Working with Daisies
Understanding Healthy Development for Girl Scouts
Just being attentive to what girls are experiencing as they mature is a big help to girls. So, take some time to understand the likes, needs, and abilities of girls in this grade level. As you listen and learn along with girls, you may find it useful to review the highlights of their development in the chart below. Of course, each girl is an individual, so these are only guidelines that help you get to know the girls.
Daisy Meeting Activity
Daisies will keep you smiling with their enthusiasm and excitement about everything around them! Here are some girl-led planning tips for Daisy Girl Scouts.
Be Prepared: Prepare in advance for your meetings. Talk with co-volunteers and other helpers about the upcoming meeting’s agenda. Be sure you understand who will do what. If you are prepared and keep the meeting moving along, the girls are less likely to find other activities that may cause problems.
Get There Early: Have everything ready before the first girl walks through the door. This will allow you to greet the girls as they arrive, talk to them and make them feel welcome.
Provide Positive Praise: Focus on what the girls are doing right instead of what they are doing wrong. Praise must be specific and sincere. Try to stay positive even when things don’t go as planned. Allow the girls the opportunity to learn from simple mistakes, as long as safety is not an issue. Frame the mistake as an opportunity to learn and think about how to do it differently next time.
Establish an Order for Your Meetings: Create a routine to encourage cooperation and taking initiative. With time, after several meetings, the girls will understand the expectations and know what comes next.
Use Five- and One-Minute Warnings: Daisies need to know when one activity is ending and another is about to begin. This transition time helps them plan and not feel rushed.
Provide a Snack: Snack time allows the girls to share and relax together. Snack time should be simple and appropriate to when your troop meets. For example, if it is close to dinnertime, you may serve just juice instead of cookies and juice.
But she’s my daughter…Surprisingly, it may be the volunteer’s own daughter that displays disruptive behavior during troop activities! It’s important to remember how difficult it can be for girls to share their mom with so many other girls, all vying for the leader’s attention. And adults, trying not to show favoritism toward their daughters, may inadvertently go to the other extreme and never choose their daughters for special jobs, etc. Consider the following.
Behavior Management
Evaluation Tools
Asking Daisies questions can be a challenge. Remember, they need things to be concrete. Listen to the girls and build your questions based on what the girls are saying about their experience. Give examples.
Sentence Starter: Have the girls sit in a circle either as a large group or, if you have enough adults, break the girls into smaller groups. Create some sentence starters and have the girls fill in the blank. For example, “The best part about the field trip was…”, “The funniest thing about our activity was…”, or “The part I liked best was…”
Draw a Picture: Give each girl a piece of paper and crayons or markers and ask her to draw a picture of what was the best part of the activity for her. Once complete, have the girls share what their pictures show.
Rate It! Have the girls use facial expressions or different signals to rate how they feel about an activity or idea.
- Smile or Frown
- Thumbs up or Thumbs down
- Clap once or clap twice
- Stand up or sit down
Hello and Good-Bye Games
Try this opening game with Daisies, called 1-2-3 Hello. You and the girls join hands in a circle. Say “1-2-3” while walking towards the center. As you meet in the center, raise hands and all say “Hello, Girl Scout Daisies” or some other chosen greeting. Then walk backward to reform the circle and sit down in a Daisy Circle for the business part of your meeting.
At the end of your meeting, try this closing game, called 1-2-3 Good-bye. Everyone joins hands in the Friendship circle fashion (right arm over left arm). Say “1-2-3” while walking towards the center. As you meet in the center, raise hands, then twist around to straighten arms and face away from one another, and say “Goodbye, Girl Scout Daisies!” or some other chosen greeting.
I’m a Girl Scout Daisy song
Girl Scouts love to sing, and we have a very special Girl Scout song just for Daisies. Below is a link to an online video so you can practice prior to the meeting.
I’m a Daisy Girl Scout
I’m a Girl Scout Daisy, take a look at me.
I’m a Girl Scout Daisy, happy as can be.
Having fun and sharing, each and every day.
I’m a Girl Scout Daisy, hip, hip, hooray!
I’m a Girl Scout Daisy, take a look at me.
I’m a Girl Scout Daisy, happy as can be.
We’re going on a journey, with friends along the way.
I’m a Girl Scout Daisy, hip, hip, hooray!
