Girl Scout Special Days

When we think of Girl Scouts, three special days come to mind. They are:

1. October 31; Juliette Low's Birthday
2. February 22; Thinking Day (common birthday of Lord and Lady Baden-Powell)
3. March 12; Girl Scout Birthday (in the United States)

Follow their links to some cool ideas to help celebrate these occasions.

October 31; Juliette Low's Birthday

Juliette Low,the founder of Girl Scouts in the United States, was born on October 31, 1860. Her birthday is celebrated by Girl Scout throughout the country.

Here are some ideas to celebrate her birthday taken from the Oct. '97 edition of the JGL Newsletter published by Bev Crim.

• Read about her life from the handbook and have a cake (sing Happy Birthday to her)
• Have a tea party with everyone dressing up including white gloves.
• Have a bring a friend party to honor her starting Girl Scouts.
• Have Senior Citizens come in to tell you what it was like to live when Girl Scouts started in 1912.

• Make up a Kim’s Game to teach the girls about Juliette’s life.

• Learn semaphore.

• Earn a badge from the 1913 handbook. (If you get it approved using the Troop’s own badge form, you can make your own badges and it can be worn on the front of the sash/vest)

And for some other ideas, check out the GSUSA Just for Girls site.

to Top of Page

February 22; Thinking Day

The joint birthday of Lord and Lady Baden-Powell Baden-Powell is February 22. Throughout the world, this day is known as Thinking Day, a day to reflect on our sister scouts/guides across the world. Celebrations vary but many are geared toward learning about our sisters across the world.

Here are some ways to celebrate as reported in the December 1997/Januaray 1998 edition of the JGL newsletter by Bev. Crim.

1. Have a ceremony and give out World Trefoil Pins. REMEMBER: Just because you all have your World Trefoil Pins, doesn’t mean you can’t have a ceremony!
2. Send postcards to other Girl Guides and Girl Scouts. (If you're online, e-mail Girl Guide/Scout leaders and ask for their address. Get enough addresses so that each girl can make one postcard to send.
3. Have a program for parents or other girls about how Scouting/Guiding in different in other countries. Have each girl do something special from a different country.
4. Teach girls songs, games, dances, language from other countries.
5. Have an international feast for your families. Have each family prepare a recipe from a different country.
6. Learn the promise and law of another country.
7. Invite someone who has been to another country to come in a tell you about it.
8. Find an exchange student to come and share things about his/her country.
9. Make a display on "it's a small world" for the school or community.
10. Trace your family tree and see how many countries you can "cover" from your combined family trees.

Check out the the following areas for more Thinking Day ideas

1. History of Guiding Puzzle
2. Play a Lord & Lady Baden-Powell Kim's Game
3. GSUSA Just for Girls Site
4. Thinking Day Central

to Top of Page

March 12; Girl Scout Birthday

This is the day the first Girl Scout meeting was held in the United States; March 12, 1912. The first troop consisted of Juliette Low, two other adults and 18 girls. Juliette's niece, Daisy Gordon, was the first girl registered in America. the week containing Girl Scout birthday is known as Girl Scout Week. The Saturday and Sunday beginning the week of March 12 are designated as Girl Scout Sabbath and Girl Scout Sunday respectively.

Some "firsts" as reported in the Mar. 1998 edition of JGL Newsletter published by Bev Crim:

1. March 12, 1912, the first Girl Guide company in theUnited States was organized
2. The first camp was held in the summer of 1912
3. In 1913, the name was changed to Girl Scouts.
4. The first uniform was blue.
5. The first Girl Scout Handbook was called "How Girls Can Help Their Country."
   

Some ideas for celebrating Girl Scout Week include:

1. Have a birthday party (perhaps play "Pin the Petals on the Daisy")

1. Attend your religious institution in uniform on Girl Scout Sabbath/Sunday
2. Provide service**

1. Play Girl Scout Baseball (Games for Girl Scouts, 3rd Edition, pg.89) using Girl Scout Trivia.

**(the following excerpt is taken from the Mar. 1998 edition of the JGL Newsletter)From the GIRL SCOUT HANDBOOK, Copyright 1953, 1955, there is an article on page 45 about Girl Scout Week. It says that the days of the week which includes March 12 are called the Seven Service Days. It says that during this week, troops should make a special effort to show their community what they are doing.

• Sunday: Girl Scout Sunday
• Monday: Homemaking Day
• Tuesday: Citizenship Day
• Wednesday: Health and Safety Day
• Thursday: International Friendship Day
• Friday: Arts and Crafts Day
• Saturday: Out-of-Doors Day

to Top of Page

To Leader's Landing

This page hosted by Get your own Free Home Page