Girl Scout/Guide Activities - Page 2

[velochic]

Thank you Marsuipilmom! That was very helpful. You are right that I may be remembering things from my later years as a GS. Dd is 8, so this is her 2nd year of Brownie Scouts, 3rd (?) I guess in scouts.

The skills I speak of, though, are things we do together, the two of us, so I don't think they are beyond the age abilities. She already sews clothes for her dolls, using my machine, for example. My mother, however, was a seamstress for 20 years and I sew as well, so she is involved in this skill at home more than average. I think, though, that it could benefit the other girls, even at 8, to at least be able to sew a simple seam or reattach a button.

Dd is a very outgoing person, so I was surprised when she said that she didn't want to try another troop. Her school is a private school about 30 miles from our house and she knows absolutely, not a single girl where we live. Not even one. I have a homeschooling friend in town with a dd and she and my dd used to know each other when they were smaller, but with our schedules we rarely connect and the kids never connect. It's been 4 years, probably since dd has even seen this one little girl in town that we know. They wouldn't even recognize each other (and the other little girl is no longer in GS, AFAIK). It would be a good experience for dd to meet new girls, though. I could at least call the regional coordinator to get a phone number.

As it is, though, I think I'm just going to let dd continue with Brownies next year and perhaps look at another activity through 4-H. It's good to know what normal expectations are, though. I appreciate everyone's input.

[mtiger]

My daughter's former (last) troop was, unfortunately, on the lame side. Lots of different reasons for it, some involving the leader, some the girls, some the parents. It wasn't even the fact that it was more of a "crafty" troop than it had started out as. The major factor that led to my daughter's quitting was that the girls were allowed to form little cliques, which the leader did nothing about - my girl got fed up with being the odd girl out.

So, in all honesty, our experience with GS wasn't fortunate. So we just do the outdoorsy stuff on our own.

[bec]

I haven't read the entire thread, but it seems to be all about the leaders. As a leader for my daughter's brownie troop for the last three years, we are looking at bridging them to Junior's at the end of the summer. We have done the Brownie Quest, done more badges (try-its) than their vests can hold, and done tons of outings, field trips, and camped 5 times (looking to do actual tent camping this summer). We are going to do the WOW Journey soon, too.

We usually have some sort of lesson, team building, leadership lesson, or greater community lesson that we incorporate into our activities. Lately, as they reach the 9 year old girl issues, we have been focusing on friendship, and what that means to everyone. So, we have done a series of meetings about that, including being a friend to our sisters (taking the "be a sister to every girl scout" out of the Girl Scout Law literally), being a friend to our family, and a friend to our community.

Service projects feature largely in our overall plan. We started a recycling program at the church we have our meetings (they had none), have participated in a food drive every Thanksgiving/Christmas, have weeded and done various chores for the church we meet in, have gone to activities that are really clothing drives for women's shelters (this came out of our cookie money), and have plans for more. This is only a small sampling of the service projects we've done.

We have also used the camping/outdoor activities to give the kids some fun outdoor activities, basic survival and woods skills, while teaching them the value of cooperating and working together with their peers.

We have had some personality conflicts (hence the friendship theme lately ), but have worked through most of them with kindness, and persistence. This has been a great experience, not only for my daughter, but for me as well. I feel like I am having a hand in shaping this group of girls in my community and am really contributing something of real value to them that they will take away for their entire lives.

[mumm]

bec- Do you have room for one more girl? I'll do prep work and bring snack each week!

[Linda on the move]

Originally Posted by velochic

The skills I speak of, though, are things we do together, the two of us, so I don't think they are beyond the age abilities. She already sews clothes for her dolls, using my machine, for example.

It is VERY different to do something one-on-one with your own child and to do it with a whole group of girls.

VERY different.

machine sewing, IMHO, isn't a great group activity because everyone needs a machine, and if every machine is different and the kids don't know how to use them, nothing will get done.

I also think you should read through the Brownie books to see what activities GS conciders appropriate. Your list doesn't line up with the Brownie Try-Its at all.

Since you don't go to the meetings, how do you know everything they do? A lot of the things we did back when I was a leader didn't show at the end -- we sang songs, we played games, we did science experiements, etc. We always had a circle time when we talked, planned, etc.

But the crafts were the only thing the parents saw at the end.

[velochic]

Originally Posted by Linda on the move

It is VERY different to do something one-on-one with your own child and to do it with a whole group of girls.

VERY different.

machine sewing, IMHO, isn't a great group activity because everyone needs a machine, and if every machine is different and the kids don't know how to use them, nothing will get done.

I wasn't talking about using a sewing machine at a meeting. For that, they could learn hand-stitching. They could certainly have an outing to someplace like Joanne Fabric on a weekend for a sewing lesson. I have seen places in my city that even mention bringing in troops for a lesson and a try-its badge.

