Daisy Leader

I don't do Daisies, we do scouts, but I still have a suggestion. I get online and get LOTS of ideas!! You can find lots of activities and suggestions.

Good Luck!!

Where exactly are you located? I know that the other day I contacted my local girl scout board and offered to come in and teach dance to the girls for a badge or something. Let me know and maybe we can work something out...

I'm now a co-leader for a mixed Brownie/Daisy group, but started out 3 years ago as only a Daisy co-leader when my daughter entered kindergarten. I had the benefit of a co-leader who was a girl scout herself when younger, but at times it was still a struggle to come up with activities. This website is a great resource for girl scouts of all ages: http://www.scoutingweb.com/ScoutingWeb/Daisy.htm

At this age, they LOVE crafts and games so check out the petal ideas and incorporate the fun stuff. Also, they've got the new Daisy guides which are really easy to use and fill up meetings well. Local field trips are easy to do as well. We just hit Brazos Bend State Park this past weekend with the troop and did a fun hike using their online scavenger hunt guides then checked out the observatory after dark. Local police stations and fire stations can be a go-to interesting resource as well. My co-leader's older troop also hit a local bakery. You never know what's avaialable until you ask, and this includes asking your girls. They've got a ton of ideas on what they'd like to do!

I know San Jacinto council is also setting up 'coaches' which are more experienced leaders helping out those that are starting out so you may contact them to see if they can recommend someone in your area. If you can, go to your service unit meetings. They offer a ton of information and experienced leaders who are more than willing to help out in any way they can.

Good luck! It's a lot of work but a ton of fun.

HI T.,
I'm one of four leaders of a multi-level troop. For our Daisey's I log on to various places and check out what they offer. For example, the Houston Zoo offers field trips for scouts and they plan everything for each level of scouting. You simply show up and they do the rest of the work. They also give the girls their petal (Daisy's) or whatever badge is appropriate for that scout level. Many places around town do the same, many of them don't publish their events in the Golden Link.

Also, at this age it is fun to take them to your local fire station, post office, ice-cream parlor, etc. Even if they don't offer a badge, you can get a fun patch from the Girl Scout Shop that fits your outing so the girls have something for their vest.

Hope this helps!
C. H.

Hi T.!
I'm a brand new Daisy Leader also and am so glad I'm not the only one feeling like "I'm on my own!" There's a lot of freedom in becoming a new leader and you kind of get to pick and choose from a lot of different resources which to me is overwhelming! I have been asking a lot of questions to my Service Manager which is helping me and the Basic Leader Training helps also! The website for San Jacinto Council is www.gssjc.com and this has helped me a lot. They even get you step by step meeting instructions for the first five meetings. You'll need to go to Leader Resources and create a password. I'm asking my eight girls what are some things they are intested in and using them to guide me as to what we'll be doing this year. The finacial part has really been tough for me since we are so small and starting from scratch. It does seem like you're always asking for money but I just explained this to the parents up front and everyone seems to understand. I know once we get the swing of it, the girls are going to love it! It's such a great program and I already see my girls bonding and so excited each meeting which makes all the hard work totally worth it! Best wishes-Elizabeth

For some of the activities in your meetings allow the girls to make or create something to give to somebody else. If you run out of people to make something for, there is always the local nursing home and the seniors love receiving cards or anything from somebody.

I don't know where you're located, but as to field trips think about the commonplace things that go on every day around you that the girls may have never experienced. Your local news stations may be willing to let you come and see what it looks like behind the camera; the local bakery or donut shop; if there are any places that bake bread or manufacture any food product (Frito Lay, Coca Cola); even how a dry cleaners operates. Any of the sports teams will sometimes give you free tickets to attend their games for a group. Some of the food places (DQ, Sonic, McDonald's, 7-11) will give you coupons for a free drink or a cone or something that might be a treat for an outing that you won't have to pay for. If the girls want to know about something and a trip to the place has liability issues, consider inviting someone from that place to come to them. It is very flattering for people in business to know that someone is truly interested in what they do and they sometimes come bearing gifts. Don't forget about the local bank who may be willing to even give the girls a coin collection card to begin saving their money. Lots of the banks in my area even have little promotional things (small money bags, little flashlights or even lunch bags with their logo) that they sometimes give. Don't be afraid to ask any place that has a ticketed admission if they have discount coupons, etc. One of the community theaters in our area has a day during the run of each production that is a matinee performance for which you can "pay what you can" so you could take the group for a very little.

