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Activity Descriptions

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At Home

• Search for “energy eaters” in your own home! Look for items that are wasting energy and make corrections.
• Have your Girl Scout time her showers using her favorite song. Ask her to teach the whole family how to do it.
• Use the shopping bag your Girl Scout made instead of getting a plastic bag the next time you go to the store together.

From: Girl Scouts River Valleys 

Household Elf

Snack

Snack Discussion

While enjoying snack, here are some things for girls to talk about:

We learned ways to save energy at our meeting place. Are there other ways you can think of to save energy at home or school?

o If the snack is locally grown, share that local food saves energy and often tastes better, as well.

Are there other ways you can brainstorm to save water at school or home?

Have you ever reused something for another purpose? What was it and how?

What other items around your home do you think you could reuse instead of throwing away?

From: Girl Scouts River Valleys

Household Elf

Game (10 min)

“Energy Eater” Hunt

1. Divide girls into groups of two–three. Give each group an “Energy Eater” card.

2. Explain that you’re going to work as a group to figure out how you can save energy at your group meetings. Give the girls a few minutes to find the places (if any) in your meeting space that are the “energy eater” on their card. They can mark on the card to keep track.

3. After they have checked the whole meeting space, have the girls talk in their groups about what changes can be made to save energy.

4. Have girls take turns sharing what they found and their ideas for solutions.

From: Girl Scouts River Valleys

“Energy Eater” Cards

Energy Eater Cards.pdf

Writing utensils

Household Elf 1

Be a light-saver.

For one week, make sure lights are turned off in rooms no one is using. Are there other energy-users you can switch off, too?

From: Girl Scouts USA

Go on an energy scavenger hunt.

With your family, look for appliances and electronics that are plugged in when they're not in use. Some of these things use energy, called "standby power," even if they're not turned on! Together, make a plan to conserve energy for one week.

From: Girl Scouts USA

Find out about three ways to use less energy.

Then make a plan with your family to be more efficient energy users. (Being efficient means you're careful to use only what you really need.) You might replace five regular lightbulbs with energy-saving fluorescent bulbs, clean the lint filter after every dryer load so drying takes less energy, or wash with cold water instead of using energy to heat water.

From: Girl Scouts USA

Game (10 min)

Sing in the Shower

1. Split girls into groups, so that each one can have a stopwatch or clock.

2. Explain that you can save water by taking shorter showers. Often, people lose track of time in the shower and waste water. Girls can keep their showers shorter by singing their favorite songs.

3. Have girls take turns timing how long it takes each girl to sing her favorite song.

4. Once everyone knows the length of their songs, have them use the pen and paper to figure out how many times they have to sing the song to time out a three-minute shower.

For example: If it takes a girl 30 seconds or .5 minutes to sing her favorite song, she would sing it six times in a three-minute shower (3 minutes/.5 minutes = 6 times).

From: Girl Scouts River Valleys

Stopwatches, watches with second hands or other items that keep time

Paper

Writing utensils

Household Elf 2

Use less water by taking shorter baths or showers for one week.

Did you know that for every minute you shower, you use about five gallons of water? That means if you take a 10-minute shower, you've used so gallons of water. And a bathtub holds 6o gallons of water! Try to trim your shower time to save water. If you take a bath, fill the tub only half full.

From: Girl Scouts USA

Turn off the faucet when brushing your teeth.

An average running faucet uses about two to three gallons per minute. If you left the faucet on for five minutes while you brushed your teeth, that means you wasted nearly 15 gallons of water! Make a sign to put next to the sink to remind your family to do the same.

From: Girl Scouts USA

Find three ways to save water.

Then team up with your family to make a water-saving plan. Try following the plan for two weeks. Need some ideas to start? Try running the dishwasher only when it's full, or when washing dishes, don't let the water run. What other ideas do you have?

From: Girl Scouts USA

Craft (15 min)

Green Shopping Bags

If you don’t have enough extra pillowcases, you can find inexpensive options at local thrift stores.