Originally Posted by Linda on the move

I also think you should read through the Brownie books to see what activities GS conciders appropriate. Your list doesn't line up with the Brownie Try-Its at all.

Um... yeah, I already did that. Here is just the quick list I came up with that aligns with most of my list:

- Stitch It Together
- Creative Composting
- Citizens Near and Far
- Earth and Sky
- Eco-Explorer
- Make It, Eat It
- Manners
- People of the World
- Safety Sense
- Outdoor Adventurer
- Science in Action
- Science Wonders
- Ready, Set, Go Camping

Originally Posted by Linda on the move

Since you don't go to the meetings, how do you know everything they do?

Because my dd *tells* me everything they do. And because my dh is usually there for the last half of the 1.5 hour meeting when picking her up... and he tells me as well. It's also pretty evident by the number of badges/try-its that the girls get each year.

[bec]

Originally Posted by mumm

bec- Do you have room for one more girl? I'll do prep work and bring snack each week!

We love that kind of parent! We are at our max of 13 girls, though!!

Originally Posted by velochic

- Stitch It Together
- Creative Composting
- Citizens Near and Far
- Earth and Sky
- Eco-Explorer
- Make It, Eat It
- Manners
- People of the World
- Safety Sense
- Outdoor Adventurer
- Science in Action
- Science Wonders
- Ready, Set, Go Camping

We've done all these try-its, and a bunch more!

[velochic]

Originally Posted by bec

We've done all these try-its, and a bunch more!

Ditto Mumm... do you have room for one more?

Dd's group has done 6(?) I think in the past two years. Because it's tied to school, they do *nothing* over the summer when there would be adequate time to do SO much!

[lifeguard]

FWIW's very few units operate over the summer months. It's just too hard with how many people go away so most units don't try it. We usually do at least a camp though.

[bec]

We usually meet a few times in the summer, if not quite as regularly as during the school year.

[aelf]

Some girls might be able to do the hand stitching, others might not. I was a Daisy Leader last year, and will be a Brownie Leader next year (I'm at the mercy of my class schedule, so was unable to be a Daisy Leader this year. Thankfully another parent stepped up!).

The truth of the matter is, our meetings are inevitably planned around what all the girls can do. This means while other Daisy troops were doing more complicated crafts, we weren't. We have several girls who still struggle with sitting for more than 3 minutes at a time. I'm not about to make some of our more active girls feel left out or set them up for failure by planning things that require lots of sitting. It's the end of the day, they've been in school, this is FUN!

We have parents who struggle to get their girls to meetings, much less to outside activities. We're a service oriented and craft based troop right now, so that's a lot of stuff. Our meetings and activities need to be planned to accomodate children who will show up late, or leave early. It's just how things are.

I'm currently working up a plan on how to teach our Daisy group to finger knit. Many 5 year olds (and younger!) do this very successfully. I'm pretty sure there are several girls in our troop who are going to have a lot of trouble with the paying attention + fine motor + delayed gratification aspect. So I'm trying to work up something that'll work for ALL the girls. Because that's what Girl Scouts is all about.

And we have begged and pleaded for more parental involvement. I am not an outdoorsy type, but I would LOVE someone to volunteer to plan a hike, or a lesson on birds, or trees, or something. A short, outdoor something, with lots of running around. I'd help! But I can't plan it -- I can't tell an oak from an elm. The parents apparently all are tied up. That's frustrating. Especially since just about all our parents could be making the same criticisms I'm reading here "it's just a craft troop, where's the outdoor stuff, etc." (I don't know, maybe they're fine with it. I hope so. Leading a troop is a LOT of work, and most of us do it because we want our girls in GS, not because we had a deep seated need to lead a GS troop. )

In any case, get involved. If you can't be there for the meeting, ask if you can plan something, either a meeting for someone else to run, or a weekend adventure. Offer to help prep. Offer to help with paperwork. There are TONS of things that need to be done that don't happen at meetings.

[AAK]

If the troop leader sticks to the "journeys" as they are written, I would think it would be awfully boring.

We are a multi level troop. I run the Daisies and I must say I am really an awesome leader. I do the journey (very loosely interpreted--I didn't even have the girls get the books) and we did 5 petals last year and 5 petals this year. Some things we have done are:
Game night (for the honest and fair badge)
Lot of crafts (my girls have expressed a desire for arts and crafts). We have painted frames and put a picture of the troop inside, tie dye shirts, votive holders, pottery, towel origami, bath salts, etc.
Caroling at a retirement home.
Tree planting on Earth day.
End of year tea party (last year)
End of year horse back riding (this year)
We learned about strong/courageous women in history and of today, talked about different ways to be strong and courageous and then made a journal.
We had stations one day (two small simple crafts, one was an active game) While they were doing the activities they answered questions about themselves. Then we had a "quiz show". This was specifically for the girls to get to know each other.

