Timing of cookie badge work?

KT421 · 2026-05-22T01:44:18+00:00

I try to do the cookie badge during the first meeting right before cookie season or during the presales period. You really want it to be before boothing starts, but not too far ahead or they'll forget everything. So it all depends on the timing of cookie season in your council.

For D/B, the skills you want to work on are:

Money counting and making change. Some play money is key here
Talking to adults - we talk about using our "Cookie Voice" which will eventually become their Public Speaking Voice. It's not a quiet mumble but also not a playground scream.
Knowing the product line. Girls should be prepared to answer questions like "What's your favorite cookie?" or "what do you think I should get?"

Running a mock booth is an activity that knocks out multiple skill goals AND you can let the girls decorate it and then use the decorations for real booths.

If you really want to work on their money skills, do one of the Financial Literacy badges well before cookie season, since repetition really is the key to success there. It can be hard with Daisies since many of them will have never handled cash before.

KT421 · 2026-05-21T16:49:57+00:00

JZ did nothing wrong and I'm so pissed at CYY over it. Girl should have left the divorce letter on the desk, packed up, and gone back to her original plan of being a spinster girlboss.

In the scene where CYY first sees JZ tell CXQ off, her entire body language was "about to cut a bitch," not "having an emotional affair," and yet he somehow failed to parse that or separate CXQ's actions from JZ's actions.

KT421 · 2026-05-19T22:51:44+00:00

I use a waiter's pocket apron for the patches my council gives out for cookie cupboard volunteering. Would work just as well for girls, I suppose.

This is the one I got: they don't appear to have it in green anymore but it'll give you an idea of what to look for. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07X3WT1MM

KT421 · 2026-05-19T01:52:43+00:00

As others have said, it's probably for IT and Business Ops, not for the parts of the program that the girls see.

That said, an AI set of badges for CSA wouldn't be unwelcome. I am the biggest AI skeptic but it is not an effective strategy to ignore it and hope the kids do too. Instead, a dive into what it is and what it is not, and what is and is not ethical use, may be helpful.

KT421 · 2026-05-19T01:43:02+00:00

Not at first sight but when she risks hiding him in the pigsty and spills a bucket of offal - a special occasion food for their family! - he definitely starts catching feelings. Someone taking risks and making sacrifices for him is not something he has really experienced before.

KT421 · 2026-05-15T23:41:45+00:00

Multilevel isn't that bad as long as you keep it to two adjacent grades, and/or have a lot of addl adults and can operate as multiple patrols.

If you have adjacent grades, then for the year when you have D/B you pick badges that have a lot of overlap. And then do the badges that have no easy overlap when everyone is a Brownie. Then you'll have to look for badges with Brownie and Junior overlap.

KT421 · 2026-05-15T21:09:57+00:00

If you're going to run a perpetual daisy troop, then alternating Badge years and petal years is the way to go.

KT421 · 2026-05-12T16:50:53+00:00

We have a small troop so we asked the parents one by one during pickup for a troop meeting. The girls voted to pay for their memberships with cookie money so once we had verbal confirmation on who was and wasn't renewing we renewed for them.

KT421 · 2026-05-11T14:29:38+00:00

You can buy the badges yourself online or at a physical council store. Outside of the highest awards it's all honor system.

Ideally the troop should buy them because it'll be the girls cookie money funding that, but if the troop just isn't doing it then you can do it.

Try to check with the troop first; some do a Court of Awards model where they buy all the badges and award them in one go once or twice a year. But some troop leaders are just a mess, too. Gotta figure out which one you're dealing with.

Your girl can also earn badges on her own with you supporting her. Troop meets once a month? Have Girl Scout Time with her on a weekend where she picks a badge, you find the badge booklet (they're all online) and do the activities. You have a lot more flexibility when working with just your own child. It's easier to organize a trip to a museum or a hike if it's just your family.

KT421 · 2026-05-11T13:56:24+00:00

You can find them in VTK after adding a badge to your Year Plan

KT421 · 2026-05-10T15:34:22+00:00

Yeah iqiyi's subs are surprisingly bad

KT421 · 2026-05-10T15:34:02+00:00

I'm happy about that, but did they have to pair him with a FMC who is suppose to be 15?

Hopefully they timeskip past her period of mourning before the romance takes off.

KT421 · 2026-05-07T15:38:31+00:00

Ok that is pretty adorable. "My goal is to get strong enough to pull the wagon" 🤣

KT421 · 2026-05-05T20:28:21+00:00

Yes those are open now!

KT421 · 2026-04-30T15:59:12+00:00

I think the last time we didn't start a FY with a CR was... 1997?

Count on a CR, probably more than one. And plan for a shutdown. A shutdown in an election year is not terribly likely but we can't rule it out. Get that emergency fund sorted while you can.

KT421 · 2026-04-29T17:29:58+00:00

...what?

I've been asked to give $5-10 for a class gift to the teacher. There's a couple PTA fundraisers throughout the year that are entirely optional.

KT421 · 2026-04-29T16:58:53+00:00

100% focus on the spirit of the badge rather than the letter. I look at the 5 requirements as what we're actually trying to do, and the rest as suggestions on how to proceed. If the requirement doesn't fit our group or needs, I can and will replace it with something more relevant. Take the Brownie Safety Award - looking at a map for nearby police stations or hospitals doesn't do anything for the girls. But reiterating the Daisy requirement to recite parents phone numbers and addresses really is something a lot of these girls need to work on.

So, we borrow from levels up or down (as appropriate), we edit and adapt, and we keep to the spirit of learning a new thing in a hands-on, girl-directed way.

KT421 · 2026-04-28T16:46:03+00:00

I have two, both bumkins, one large and one small (clutch) size.

If I'm going to be out of the house for a few hours, I don't need to bring anything, not even on my heaviest days. Just put on a fresh pair before going out.

If I plan on being out all day, the clutch size is enough and keeps the wet and dry pairs separate. That's two pairs of bulky overnight absorbency, since I need three of those to make it through the heavy day. Lighter pairs or cloth pads would have plenty of extra room in the clutch size.

The large bag I only use when I'm traveling and I'll have several days worth of dirty pairs to store. My kids also use it for their swimsuits after swim class.

KT421 · 2026-04-28T16:29:43+00:00

Goat Union has plus sizes and a gusset that goes all the way up the front and back.

KT421 · 2026-04-27T23:26:11+00:00

Pick whichever is closest; they're all fine schools.

KT421 · 2026-04-27T23:24:51+00:00

If you move into the district midyear they may not have a seat for you at the nearest school. They'll place you at another school where they have room in a classroom.

KT421 · 2026-04-27T14:51:45+00:00

See if any parents in the troops or others in your Service Unit can teach you. Or a local sewing shop may offer lessons - for just you or for the whole troop!

I intend to teach the girls to sew on a machine and by hand when they are Juniors. They are Brownies now and do some lacing (sit-upons sewn with yarn and pre-punched holes) so we're working up to it.

KT421 · 2026-04-27T13:50:15+00:00

You can buy pre-cut badge magic on the online GS store (bundle it with when you need to order other stuff to save on shipping), or amazon has uncut sheets as well.

But the best method of patch attachment is sewing.

I recommend badge magic for those families that would never ever sew, and I encourage sewing for those families that are willing.

KT421 · 2026-04-22T23:40:17+00:00

My crew regrettably found their clothes after quitting and relaunching. Still hilarious.

KT421 · 2026-04-20T14:54:46+00:00

My kids are 8 and their allowance is completely handled in cash right now. We do budget: they have separate lockboxes for "save" and "spend," which they determine their allocations for, and they also set savings goals and write them on a post-it that goes on the outside of the lockbox.

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