Girl Scout Signs & Sayings: The Girl Scout Slogan The Girl Scout Motto The Girl Scout Sign & Handshake

Girl Scout Signs &
      Sayings:
     The Girl Scout Slogan
      (“Do a good turn daily”)

     The Girl Scout Motto
         (“Be prepared”)

 The Girl Scout Sign & Handshake
          The Quiet Sign

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THE GIRL SCOUT SLOGAN: DO A GOOD TURN DAILY

The Good Turn

A shared tradition among Girl Scouts and Guides is the Good Turn: performing a
helpful service for someone. The idea of the Good Turn began with Lord Baden-
Powell, Founder of the World Scout and Guide Movement. In the first American
Girl Scout handbook, How Girl Can Help Their Country, (1913) Lord Baden-
Powell wrote:

       “All Girl Scouts remember that by their promise they are bound to do a
        good turn to somebody every day…even to make room on a seat for
        someone, to give a thirsty one a drink, whether it be an animal or only a
        human being, or even to lessen the mind worry of a fellow creature…It
        only counts if you do not take any reward for it or mention it.”

For American Girl Scouts, the Good Turn is part of our slogan: “Do a good turn
daily.”

 What is a slogan? It‟s a short phrase or sentence meant to gain attention or
 get a message across quickly. Advertisers and political parties use slogans a
 lot! A slogan generally tries to help others become more familiar with a
 person, group, or purpose. It tries to get their underlying mission across.
 What do you think the slogan “Do a good turn daily” tells other people about
 the Girl Scouts and what we believe in?

Worlds to Explore, the Handbook for Brownie and Junior Girl Scouts (1977-1982)
says:

       “The Girl Scout slogan is „Do a good turn daily.‟ It means that each Girl
        Scout will do something to help someone else every day…Good turns do
        not have to be big. They do not have to take lot of time. You do not have
        to do the same good turn every day. You do not receive a reward for
        doing a good turn, but you feel good inside. Can you think of some good
        turns you can do every day?”

The first American Brownie Scout Handbook (1951) said:

       “‟Doing a good turn‟ means doing something for somebody else without
        being asked or being paid for it. It is fun to surprise someone at home or
        at school with a good turn. How many good turns can you think of to do?”

Daisies and Brownies: See if you can figure out the good turns on the
activity sheet, below!

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Look out! There‟s a loose                        in the parking lot. Do a Good Turn
by:

____________________________________________________

Oh, dear! Someone missed the                                  Do a Good Turn by:

______________________________________________________

Jack forgot to feed                                 before going to school! Do a
Good Turn by:

________________________________________________________

Is that Mr. Miller? He has too many                                 for one person to carry!
Do a Good Turn by:

________________________________________________________

     On the back of this page, draw a picture of you doing a Good
Turn. I can be a real Good Turn or a pretend one.

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         “DO A GOOD TURN DAILY” (Girl Scout Slogan)

Doing a “good turn” (a helpful action) for others, every day, is the Girl Scout and
Guide slogan. To help you remember to do your Good Turn, try this: outline your
hand on a piece of paper. Then on each finger and the thumb write one way you
could help the people around you. Draw a bracelet with five beads on it around
your wrist. Color in a bead when you do one of the helping activities you‟ve
written on your hand. Make a commitment to do it again – and this time color in
your “fingernails” with glitzy colors or glitter glue.

OR…simply draw your hand. Then, every day when you do your Good Turn,
write it on one finger, then your thumb, then across your wrist like a bracelet.
This is one way to get in the habit of doing small, helpful things for other people
every day.

                                 "GOOD TURN DAILY" PIN
Margot Quinn
Brownie Leader
Texas, USA

Directions:
It has a bead at the top (I used a heart bead), through which the plastic lacing
or ribbon is tied off (put the safety pin through it, too). Then 7 pony beads are
laced on (with the lacing ends crossed through the middle of the pony bead).

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Leave an inch or two of space and tie the lacing in a knot (square, of course). Tie
on a pony bead at each end for decoration. Then, as they do a good turn for the
day, the girls can slide a bead down. Do this each day for a week, and then start
sliding the beads up again the next week.

THE GOOD TURN MOUSE

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The Good Turn Mouse

This saucy creature is a mouse
Most mothers won't let one in the house
This one has the cutest tail:
For every good turn that you do.
tie a knot in the yarn...make quite a few.
Remember why each knot you tied
and how to help you really tried!