Congrats on stepping up to do something that will make an impact on the lives of these little girls. Don't get discouraged or feel overwhelmed...you'll be great because you already have the biggest and most important thing - a heart to make a difference.

YOU GO GIRL!!!

Try some of the website listed...

http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=A0geu47J0vpKGBABPmtXN...

My daughter was in the Pilot Daisy Troop in California...when there was really "nothing" but the idea available...the most helpful thing....was that myself and two other Mothers were Co-Leaders...so we could brain storm for ideas. I will see if my brain can stretch back that far and remember some of the things we did back then. There wasn't even any "petals" to earn at that time...That does give you a guideline or things to do...

Good Luck.. if I find any of my information.. will let you know.

After not being able to volunteer because of younger siblings, this year, I finally became a leader for my youngest daughter's Daisy troop!! I have so many ideas from my other daughter's troops (I have 6 daughters), I am so excited about doing things with our Daisy troop. I only have 8 girls and 5 very involved moms! We decided from the beginning that each parent would take on a petal and come up with ideas for it. There are a lot of ideas on the internet. I don't think I am ready to take them on any type of field trip right now. We meet after school at the school, so I take advantage of the playground before our meeting begins. Please email me and I will be more than happy to share any notes or suggestions that I have come up with. Our service unit also has lots of suggestions available. --L.

Hi There,
I completely sympathize with you! I am the new leader of my son's cun scout den. While the pack is well established our den is brand new. I will let you know that you should probably be glad that you lost those 5. We try to keep our Dens small about 5-8 boys. With girls you can probably get away with having a few more, but it really becomes had to keep everyone focused. As far as the money goes, this is the first year the pack has given any money to the dens. We got $10/ child that I will be using as personal rewards and not really for supplies. If you need supplies assign each parent an item and have them bring at the next mtg. Also, free activities are available everywhere, you may want to visit a local nursery...one in SA offers free child activities once or twice a month. Lowes/Home Depot offer kids workshops where they build something from a kit and its also free. Then you guys can go to the park and do a scavenger hunt, or to the humane society and learn about taking care of dogs/cats etc. If you do want to go to a zoo or wildlife park that charges a fee, then the parents are responsible for paying the fee. Make sure you make those optional outings. Good Luck!

My daughter is now a Sr in high school and I was the leader until 2 yrs ago!! She is still a Scout-I'm just not the leader!! You will love it and hate it!! lol
Start out by having each girl/family plan a trip/meeting etc. That way you won't get overwhelmed and spend so much time planning that you quit. This way, the parents know they will be helping and you are not begging for their help.
You can do simple things-visit the Post office, local restaurants, nursing homes, etc.s Most of this should be free-also look for others to come in and give presentations/classes (again-takes some of the planning off of you). Church ladies love to come show them how to crochet, draw, paint, etc.
Go to Michael's or any craft store and ask for old or faded supplies for them to donate.
Each Service Unit should have some funds they can put towards a new troop but you have to ask for them.
I was in the Corpus area and they now have a pretty good website but at the time, San Antonio Council's was better. You can access any Council's site for advice.
DO NOT get overwhelmed on taking the training if you work-you can start your troop and gradually complete the training(it is best if you finish it all upfront).
GS has always been a good organization and pretty efficient. I did have a few bad service managers/cookie reps but just dealt with others in the Council to get past those bumps.
The good thing is that Daisy's don't sell cookies so you have a year to get the troop organized and the moms before you start selling.
The last year I was the leader, we went to SAvannah, GA with 15 girls and it was a memory of a lifetime so keep looking at the long term when the daily stuff gets to you.

The trainings are for your benefit. You want to as informed as possible. Now, you will want to plan activities that will help your girls earn their petals. They have books at the scout store with tons of activities and suggested schedules on how to conduct your meetings. You should also collect dues from each girl (in addition to what goes to the council). You can assign each parent a petal to research and plan the activity and like that they can be involved. Get the books from the resource center, they will help alot. Also google for ideas, you can enter "daisy scout respect myself and others" and tons of activities for earning that petal come up. Then jus pick the one you like. Good luck.

