Terrific Tips for Leaders Part 1




Contents

Quick Tips
Teaching Tips from Leader's Landing
Controlling Disruptive Behavior
Craft Recipes from the Internet
Now Ideas
Girl Scout Camping Standards, Readiness Indicators

Can't find what you are looking for?
Try Terrific Tips for Leaders Part 2


Quick Tips

1. Save your medical history forms from last year for your parents' meeting at the first of the new year. Parents can use them to copy shot records and so on without having to remember to bring their own records from home. Remind them to update where applicable.
2. When you send home your calendar of Girl Scout activities attach a strip of stickers to be used to mark these activities on the family calendar. This makes it easy for the parents and girls to see what is coming up.
3. Buy a large laundry bag for each girl to use to stow her sleeping bag and clothes and other belongings for overnights and campouts. Mark each girl's name and troop number in large letters on her bag. This makes it easier for the girls to keep track of their things, since everything goes into one bag. At overnights with other troops it is easy to see if any of your troop's luggage has gone astray.
4 Keep a copy of the Sales Tax Exemption Form in your troop check book so you will have it when you need it.
5. Camping equipment is available for rent from the Girl Scouts through the Plano Equipment Hut (listed in your TIPS book in the section with Outdoor Program). You can also rent equipment from Plano Parks and Recreation. Both charge a small fee.
6. Tell your girls to save their cookie order froms from last year's cookie sale for this year. These forms have the names, addresses and phone numbers of people who probably will want to buy cookies again!!
7. Strapped for time for planning meetings?
a) Preplanned meeting Modules: Council has preplanned meeting modules on several topics available for Brownie and Junior leaders. Each has plans for 4 to 6 meetings; you just need to add the materials. Order using the Free Materials Request Form.
b) Complete Badge or Try-it Kits: There are also Try-it -in-a-Tub and Badge-in-a-Box kits available. These are prepackaged kits containing all the materials and plans needed for 15 girls to earn a specific Brownie Try-it or Junior Badge. There is a $15 charge to cover the cost of materials. You check these out through Council (see page Program section in TIPS).
8. Working on Girl Scout history? Check out the video "Golden Eaglet" from Council. It is a recruitment film from 1917 or so in the form of a silent movie. It has a good story and the girls get a chance to see how much Scouting has changed while staying true to its beginning. It even shows Juliette Low in person at the start of the film. It really is great fun for the girls!


Teaching Tips from Leader's Landing

Tips for Teaching Games
1.Choose games according to the ages, interests, and abilities of the group you are working with. Make sure you choose a game appropriate to the site you will be using.
2.Know the game well so you don't have to refer to notes while you are teaching
3.Make sure you collect all the supplies and equipment you will need for the game.
4.Explain the game briefly and get them playing it as soon as possible. Ask for questions before you begin.
5.If the game is complicated, teach a portion at a time letting the girls play each portion as you teach it.
6.Let the girls have fun with the game but stop when necessary to clear up any rules or to answer questions regarding the action of the game.
7.Stop the game after a reasonable amount of time even if some girls are begging to continue.
8.Make sure you make any adaptations in the action or the rules of the game to accommodate girls with special needs in the group.
9.Make sure you check the playing area for any safety hazards as well as evaluate the game for potential safety problems before you play the game with the girls.

Tips for Teaching Songs
1.Be familiar with the song so you don't need to use a song sheet or book as a "crutch".
2.Sing the song through first.
3.Say the words phrase by phrase and have the group repeat.
4.Sing the words phrase by phrase and have the group repeat.
5.Sing the song together 3 times or until known - but don't wear it out.
6.If a song has several verses, teach one verse at a time.
7.Being with simple songs and move on to more difficult ones later on.
8.You give the starting note. Avoid pitching the song too high or too low.
9.Songs may be taught using tapes or CD's as well, just follow the procedure above.

