The Cadette Girl Scout Way badge is part of the Legacy badge set introduced in 2011. It replaces the retired Cadette Girl Scout Way badge.
Step 1: Lead a group in song[]
Singing brings us all together and helps us feel connected, strong, and proud. Girl Scouts sing in special places or to mark special times – or sometimes just for the fun of it! As a Cadette, it’s your turn to teach singing – and lead others in song.
CHOOSE ONE: Organize a songfest. With other Cadettes earning their Girl Scout Way badge, put together a songfest. Arrange a special gathering in which every girl brings a song new to the group and teachers the other girls to sing it.
FOR MORE FUN: Play (or learn to play!) the ukulele, harmonica, guitar, or another instrument to accompany a group as it sings.
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Teach an international song. To earn the World Trefoil badge, girls in 1940 learned “several songs sung by Girl Guides in their own countries.” Find at least one new song, learn to pronounce it, and teach it to others. Cadettes earning their Music Maker badge in 1963 got a great tip: “Ask someone who speaks the language well to teach you the correct pronunciation for three songs in another language.”
FOR MORE FUN: Make it a round! What about “Are You Sleeping” in its original French? OR
Help Brownies complete their Girl Scout Way badge. In step 1 of the Brownie Girl Scout Way badge, girls learn to have a great time singing songs everywhere they go. Practice your leadership skills by teaching them some songs you know!
FOR MORE FUN: Help Brownies make simple instruments to play as they sing.
More to EXPLORE Have a sign down. A “sing down” is a fun singing game. Two groups have three minutes to write down all the songs they know that contain a word like “love” or “friendship.” One group begins to sing the first song on its list, and the other group has to cross off that song on their list, if it’s there. When the first group finishes, the second group picks one of the remaining songs from its list to sing. The sing down continues until both groups run out of songs.
HOW TO TEACH SONGS[]
Check out these tips. They’re straight from the 1940 Girl Scout Handbook, and still as relevant as ever.
You need not be a trained musician to help your friends learn one of your favorite songs. But, you want the members of your group to have a good time while learning and singing. Whether the do often depends on the song leader.
If you remember the following suggestions, your teaching will probably be successful.
1. Be sure you know the song well yourself – both words and music. It is better to use a book than to make a mistake, but your group will have more confidence in you if you can teach a song without the help of a book.
2. Sing the songs through yourself (or the first stanza if it is very long) for your group, so it will know how the whole thing sounds.
3. If there is any special form to the music, such as first and third lines being alike, be sure to point this out to your singers. It will make things seem easier.
4. Let the group sing the song phrase by phrase, using words and music together.
5. Present your song in a way to interest your singers. Tell them how it was written or, if it is a fold song, when it was usually sung in the “old days.”
6. If the group is singing a round, part song, or descant, be sure each subgroup knows is part well before attempting to put all parts together.
Step 2: Celebrate Girl Scout Week[]
Maybe team up with some younger scouts -- particularly for the Junior Girl Scout Way (Junior badge) -- to celebrate.
Girl Scout celebrations honor women and girls who change the world. As a Cadette, celebrate Girl Scout Week. On March 12, 1912, the first 18 girls gathered for the first Girl Scout meeting in the United States. Every year, the week of March 12 is Girl Scout Week. This Girl Scout Week, celebrate the courage it took for our founder to start the Movement – and the courage, confidence, and character you show every day as a Girl Scout.
CHOOSE ONE: Focus on “be courageous and strong” from the Girl Scout Law. What is a courageous action you need to take this week to make the world around you a better place? Perhaps you need to find the confidence to resolve a conflict among girls in your class, inspire your peers to be kinder to one another, or look for sisterhood support to stand up to a bully. Do it! Talk with your Girl Scout friends about what you did and what you learned about character.
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Be confident and courageous: Speak up about issues affecting girls around the world.
Research a difficult issue girls face somewhere in the world, like lacking schools, health care, or adequate food. (The Take Action section of the WAGGGS website is a great resource.) Tell their story at a Girl Scout Week even at school or to another audience. Building awareness is a step toward action and improvement.
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Create a project honoring courage, confidence, and character of the Girl Scouts. In 1912, Juliette Gordon Low stood up for her ideal – creating strong female leaders by getting girls out of the parlor and into the world. Over the last century, how much good has the Movement she founded done in the world? Dive into history and find your favorite ways Girl Scouting has made the world a better place. Tell that story during Girl Scout Week as a creative writing, art, or drama project – and add a special thanks to Juliette.
Tip: Try to celebrate during Girl Scout Week to enjoy the power and joy of the whole sisterhood – or you can celebrate during another week of your choice. Gather other Cadettes together to celebrate the week with greater impact!
The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts[]
With 10 million Girl Guides and Girl Scouts from 145 countries across the world, the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) is the largest voluntary movement dedicated to girls and young women in the world. The countries are grouped into five regions: Africa, Arab, Asia Pacific, Europe, and the Western Hemisphere.
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“Sisterhood” doesn’t mean just sisters in your family. All the girls and women who are Girl Scouts try to live by the Girl Scout Law. That’s what unites us as a Girl Scout sisterhood. In your Cadette badge, use the Law’s 10 important lines to get closer to your sisters in the Girl Scout community.
The Power of Theater
Performing a skit for a group of people is not only fun, but, also, a great way to inform people about a situation of issue. The Ajoka Theater Group in Pakinstan travels around the country doing plays about the injustices that people face in Pakistani society – most are about issues that affect women and girls. The group focuses on educating people through its performances, sharing messages about peace and tolerance.
CHOOSE ONE: Throw a community sisterhood celebration. Host a party or event to celebrate an important woman in your community. Perhaps the first woman elected to office in your state or town, a great female business owner, or a particularly strong teacher or Girl Scout volunteer. At your celebration, share the ways this woman practices the Girl Scout Law through her accomplishments. Invite girls and women in your area, and plan get-to-know-you games that get everyone sharing common experiences and making friends – strengthening their sisterhood!
OR
Spotlight a hidden heroine. Find a Girl Scout volunteer in your community who exemplifies the Girl Scout Law and deserves recognition and praise. Talk to girls whose lives she has touched, and collect their stories about her. Find a way to celebrate and honor her work and achievements – perhaps a digital slide show, a short movie or skit, or an article for the Girl Scout community.
OR
Team up for sisterhood. Team up with your Cadette sisters to benefit girls and women – and put the Girl Scout Law into action. You could hold a forum on breast cancer awareness, assist at a women’s shelter or a women’s conference, or plan a way to commemorate women’s history month at your school. As you plan the event, consider the lines of the Law and how you’ll incorporate them into the project. For example, you’d use respect for authority and responsibility for what you say and do to coordinate a women’s history month assembly with your school administration. It would take courage and a wise use of resources to give that presentation – and you’d all be supporting your Girl Scout sisters to make it happen.
Step 4: Leave a camp better than you found it[]
It’s the Girl Scout way to care about the world around us – whether it’s a room, a campground, or the world. Practice by doing something good for a camp or other outdoor area, and, in true Girl Scout tradition, enjoy the great outdoors while you’re at it.
Girl Scouts greet one another across the seas and across the barriers of speech and customs. The Law and the Promise form a common ground for girls of all nationalities, and when Girl Scouts meet, they are not strangers to each other.
-Girl Scout Handbook, 1933
CHOOSE ONE: Clean up a hiking trail – or clear a new one! Before you head out, talk with the camp ranger or another staffer about what work needs to be done. You might take before and after pictures to post on a Girl Scout website or in a newsletter.
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Help clear an invasive species from the camp. Is there a problem plant like mistletoe, purple loosestrife, barbed goatgrass, or kudzu? Help the camp ranger clear the species from an area they choose.
FOR MORE FUN: Make a poster or a video to educate others about what you did and what they can do.
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Help with three general-maintenance tasks. Talk to the camp ranger about tasks that need tending to. Perhaps cabins need repairs or new paint jobs, or the dining hall could use its windows washed. Break out the elbow grease and get it done.
Neither an entertainment nor a religious service, the Scouts’ Own is an occasion on which girls express their deepest feelings about Girl Scout ideals.
-Cadette Girl Scout Handbook, 1963
Step 5: Enjoy Girl Scouts traditions![]
Traditions bring people together. A tradition can be a special food, a ceremony, a song – anything that’s passed along through the years. Find out about Girl Scout traditions so that you can carry them on – and maybe create your own!
CHOOSE ONE: Make a tradition “to do” list. Start a “to do” list of all the places you’d like to visit and the adventures you’d like to have as a Girl Scout. Then, find five Girl Scouts who have done something on your list, and talk to them about their experiences and what they did to get ready for them. Think about how you can earn the money to go on your trip and all the other things you’ll need to do to get ready for your Girl Scout adventures.
OR
Go global. First, learn to say the Girl Guide or Girl Scout Promise and Law in a language other than English. Then, find out about the Girl Guides or Girl Scouts in a country where that language is spoken, and see what they do there to help people. Finally, recite the Promise and Law to a family member or Cadette sister, and share what you’ve learned about the country you chose. You might use this opportunity to create a Scouts’ Own with an international sisterhood theme.
FOR MORE FUN: As girl did for their Language badge in 1953, repeat the Girl Scout motto in five languages.
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Learn the history of your Girl Scout council. Who were the women who have shaped Girl Scouting in your area? Could you speak with any of them about their favorite memories? You might, also, find out about places and programs in your council that have been important over the years. Are there early traditions and songs that are still part of your experience today? Share what you learn with your Girl Scout sisters.