Girl Scout troop leaders are experts at entertaining packs of kids. We reached out to Girl Scout volunteers across the nation, asking for their best group activities. A flood of inspiring stories and ingenious ideas came in from hundreds of troops. Here's one of our favorites.

TROOP: Junior Girl Scout Troop 1332
HOMETOWN: Littleton, Colorado
LEADER: Yvonne Davidoff

What They Did: For a community service project, the girls sprinkled catnip in socks and decorated them to look like mice, then they donated their creations to an animal shelter.

Why They Love This Idea: Adorable cat toys: What's not to love? And making the mice, says Lori Kennedy, mom to scout Victoria, also helped the girls to appreciate others and community service. "The girls learned that everyone has a different level of creativity, that it's okay to be different. And they saw that they have the ability to do something to help homeless animals."

Materials

• Dried catnip
• Small child's sock
• Fiberfill
• Yarn

• Permanent marker
• Felt
• Nontoxic glue

Instructions

1. Place a pinch of dried catnip in the toe of a small child's sock. Insert a handful of fiberfill, add more catnip, then tie the sock closed with yarn.

2. Draw a face with permanent marker and stick on felt ears with nontoxic glue.

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• February 2010