Every Council's Own Girl Scout Fun Patch Program That Your Girl Scouts Can Earn from Anywhere: Culture, Diversity, and Equity

Welcome back to my very weird series in which I am listing, week by week, topic by topic, every single Council's Own Girl Scout fun patch program that your Girl Scouts can earn from everywhere!

My Girl Scout troop enjoys earning Council's Own fun patches, as well as official badges and retired badges. I usually look for a fun patch that they can earn in addition to a badge whenever we're planning a big project or a trip, etc. This list is essentially just my own research written down for easy reference.

This week's category: Culture, Diversity, and Equity! This includes fun patch programs that allow Girl Scouts to learn about other communities or cultures, and those that encourage them to take action to support and encourage diversity and equity and become empathic global citizens.

For this list, I only included fun patch programs that fit the following criteria:

1. Girl Scouts can earn this fun patch wherever they are. I did not include any fun patch programs that have site-specific criteria, unless I felt that those criteria would be easy to substitute and still maintain the point of the fun patch program. I also didn't include fun patch programs that require time-specific criteria that have already passed, such as patches programs designed for the 2020 COVID lockdowns. I noted in the description of each patch when substitutions would be required.
2. Girl Scouts can obtain the council's requirements to earn this fun patch. I found several instances in which the council still sells a specific fun patch, but has deleted all the requirements from its website. If I couldn't find an easy link to those requirements from another site, I did not include the patch.
3. Girl Scouts can obtain the physical fun patch. There were also several instances in which councils still host the requirements for a fun patch program, but no longer sell the patch (or, as in the case of a few GSAK patches, they have fewer than ten remaining). If it is unlikely for a Girl Scout to be able to obtain the fun patch, I did not include it. The link to purchase each fun patch is in the caption for its graphic.

CULTURE, DIVERSITY, AND EQUITY

All About Guide Dogs GSNC

All About Guide Dogs, Girl Scouts of Naussau County. Learn about the process of guide dog training and proper etiquette around guide dogs. This would pair well with the Girl Scout Senior Voice for Animals badge. 

GSH Aloha

Aloha, Girl Scouts of Hawaii. Explore the history, culture, and geography of Hawaii. Order the printed guide book and patches directly from the GSOH council shop. My two kids earned this fun patch together as part of a larger Hawaii unit study, and it encouraged them to delve into more cultural components of their study than they might have experienced without it.

American Indian Heritage GSMWLP

American Indian Heritage, Girl Scouts Lakes and Pines. Celebrate Native American cultures by exploring the history and geography of North American native peoples.

American Sign Language GSMW

American Sign Language, Girl Scouts of Montana and Wyoming. Learn the basics of ASL and about deaf culture. 

Black History Month GSNCCP

Black History Month, Girl Scouts of North Carolina Coastal Pines. Complete a variety of activities themed on Black History Month. The guide book includes plenty of content to fill all of your February troop meetings!

Celebrating Black History GSKSMO

Celebrating Black History, Girl Scouts of Northeast Kansas and Northwest Missouri. Learn about Black history and find Black role models by completing the program activities. This would be a good fun patch program for Girl Scouts to complete partly individually and partly as a group.

Chicas GSCNC

Chicas, Girl Scouts Nation's Capital. Explore Hispanic heritage and culture. 

Coat of Many Colors GSCSA

Coat of Many Colors, Girl Scouts of Southern Appalachians. Explore issues in poverty and food insecurity through a close reading of the Dolly Parton song. 

Cosplay GSWAP

Cosplay, Girl Scouts of Western Pennsylvania. Explore the world of cosplay and try your hand at making your own costumes. A trip to a Comic Con would be a fun field trip opportunity!

Discovering Hispanic Heritage GSNCCP

Discovering Hispanic Heritage, Girl Scouts of North Carolina Coastal Pines. Learn about Hispanic heritage and culture by trying out a variety of suggested activities. My Girl Scout troop earned this fun patch as part of our preparation for our Mexico trip last year, and the kids loved it!

D.I.V.E.R.S.I.T.Y. GSMISTS

D.I.V.E.R.S.I.T.Y., Girl Scouts of Michigan Shore to Shore. Complete activities that demonstrate the importance of respecting diversity in our society. 

Festival of Trees GSNCA

Festival of Trees, Girl Scouts of North Central Alabama. Includes multicultural, service, and educational activities centered on Christmas. My Girl Scout troop loves to have a Christmas-themed meeting, and actually, this last year, they went ham and planned an entire Christmas-themed camping weekend! I modified the Outdoor Art badge to be Christmas-themed for them, but I LOVE the idea of a fun patch they can earn this year. It looks like this patch program has patches that change yearly, so the troop can make a tradition of earning it.

