AHG Badge Help – Dawn of Our Country, Tenderheart #4

As promised, I am working on updating many of the American Heritage Girls badge helps that I previously posted.  I thought I would start with Dawn of Our Country.  My goal in updating them is to reflect the current badge number and requirement. And because the first badge help was written more than 10 years ago, some of the links may have changed. 

Today we are looking at Tenderheart requirement #4.  We all know the legend that Betsy Ross designed and sewed the first American Stars and Stripes flag.  In May of 1776 three members of the Continental Congress came to her is secret and asked her to make a flag.  The sketch they provided her included six-pointed stars.  She was able to convince them to use a five-pointed star instead because it is easier to create and can me made with only one cut. (More details about can be found here).  While there is little historical evidence to support this legend, it has been repeated so many times that it is accepted by many as fact. (more information available at the Colonial Williamsburg.org site).

To assist you in learning how to cut a five-pointed star, I am sharing the link to US History.org webpage (here)l that I shared the first time I posted this badge help, but I am updating the YouTube video.  The Crafty Mom does an excellent job of demonstrating cutting a star.  Unlike many other videos, she talks you through each step making it super easy to follow.  Check out her video here

NOTE: The requirements have been simplified here. Please be sure to read the full text in the American Heritage Girl Handbook to make sure you fully understand the requirements.

AHG Badge Help – Dawn of Our Country, Tenderheart #4

With the new badge book in hand, I thought it was time to rewrite some of my previous badge helps to correspond to the new handbook.

Today we are looking at the five-pointed star, also known as a pentagram, found on the American flag.  Can you imagine our flag with a six-pointed star instead of the five-pointed star? It just does not seem right.

Continue reading “AHG Badge Help – Dawn of Our Country, Tenderheart #4”

Spring Break in Washington DC

I have had several requests to update my list of badge requirements that can be covered while in the DC area.  With the Annual Cherry Blossom Festival and Spring Break around the corner, I thought now would be a great time.

Having family in the DC area has allowed us to visit on multiple occasions.  Every time we go we find something we missed before.  There is so much to do, that it is not possible to visit all of the places. But as you go to some of our nations landmarks, including badge work can make the trip a little more exciting, especially for non-history buffs. Continue reading “Spring Break in Washington DC”

AHG Badge Help – Our Flag #21


I love this time of year, flags waving… everyone wearing red, white and blue… pretending it is not hot.

Each year our AHG troop participates in the local 4th of July parade. This is the perfect time for a PiPa who is working on the Our Flag badge to take the lead. Requirement #21 has the girl create a booklet of patriotic songs and teach them to a younger unit. Continue reading “AHG Badge Help – Our Flag #21”