Supplies:
Mouse pattern for each girl; pencils; scissors
Cardstock, poster board or thin cardboard
Yarn, ribbon, lacing or twine for tails (each tail should be 12 to 18 inches;
younger girls will need longer tails)
One-hole punch
Good Turn Mouse rhyme (above) for each girl (or have girls print on an index
card)

Directions:
1. Discuss the concept of “Do a Good Turn Daily” and how it is the Girl Scout
Slogan.
2. Girls cut out mouse pattern, leaving off the tail, and paste it onto cardstock,
poster board, etc.
3. Cut out the cardboard mouse.
4. Poke or punch a small hole in the mouse where you want the tail to go.
5. Girls tie tail to mouse
6. The girls will then tie loose knots in the tail each day that they do a “good
turn.”
7. Discuss how at the end of the week they should have seven knots.

                            FELT and RIBBON VARIATION:

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                           THE GIRL SCOUT MOTTO

             Girl Scouts and Girl Guides all around the world share the same
motto: “Be prepared.” (It‟s the Boy Scout motto, too!) In the 1947 Girl Scout
Handbook, the motto was explained this way: "A Girl Scout is ready to help out
wherever she is needed. Willingness to serve is not enough; you must know how
to do the job well, even in an emergency." The same ideas are true today: it‟s
not enough to want to help – you must know how to help! Earning the grade-
level First Aid badges and Safety Awards are one step toward being prepared to
help when needed; encourage girls to think of others ways.

Girl Scouts are also “prepared” when they have the right clothes for the expected
weather and activities, or have rainy day back up plans for their camping trip or
even. And a smart Girl Scout is prepared with a variety of ways to say “no
thanks” when she‟s pressured to do things that make her uncomfortable.

                            “BEADY” BE PREPARED

Use stretchy cord and alphabet beads to make a “Be Prepared” bracelet. Hand
out beads as girls share ways they can learn to be prepared for different
situations.

MOTTO “ACROSTIC” - Girls work in teams to create an acrostic using the
letters of the motto - for example: Bravery, Enterprise, Purpose, Resolution,
Endurance, Partnership, Assurance, Reformation, Enthusiasm and Devotion.

                                GIRL SCOUT SIGNS

The Girl Scout/Guide Sign and Handshake are shared by Guides and
Girl Scouts around the world – they are two important friendship links!
The following games give girls a chance to practice the Girl Scout Sign
and (left) Handshake, the Quiet Sign and (if you like) the civilian
salute Girl Scouts use during flag ceremonies.

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                                GOOD MORNING GIRL SCOUT

Girls stand in a circle; one girl is “It”. She walks around the outside of the circle,
as in “Drop the Handkerchief” or “Duck, Duck, Goose.” Before she gets back to
her starting point*, she must put her hand on the shoulder of one girl in the
circle and say “Good morning Girl Scout;” that girls turns around to face her (It)
and they exchange the Girl Scout (left) Handshake. It continues in the
direction she was going and the girl she greeted walks around the circle in the
opposite direction. When they met again, the girl greeted (not It) must say
“Good morning Girl Scout” and initiate the Girl Scout Handshake. They shake
one-two-three and then drop
hands and – continuing in the same direction – race back to the empty space in
the circle. The first girl there sits down; the other girl is now/still It and goes
around the circle again.

* In a large group it makes the game go faster if “It” must choose someone
during her one and only trip around the circle! If you have a very small group
you can allow two trips.

By having girls sit down when they “steal” a place in the circle, you know who
has had a turn and who hasn’t.

             SIMON SAYS: SIGNS

Play like a regular game of “Simon Says” but include the Quiet Sign, Girl Scout
Sign, Girl Scout Handshake, and Civilian Salute (flag salute – right hand over
heart.) With older girls, call out the commands quickly and occasionally use the
wrong hand yourself.

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             SIGNS RELAY

Line up as for a regular relay; you will need adult or teen volunteers to be the
“posts” the Girl Scouts run to. The first girl runs to the post, who says either
“Quiet Sign,” “Girl Scout Sign” or “Left Handshake” [or “Civilian Salute”, if you
want one more choice.] The Girl Scout relay runner must demonstrate the
correct sign or action; if she is wrong, the post says, “No, it is this” and
demonstrates the correct action. The Girl Scout repeats it; then she runs to tag
the next girl on her team, goes to the end of the line, and sits down. First team
to have everyone sitting down is the winner.

GIRL SCOUT SIGN SWAP/CRAFT
FROM: http://www.makingfriends.com/scouts/gs_hand_swap.htm

You need:

       Peach, Tan and Brown Foamie Hands (as needed for group)
       Pink and Green Craft Foam
       Jewelry Craft Pins
       Low Temp Glue Gun or Tacky Glue and clothespins.
       Heart Gemstones
       Scissors

Instructions:

Glue down the thumb and pinky of your Foamie hands. Use only a tiny
amount of glue. A glue gun will be easier but you can use tacky glue and
hold in place with clothespins until dry.

Glue the smaller pink heart to the larger green heart. Glue the hand to the
pink heart. Glue on heart shaped gem stones. Hot glue a pin to the back.

Knowledge Management – June 2013 – Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta