By Craig Fuchs
Hello Little New-Yorkers! Follow along with this post to create your very own scout badge necklace, and don’t forget to join us live every Tuesday and Friday at 3:30 pm when we sing a special Little New-Yorkers hello song, do silly stretches and exercises, and read a storybook — all from the comfort of your home!

This March we are celebrating Women’s History Month. We will feature bold and brilliant women of the past and present who refused to be silenced and learn their stories of perseverance and connect to their spirit of benevolence.
This week, we are inspired by the book Here Come the Girl Scouts! written by Shana Corey and illustrated by Hadley Hooper. This book tells the story of Juliette “Daisy” Gordon Low, a little girl with gumption who grew up to spread her love of adventure to other girls as the founder of the Girl Scouts. Today you can create your own necklace of special Little New-Yorker badges to celebrate your accomplishments, just like the Girl Scouts!

Supplies*

- Something to color with: markers, pastels, colored pencils, crayons or a combination!
- Scissors
- String
- Hole puncher
- Tape or glue (optional)
* A note on supplies: If you don’t have exactly the supplies listed, improvise! These projects are designed to be versatile, so feel free to use whatever materials and tools you have at home. And if your final product looks different than what you see here, that’s wonderful!
STEP 1: Color the Badge Templates
To start, pick three or four badges that you feel best reflect you. Are you creative? Are you a good friend? Or maybe you are just the best hugger in the world! Use markers, colored pencils, or crayons to color your badges. Use your creativity and make them colorful! What color is kindness? How about bravery? Don’t feel limited! If you want to, you can color more than four. Or if you are really proud of something that isn’t there, make your own badge!

After you’ve colored your badges, don’t forget to color the larger “Little New-Yorkers” badge too!

STEP 2: Cut Out Your Badges
Now it is time to cut out your colorful badges! Carefully cut along the black lines around each colored badge (be sure to only cut the outside edges). Don’t forget to cut out the Little New-Yorkers badge too! Once completed, you will have four or five pieces (depending on how many badges you colored).


STEP 3: Punch Holes in Your Badges
Punch two holes in each badge with your hole puncher, near the top, outside edge of each badge. If you don’t have a hole puncher, you can ask an adult to punch holes through the badges with a scissor blade, or just skip this step and use tape to attach your badges in the next steps.


STEP 4: Cut Your String
Use your scissors to cut a length of string that is long enough to fit comfortably around your neck and fit all of your badges. It is better to make it too long than too short!
STEP 5: Thread Your String Through the Holes of Your Badges
Take your first badge and carefully pass the end of your string through one hole front-to-back, then through the next hole back-to-front. When you are finished, the badge should lay flat on the string.
*If you skipped punching holes in your badges, then this is where you can use tape to attach them instead!
Repeat with the rest of your badges. What pattern will you create with your badges? Will you put the badges you are proudest of near the center of your necklace? Or maybe you will put them in the order that you accomplished them in!

STEP 6: Wear Your Badges With Pride!
Ask an adult to tie the necklace around your neck. Now wear it to show off your accomplishments to the world on all of your adventures!

Thanks for following along. We hope to see you at Little New-Yorkers each Tuesday and Friday at 3:30 pm!
Leave a Reply