Tips for Teaching Crafts
Crafts can be a fun addition to a meeting. In fact, many times, recognition work can be accomplished with "crafts". Therefore, included here are some hints on teaching crafts to children.
1.Be sure to include any safety instructions that are necessary for the activity. If you are working with young Brownie or Daisy Girl Scouts, don't assume too much. They may not know how to hold the scissors or the fact that they shouldn't run with them.
2.Give adequate instructions for the activity. Keep these instructions simple. If the activity is simple, little instruction may be necessary; however, it is very involved or is a new activity, give the instructions twice and then ask if there are any questions. For extremely complicated activities it may be necessary to break the instructions into sections and teach one section at a time.
3.Have enough equipment and supplies on hand. At most, two people can share supplies. More than that and the girls tend to get frustrated at having to wait and the activity is less enjoyable.
4.Be sure that the craft is suitable for the age child you are working with. If the project is too difficult, the child will become frustrated. If it is too simple, the child may become bored.
5.Allow enough time for the activity. Remember that different girls work at different speeds and most girls will take longer to make a craft than you can make it yourself. Having something extra to do for those who finish early is also a good idea or you could have them help the girls who have not finished yet.
6.If necessary, prepare your meeting for the craft activity. Covering surfaces for messy projects will make clean-up much easier. If supplies can be divided in advance it is easier to hand them out.
7.Do the activity yourself before you give it to the girls to complete. This way, you will be able to identify the pitfalls and problems that may occur with a particular craft. You can also adjust, if necessary, the directions to make the project easier.


Controlling Disruptive Behavior

Ideas from Girl Scout mailing lists and forums on the Internet
Girl-Generated Troop Rules
The best way to give the girls ownership in troop rules is to have them come up with their own. If you feel comfortable with the idea, they can even make up consequences for not following the rules. The key to this is to post the rules and consequences where everyone can see them and then follow through!

Three Strikes and You're Out!
Version I - Three Strikes and You Lose Your Troop Sticker
Before starting this the girls came up with a set of troop rules. These rules were then typed up and distributed at the following meeting, to be shared with their parents. A letter went with them, telling parents that the behavior described applied to all members of the troop. At the beginning of each meeting, the girls would be given a sticker (mailing label) to wear that said, " I know the Troop 1290 rules." There would be a three strikes policy. The first time a girl broke one of the rules, she would be told about it. The second time a girl broke one of the rules, she would have time out. The third time, her sticker would be removed from her clothing. If a parent saw that their daughter had no sticker, they were urged to talk to the girl, and find out why her behavior was less than desired. They were asked to talk to a leader if they did not understand why the girl lost her sticker. As the year went on, we went from three strikes to two strikes to one strike (the girls were encouraged to learn ALL the rules that way). It became a thing of honor to show one's parent that they kept their sticker all meeting through. We had thought of restricting attendance if a girl had her sticker removed week after week, but happily no one did.....The sticker was a way of rewarding the girls who cooperated, instead of letting the disruptive one get center stage.
Version II - Dime, Dime, 15 cents
For the first offense the offender gets a dime, second offense she gets another dime, third offense she gets a nickle and a dime. She now has enough money to call her mother and she has to go home. If at the end of the year I have not had to do this once then we have a pizza party

Discipline Candle
You need a rather large candle for this. The idea is that the candle is lit at the beginning of the meeting and continues to burn as long as the girls are following troop rules. When a rule is broken the leader simply goes over and blows out the candle. She can decide whether the next time it is lit will be at the next meeting or if the girls can have another chance by showing improved behavior. When the candle has burned down all the way there will be some troop reward - maybe a pizza party?

A Way to Quiet Down the Girls...
We also use the old familiar Girl Scout "quiet" sign (right hand raised in the air with all five fingers up) but we also use another way to get the girls to quiet down. When our girls are involved in group activities, stations, etc., the "quiet" sign sometimes doesn't work because nobody's looking at the leader. Instead, we do the following: Clap three times and then place your hands on top of your head (I know this sounds crazy...just keep reading ). Our girls know to repeat the three claps and place their own hands on their head. This not only quiets them down in anticipation of a word or two from their leaders but it also occupies their hands so that they stop whatever they are doing and listen. Occasionally we change pace and clap in different sequences (ie., clap-pause-clapclap or clap-clap-fingersnap-clap or even "shave and a haircut" clapping!) and we sometimes put our hands on our cheeks, on the shoulder of the person next to us, on our own shoulders, etc., etc., etc. The point of this is to get the girls to stop, look and listen without the leaders having to shout over the din "hey, I'm holding up the quiet sign up here" ('fess up, we've all said it!).