Global Girls Club GSWPA

Global Girls Club, Girl Scouts of Western Pennsylvania. Focuses on becoming a global citizen. This fun patch pairs well with World Thinking Day activities and international travel planning.

Guide Dog GSSD

Guide Dog, Girl Scouts of San Diego. Learn about guide dogs and how to behave when they're present. This fun patch program pairs well with the Brownie Pets badge and the Senior Voice for Animals badge.

Heritage Hunt GSSWT

Heritage Hunt, Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas. Learn about the heritage and culture of a people.

HERstory GSHG

HERstory, Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia. Have important conversations about diversity, inclusion, equity, and equality. This is a comprehensive program that would fit into any Girl Scout year.

Hispanic Heritage Month GSK

Hispanic Heritage Month, Girl Scouts of Kentuckiana. Celebrate Hispanic culture and history.

History of Mardi Gras GSLE

History of Mardi Gras, Girl Scouts of Louisiana East. Learn about the history and culture of Mardi Gras, both in Louisiana and around the world.

Juliette Low Heritage GSMWLP

Juliette Low Heritage, Girl Scouts of Minnesota and Wisconsin Lakes and Pines. Discover more about Juliette Low and the early history of Girl Scouting. This fun patch program pairs well with the Girl Scout Way badges.

Lunar New Year GSK

Lunar New Year, Girl Scouts of Kentuckiana. Celebrate and learn about Lunar New Year.

Make Every Dance Step Count GSNCCP

Make Every Dance Step Count, Girl Scouts of North Carolina Coastal Pines. Learn about various culture, time periods, and physical skills through the lens of dance. This fun patch pairs well with the Brownie Dancer badge.

Mardi Gras GSSA

Mardi Gras, Girl Scouts of Southern Alabama. Learn about the history and culture of Mardi Gras. You will have to substitute a few site-specific activities, but Mardi Gras is so generally popular that it shouldn't be difficult. This is the perfect fun patch to fill a meeting during Mardi Gras!

Multicultural Awareness GSWCF

Multicultural Awareness, Girl Scouts of West Central Florida. Encourages kids to learn more about other cultures. I think this would be a good fun patch to pair with preparing for a World Thinking Day celebration, since many Service Units (mine included!) treat the event as a Geography Fair.  

Native American Heritage Month GSK

Native American Heritage Month, Girl Scouts of Kentuckiana. Celebrate the culture and history of Native Americans.

Peace GSSWTX

Peace, Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas. Complete activities on the subject of peace.

Peace it Together GSOH

Peace it Together, Girl Scouts of Ohio's Heartland. Complete the anti-bullying program to earn the patch set. This could pair well with a few of the older Girl Scout Journeys, or even as a program that an older Girl Scout troop hosts for their Service Unit as a Journey TAP.

Racial Justice GSCM

Racial Justice, Girl Scouts of Central Maryland. Complete this program packet on racial justice and cultural diversity. 

Sisterhood GSAK

Sisterhood, Girl Scouts of Alaska. Learn about strong female role models and forge stronger connections with fellow Girl Scouts. This is a good fun patch program to complete during Women's History Month.

Stand Against Racism GSCTX

Stand Against Racism, Girl Scouts of Central Texas. Earn this badge by learning more about Black history topics and exploring racism and what it means to be anti-racist. This fun patch pairs well with the Democracy badges and Senior Truth Seeker badge.

They are My Friends GSCTX

They are My Friends, Girl Scouts of Central Texas. Have a conversation about diversity, equity, and bias in your community and around the world. This fun patch pairs well with the Cadette Finding Common Ground badge, the Senior Truth Seeker badge, and any of the wellness-themed Journeys like GIRLtopia, MEdia, etc.

GSNC UMOJA

Uniting Members of Joint Ancestry, Girl Scouts of Naussau County. Explores African and African-American culture. My Girl Scout earned this independently, and especially loved learning about African-American choreographers and actors.

We Together GSCM

We Together, Girl Scouts of Central Maryland. Celebrate the similarities and differences between people.

What If I Couldn't GSGATL

What If I Couldn't, Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta. Brownies learn about physical disabilities and grow their empathy. Guest speakers who could personify different abilities and allow the Brownies to interact with all different types of people would greatly add to this fun patch program.text

Here's a look at my complete fun patch series:

• Arts and Crafts
• Culture, Diversity, and Equity
• Games and Sports
• Geography/History
• Outdoors
• Practical Life Skills
• Reading and Writing
• Science
• Service Learning
• Social-Emotional Skills
• Technology, Engineering, and Math

Follow my Craft Knife Facebook page for more Girl Scout resources as I exhaustively compile them!

A Quick and Easy Carnival Unit Study

 

Check out the glory that is homemade king cake on this Fat Tuesday that features a full foot of snow on the ground! Earlier today, I was outside attempting to shovel the porch, then the steps from the porch to the driveway, then the godforsakenly long driveway from the garage down to the street. I've been shoveling it practically daily this month, it feels like, when there was, you know, an inch or less of snow on the ground, and it always takes me something like an hour and it sucks.