I am happy to help!! I started a Daisy troop last year and we are just now beginning our second year as Daisy's and Brownie's. We just had our investiture ceremony last month for our new recruits. I now have 23 girls total and stay BUSY (but it's a blast)!

I started by doing inexpensive informing things like talking to the local bank and arranging a tour of the facility. The girls loved it and we geared our lesson from the daisy journey book to learning about money and they earned a patch. Next we went to the police station and did the same thing, also got a patch! We met up at a local gazebo and I brought the girls lunchables, fruit and juice boxes (you can tell the parents to bring a sack lunch) and we spent time cleaning up the twigs and branches and considered it our service project. For earth day we saw Disney's movie EARTH and ate popcorn. You also need to introduce dues, my girls each bring $2 per meeting and it pays for our activities most of the time. I hope this helps. Contact me anytime!!

T.-

Oh how I feel your pain!! I have TWO troops, and not a daughter in either one. I LOVED Girl Scouts, stayed involved for 2 years after I graduated from high school. So when it came time for my nieces to join, I jumped right back in. My first year as Daisy Co-leader was AWFUL. We had fun with the girls, but I was so lost, frustrated, and ready to throw in the towel. It gets better with each year, though the challenges never stop. As they get older, we get more active and that brings about all new learning challenges. There are lots of free activities out there. Check the local libray, they tend to offer pajama story nights, puppet shows, etc... Watch for free concerts at local parks. Set up tours of a vet clinc, restaurant, bakery, grocery store, fire station, doctor's office. You might have parents that work in a place that would love to have the girls come and see. Lowe's Home Improvement stores offer free clinics now & again to build something. Don't forget your service projects, cards or retirement homes, wounded soldiers, teach them some songs and go visit and hospital, etc... Hike a state park - the adults pay to enter, but under 12 is free. You could also look for a sponsor. Use the Leader Resources on the council's website, search other council & service unit websites from around the country.
My all time favorite: http://www.scoutingweb.com/scoutingweb/Daisy.htm

Talk to other leaders, make sure you're going to the Service Unit meetings - usually once a month. Ask for a "Coach" or mentor too. That will be a leader with a little more experience under her belt. Cookie season is ahead, and that will be the first opportunity for the troop to earn its own funds - though you really won't see the money until the end of March (end of cookie season).

You have to ask parents to do a specific job. None of them want to jump up and get involved. You're going to need a cookie manager, and they need to take training soon. Ask them by name "Julie, Our troop is facing cookie season and we really need a Cookie Manager to pull this off. Its the first opportunity for our girls to earn money, and I really need some parent assistance. Could you do this for the troop? Or is there a mom that you think would do it? Can you help me find a parent to do this?" You're also going to need a financial person when it comes time to set up the bank accounts. You just have to put them on the spot. I have 31 girls and get nowhere unless I call out a parent by name. Sad to say.

Ask the girls what interests them! We also found that meeting every week was wearing everyone out. The next year we went to bi-monthly and it works better - at least for preventing my burn-out. I hope this helps!

The Regional office on SW Freeway is a great resource, they will help you and hook you up with others who can. I didn't become co-leader until Brownies, but when my daughter was a Daisy they went on a field trip to a bookstore (I think it was in Katy) that was having story time with a mouse character. It can be hard to do field trips with so many unless your parents are good about driving. We started out with 15 also, but only had 10 or 11 by the end. Find out about bridging ceremonies and let the girls do some simple crafts (check Oriental Trading catalogs) to present to the older girls and parents at the ceremony.

My niece is a girl scout and my mom and sister both help out, but are not the leader. It sounds like every parent was assigned to lead one meeting. Each parent can then contribute the supplies for that meeting, so it's spread around. My mom and sister had the girls complete an international badge, and they found games, crafts and snacks that correspond with four of five countries for the girls to do at the meeting. They just went online and googled "craft from China", etc., until they found enough stuff.

I am a Girl Scout leader too and it can seem very overwhelming. Email me anytime and I can help you out with some suggestions and some field trip ideas. Also, is the troop in the San Jacinto Council? They have a website that can help you out. As a Daisy since your funds are limited you need to ask the parents up front to give you so much money per child. For instance $15 to help with materials and such. Explain why you have to do this. Also when you go on outings you will have to ask for money. I have also learned that parents like to be approached personally and if you give them a specific job they will do it.
Anyway I have lots for ya so email me anytime. I am going on year 4.