SWAPS

I have been researching SWAPS ideas for our girls to create to hand out at our World Thinking Day event.  Here are a few websites I found along the way . . .

http://www.scoutingweb.com/scoutingweb/Program/CraftsSwaps.htm

http://gsleaders.org/files/swaps.htm

http://www.scoutmom.net/swaps/index.htm

http://www.scoutswaps.com/thinkingday.html

http://www.makingfriends.com/scouts/swaps_international.htm



Not all are for World Thinking Day . . .

http://trudyd.homestead.com/swaps.html

http://www.angelfire.com/ct/cgrob123/swaps.htm#idea



Need a little more information on SWAPS?

http://www.angelfire.com/ny5/gsgvtroop40/swaps_origin.html

Scouting Web--A very helpful website

The following site is an "online resource for leaders of girls."  You can choose your Girl Scout level by tab or look specifically for traditions and ceremonies.


http://www.scoutingweb.com/scoutingweb/SiteMap.htm

I found great ideas for ceremonies, meetings, activities, and more.

World Thinking Day

World Thinking Day, a special day for Girl Scouts and Girl Guides around the world to think about their "sister" Girl Scouts, is February 22nd.  It commemorates the mutual birthdays of Lord Baden-Powell, founder of Boy Scouts, and his wife, Olave, who served as World Chief Guide.

Each year, girls participate in activities, games, and projects with a global them to think about or honor Girl Scouts and Girl Guides in other countries. In many World Thinking Day events, troops choose one country to focus their attention and learn about Girl Scouting or Girl Guides in that country, activities, games, etc., and then get together with other troops to share what they have learned.

The 2011 theme is girls worldwide say "empowering girls will change our world."

For more information, visit the following links.  There are links for suggested activities by Girl Scout level.

http://www.girlscouts.org/who_we_are/global/world_thinking_day/world_thinking_day_2005.asp

http://www.girlscouts.org/who_we_are/global/world_thinking_day/

Also, see this site for activities divided by level.

http://www.girlscouts.org/who_we_are/global/world_thinking_day/wtd_activities.pdf

This is provided by World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts.

http://www.worldthinkingday.org/en/grab/20868/1/WTDActivityPack2011.pdf

Contact me if you would like more ideas.

Meeting Ideas?

Leaders are always in search of ideas for their meetings.  Activities that not only teach the girls, but that are fun and entertaining.  How do you go about planning your meetings? Where do you start?


As an educator, I use lesson plans and schedules to keep me organized and on task.  When I plan my year, I begin with a calendar and my Girl Scout level book.  When my friend and I had a Daisy troop, we planned each meeting using the first Journey book.  We workd our way through the book and activities one meeting at a time.  We used both the girl and leader books to find ideas for entertaining activities, but we also took time to read through and discuss the material like we would in our classrooms.


Once our girls bridged to Brownies, we used the Try-It book.  Which Try-Its can be accomplished in a meeting vs. those that need/should/could be done at home?  We chose to focus on one Try-It a month.  We decided which activities we could do during the meeting and then assigned other parts as "homework."  The girls were asked to bring their work with them to the next meeting.  I'll go into more detail about what we specifically did in another post.


What materials are needed for the activities?  Who will get those?  Are there any parts the girls or parents can donate?  Get your parents involved.  That will be another post as well.


Think back to successful meetings . . . What did you do?  Share your ideas with us.

Welcome to My First Post . . . Ever

Welcome!  I have never thought of myself as a blogger, but due to recent events, I believe more than ever that new leaders need a place to go for ideas, information, and more to help plan meetings, understand more about Girl Scouting, and to get support as they lead girls to young ladies and into future leaders.  It is my hope that this is a place that will help anyone who isn't quite sure where to start or what to do next.  Please post comments/questions, so we can help anyone seeking it.