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download
Download the booklet from TroopLeaderHub
Print out the booklet. Cut the pages along the dotted line the in center of the page. Staple on the left side.
meet
Meet with your troop and go through the booklet to meet the minimum requirements of the badge!
Suggestions for Using this Booklet
This guide will help you lead the Girl Scout Troop through the badge.
Page 1
We start off the badge with starting conversations. While the girls may be very familiar to starting conversations with friends or even classmates, they'll start meeting new people and adults in their lives. Here we want to give them the skills and some backup ideas for starting conversations with people they don't know.
Have them work independently or with a group to write down some ideas for conversation starters. You can help them by prompting them with some ideas:
- think about where you are. Is there a question you can ask someone regarding where you are?
- How can you greet someone and get their attention. Can you say Hi, make eye contact? maybe put your hand out to shake their hand.
Page 2
Have the girls share their ideas. Maybe you can highlight some of the best ones. Have the girls pick a few and make a poster/reminder list of some of the best ideas. Make sure they understand that we can use our body language to signal that we want to start a conversation - like a wave or an oustretched hand for a handshake.
Page 3
As we get older, it's more likely we'll be in more formal situations. So we want to understand the proper etiquette at dining. The first thing is knowing how to properly set a table.
You'll want to prepare for this by either using a blank place setting worksheet for them to fill in the blanks. Or you can bring a few place settings for them to physically practice.
For this activity, you can also use our Set a Table worksheet available in our shop:
Page 4
Now we'll learn about table manners and what not to do. On this page are just a few illustrations. See if the girls can identify what bad manners they convey.
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Chewing with your mouth open
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Elbows on the table
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Burping
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Wiping your mouth with your sleeve
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Reaching across a table instead of asking someone to pass something
Have the girls name some other behavior considered bad manners. You can also show a video like the below.
Page 5 and 6
On these pages we talk about big events. Some big events may be a wedding, a funeral, a bar/bat mitzvah, a communion, a baptism. Whatever the special event, there are specific ways we should act and dress. Here we'll go over two of the most common - wedding and funeral. How would we act differently in these two situations. What would we say differently.
Have the girls talk about their customs as well. There are different customs in different cultures and religions. So be sure to celebrate the different sayings, gifts, dress, and customs of your troop.
Page 7
Writing Thank You notes can sometimes feel like a lost art. Here we have the girls write a Thank You note. They can write two whomever they want, but they need to write to someone that did something nice for them. Make sure they don't just write "Thank you". We want them to expand on WHY they are thankful to this person.
Example: Thank you note to a teacher.
Thank you, Mrs. Panther for this wonderful school year. I learned so much from your class and I am very prepared for 5th grade. I especially want to thank you for the extra help in math you gave me this year. It made me feel more confident with my math facts.
Page 8
Lastly, have the girls share how they will use the information they learned in new situations. You can have them go through the pictures and talk about what they'll do differently or continue to do. Or they can come up with new situations in which they will use their new skills.
If time allows, have them role play. Pretend a few girls are adults at a parent's gathering. Have a girl approach and start a conversation.
You can also have parents pick up the girls a tad earlier to this meeting for a mixer. Have the girls practice talking to parents they wouldn't normally interact with. Have them start a conversation.
