20+ Ideas for Earning the Daisy Girl Scout Promise Center
Today we are talking about ways to get started on a new journey- Girl Scouts! I'm getting our troop ready so I thought I'd share my own research in this big list of ideas for earning the Daisy Girl Scout Promise Center badge. Affiliate links are included in this post.
(This article was originally written years ago, but I am updating and adding to it, to make sure it is still helpful!)
This month I started a new journey with my 6 year old daughter. Together we started a new Daisy Girl Scout Troop!
Let me back up to say that I volunteered to be a helper but as it turned out there were enough new first grade girls interested in Daisies that a new troop made sense. A few moms were going to team up and lead it together, but in the end someone's name needed to go down as the leader…and that someone ended up being me!
As you might notice from all the random topics that I blog about…I'm not what you'd call super organized. BUT. I love spending time with kids, and I'm jazzed to start this adventure with my daughter. We are going to have FUN!
Related Daisy Resources:
- An Open Letter to New Girl Scout Leaders
- 20+ Tips for Brand New Girl Scout Leaders
- 20+ Ideas for Earning the Zinni Petal (Considerate and Caring Patch)
Check all of out My Girl Scouts Articles– many more came after this one, including an article for each Daisy Petals!
We started our year with a parent & scout meeting. The girls got to meet each other and the parents filled out paper work, chatted and got to know each other.
I don't know who got along better, the moms or the girls- it was a tough call. But I know that when we said goodbye the girls hugged about a billion times and didn't want to let go. It really warmed my heart!
Planning Our First Daisy Meeting
Now onto business! We had our first meeting to plan! I remember feeling a little bit like a deer in headlights that week as I sifted through tons of ideas. I started by looking up all the Girl Scout Traditions and then fell deep into pinterest.
One of the other leaders and I met to talk about our first meeting. She is much more organized and I was so glad to sit down at talk together!
Being brand new to girl scout leadership, we decided to plan several things and then see how the meeting went. We could cut some if time was tight, and add some if we blew through everything quickly. Our main goal was to earn the Girl Scout Daisy Promise Center. The blue circle at the center of the Daisy Petals Set. That was all, and it's a good thing we didn't plan anything more!
The meeting seemed to go by in the blink of an eye- we went over some of the routines we'd do at our meetings, did our main craft and had a snack and that was the bulk of the meeting! Of course we had the troop meeting basics, like taking attendance and saying the promise. But laying the structure for our meetings was as time consuming as the craft and snack!
If you are brainstorming ideas for your Daisy Girl Scout Promise Center, look no further. Here is a great big list for your browsing pleasure!
How to Earn the Daisy Girl Scout Promise Center Badge
Each girl scout badge will have a short list of “steps” or “requirements” that the troop needs to do to earn the badge. Sometimes they are exact activities, like learn a song, and others are up to creative interpretation.
Oddly, these steps may vary from council to council (especially for the Promise Center) which makes it tricky to tell you the exact steps! If you are looking in your council binder and see different steps, go with those. But the ideas below still work with the variations I've seen.
To earn the Promise Center Badge, girls will:
- Learn the Girl Scout Promise
- Learn the Girl Scout Law
- Play games to get to know each other
Many troops start out by working on the Promise Center. Obviously committing the Promise and Law to memory will take time. You can “learn” them at this first meeting, and work on memorizing them a little at each meeting.
Just so you have them handy here they are:
The Girl Scout Promise
On my honor, I will try:
- To serve God* and my country
- To help people at all times,
- And to live by the Girl Scout Law.
*Members may substitute for the word God in accordance with their own spiritual beliefs.
The Girl Scout Law
I will do my best to be:
- honest and fair,
- friendly and helpful,
- considerate and caring,
- courageous and strong,
- responsible for what I say and do,
- to respect myself and others,
- to respect authority,
- to use resources wisely,
- to make the world a better place,
- and be a sister to every Girl Scout.Here are two great videos made by actual Girl Scouts, if your girls would be interested in that.Video of the Girl Scout Promise:
Video of the Girl Scout Law, with helpful hand motions:
Daisy Girl Scout Promise Center Meeting Ideas
Crafts for the Daisy Girl Scout Promise Center
Crafts can be a fun way to make the lesson of the badge into a hands on experience. Don't be tempted to make it too complex. Simple crafts can be completed in one meeting, and are nice to take home. Consider things like dry time and how much help each kid in your troop will need. Here are some fun ideas for crafts:
- About Me Friendship Sticks– These are a super simple craft that you can do at your first meeting as a get-to-know-you activity BUT keep them around and use them at future meetings! In the article, she describes various ways to use them to pick teams, assign tasks, etc. Super cute AND useful craft!
