wwyd- girl scouts *updated pg. 2 happily* - Page 2

[natashaccat]

I second the advice to start you own troop.

[kittie313]

Originally Posted by natashaccat

I second the advice to start you own troop.

I literally know NOTHING about scouting or anything that even remotely resembles it. I was not allowed to do ANY of that kind of stuff growing up, so me leading a troop would be a monumental mistake I think. At least, not until I've had kids in the program for a couple years.......................

[ZanZansMommy]

Originally Posted by kittie313

I literally know NOTHING about scouting or anything that even remotely resembles it. I was not allowed to do ANY of that kind of stuff growing up, so me leading a troop would be a monumental mistake I think. At least, not until I've had kids in the program for a couple years.......................

I was never a girl scout & I started up a homeschool Daisy Troop 2 years ago. I had NO clue what to do, but I found a ton of stuff on the web & just went with it. My DD really wanted to do it & I didn't want her in our local troop. I also chatted with another leader & she gave me some hints. There really is a whole lot of information about running the meeting, ideas, field trips, etc. It's been fun & I'm looking forward to our girls moving on to Brownies.

[natashaccat]

It's really not hard. GSA has books with instructions on how to run a meeting and lists of suggested activities for each badge. You just have to figure out a place and time to meet and a few activities to do at each meeting. You'll probably find a few of the other moms are willing to do a ton of the work to help support you. You don't have to do the cookie thing if you can find another way to raise money to pay for troupe activities. As the troupe leader you get to select the parents and children in your troupe. The moms an our troupe have gotten to be really great friends and we've had a ton of fun figuring out to be "momscouts"

[kittie313]

I also lack a desire to lead a bunch of kids. I do fine with my own girls, but couldn't IMAGINE having to lead a group of kids like that. I never was good at leadership, I had a leadership position in high school (yes I know that was 10 years ago LOL) and just did not do well.

If I were to start my own troop it would take a lot of prayer on my part to prepare for such a thing, and probably getting my anxiety meds adjusted to accomodate the increased stress.................. lol

[spu]

hi, i'm a brownie leader, and wanted to mention two things.

i totally understand how frustrating it can be to find a troop. usually towns have a town registrar - and depending on how they advertise, it can be impossible to know what's going on. talking to moms is one of the best ways to find out and call the leader directly.

also, i took on the '01' leader role for our troop this year - and what a blast! don't worry about having no experience... everything is there for you to learn form and choose. there is a 'brownie try-it' book that has all the try-its listed, and all the activities to go along with it. so you can pick (or have your scouts pick) and go for it!

if you google brownie try-its you can see everything that is out there.

the only thing that makes things a bit 'organizational' is the training and paperwork. it's not much by any means, but necessary to cover yourself and your troop from an insurance standpoint. the training us usually free, or nominal depending on what you're doing. and they give lots of creative ideas too.

good luck!
susan

[kittywitty]

Originally Posted by spu

the only thing that makes things a bit 'organizational' is the training and paperwork. it's not much by any means, but necessary to cover yourself and your troop from an insurance standpoint. the training us usually free, or nominal depending on what you're doing. and they give lots of creative ideas too.

good luck!
susan

Maybe it depends on your area, but I strongly disagree. My troop this year has been nothing short of a full time job. Massive paperwork, multiple trainings 1+ hours away required, money I have to put in from my own pocket for meetings/training/etc., hours a week spent preparing for meetings with materials and such. We have to pay for our required visit to the state meeting, trainings, everything, all out of pocket. Plus co-leaders are hard to come by. I had two drop out and lose contact within a month and was left with 12-20 3rd grade girls by myself.

It is a LOT harder than people tell you. And stressful. I have so many parents who don't feed their kids, let them ride to meetings in the back of trucks and one time with 5 kids in the back of a 2 seater car (in the hatch)...most don't have decent homes and come to rely on you. That's nice, but very stressful having to deal with the parents. Not to mention when parents are an hour late because they forgot their kid and the girl is crying. Or the parents who show up yelling at you the first half hour of every meeting because they wish the meeting place was ___ instead of ___, etc. The house we have to use for gs also doesn't have plumbing/running water half the time and raccoon and mice issues. We can't use the kitchen-so there go a lot of cooking/science things to do.

I love my girls. They are the best part of being a leader by far. The bureaucracy and parents (not all! I have some fantastic parents!) are the big issues. You need to be prepared to deal with that. Not all areas are this bad. My SIL an hour north has fantastic flexibility and support from her area council. We do not.

[kittie313]

Happy day!!!!!

Well, today we took the kids out to get our family pictures done (ho boy what an event THAT was lol but beautiful pics so we're happy) and we stopped by a GS cookie booth at the mall. I decided to say something to the women running the booth that time, and they just *happen* to be the local Daisy and Brownie leaders! Soooo, Monday at 6pm dd2 starts Daisies and Tuesday at 6pm dd1 starts Brownies. And even more fun, the Daisy leader has her dd in her troop and they also use the same k12 school we do, she had her dd with her in uniform selling so my dd2 got to meet a girl in her troop (dd1 also got to meet a girl in her troop, as her leader had HER Brownie dd with her in uniform) They are soooooooooo pumped now, and are bugging me to go get their pants and shirts they need for uniforms (I'm going to wait til tomorrow morning right after breakfast when the stores are totally empty to do that, I hate crowds)

I just happened to be at the right place at the right time, and I got 13 boxes of cookies in the process (for the 3rd time in 2 weeks I bought at least a case worth of cookies) I also got my dad recruited to watch the girls that aren't going on their GS nights so that I can take them solo (they both want me there with them and I will GLADLY accomodate, I always wanted to be a girl scout!)

[Ellien C]

That's great. I'm so glad things are working out. FTR I know myself well-enough to know that I would NOT be a good leader for 12 first graders! But I happily do all of the finance stuff and I'm pleased to work with other adults. I think it's important to know where your talents lie and it's not with younger kids for me.

[kittie313]

Originally Posted by Ellien C

That's great. I'm so glad things are working out. FTR I know myself well-enough to know that I would NOT be a good leader for 12 first graders! But I happily do all of the finance stuff and I'm pleased to work with other adults. I think it's important to know where your talents lie and it's not with younger kids for me.

That is TOTALLY me! I can work with my own kids just fine and dandy with no trouble, but you throw me into a situation where I have to work with a bunch of kids and I literally shut down. I don't do well in those positions, and am more than happy to do whatever behind-the-scenes stuff they want and/or need. Heck I'll even sew patches or petals on the sashes/vests/smocks/whatever for EVERY child in the troop if they want me to LOL

But I also found out WHY we got lost in the shuffle, they combined 3 regions into one and the office for what was our region most likely lost us when the national office sent our paperwork and then when we called it just as they were starting to combine the offices. Soooooo paperwork issues lol No big deal really, and the kids learned a valuable lesson that sometimes patience and persistence is necessary to get something done. At least, I hope they learned that lesson LOL

I think I may be more excited about Monday and Tuesday night than the kids are..............

[AAK]

I am so glad it worked out for you! It sounds like it will be a lot of fun for both girls.

Amy

[jlpumkin]

I'm so glad it's working out!! Girl scouts is amazing and has been wonderful for my little one, but there is no way that I could be the leader - which is why I'm always volunteering to help support her in any way I can. I'm so happy for you that you found a troop!