake, and friendship circle.

3 Cheers for Animals!

Check out the box “Girl Scout Days to Celebrate” on the Girl Scout Traditions and Ceremonies page. Ask girls what kind of celebration they’d like to create for Founder’s Day, World Thinking Day, or the Girl Scout Birthday.

8. Use a Girl-Friendly Approach

In Girl Scouting, it’s not just what you do with girls, but how you do it that makes the experience fun and meaningful. Girls have fun when they can shape their own experiences, do hands-on activities, and work together as teams. Help make this happen by using Girl Scouts’ Three Processes: Girl Led, Learning by Doing, and Cooperative Learning.

Find Out More about the Three Processes

Watch the “How to Have Fun with Purpose with Girls: 3 Processes for Girl Scout Volunteers” video (in English and Spanish) to learn about the Three Processes and how to use them while guiding girls. You can also print the transcript here.

The Daisy Journey Adult Guides include information about how to use the Three Processes with Daisy-age girls. Click on the links below to find out more.

Welcome to the Daisy Flower Garden

Want to find out what the Three Processes look like for Daisies? Download What + How: Creating a Quality Experience.

Between Earth and Sky

Want an example of how to help Daisies handle conflict resolution (a key part of cooperative learning)? Download Seeing Processes and Outcomes Play Out.

3 Cheers for Animals!

Want to help Daisies learn to make decisions in a cooperative way? Use this Choices, Choices role-play activity.

9. Encourage Girls to Earn and Learn Through the Cookie Program

When girls take part in the largest girl-led business in the world (aka the Cookie Program), they earn funds for their Girl Scout activities. They also learn 5 Skills—Goal Setting, Decision Making, Money Management, People Skills, and Business Ethics—that will help them in business and in life.

Find Out More about the 5 Skills

To learn more about the 5 Skills, download What to Do First: 5 Skills for Girls.

To find out more about how the 5 Skills help girls develop as leaders, download The 5 Skills and Girl Scout Leadership Outcomes handout.

Tell Families About How the 5 Skills Help Girls

Share the “What Grown-Ups Need to Know” video with families to help them guide their girls as they earn and learn.

Print copies of My Cookie Business poster so girls and their families can keep a record of what they did and learned during the Girl Scout Cookie Program.

Tell Girls About the Awards They Can Earn

Click here to download the Girl Scout Cookie Activity Pin requirements.

Show girls and their families the Daisy Awards Log, and tell them how earning their Cookie Business Leaves will help them start thinking like a business owner.

Get Tips on Safety

Click here to download a list of Safety Tips.

10. Inspire Girls to Continue Growing Through Girl Scouts

Girls are more likely to stay involved in Girl Scouts when they know what lies ahead. Let second-year Daisies know about the exciting opportunities they’ll have to learn new things, meet new friends, and make the world a better place when they become Brownies.

Find Out What Brownies Do

Print The Girl Scout Brownie Experience colorful map to get girls and their families excited about the Brownie adventures in store for them.

Use the National Leadership handout to show girls and families our leadership program and our badges for Brownies.

Use the Ladder of Leadership handout to show girls and families how they can progress through Girl Scouting.

Give girls and their families copies of the handout What Brownies Do.

Introduce Girls to Brownie Elf and the Brownie Friends

Give girls these coloring pages to introduce them to Brownie Elf and the Brownie friends.

Use the “Brownie Elf Hiker Song” video to teach girls a song they can sing on their outdoor adventures as Brownies.

Show Girls and Families How Brownies Lead

Play a video for girls and families to show how Brownies can take action to make the world a better place. Try “Where the Sidewalk Ends,” “Brownies Work with City Hall to Improve a Park,” “Troop Inspires a School to Save Water,” or “The Future Makes Us Want to Dance.”

Help Girls Bridge to Brownie

Print the bridging requirements to share with girls and families, then celebrate with Daisies as they bridge to the next level of Girl Scouting—Brownies!

Get More Ideas Online

Keep checking out the ForGirls.GirlScouts.org website, where you’ll find an ever-growing collection of activities, games, and videos you can share with girls.

Follow the Girl Scout Daisies Pinterest board for more ideas about creating a fun and meaningful Daisy experience.

 



 

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