1. Explain to girls that plastic bags not only take energy to make, they also end up in landfills and the ocean where they harm the environment. Explain that they are going to make reusable bags out of old pillowcases. Then, they’ll not only use fewer plastic bags, they’ll also keep the pillowcase out of the garbage.

2. Have each girl color her pillowcase with the markers. Encourage girls to incorporate some of the things they’ve learned about saving energy.

3. As girls are coloring, have an adult cut two holes (one on either side) of the pillow case near the open end that will act as handles for the bag.

4. Encourage the girls to keep track of how many times they use their “new” bag rather than a plastic bag.

Variation: Use an old T shirt

Brownies Make a Reusable Bag.pdf

From: Girl Scouts River Valleys

Old light-colored pillowcases (one per girl)

Permanent or fabric markers

Sharp scissors

Tablecloths or newspaper to cover tables

Household Elf 3 and 4

Make a natural cleaner.

Then use it to clean every week for a month. Be even greener by using a cloth or an old T-shirt instead of a paper towel!

Glass Cleaner

Put 1 cup of water into a plastic spray bottle.

Add 1 cup rubbing (isopropyl)

alcohol and 1 tablespoon of white vinegar. Use the mixture to make windows and mirrors sparkle!

Tile Cleaner

Pour 1 cup of white vinegar and 1 cup of water into a plastic spray bottle and shake.

Use the mixture to safely clean kitchen and bathroom counters and tiles.

From: Girl Scouts USA

Make a natural spray to use on plants, flowers, or

vegetables.

Then use the spray for two weeks and write down what you see. Did the spray help scare away bugs that hurt garden plants?

Gardening Spray

Put 1 cup dish soap, 1 cup vegetable oil, 1/2 cup baking soda,

1/2 cup skim milk, and 1 tablespoon of water into a plastic spray bottle. The mixture includes things that insects don't like, so spray on plants to,, safely keep bugs away. Be sure to test one or two leaves first to make sure the mixture will not bother the plant. Because the milk will sour, pour out the mixture and clean the bottle when you are finished.

From: Girl Scouts USA

How much trash can you stash?

Weigh your trash for a week.

Then see how many pounds you can reduce in your trash.

Make containers for different types of recycling, and help family members use them. Is there anything in your recycling you could reuse, such as old jars or plastic bags?

FOR MORE FUN: Find out if your community has a com posting plan, or if your family or a neighbor could use your compost. If so, make a container for compost, too!

From: Girl Scouts USA

Recycle plastic bags.

Collect 20 leftover plastic bags and take them back to a store that recycles them. Recycled plastic bags can be used to make plastic lumber for decks or swing sets and polar fleece for vests and coats!

From: Girl Scouts USA

Donate toys and clothes.

With your family, go through your toys and clothes and set aside what you don't play with or wear anymore. (Make sure anything in this pile is in good enough shape that someone else could use it.) Then go online together and find a place that accepts donations. Bag up your things and drop them off!

From: Girl Scouts USA

Clean or replace an air filter.

Find out how filters help the air, then with an adult check the filters at your home. (If you have a central heating and air-conditioning unit, the filters might be in vents in the wall.) If they need cleaning or replacing, team up to follow the instructions to help do it.

From: Girl Scouts USA

Discover natural filters.

Put a plant or other natural air filter in your favorite room. For two weeks, notice if you can tell a difference in the air, and write down how you feel.

FOR MORE FUN: Grow the plant from a seed, or decorate the

plant pot. (Or both!)

From: Girl Scouts USA

Make a natural air freshener.

Work with an adult to make your own fresh scent for the house. Team up to boil 2 quarts of distilled water with 2 tablespoons of white vinegar. Add a few drops of scented oil or fruit and simmer for a few more minutes. One fresh scent to try is two sliced lemons with 1 tablespoon vanilla extract.

From: Girl Scouts USA