But whoa. Shoveling a foot of snow is a whole other beast! I was all, "OMG this is hard. This is totally why I've heard that people have heart attacks shoveling snow every winter. OMG AM I HAVING A HEART ATTACK?!?"

Just when I was about to, I don't know... just, like, sit down in the snow and give up, pretty much, a totally random neighbor that I have never seen before in my life literally rolled up my snow-covered driveway in his tractor with an honest-to-god SNOWPLOW attachment on the front and was all, "How about I get your driveway for you?"

Friends, I cannot even tell you how thrilling it was to finish shoveling my porch steps while watching this guy plow my whole driveway for me. Like, right before he showed up it had become clear to me that I was NEVER going to get this driveway shoveled, it just was not in the realm of my possibility, and then BOOM! Half an hour later and I'm tucked back inside the house all warm and comfy and with a skid-free driving surface.

Also, I just need you to know how embarrassing I am. The guy introduced himself, told me who his wife is, and I have just now realized that not only do I not remember his name (I remember his wife's name, though?), but I distinctly remember that I definitely, absolutely did not introduce myself in turn. Just... WTF, ME?!? Peopling with other people is so hard!

ANYWAY, now that I've gotten you to join me in cringing in embarrassment (I'm definitely going to be remembering this in 40 years when I have 2:00 am insomnia...), check out this super fun, super easy, and pretty quick unit study that I pulled together to do with Will yesterday and today. We can pretend like it's part of her AP  Human Geography study, since it's a comparison/contrast of the traditions that surround the same religious holiday around the world, but it's also just really fun, and a chance to admire the spectacle of some beautiful performance art, and an excuse to listen to beautiful music, eat delicious food, and, if you're feeling wild, even dress up a little!

WORLD CARNIVAL BADGE ACTIVITIES

I found this fun Girl Scout badge to award Will after our carnival study. Depending on how strict your local uniform police are, it's appropriate for the front or back of a Girl Scout's uniform (it's going on the front of Will's uniform, because that's how we roll). Or it could just be a cute little patch for a kid's jacket or bookbag!

• New Orleans, Louisiana, holds the largest Mardi Gras celebrations each year.

• This year, even though the parades are cancelled, New Orleans is still doing a lot of fun activities. Check out their website here:

• https://www.mardigrasneworleans.com/

• Watch videos of parades from prior years:

• https://www.mardigrasneworleans.com/videos

• Definitely look at the Yardi Gras photos!

• https://www.mardigrasneworleans.com/news/parade-of-homes-2021-style

• Here’s a really good article about house floats from NPR:

• https://www.npr.org/2021/02/16/967761058/in-a-year-without-parades-mardi-gras-in-new-orleans-is-all-about-house-floats

• The king cake is a beloved Mardi Gras tradition. Read about it here:

• https://www.mardigrasneworleans.com/history/king-cakes

• Make sure you learn the following information:

• When/where they were invented

• What’s the secret inside them, and what it means

• The traditional colors, and what they represent

• Do an Instagram or Google Image search to find examples of king cakes.

• Make a homemade king cake using one of these authentic recipes:

• https://www.nola.com/entertainment_life/eat-drink/article_075cd21c-55b3-56e5-b62e-c514de40b4f0.html

• If you’ve got Spotify, here’s a playlist of festive New Orleans music:

• https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1Z8rT8bVkHdD78TIs19Mee?si=g6JKTjvmRcGUn9n3SGDrdg

• Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, holds the largest Carnival celebrations each year.

• Read this webpage to explore the various traditions of the Rio Carnival

• https://www.riocarnaval.org/rio-carnival/what-is

• Samba schools are about more than just dancing! Read about them here:

• https://www.riocarnaval.org/rio-samba-school/rio-samba-schools

• Search YouTube for streams of previous years’ parades entering the Sambadrome.

• Read here to see what you should search for, such as the children’s parade and the winners’ parade:

• https://www.riocarnaval.org/samba-parade/samba-parade

• Be aware: topless nudity is very common in the adult parades. 

• YouTube is also a good place to search for a beginner samba lesson. Can you figure out how to do a part of the dance?

• If you’ve got Spotify, here’s playlist of festive Brazilian music:

• https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0Ulu7CI97mVnnvil3yBAhO?si=Lced7e7XT5etxlvcvJmTQQ

• Venice, Italy, holds one of the oldest Carnival celebrations each year.

