GS Ideas with Miss Heather

Girl Scouts of USA has put together a fantastic badge program for Black History Month.  Check out this guide full of activities you can complete to earn the patch. To earn the patch, you must complete a certain number of activities: Daisies - 3 activities Brownies - 4 activities Juniors - 6 activities Cadettes - 8 activities Seniors - 10 activities Ambassadors - 12 activities

Chloe, Amber, and Kyra have been working on some council's own Girl Scout badges this summer. This educational video is their take action project. They are sharing three tips to protect sea turtles: 1) Fill in the holes you dig at the beach so baby turtles don't get lost on their way to the ocean. 2) Don't leave plastic bags on the beach. If they end up in the water, turtles may mistake them for jellyfish and eat them. 3) Keep track of your fishing equipment. Nets and hooks that end up in the ocean can hurt animals. Thanks to the Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida for their badge program, "GS Love Sea Turtles." Thanks, also, to the Adventure Aquarium in Camden, NJ. We had lots of fun with this badge program and putting this together!

To help you not waste when you are having fun! Facts for the Beach: 1 in 3 mammal species get entangled in litter. By 2050, the pollution of fish will be outnumbered by out dumped plastic. There are 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic waste  estimated to be in our oceans. 269,000 tons float and 4 billion microfibers per km2 dwell below the surface. 70% of our debris sinks into the ocean’s ecosystem, 15% floats, and 15% lands in our beaches. 100 million marine animals die each year from plastic waste alone. 12-14,000 of plastic are ingested by North Pacific Fish yearly. How we can Help Here is a list of things that would help us reduce plastic waste: Stop using plastic straws, if a straw is a must, than purchase a reusable stainless steel or or a glass straw. Use a reusable produce bag. A single plastic bag can take 1,000 years to degrade. A Girl Scout always leaves a place better than she found it! The Junior Girl Scouts in Troop 548 are completing their Bronze award project, which is ...

    Logan and her mom have been participating in a series of park clean ups this spring.  Based on what they have found, Logan has put together some tips that you should follow when you are visiting your local parks.  Following these tips will help everyone enjoy themselves while keeping the parks clean. Logan's Tips:  On a picnic, bring Tupperware, not one-use plastic.  Pick up your dog's poop.  Bring a reusable water bottle.  If you do bring plastic, bring a trash bag with you.  Always bring reusable straws, spoons, forks, knives, and cups. Cleaning up before you leave the park helps protect the local wildlife and also ensures that the next visitors find a clean space to enjoy. A Girl Scout always leaves a place better than she found it! The Junior Girl Scouts in Troop 548 are completing their Bronze award project, which is focused on reducing waste in common spaces.

The Brownies from Girl Scout troop 5115 have compiled some tips that kids can use to get and stay healthy!  This work is their Take Action Project for the Brownie Quest journey.  The girls learned about collaboration, speaking up when they see something that needs a fix, and the importance of making healthy choices.  Check it out!

Junior Troop 548 hosted a meeting about Earth Day. This video teaches younger Girl Scouts about how you can help the earth. We challenge you to use less, waste less, and recycle! During the event, Destiny shared ways to make art from recycled materials, like this beautiful Daisy made from a GS cookie box. What recycled art can you create?

This video, created by Cadette Sylvia Langston, tells the story of the Case of the Cracked Sidewalk (aka The Case of the Broken Sidewalk) from the Brownie Quest journey. Through storytelling, Brownies can learn about how kids their age reacted when they discovered a problem in their community.  Brownie leaders, you can use this video to empower your troop for helping them understand ways they can take action in their community. Thanks to Sylvia for creating this fun video!!

Amber recently participated in Project Squirrel  via Girl Scouts of USA's partnership with  SciStarter  to earn her Citizen Scientist badges.  She was inspired by the board game that Chloe and Kyra created to promote pollinator protection.  So, Amber designed "Save Gonzo the Squirrel," a game in which players select characters and practice wildlife conservation as they journey to the center of a park to help rescue an injured squirrel. Of course, in real life, do not attempt to touch an injured animal - find an adult to help!

Chloe and Kyra recently participated in the Great Sunflower Project via Girl Scouts of USA's partnership with SciStarter  to earn their Citizen Scientist badges.  They decided to collaborate on a take action project that would allow them to both educate others while also completing their Journey Award as Citizen Scientists.  Check out this awesome game they created!

