Respecting Authority

Not included: For card-making activity: Markers, crayons, or pencils, etc. Remember, you don’t have to do all the activities.

Intro: Let’s make the Girl Scout sign and say the Girl Scout Promise together. Would anyone like to lead it?

On my honor, I will try: To serve God* and my country, To help people at all times, And to live by the Girl Scout Law.

*Members may substitute for the word God in accordance with their own spiritual beliefs.

Icebreaker: Have the girls say their name and tell about a career they would like to have when they are a grown-up.

Pick at least three of the following activities to complete to earn this petal!

You can do these all in one meeting or over several meetings if you wish. Feel free to be creative, and modify or supplement these ideas with your own activities around the theme of respecting authority.

Activity 1: Talk about it!

Ask the girls:

What does it mean to respect authority? (If they aren’t sure, let them know that this means giving respect to parents, teachers, and the people who set rules you should follow, etc.)

What are some examples of careers that carry a lot of authority?

What are some things you can do to show respect to your teacher in school?

What are some things you can do to show respect to your parents at home?

Activity 2: Act it out!

Tell the girls that some careers have a lot of authority. This means that they know a lot about a subject, and we should usually follow the rules they recommend. Ask the girls to act out the following situations to show what they would do:

A parent tells a kid that they need to clean up their room.

A police of cer sees a kid littering and tells them that isn’t allowed.

A teacher asks a kid to not talk during class.

A principal asks a kid not to use their cell phone at school.

A dentist tells a kid that they should brush their teeth twice a day.

Activity 3: Try a real police activity!

Tell the girls: One of the rst careers we think of when we think about authority is police of cers! Let’s try an activity just like police of cers would do: ngerprinting! Did you know that everyone in the world has completely different ngerprints? How might police of cers use ngerprints to solve crimes?

Give each girl a ngerprint card (included) and help them make their prints with the ink pad (included). Have everyone check for whorls, arches, and loops using the magnifying glass (included).

Activity 4: Show respect to those serving your community!

Have the girls vote on a community-serving profession they would like to make cards for; some options might include re ghters, teachers, healthcare professionals, police, military, etc. Have the girls decorate the blank cards in this kit to thank them for their service. Deliver or mail the cards to the organization to show the girls’ appreciation.

Activity 5: Have a guest speaker or go on a eld trip!

Ask a guest speaker to come in and share their expertise or lead the girls in an activity. Some appropriate elds might be police of cer, paramedic, re ghter, teacher, principal, librarian, doctor, dentist, dog trainer, scientist, college professor, etc. Ask one of the troop parents to come in and share their career, or parents may have a friend or relative who can do this for the troop. Or go on a eld trip to tour a related location; many police departments and rehouses offer tours for Girl Scout troops.

Wrap-up:

End the meeting with a friendship circle/friendship squeeze. Have the girls help with any clean-up tasks. Talk about what you are doing at the next meeting, get their ideas for activities, and share upcoming meeting dates, homework, volunteer needs, etc. with parents as they arrive for pick-up. Consider sending a follow-up text with this information if needed.