Girl Scouting at Home
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Girl Scouting at Home

When girls take the lead, great things happen! Even though your girl’s daily routine may have changed, there are many ways she can still participate in Girl Scout activities and earn awards, even at home! Here are a few resources and ideas for Girl Scouts of all levels to help you get started.

Please see the latest Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Resources under Adult Resources.

Learn how Girl Scouts can support your family and make learning, doing, and growing more fun. We’re here for you! For questions, you can reach us at customercare@gswny.org, or call us at: 1-888-837-6410.

Staying Safe Online

Nothing is more important than ensuring the health and safety of girls, whether they’re engaged in a real-world activity or exploring online. Instilling in girls an understanding of the best ways to stay safe in today’s complicated world is a top priority for us. 

Online Safety

Before getting started, here's a quick word from Girl Scout Kayla, sharing best practices for Girl Scouting online. Also, for Girl Scout activities that involve the Internet, be sure to consult this Online Safety Guide and Virtual Meeting Safety Tips Sheet. Then have your girl sign the Girl Scout Online Safety Pledge.

Trefoil TV 

Girl Scout as a family! Each day on our Facebook page, you can look forward to short clips of Girl Scout history, singing along to camp songs, or other ways we’re Girl Scouting at Home. Every video will highlight something new and spark conversation about your girl’s favorite activities in Girl Scouts. We can’t wait to see you there! 

Watch Trefoil TV

Watch Trefoil TV, weekdays at 3:12 p.m. on GSWNY’s Facebook Page. Watch past episodes of Trefoil TV on our YouTube page or using the links below:

Staff Choice
Girl Scout High Awards & Other Service Ideas 
Girl Scout Traditions 
Health and Wellness 
Fun & Games
STEM
Arts & Travel
Camp Week
Lifeskills
Acts of Kindness & Service
Trefoil TV Kick-Off Week:

Council Patches

Explore your interests and expand your horizons by working on patches and badges created just for you! Be creative at home by completing the required steps at home or virtually with your troop. Each patch program offers a curriculum for every age level. 

Please note: patch delivery will be delayed until GSWNY offices reopen.

Patches

Badges & Journeys

What’s that? You’ve always wanted to… Make your own movie, cook food from a different country, go geocaching, sleep under the stars, write a book of short stories, plant a garden? Invent something new, paint a masterpiece, star in a play, take amazing nature photographs, make your bedroom into a jungle, run a business, go on an adventure trip? Great news! You can learn to do all these things and earn Girl Scout badges as you go. 

Read more about badges and The Girl’s Guide to Girl Scouting. 

Badges

Find Badges and Journeys: GSUSA Girl Scouts at Home

Badge Checklist

Keep track of your girl's progress and document all of the amazing skills she's learned and badges she's earned! Download the corresponding checklist based on your girl's age level.

Daisy | Brownie | Junior | Cadette | Senior | Ambassador

GSWNY Badge Resources

Daisy
Brownie

No submissions are required for badge work. If you would like to share photos or feedback, please email girl.experience@gswny.org.

Household Elf: PART 1 (video, click here if video is not visible below)

Household Elf: PART 2 (video, click here if video is not visible below)

Junior
Cadette
Senior
Ambassador
Badge Resource Opportunities
Free Girl Scout Brownie Safety Award PDF
First Aid for Kids with Epic

SPCA Serving Erie County Free Activities and Virtual Scout Patch Program for Daisy, Brownie, and Junior Troops!

 

Free Activities: 

Pre-recorded videos of animals and their owners

Humane Education animal storytimes, pet projects, and animal assignments!

Virtual Patch Program Information (Fee-based, program on demand)

Complete simple activities in your virtual troop meetings or individual scouts and then invite the SPCA Serving Erie County to your troop meeting for a virtual field trip and animal meet and greet.  Suggestions for which activities work best virtually are made for each age group below. 

The cost is $50 per troop for a 30-minute virtual tour and animal encounter.  Patches cost $2 per participant and will be mailed to the troop leader following completion of the evaluation form.  Program is available Monday-Saturday afternoons and evenings. 

Register for your field trip here.

Daisy Patch Program Activities 1-3 and 6 are easiest to do virtually.

Brownie Patch Program  Activities 1, 3, and 6 are easiest to do virtually.