In this video, Amber reviews  the steps to completing the Junior Trail Adventure badge.  Check it out!

In this video, Girl Scouts from Troop 5130 provide tips to Brownies on completing their Give Back badge.  This badge is focused on using the cookie sale to help girls to "give back" in their community.  Troop 5130 has used some of their cookie sale proceeds and donated cookies to support their Bronze Award project.  The project, a year-long educational initiative designed to empower other Girl Scouts to support the homeless, featured a lunch-making service activity.  We used some cookie proceeds to buy groceries, paired with donated Girl Scout cookies and other groceries, and made 150 lunches this year.  In this video, Folasade, Missiah, and Brooklyn encourage Brownies to think about supporting the homeless as well.

During the Covid-19 shelter, we want to make sure that Daisies are still connected to Girl Scouts! In this video, Brooklyn, from Junior Troop 5130 reads the story for Zinni the Zinnia, who is committed to being considerate and caring. Daisies can watch the video and follow the steps that Brooklyn describes to complete the Zinni petal. Brooklyn also provides some of the details from Troop 5130's Bronze Award project, focused on educating Girl Scouts about ways to help the homeless.

During the Covid-19 shelter, we want to make sure that Daisies are still connected to Girl Scouts! In this video, Missiah, from Junior Troop 5130 reads the story for Rosie the Rose, who is committed to making the world a better place. Daisies can watch the video and follow the steps that Missiah describes to complete the Rosie petal. Missiah also provides some of the details from Troop 5130's Bronze Award project, focused on educating Girl Scouts about ways to help the homeless. For details about the organization she mentions, Angels in Motion, and their sleeping mat project, visit their site .

The Brownie Dancer badge is a really fun one to earn at home while sheltering during the Covid-19 crisis... dancing is great fun to keep your spirits up! The steps are: Warm Up and Get Moving Try a New Dance Take to the Floor Like a Dancer Make Up Your Own Dance Show Off Your Moves My Brownie, Amber, enjoyed trying to "stretch the alphabet" as described in step 1 (below).  For step 2, we tried a Bollywood Burn dance/exercise DVD.  We had so much fun trying to do the moves! If you don't have a dance exercise DVD, check out the fitness programs on demand for your television provider or try YouTube.  For step 3, Amber chose to try out the vintage option.  She found videos on YouTube to learn about old-time curtsies and more.  For step 4, she choreographed a dance to one of her favorite songs from the Disney Zombies movie.  She practiced and then had her sister record her on my iPhone (sorry, she said I couldn't share).  Finally, for step 5,...

My Daisy has been working on a couple of badges since the Covid-19 shelter began.  One of the first she completed was the Outdoor Art Maker. For Step 1, "See the Colors of Nature," Kyra sat on the back deck and painted a picture of our backyard.  The step called for watercolors, but we only had acrylics on hand... when sheltering, you have to be willing to adapt! For Step 2, "Hear the Sounds of Nature," Kyra made maracas with my Brownie, Amber.  They used paper cups, washi tape, and plastic forks (taped in between the cups to make handles).  Kyra used rice in hers and Amber used dried beans in hers so they could compare the different sounds they made. For Step 3, "Share Your Outdoor Art," Kyra made a series of "leave no trace" paintings that showed her being responsible in nature and she described each one to me. These projects made for a very creative day for Kyra and she enjoyed expressing herself with art.  Click here to check out the...

Looking for some at-home work for Daisies?  Here are some steps to completing some of the petals... Clover – Using Resources Wisely . Step 1) Show your daughter this video about Clover’s story .    Step 2) Make a collage with old magazines or postcards – being resourceful means finding new ways to use old things. Step 3) Help mom or dad make a recipe using leftovers so the food doesn’t go to waste OR brainstorm 3 ways we could use resources wisely at our troop meeting space or at school (draw a picture of it). Zinni – Considerate and Caring . Step 1) Show your daughter this video about Zinni’s story .   Step 2) Brainstorm ways to be like Zinni – how can you be considerate and caring? Step 3) Make a poster or picture to show three ways you can be considerate and caring at home.  Put it somewhere you will see it every day to inspire you to be considerate and caring! Tula – Courageous and Strong . Step 1) Watch this video about Tula’s story ...