• Read more about its history here:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnival_of_Venice

• Masks are a very important tradition in the Venice Carnival. You can try making your own mask, or just read these tutorials to explore the process:

• Here’s a bauta mask made from cardboard, aluminum foil, and papier mache:

• https://www.instructables.com/Make-a-Bauta-Mask/

• Here’s a plague doctor mask made by sewing, although you could trace the pattern pieces onto cardboard and use tape, hot glue, and paint:

• https://totallythebomb.com/heres-a-free-pattern-to-make-your-own-quilted-plague-doctor-mask

• If you have Spotify, here’s a Putumayo playlist of Italian music:

• https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4sIMtfPQMRtWedyb8F83dt?si=ahRQ_kupSqym1XgboH7W5g

• Check out this website of other Carnival celebrations across the world:

• https://seeker.io/carnival-2021/

Since I really only wanted to do this unit as a fun study on what would otherwise mostly have been a school-free day for Will (mwa-ha-ha!), we didn't put in the time to make either of the Venice-style Carnival masks--although I am reserving the right to make myself that quilted plague doctor mask at a later time! 

Also, that king cake took plenty of time to make! I showed Will how to dye white sugar, but otherwise she baked the whole masterpiece from scratch completely by herself, and it is DELICIOUS.

Although, when I asked her if she'd put a prize inside the cake she said no, because she didn't want anyone to get it and then feel like they had to host a whole party themselves and make another whole king cake, since it's so much work.

Sweet, thoughtful, literal kid!

Handmade Halloween: We Studied El Dia De Los Muertos and Made Sugar Skulls

I used to have a kick-ass sugar skull recipe. And now it's gone, because the internet.

Seriously, it was awesome. It was vegan, because traditional sugar skull recipes are picky about their meringue powder, and big box store-bought meringue powder isn't usually sticky enough. But this recipe used cornstarch, which is easy to come by, and it made sugar skulls that were rock hard, perfect for even a six- and eight-year-old to decorate.

I mean, come on. Look at how kick-ass that is:

Unfortunately, cornstarch instead of meringue powder is all that I remember of that recipe, which is no longer at its previous link. The new recipe that I found is... well, I'll tell you all about how lousy it is momentarily.

But first: El Dia De Los Muertos! It's been several years since I studied this holiday with the kids, so it was high time to cycle back around to take another look at one of my favorite holidays while I was living in Texas.

The kids and I reviewed this Google Arts and Culture slideshow all about the offrenda, while I narrated and pointed cool things out to the kids. Here's another great introduction and survey to the entire holiday, although you have to know enough Spanish to be able to translate the captions:



Side Note/Personal Brag: My speaking knowledge of languages (including English) is terrrrrrrible, but my reading knowledge is pretty good, and if it's a Romance language, I can generally pick it up pretty quickly. Translating the Spanish in this video reminded me that when we drive through a non-English-speaking country, I CANNOT stop myself from attempting to read and translate every single sign that we pass. It's compulsive. I annoy everyone. I remind myself unpleasantly of a small child on the brink of learning to read, having to announce everything that they're sounding out right out loud, and I still can't make myself quit it. Anyway, when we were driving through Quebec, I was busily, compulsively reading and trying to translate every sign we passed, including some giant movie billboards with some blurbs for the movie Smallfoot. I don't know if Syd knew that I was correct because she knew the French, of if she'd seen the poster before in English, or if she just admired my effort, but she was all, "Wow, Mom! You're really good!"

And just like that, I was! I wasn't embarrassed anymore about my inability to not try to read out loud every sign, because trying to learn something and figure something out isn't embarrassing. Not at all, and especially not if your child is watching you do it and learning from you how to be herself, even if herself is weird and out loud, too.

So there.

We've seen Coco before (and the plan is to watch it again for a Family Movie Night one weekend soon, with lots of homemade El Dia De Los Muertos treats), but this short film is very similar in tone and intent, and only a few minutes long:



It's a good way to get the feel of the holiday, even if I did cry a bunch at the end.

After our sit-down lesson on the holiday, it was time to make some sugar skulls! Our first project, a makeover of Crystal Head skull shaped vodka bottles, came out super awesome and I'm going to keep them on the coffee table forever:

Heirloom White spray paint makes ALL the difference, my Friends!

The real sugar skulls, though?

Well, I did not find a great replacement recipe, apparently.

They mixed up okay--



--and looked fine when they came out of the mold--



--but they did NOT dry well. They began to crack almost immediately, and any steps that we took to repair them just led to them disintegrating faster, and in ways that looked more and more disturbing. The kids did try to embellish them, but the glue and paint just melted them more.

They're terrifying:

Oh, well. Process not product!

Now all that our mini study of El Dia De Los Muertos needs is a family celebration with decorations, delicious food, and a movie that I am guaranteed to sob through the ending of.

Because to me, it's not Halloween if you're not crying while eating a Reese's pumpkin.

To celebrate a different holiday, just substitute the appropriate novelty Reese's...