Meeting Recap: Sunny the Sunflower

Teaching 5 and 6-year-olds what it means to be “Friendly and Helpful” was a great experience, and keeping things hands-on really helped manage their energy levels.

Goal: Understood what it means to be a “good neighbor” and practiced being helpful.
Materials Used: Sunny Petal story, yellow paper petals, markers, and “Kaper Chart” supplies.

Here is how our one-hour meeting went:

We’ve included some patch suggestions to give to participants. See all our fun patches.

0:00 – 0:10 | Arrival & Opening Circle

As the girls arrived, I had a “Friendly” coloring page ready on the table to keep their hands busy. Once everyone settled in, we formed our Daisy Circle.

The Girl Scout Promise: I led the girls as they repeated the promise together.
The Law: We focused specifically on the line: “I will do my best to be… friendly and helpful.”
Check-in: I asked each girl to share one “friendly” thing she had done at school that day.

0:10 – 0:25 | Story Time: Sunny’s Adventure

I read the story of Sunny the Sunflower. To keep it interactive, I had the girls participate throughout:

Every time Sunny was friendly, the girls gave a “thumbs up.”
Every time Sunny was helpful, they stood up and sat back down.
Discussion: We talked about how Sunny’s actions made her friends feel and why it was important to look for people who might need a hand.

0:25 – 0:45 | Practice: The “Helping Hands” Kaper Chart

To show them that being helpful is a real responsibility, we created our troop Kaper Chart.

I explained that for our troop to stay “friendly,” everyone needed to contribute.
Each girl decorated a paper handprint with her name.
We assigned “kapers” (more about this in a future blog) for the next meeting, such as Clean-up Crew, Promise Leader, and Snack Helper.
Activity: While they decorated, I walked around and interviewed them about how they helped out at home.

0:45 – 0:55 | Friendly Game: “Pass the Smile”

We sat in a circle for a quick game. I started by looking at the girl to my left with a big smile; she “caught” it and passed it to the next person.

Variation: We also passed a “friendly squeeze” around the circle with our hands joined behind our backs.
The Lesson: We concluded that being friendly can be as simple as a smile or a kind word.

0:55 – 1:00 | Clean-up & Closing Circle

Clean-up: We practiced being “helpful” immediately by seeing how fast we could tidy up the room.
Friendship Circle: We stood in a circle, crossed our right arms over our left, and took hold of our neighbors’ hands.
Friendship Squeeze: I started the squeeze, and once it traveled all the way back to me, we all shouted, “Goodbye, Girl Scouts!”

Leader Note: Since we had a few extra minutes, I let them finish their Sunny Coloring Page to take home as a reminder to be a “Good Turn” Girl Scout all week.