For the past few weeks, our family has been happily enjoying a trip of a lifetime including cross-country train rides to and from a cruise to Hawaii and Mexico. Over that time, Juliette was able to work on a variety of fun patches and several Daisy badges.
Queen Liliʻuokalani and Other Hawaii Council Patches
Before the trip, I contacted the Girl Scout Council in Hawaii to find out which of their council patches were available for an out of state Girl Scout Daisy. They recommended their Aloha Patch Program, WWII Patch Program, and Queen Liliʻuokalani Patch Program, so I ordered each of those along with their Girl Scouts of Hawai’i fun patch.
The Queen Liliʻuokalani Patch had a QR code attached which linked to a playlist to learn about her and her impact on Girl Scouts of Hawaii (she was the last Queen of Hawaii and sponsored the first two Girl Scout troops there). The Hawai’i fun patch didn’t have specific requirements, so Juliette earned it upon getting off the ship in Hilo on the big island. Although going to Hawaii isn’t likely required for the WWII Remembrance Patch Program, it does make it easier. This patch has 6 steps that each have 3 options. Each Girl Scout level is required to complete a specific number of steps to earn the patch. Juliette and I listened to music, learned about WW2, learned about identity cards and made one, and visited Pearl Harbor and did an activity there. (Side note: Juliette also became a Pearl Harbor National Memorial Junior Ranger while there – it was so cool to witness her take the oath and see her excitement!! She asked to add her pin to her uniform and I also plan to add her Junior Conductor pin from the train.) The Aloha Patch is unique because it was created for people outside of Hawaii to learn about the state, so we held off on earning this patch since we had so many others to work on.
Other Fun Patches
To honor and remember this trip, I found several fun patches online that Juliette will receive when we return home. I couldn’t find a train patch, so she is getting an I Love to Travel patch to represent the train and entire trip (I asked her questions about the trip and she drew pictures of her experiences). She is also getting a Cruise Ship patch (we explored the ship daily, but I had her lead some of our explorations to see what she’d discover) and a Hawaiian Luau patch (for attending, but she also took hula classes onboard the ship and performed with her class) to commemorate each experience.
Between Earth and Sky Journey
Juliette wants to earn every badge, so I took a look at the journeys and discovered that the Between Earth and Sky Journey is shared like a road trip in the journey book. Since we were on a road trip, we used that experience as a mirror of her Daisy journey. We were able to split the journey up over the course of the trip and do a little at a time so Juliette would have time to learn and process. We’re about halfway through the journey book and (out of three badge parts) she’s earned the bucket.
Animal Observer Badge
Before the trip, I asked in a Facebook group for ideas on which badges to work on. They suggested the council badges (see above) and the “in nature” badges (which we didn’t end up doing). I looked through the requirements of other badges and realized there were several other options as well. In Maui, Juliette observed chickens and roosters wandering the island near the port and at a nearby mall. She talked about them, copied their sounds and actions with her brother, and asked to get closer to see them better. There were other birds also, but mainly chickens. It felt like the perfect time to work on the Animal Observer Badge.
- Be an animal observer
- Play an animal observation game
- Focus on one animal
Juliette naturally did the first requirement, so I asked her some questions to help her learn what observation meant and understand that she had observed the chickens without realizing it. We followed the VTK for the second requirement: she and I chose animals to act out without sound and see if Daddy could figure out which animal based on actions alone (and a lot of giggling!). Then she drew pictures of animals and I helped her find interesting facts about each one (did you know that octopuses change color based on mood?)
Before Vacation…
I forgot to mention that Juliette joined a program called Stem Sisters that Girl Scouts of Western Pennsylvania is running for the entire GS year, October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2025. So far Juliette has earned the Stem Sisters patch for participating and the Space Science patch for completing the challenge for the first quarter of the program. Next up is Robotics! We also purchased the Stem box from the same council and it came with a fun patch for completing the activities. It was delivered when we returned from our vacation so it looks like we have another thing to look forward to!
Badge Number 7
Juliette has several badges and patches in the works and I think she may be able to earn most of the badges before becoming a Brownie (that’s her wish!). I’ll keep sharing as she keeps earning.
- Promise Center (and Home School patch)
- Democracy for Daisies (and 2024 Election patch)
- Make the World a Better Place
- Honest and Fair
- Space Science Explorer (and Mars patch)
- Friendly and Helpful
- Animal Observer (and fun patches: Girl Scouts of Hawai’i, Queen Liliʻuokalani, WWII Remembrance, I Love to Travel, Cruise Ship, Hawaiian Luau, STEM Sisters, Space Science)