The Chip Jar Discipline Program - for use with patrols
- from Emily Page of the WAGGGS-L mailing list
The thinking behind this is that the girls need to learn to work together as a group towards a goal. Individual Recognition is important, but teamwork is a very important part of Girl Scouting. SO...Cindy invented the Chip Jar. This works only with the Patrol System (so far's I can tell) so Brownie Leaders may need to figure something else out. You need a jar of whatever type and a bunch of tiddlywinks or some other plastic chips. Make sure there are as many colors of WINKS as there are number of PATROLS. Assign each patrol a color. They can pick a name for themselves based on the color if you like. Make sure the rules are posted at the meeting. Whenever a girl is caught breaking a rule, the leader says, "[Insert Scout Name Here], go put a chip in the jar," in a very stern voice. {Imaginary conversation:: Scout: But MISS EMILY, What did I do?? Emily: You need to go look at the rules. Go put a chip in the jar. If you don't know what you did, maybe your patrol can help you figure it out. ::after the patrol tries, if they fail, then you can let the girl know::} Well, the Scout has to put a chip of HER PATROL's color into the Chip Jar. At the end of a specified amount of time, you pull out the chips in the chip jar and whichever PATROL has the least amount of chips gets some sort of award. One troop actually gave away MOVIE TICKETS to each girl. If your troop is not that well-off, there's always something that kids will think is cool. This has the whole patrol using PEER PRESSURE to encourage good behavior. Also... if you catch someone being VERY GOOD, you can tell them to go take a chip OUT of the jar. Sometimes there just isn't a chip in the jar to take out, so you can all applaud that patrol! The philosophy is that you should make the reward something the girls really want for this to have a big impact. ps - You can obviously rotate patrols after the chip count is done... or keep them in the same patrols all year... however you want to manage it!

Behavior Aid - Blue Spot - Brownie/Daisy
A non-threatening consequence we used with Brownie age girls, although I can't see why it wouldn't work with any age, is the idea of "The Blue Spot". The Blue Spot was just a blue piece of 8x10 construction paper, laminated for durability. If someone was misbehaving or causing a disturbance, the leader (without stopping the activity or what she was doing, and usually without a word) would calmly hand the Blue Spot to the offender. The offender would take the Blue Spot to a table away from everyone, and sit until she felt ready to rejoin the group. The neat part about it was, that a girl could request the blue spot for herself if she felt out of control, or was just having "one of those days" and sit quietly for a while. Often, just having the leader go and get the Blue Spot when the brownie circle was getting wild was enough to remind the girls and get them to settle down. The key was setting this up in advance, in a calm time. The beginning of the year was when we did it, right after the girls had made behavior rules, which were posted on a cardboard at each meeting (along with the kapers, and promise and law). It does not call undue attention to the girl (not reinforcing negative attention-getting behavior) since you never stop what you are doing. The reasons for getting the blue spot were set out in advance (infractions of the rules the girls had set up themselves) but since it could be requested by the girl herself, it was not viewed as punative. Occasionally, we would ask very sympathetically, if a girl felt like she needed the blue spot, and let her make the decision herself - the approach depended on the kind of behavior we were trying to discourage. It didn't get overused, and we never had to set the consequences of talking to the parent if there were more than two blue spots in one meeting. One time, a girl did come to me and ask me if I needed the blue spot when I had gotten a little impatient with them. Rolling on the floor laughing does a lot for your disposition.


CRAFT RECIPES FROM THE INTERNET

PEANUT BUTTER PLAY DOUGH (You can eat this recipe)
In a medium bowl, combine 2 cups of peanut butter, 2 cups powdered milk, and 3 tablespoons honey. If too sticky, add more powdered milk, one tablespoon at a time. If desired, add chopped nuts or raisins. Be sure to wash your hands before playing with the dough.

PLAYCLAY ORNAMENTS
1 pound box Baking Soda, 1 ¼ cups cold water, 1 cup Corn Starch
Stir together baking soda and corn starch in saucepan. Add water and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture reaches consistency of moist mashed potatoes (approximately 10-15 minutes. If cooked too long, finished ornaments may crack. Remove and put on a plate. Cover with a damp cloth. When cool enough to handle, pat until smooth. Roll out and cut with cookie cutters or form shapes. When sticking one piece to another, remember to moisten where the pieces are joined. Food coloring may be added to the mixture before cooking or afterward by putting desired amount into a zip-lock bag and kneading until color is mixed into dough.

BREAD MODELING DOUGH
2 slices day old bread, 4 drops vinegar, 2 tablespoons household glue, food coloring or paint, 2 drops glycerine
Cut crusts from bread. Break into small pieces in bowl. Add glue, glycerine and vinegar. Mix with your hands. May wear plastic gloves to mix. Knead until it no longer sticks to your fingers. Divide and add food coloring, if desired. Knead until color is smoothly blended.*Use lotion on hands when modeling. Use for small objects. Allow to dry 1-2 days. Coat with 1 tablespoon glue and 1 tablespoon water for shiny surface. Bake at 235 for 4 minutes for ceramic finish.

DRYER LINT MODELING MATERIAL
3 cups lint, 2 cups cold or warm water, 2/3 cup flour, 3 drops oil of wintergreen (preservative), old newspaper
Put lint and water in a large saucepan. Stir to dampen all parts of the lint. Add flour and stir thoroughly to prevent lumps. Add oil of wintergreen. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture holds together and forms peaks. Pour out onto several thicknesses of newspaper to cool. Shape as desired. Dries 3-5 days.

BIG BUBBLE SOAP
9 pints warm water, 1 pint liquid dish soap, 1/2 pint glycerine (available in pharmacies)

SILLY PUTTY
2 tablespoons white glue, food coloring
Cover with 1 tablespoon liquid starch and wait 5 minutes.

GLOB
4 oz. white school glue, 1 cup water, Liquid food coloring, 1 teaspoon borax
Pour the glue and ½ cup water into a bowl. Mix. Add a few drops food coloring. Put remaining ½ cup water into another bowl. Add 1 teaspoon Borax and mix well. Pour the two mixtures together and stir. You should have a thick mass in a liquid. When the glob has formed into one chunk, pour off the remaining liquid. The mixture thickens when you knead, stretch, and play with it. CAUTION: Do not eat. Avoid carpet and furniture.

SIDEWALK CHALK
1/3 cup plaster, 4 tablespoons water, food coloring
Form in cookie cutters or toilet tissue paper tubes lined with waxed paper. Allow to dry well.

CRAYON SHAPES
Line a cookie sheet with foil and arrange metal cookie cutters on top or use an old muffin pan with liners. Take old stubs of crayons and break them up into the shape. Put in approximately 250 degree oven where they will melt. Remove carefully. Cool. Single colors or no more than three work best.
WATER COLORS
1 tablespoon vinegar, 1 tablespoon baking soda
Mix together, stir.
Add: food coloring, 4 tablespoons cornstarch, 1 tablespoon corn syrup
Mix together and allow to dry. Moisten paint brush to use.

CINNAMON ORNAMENTS
1 cup applesauce, 1 1/2 (6 oz) cinnamon, 1/3 cup white glue
Mix together to form a ball. Refrigerate 30 minutes at least. Sprinkle extra cinnamon on waxed paper and roll out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut with cookie cutters. Use straw to form hole in top. Let air-dry for about 2 days. Shapes can be made and dried in advance and decorated with sequins, jewels, yarn, lace at meeting.


NOW IDEAS

- when you have 5 or 10 minutes and nothing planned
from Denise Troeschel Girl Scout Council of Nation's Capitol

I use this for extra time at the end of the meetings but there is no reason you couldn't use these ideas for the beginning. Add it to your meeting kaper chart so each girl has a chance to pick an activity out of the envelope.
Have you ever come to the end of a meeting and discovered that you had a few minutes left? What to do with that five, ten or fifteen minutes? What you need is an IDEA and you need it NOW!
To make a NOW envelope, take a large manila envelope and punch holes in it so it will fit into your leader notebook. Write on the outside in big letters - NOW IDEAS. On 3 x 5 cards or pieces of paper, copy these NOW IDEAS that the girls can do quickly and with no props. Pull a card out of the envelope when you need an idea now.
These are some NOW IDEAS. You can come up with more!


Girl Scout Camping Standards
Readiness Indicators


Remember this is a guideline! These standards are intended to ensure that each girl will feel capable and comfortable while on the campout and will have an enjoyable experience. Also, remember that a good first campout can be in your own backyard!



Back to the Terrific Tips Index


Back to SU 155's homepage