Petals: Daisy Scout Achievement Badges

What are Petals?

The petals, and the center circle (also known as the "Promise Center") are the badges Daisy Scouts earn for learning about the Girl Scout Promise and Law.

Some general things to know about petals;

• they can only be ordered through a recognized troop
• the petals are an iron-on set
• other than having the girls earn the Promise Center first (so you know where to place the other petals), there is no set order in which your troop can earn the petals
• you can have your troop members earn their petals for whatever petal work you decide so long as you stay within the guidelines of the Girl Scouts

Light blue: Honest and Fair...The sky is blue and always fair...it rains on everyone or shines on everyone.

Yellow: Friendly and Helpful... Yellow is cheerful and friendly and the color of the sun which helps all living things grow.

Light Green: Considerate and Caring... Light Green reminds us of the tiny new plants that sprout in the spring and require our consideration and caring to grow into healthy plants.

Red: Courageous and Strong... Red is the color of blood, it represents strength and bravery.

Orange: Responsible for what I say and do...Orange is the color of fire, it reminds us to always be responsible, for fire can consume everything in its path if we do not use it responsibly.

Purple: Respect myself and others...Purple is the color of nobility and honor and it commands respect.

Magenta: Respect authority... Magenta is a combination of Red and Blue, the colors of our Flag, it commands our respect.

Green: Use resources wisely... Green is the color of the grass and the trees and it reminds us to be careful to keep our earth green.

Rose: Make the world a better place... Rose reminds us of the beautiful flower and to always find beauty in the world and try to leave it better than we found it.

Violet: Be a sister to every Girl Scout... Just like the violet flower that grows in groups, we grow best surrounded by our sister Girl Scouts.

Source: Scouting Web.

What is "Petal Work?"

Petal Work is a developmentally appropriate skill, activity, task, or craft designed to create awareness and the beginning of understanding of one of the girl scout laws.

Just about any activity can allow the girls in your troop to earn an associated petal. I decided as a parent and a leader that I wanted each activity to ideally be the beginning of a conversation between the girls and the adults who are charged with guiding them. I wanted to create an experience that allowed each girl to talk about the girl scout law as it applies to her situation. After all, if I didnt make it clear to my daughter how these principles matter to me and guide me in my life, could I resonably expect her to both understand them? ...and if I don't value them enough to practice them, how could she value them enough to make them a part of her life?

Furthermore, I think its petal work 'best practice' to plan the activities to strengthen those skills which will truly help her gain a broader understand of the activities she's already learning. If we can aim for inclusion of some form of literacy, emotional literacy, the arts, science, math, or assertiveness skills, we can offer our girls more than just fun memories. After all the time we put into planning the activities, why not take just that extra bit of effort to strengthen these skills that are so crucial to our girl's emotional and vocational health, yet aren't always able to be given the time for in the everyday lives?

The best way to plan activities so they are complimentary to these other skills? Ask the teachers in your child's life. Tell them what you'd like to do as an activity, and ask them for their suggestions! There are also tons of excellent resources on the world wide web.

Petal Work Process

Here's a suggested means of providing an activity which results in the girls earning their petal, starting that conversation with their family, AND complimenting another skill the girls are already working on.

The Leader of Troop ABCD decides that the girls will work on their Light Blue petal, representing the Girl Scout Law of "Honest and Fair."

She tells the girls and their guiding adults to begin discussing the concept of Honesty and Fairness in their lives. She gives the girls a take-home task to ask the significant adult in her life about a time when s/he felt s/he was treated unfairly, and what s/he did about it. They make puppets using popsicle sticks and green & red circles. The girls make a smily face on

At the meeting where they go over the 'honest and fair' topic, she begins with a reading of Mercer Mayer's book "That's NOT fair!' She gives the girls a handwriting practice sheet that she generated online which says "I am honest" and has the girls play a game "Honest or Not?" The Leaders give a brief scenario "You find a doll on the sidewalk. You give it to the lost and found. Is your choice honest or not?" and allow the girls to The girls sit in their Daisy Circle, and The girls who turn it in at the next meeting with at least three lines completed get a light blue sticker for their sticker book. The girls play the math game 'who has more'? using colored beads.

The Daisy Petals & the Girl Scout Law they represent are as follows;

• Promise Center
• Light Blue - Honest and Fair
• Yellow - Friendly and Helpful
• Spring Green - Considerate and Caring
• Red - Courageous and Strong
• Orange - Responsible for what I say and do
• Magenta - Respect Authority
• Purple - Respect Myself & Others
• Green - Use Resources Wisely
• Rose - Make the World a Better Place
• Violet - Be a sister to every Girl Scout

Other Rewards for Earning Petals

The petals are their own reward; however, as they are cloth and attached to an outfit that will one day be outgrown, it is nice to have other tangible means for the girls to be both recognized for their achievement and create a memory record they can share and look back on long after their Daisy Scout Uniform has been outgrown. Some ways you can help the girls relive these early successes in their lives include;

• Making a scrapbook with a page for each petal. Be sure to build into your craft budget a picture of each child getting at least one of her petals; these memories will become the beginning of a young girl celebrating her own achievements and having a tangible record to look at when she needs a reminder of them.
• Creating a one-page 'record sheet' that a girl can keep in an existing notebook or scrapbook. This is inexpensive, but if 'official signatures' and perhaps a sticker or stamp per petal is awarded, can be a paper representation of her hard work.
• A 'buddy daisy outfit' might be the way to go for girls who love the idea of 'teaching' what she's learned to her special stuffed animal or doll; just take some craft foam, cut at slit in the middle for the head, and then her buddy has an outfit that can be decorated with petals as she earns them. You can use craft foam, puffy paint, or even permanent markers for this.
• Perhaps a simple 'sticker album' is all some girls need for reward; this can be made with paper and cardboard, or get as elaborate as you choose. Include parents in the planning to get ideas that appeal to their girl's interests.
• A 'felt daisy banner' using 1' x 1' square of white felt (available EVERYWHERE material is sold); just draw an outline of the daisy petals, and color them in as she earns them. You can even have her put her name at the top, and glue a straw or dowel to the top and some string for hanging her display proudly.
• A 'Certificate of Achievement' is a low-cost way of giving girls something to show the adults in their lives; I'll be putting some online here.

Whatever you choose to do, or not do in terms of rewards, make sure your girls really get good acknowledgement for their efforts. At the very least, have them sit in the 'Daisy Circle', and call their names one by one so they can stand up, get applause from their peers, and walk up to get their petal. They deserve a chance to learn how to receive acknowledgement of their achievement gracefully but without diminishing their efforts.