- Girl Scout Promise Flower Pot
- Daisy Promise & Law Bracelet – This is what we chose, but instead of this pattern, we did 3 dark blue to represent the 3 parts of the promise, then a white bead, then each color of the petals, separated by one white bead each (like this, plus the three dark blue beads). The girls seemed to enjoy doing it at the meeting, and my daughter desperately loves her bracelet ever since we made it.
- Watercolor Daisy Promise Craft – Cute tie in with Pinkalicious Pinkie Promise Book
- Girl Scout Promise Hand Cutout Craft
Be sure to check out my Troop Trove shop for Girl Scout Gifts & Gear! There are gifts for scouts and leaders, from everyday items to custom snacks and holiday gifts:
Snacks for the Daisy Girl Scout Promise Center
Snack policies vary from troop to troop. You may choose to have no snacks, leader-provided snacks, rotating snack duty between each girl, or everyone bring your own. Consider any food allergies and kids who may not have access to extra snacks. If you are interested in making a fun theme snack for this meeting here are some ideas. They are super cute but please know that you do not have to make special treats for every meeting- or ANY meeting!
- Spring Mini Muffin Flower Pots
- Flower Fruit and Veggie Trays
- Flower Pretzel Bites
- Daisy Rice Krispy Treats
- Daisy cookies that don't look too complicated: Using Store-bought cookies makes these Ginger Daisies easy and cute. These Dots to Daisies Cookie Bites could be replicated with homemade or store bought cookies.
Printables for the Daisy Girl Scout Promise Center
If you are looking for some fun and helpful printables for this meeting, look no further. Some of the printables below are free and others are paid downloads. It is nice to have fellow leaders and scout sisters who are making these great materials and sharing them online!
- Colorful Girl Scout Promise & Law Printable
- Daisy Petal & Leaf Tracker
- Snack Chart (Three in a row from the same designer- I just love her style!)
- Basic Daisy Coloring Sheet
- Girl Scout Law Cards – These are so pretty. I printed them, cut them out and laminated them to hand out with the bracelet craft.
- Girl Scout Promise in Trefoil – Scroll partway down the page for the printable. I printed these out, cut them out and punched two holes in these. We had the girls make the back their name tag, then if they needed help remembering the Girl Scout Promise it was within easy reach!
- I Know the Promise Badge Coloring Sheets
- “Daisy Flower” Promise Center Coloring Sheet
- Daisy Maze
Activities for the Daisy Girl Scout Promise Center
If you have a squirrely bunch who likes to be more active than sit and craft, these activities could be the perfect addition to your meeting plan.
- Daisy Promise “Hide & Seek” Activity
- Make a Giant Daisy & Take a Photo
- Promise Guessing Game – I'd call this Promise Charades?
Books for the Daisy Girl Scout Promise Center
Our girls love to hear books red aloud. If your troop likes to learn in story form, check out these promise related stories.
- Pinkie Promise – This is a pinkalicious book, so you can decide for yourself if that is a pro or a con. 😉 My daughter does like Pinkalicious books and this one uses a relatable friendship situation to show what a promise means.
- Piggy Promise, Pinky Swear – This is a cute book for this age. It includes a cute rhyme about pinky promises that the girls would love to chant together. It also shows what it is like when it is hard to keep your promise.
- Elena of Avalor: A Sister's Promise – Whether or not your daughter has seen Elena of Avalor, this is a fun book about keeping promises.
- A Promise is a Promise – This book is often recommended for the Promise center, based on its title. However please note that is could be considered scary to some children. Description: “When Allashua disobeys her parents and goes fishing on the sea ice, she has to use her wits to escape and to further trick the Qallupilluit when she promises to bring her brothers and sisters back to them.”
Sample Meetings
Whether you are a new leader or a seasoned pro, sometimes it helps to see how other leaders run certain meetings. Here are a few different troops versions of the Promise Center meeting.
- Girl Scouts of Illinois
- Daisy Leader's Garden
- Troop Leader Mom
- Girl Scouts Hornets' Nest Council – This is actually a whole manual for the first several meetings. It's very thorough.
- Girl Scouts of Wisconsin Southeast – Another guide to the first few meetings.
Okay your turn! What am I missing? What was your favorite Daisy Girl Scout Promise Center Idea? Feel free to share int he comments below- It will help out anyone else who comes looking for ideas!
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