It’s almost time to celebrate Girl Scout Founder’s Day! Here is a free Juliette Gordon Low curriculum guide to help you plan your celebration.
Every October 31, Girl Scouts celebrate Founder’s Day in honor of Juliette “Daisy” Gordon Low, the founder of Girl Scouts of the USA. Born in Savannah, Georgia, in 1860, Daisy created the first Girl Scout troop in the United States in 1912. Founder’s Day is a wonderful opportunity to go beyond simply talking about Daisy and help girls discover the woman, leader, adventurer, and Girl Scout behind the history.
One excellent resource for planning a Founder’s Day meeting is the Juliette Gordon Low Curriculum Guide from the Georgia Historical Society. Although it was created as a teacher resource, troop leaders can easily adapt many of its activities for Girl Scouts of different ages. The 67-page guide includes primary sources, photographs, letters, historical documents, activities, and discussion questions covering Daisy’s childhood, early Girl Scouting, World War I, the suffrage movement, and her birthday.
Daisies and Brownies: Discover Daisy as a Girl
For younger Girl Scouts, focus on Juliette Gordon Low’s childhood. The guide includes actual letters Daisy wrote to her mother when she was a girl. Rather than presenting a long biography, let girls look at a copy of one of the letters and you can read it aloud to them. Ask simple questions:
What do you notice?
What do you think Daisy was like?
What did she enjoy? What is different about being a girl in the 1800s compared with today?
You can also introduce the historic Girl Scout badges included in the guide. Girls can compare early badges and activities with the badges they earn today. The guide even includes activities involving athletics, citizenship, writing, and outdoor skills.
Juniors and Cadettes: Think Like Historians
Older Girl Scouts can dig deeper into the primary sources. Have girls use the guide’s Observe, Reflect, Question process to examine one of Daisy’s letters or another historical document. (Assist in reading the cursive if necessary).They can identify what they see, make observations about Daisy’s life, and develop questions they would like to investigate. This turns Founder’s Day into an interactive history experience instead of a lecture.
The early Girl Scouting section is particularly useful for Juniors and Cadettes. Girls can examine historic handbooks, photographs, badges, camping activities, and even early Girl Scout sports. Challenge them to compare Girl Scouting in the 1910s and 1920s with their own experiences today.
Seniors and Ambassadors: Explore Daisy’s Leadership
For older Girl Scouts, Founder’s Day can become a conversation about leadership, citizenship, and creating change. The guide includes material about Daisy’s involvement with early Girl Scouting, World War I, and the suffrage movement. These sections provide opportunities to discuss why Daisy believed girls should develop skills, serve their communities, and become active citizens.
No matter the age level, the most important question to end your Founder’s Day meeting with is simple: “What would Juliette Gordon Low think about Girl Scouts today?” Then ask girls what they can do to carry her vision forward.
You can access the free Juliette Gordon Low Curriculum Guide from the Georgia Historical Society here: