October is a very important month for Girl Scouts - not only is it the official start of the Girl Scout year, it is also when we celebrate Founders Day, the birthday of our founder, Juliette Gordon Low (and as if she wasn't amazing enough, her birthday is on Halloween!). There are many things that troops can do to celebrate the month of October, here are just a few suggestions.
Take a picture of each girl, as well as group pictures. Make simple scrapbooks, using blue poster board and construction paper white daisies with yellow middles.
Hand Tracing: Each girl should have a buddy for this activity (introduce the idea of the buddy system in Girl Scouting). Each girl should help her buddy trace her and in her scrapbook. They should think about five special things about themselves and print them onto each finger.
Begin work on the Girl Scout Way Badge (Brownies, Juniors, Cadettes, Seniors, Ambassadors) or the Promise Center for Daisy Girl Scouts. These are great ways to get girls ready for Investiture.
Start planning your investiture ceremony. Get the girls in on the planning - it is their day! Get copies of the Ceremonies books put out by National or your Council (or look online). The ceremony can be simple or elaborate, depending on how much you want to tackle, but above all, remember that it should be meaningful to the girls and doesn't need to be an extravaganza.
Prepare food to be served at Investiture. A suggested recipe would be Yum-Yums as it is easy to prepare, cooks quickly, and freezes well. Make extra so that some could be eaten when they come out of the oven. Melt one cube of butter in a cookie sheet. Spread the following on top: 2 cups graham cracker crumbs, 1 1/2 cups shredded coconut, 1 package chocolate chips, 1/2 cup chopped nuts, 1 can sweetened condensed milk. Bake in 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. Cut into squares.
October 24 is United Nations Day, which commemorates the date the UN charter was adopted and the UN was officially in existence. Church belles ring and there are special prayers for peace and brotherhood (and sisterhood!) in churches of all faiths and parades in many cities. Perhaps you could learn about the UN and celebrate in some way.
In October, the people of Burma celebrate the end of Lent, a religious season of fasting, with a Festival of Lights. This celebration occurs at the end of the rainy season. Homes are decorated with lights, fireworks light the skies, and tiny rafts float along the rivers. Maybe you could make some little rafts and float them in the rain gutter or stream.
In October or November, the Hindu festival of Lights is celebrated. Homes and shops are decorated with clay lamps filled with mustard oil to guide Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth and fortune, back to earth. Houses are cleaned and accounts are closed. The floors in many homes are decorated with elaborate chalk drawings. Perhaps you could decorate the sidewalk and driveway with chalk drawings. Simple but FUN!
Make spider webs from black construction paper and glue yarn on in a web pattern. Pom Pom spiders can be made with pipe cleaners and wiggly eyes. Or, you can learn about the body parts of a spider and make a giant model of a spider out of newsprint or butcher paper - crumple for the body and head and rolled for the legs. Or you could make spiders and have races - cut the spider body out of sturdy paper or fun foam. Glue on wiggle eyes (remember spiders have eight of them!) and pipe cleaner legs. Glue a plastic straw onto the back and thread a double piece of string through it. Hand the loop of the string on a hook, and if you pull on the alternating ends of the sting, the spider will "climb" up it's web.
Halloween - Have the girls come in costume. Make Spooky Hands - put jelly beans in the fingertips of latex (make sure there are no allergies in your troop) and then fill with popcorn. Tie with a string and put a spooky Halloween ring on the ring finger. Or have a Halloween party at a children's hospital or some time of shelter.
Do face painting. Have the girls pair up and paint each other.
Bob for apples.
Pass "scary" things to feel: peeled grapes for eyes, cooked spaghetti for brains, pork and beans for guts, batting for hair, carved carrot for a nose, chicken wing bones for fingers, etc.
In October, Bolivians celebrate the Festival of the Alacitas, or Little Things, which is symbolic of hope for abundance in the coming year. There is a fair, in which all articles are miniature, with tiny dolls, household articles, jewelry, etc. There is a 6" high clay man named Ekeko. People put miniature articles on his back as a symbol of abundance. Make some of your own miniatures out of clay or fun foam.
Have a sock and mitten drive at your local school or community organization to collect these items for the homeless shelter.
Have an outdoor hike. Witness any fall changes. Take crayon rubbings, and some leaves as specimens. Be sure to take a long a trash bag to pick up any trash you may find along the way.
To the best of my knowledge, this booklet originated in the San Francisco area (the original specified places in that area along with including a San Fran phone number.) The ideas I have shared are not my own, though I have modified a few to include more updated information.
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