As staff, our flow of work is centered around an academic year. This means that we are especially busy in the fall getting things started, and in the spring getting things wrapped up and prepared for the next year. One of the things that we make a priority in the fall is to support the local registration nights. We pass around a sign-up sheet and make sure there is a staff member present (as much as possible) at each one. Each one is a little different, but each one has the same underlying current running through them: passion for Girl Scouts! When I was out at the St. Joseph registration night, a co-leader had brought in something special for the new members that were to join her troop that night. Lindsey and Shannon, co-leaders for a 1^st grade Daisy troop, had made Daisy flower petal cookies. She found a flower cookie cutter from Michaels, and using colored icing, decorated them based on the colors for the petal patches the Daisies earn. It really showed their excitement for the upcoming year and the girls really liked getting that extra special treat! I was lucky enough to get a few extras to take back to the office to share and show off with the staff. When I brought them out the next morning, there was a flourish in the hallway as the squeals and the ‘oh how cute!’ spread. We were all so impressed and just started brainstorming on the spot how we could get the word out there to other troops of this neat idea. Tauna immediately put it on our council facebook page, we were taking pictures of them, and then we also wanted to feature it on our blog (with Lindsey and Shannon’s approval of course!).

So, here are a few of our ideas for where these cookies could be replicated:

·         Investiture Ceremony for Girl Scout Daisies. If you aren’t sure what an Investiture Ceremony is, check out this link. Basically, it welcomes new members to Girl Scouts and is typically done in the fall (but can be done anytime someone new joins Girl Scouts). After an Investiture Ceremony, you could celebrate with the Daisy flower petal cookies! Click here for a sample Investiture Ceremony.

·         There could also be a Rededication Ceremony which is done to renew your commitment to Girl Scouts if you are already Girl Scout members. Our Girl Scout sisters just south of us have created a cool packet with sample ceremonies. Thank you to GSMWRiver Valleys for this resource!

·         Upon completion of the Daisy Flower Petal patches. Once girls learn the law and earn all their petals, you could have a celebration ceremony and serve (or have the girls help decorate) the Daisy flower petal cookies.

·         To celebrate Juliette Gordon Low’s birthday (October 31^st). Juliette’s nickname was Daisy, so in her honor you could have a birthday party and serve the Daisy flower petal cookies.

If you are interested in ceremonies, be sure to check out and sign up for our upcoming regional training day, December 8^th. In addition to Cookie Sale training, we will be offering various sessions for volunteers. One of the training sessions we offer is a ceremonies training. Check out our current offerings here!

Be sure to let us know if you make/share these – we love to see pictures of what local troops are doing! Maybe you could be featured in a future blog post!