Junior Patch Program Activities 1, 3 and 6 are easiest to do virtually.

For Activity 6 (all levels):  Humane Poster & Creative Writing Contest

*NEW* Information on our REVISED 2020 contest is here >>

Submissions and nomination letters must be received by the SPCA no later than August 31, 2020! And now submissions can be made DIGITALLY! 

Please note that we are not accepting most wish list donation items at this time.  You are welcome to collect them and hold onto them until we can accept them again a part of your patch program.   

Katherine Gillette-Cockerill
Humane Educator
SPCA Serving Erie County
300 Harlem Rd.
West Seneca, NY 14224
(716) 875-7360 ext. 234
KatherineG@yourspca.org

The SPCA Serving Erie County is not affiliated financially in any way with any other animal agency, including the Niagara County SPCA, the ASPCA, or any other humane society or animal welfare group. Our protocols, policies, and procedures are unique to this organization, a completely independent humane society that does not receive any city, county, state, or federal tax dollars. The important programs and services of the SPCA Serving Erie County are possible only due to the caring people and organizations that support us.

Badge-in-a-Box
Badge in a Box

Introducing our GSWNY Badge-in-a-Box!

We’ve found a new way to bring Girl Scouting home.

If circumstances make it difficult for a girl’s troop to meet in person, if she is a Juliette Girl Scout, or if you simply want to have some additional Girl Scout fun and learning experiences as a family, the new Badge in a Box program might be a good fit for your family.

For $15 you can purchase a Badge in a Box designed to make Girl Scouting at home stress-free, the Badge in a Box includes the supplies needed to complete a badge at home, an easy to follow activity guide, and the badge itself!

Choose from these badges: Daisy Outdoor Art Maker, Brownie Senses, Junior Independence, and Cadette Special Agent.

Badge in a Box Badges

The boxes will be available for curbside pick-up, beginning August 10th at the Buffalo, Rochester and Jamestown Service Centers.

There are a limited number of boxes available and will be for curbside pick-up only.

Questions? Call toll-free 1-888-837-6410 or email.

Earned Awards

Every Girl Scout goes above and beyond to make a difference in her community and the greater world. The skills and experiences she gains along the way set her up for special recognition through the Global Action, Gold, Silver, and Bronze Awards.

All four awards give girls the chance to do big things while supporting issues they care about.

Earned Awards

Girl Scouts are called to address global Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by discovering, connecting, and taking action in their communities and beyond. In 2020, girls will explore SDG 5 (Gender Equality) to earn their Global Action award. Complete the award through GSUSA.

Girls who are pursuing higher awards my continue to do so by taking advantage of the online workshops. These are mandatory workshops available through the Silver Award and Gold Award resource pages. Girls must complete the workshops before beginning her project. 

Global Awards

 Global Action Award

The Global Action award recognizes girls’ commitment to improving the world as they take action to help meet any of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals. These goals—for example, reducing poverty and providing universal primary education—form a working blueprint for a better world.


Whatever development goal a girl chooses to work on, the Global Action award is a terrific way for her to participate in Girl Scout Leadership Journeys. Get started.

Bronze Award
Silver Award
Gold Award
Ambassador Service
Cadette Service
Religious Awards

Programs of Religious Activities with Youth (P.R.A.Y.) have developed resources to support youth in completing their religious emblems at home and fostering their faith formation during this time of social distancing.

Recorded Facebook Live events describing the online process for caregivers and youth leaders/counselors and include:

  • Facebook Live Video 1: P.R.A.Y Awards and Religious Emblems in the Home, 3/24/2020 (28 min)
  • Facebook Live Video 2: Bible Basics RP3 Lessons as Family Ministry, 3/27/2020 (12 min)

Online resources  for completing the P.R.A.Y. religious emblems can be found here:

P.R.A.Y. has also extended the deadline for students who are eligible for a program based on their current grade level in March 2020 to December 31, 2020.

Feel free to share these resources with your staff and networks. P.R.A.Y. welcomes questions at info@praypub.org

Virtual Experiences

Girl Scouts' Virtual Experiences is a new and exciting way for girls to engage in Girl Scout activities from home. Girls can participate in meaningful programs and activities through the Girl Scout Leadership Experience—a collection of engaging, challenging, and fun activities like earning badges, selling cookies virtually, exploring science, getting outdoors, and doing community service projects.

