World Thinking Day 2011

Our World Thinking Day event is only a couple of weeks away but we will be ready! We are representing Sweden again which is fabulous because we have many swaps left over from last year thanks to April and Brandon. Since our GS are one year older than they were during last year's Thinking Day, they will be more involved in the planning and execution of this year's event.

Below is a brief description of how we represented Sweden last year:

• We created posters displaying facts about Sweden and Sweden's flag colored by our Daisy Girl Scouts.
• We created safety pin swaps using a Swedish paper doll template (so cute!)
• We served Swedish meatballs (from Ikea) and the Swedish Fish candy, both very popular.
• We also displayed various books about Sweden.

Here is what we did in our meeting to expose our GS to their WTD country:

• We learned about Pippi Longstocking and popular character from Swedish literature.
• We dressed our Swedish paper dolls in traditional Swedish costumes.
• We learned about and compared the Swedish Girl Guide law to the USA Girl Scout Law
• We matched Swedish color words to English color words and connected them to our daisy petal law colors.

A Variety of Paper Dolls
Swedish Paper Doll Template
Swedish Festivals and Activities
Scouting and Guiding in Sweden

What Country Should We Represent?

     Last year our troop represented Sweden at our local World Thinking Day event. Thanks to April and Brandon we had awesome Swedish paper doll swaps and we still have many left over. We also served Swedish Fish candy and Swedish meatballs (direct from Ikea.)
     The girls who attended toured many countries with their "passports" and had a great time.
     We can do Sweden again, but this time have the girls more involved in preparations for the day. We could even do some traditional costumes if someone is willing to sew. The good news would be that the swaps are already made. If we choose another country we can donate our swaps to another troop. 
     I will find out our country options at the next Magnolia Service Unit meeting. Once we choose a country, we can decide if we also want to participate in International Night at the school.

Have You Seen the On My Honor Pages (not Posts)?

These pages are located to the left of the blog and contain information and links specifically useful to Girl Scouts and Girl Scout leaders. There is also a kid friendly page with links I have personally checked out to the point where I would allow my own child to use them. Below are links to the On My Honor pages.

• Daisy Meeting Activities
• Troop Organization Materials
• Juliette Gordon Low
• Community Service Projects
• World Thinking Day
• Field Trips
• Kid Friendly Interactive Links

Winter Holidays Around the World

Even though it will not be officially Winter, I would like our troop to do some fun "Winter Holidays Around the World" activities for our Dec. 6th meeting. This type of activity allows us to "journey" to other countries or cultures which also prepares the girls for World Thinking Day. My research has turned up some helpful links that I can use to design some activities that will work well with our troop  (second year Daisy Girl Scouts). I think we will also make some type of craft using the pine cones that are all over my front yard. I will post pictures of our craft and any documents I may create for this meeting. Below are the links from my research. Parents, if you have any ideas or suggestions, please share!

Winter Holidays Around the World-Background Info

Winter Customs Around the World

Holidays Around the World Unit

Scholastic Winter Holidays (Interactive)

More Winter Holidays Units

December Holidays (Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa)

Wax Pine Cones

Pine Cone Christmas Tree

Pine Cone Craft Images