Virtual
Field Trips
Virtual Cookie Program Options

Girl Scout Cookie Program Virtual Program Options

GSWNY PROGRAM: Transform your troop inventory into a sweet treat for your local hometown heroes! Think of women and men on the front lines and let them know your Girl Scout troop is thankful for them. Let your entrepreneurial skills shine...show us how creative you can be! Learn more here: Flyer and FAQS

GSUSA PROGRAM: Girl Scouts and communities across the country are counting on you. Support girls’ continued success in the wake of COVID-19 through Digital Cookie and Smart Cookie online orders online orders shipped to your door without interruption. Or donate cookies online and we’ll distribute them safely to provide comfort to first responders, frontline volunteers, and local causes in need. Learn more here.

Distance Learning & Fun Activities

Community Service

Now's a great time for your girl to get creative on how she can give back to her community! 

Community Service

Need some inspiration? Send cards and notes to nursing home residents who are seeing fewer visitors. Some organizations may let you video call with residents to help them feel connected! Contact your local senior center to learn what works best for them. 

Girl Scouts of Western New York has shared their Guide to Helping Others as an excellent resource for practicing responsible community service acts. 

Share Your Story

Girl Scouts have amazing adventures! We want to hear how your girl is using her Girl Scout skills by taking initiative, caring for the community, and Girl Scouting at home.

Share Your Story

Have a badge or patch she's proud of? Take a picture of the badge or patch and tell us the story behind it. She can send in her story here.

Working toward a new badge, patch, or award? Create a short 1-2 minute video of your girl's favorite Girl Scout activity that can be shared throughout Western New York. We'd love to see how she's been Girl Scouting at Home! Email your videos here.

A reminder to leaders if you are sharing group photos please make sure the photo doesn’t include girls who have opted out of photo permissions.

Adult Resources 

To be a Girl Scout volunteer is to be a changemaker. Through giving supportive pep talks that inspire girls to aim for the stars, engaging them in activities that ignite their passions, or simply turning frowns into smiles, your mentorship and support helps girls grow into women who advocate for positive change in the world. View some of our resources to help with virtual learning. 

Adult Resources
Volunteer Tips for Staying Connected
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Resources

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Resources

Tolerance.org: A site dedicated to teaching teachers helps with webinars, articles and tools to give parents resources to start conversations with their children. 

  • Teaching about police violence (good resources for grades 6 and older)
  • The Let’s Talk series contains webinars to give guidance for conversations about Black Lives Matter, Whiteness and Gender Issues
  • Discussing Abuse of Power using teachers as examples of bullying behavior 
  • Five tips for helping preschoolers understand tolerance

Scholastic Books: Scholastic helps parents teach and understand tolerance with younger children (preschool and kindergarten) by telling stories and helping kids role play. The publisher also recommends using things you know your kids already love – books, music, dolls and blocks – to introduce other cultures and experiences.

American Academy of Pediatrics: The AAP, based in Itasca, recommends several items to monitor a child's health and well-being as well as open a dialog. 

  • Place limits on media. Don't leave the TV on in the background and monitor what websites your child is using. If you do watch the news with your kids, use commercials breaks to talk about what they saw and how they feel.
  • Check in. Ask them how they're doing, how they're feeling and how you can help them. 
  • Ask them about their experiences. Has your child been a victim of racism or witnessed it? How did that make him or her feel and how did he or she react in the situation?
  • Watch for changes. Stress such as new reports or worry about friends and family will come out in your child's mood or behavior. 
  • Are you OK? Monitor how your emotional changes are impacting your reactions to your children and your family.
  • Make this a teachable moment. Discuss racism and discrimination in U.S. history.
  • The AAP also recommends this article that explains how early children can recognize race and when they will start to latch on to biases. For more resources, check out a 2019 report from the American Academy of Pediatrics about the Impact of Racism on Child and Adolescent Health.  

 

 

Hiking Today. Trailblazing Tomorrow. Become a Girl Scout. Join Now
Hiking Today. Trailblazing Tomorrow. Become a Girl Scout. Join Now
Confidence Today. Career Tomorrow. Volunteer Now
Confidence Today. Career Tomorrow. Volunteer Now