Amy

[AAK]

Originally Posted by velochic

I just remember doing things like learning simple stitches for sewing, candlemaking, simple first aid and later CPR, how to recognize trees by leaves and bark, recognizing some edible plants for foraging, ways to make a fire, proper ways to set a table, caring for animals. When we were older, I remember being taught things like how to make and serve coffee, bake various things, and many other "homemaking" activities... these are things I remember just off the top of my head.

Dd's troop is always making "friendship bracelets" or some such activity, which I don't find to be very enriching. We pay $100/year in dues and the girls earned quite a bit from cookie sales, so it's not like the troop is hurting for money.

I have to admit that "traditional homemaking" is something that I really enjoy and enjoy teaching dd about, we like to camp, we cook over open fire and when she gets older, I'll teach her how to bake over open fire using a dutch oven, we garden together, and tend to our herbs and flowers and such... more hands-on stuff. I thought she'd get more of that at Girl Scouts because I did 30 - 35 years ago.

I see now that it's not necessarily the case. I think I'm going to take a look at 4-H. Seriously.

Just had to add that our junior scouts (4th and 5th graders) have done all the bolded stuff.

Amy

[bec]

I will echo that the very young Brownies and Daisies may not be able to do the fine motor skills or have the attention span for fine work like stitching. I know we just taught our girls to sew a button and do a little embroidery, and they're mostly 3rd graders. It was tough for most of them, actually. But, we had time, and patience, and they all sewed their buttons and stitched a little on a swatch of fabric. I took everybody's fabric and sewed it onto a larger piece as pockets. It's now our troop flag, and holds their names, the colors of their small groups, and anything else we need to put in there. It's useful, and the girls love to show it off to their parents each meeting. But, it was a HARD activity. My daughter is one of the ones that really struggles with fine motor skills, so I know the dilemma.

As far as doing outdoorsy stuff, while not being inclined in that direction, we did a few try-its through different local programs. We got a wildflower try it (a local council try it) through a local museum that took the kids around their grounds, showing them various local flowering trees, bushes, and bulbs. It was very cool, and we all learned stuff. I had my husband come in and talk about some basic first aid (he loves that sort of thing), and what to do if you are lost in the woods. A local forest preserve offers maple syrup hikes in the early spring for the public (scout troops are specifically invited). The resources are out there, if the kids' interest is. Also, the local council should have resources available. Sometimes they (well ours, maybe) are not great about reaching out to newer troops, so it is up to the leaders to reach out to their council. I know in the past year, the other leader and I have learned the most from talking to leaders of other troops of older girls. It has really helped us to shape our own leadership goals and style.

I think Girl Scouts is really about leadership, and passing on that responsibility to young girls. It's about caring for themselves, each other, and the community around them. I think there are many ways to achieve that, and the camping stuff is just one aspect of it.

[mtiger]

Originally Posted by aelf

And we have begged and pleaded for more parental involvement. I am not an outdoorsy type, but I would LOVE someone to volunteer to plan a hike, or a lesson on birds, or trees, or something. A short, outdoor something, with lots of running around. I'd help! But I can't plan it -- I can't tell an oak from an elm. The parents apparently all are tied up. That's frustrating. Especially since just about all our parents could be making the same criticisms I'm reading here "it's just a craft troop, where's the outdoor stuff, etc." (I don't know, maybe they're fine with it. I hope so. Leading a troop is a LOT of work, and most of us do it because we want our girls in GS, not because we had a deep seated need to lead a GS troop. )

I volunteered! The response was always "Oh no, that's okay! I've got it under control! But if you want to come along...." Absolutely! And I did go on all of those trips. But... I generally felt like my hands were tied in a lot of ways. Our leader would make up a chore chart - but not expect the girls to abide by it. Because she knew that she had one girl who would just do what needed doing. And ya know... that would be wrong even if it wasn't MY kid who did what needed doing.

My daughter stuck it out for four years. My comments fell on deaf ears. And as long as she wanted to stick with it, I went on the outdoors trips and we did what needed doing together. We both walked away when she had enough.

BUT... she's a darned good camper! A few weekends ago, she lead her Science class on a backpacking w/e up the Appalachian Trail. She could give the Survivor folks a run for their money on fire-building - she can light a fire (from gathering kindling and wood, to getting a well-burning fire) in <3 minutes. Obviously, she needs more time to gather enough wood to sustain it.

[greeny]

My biggest concern for my brand new troop next year is getting enough parents to help (be at meetings, help chaperone, etc.). Any tips on how to get parents involved?

[greeny]

Our local council has an annual Program Guide with SO many different activities to which we can bring the girls. Here's the 09/10 book. (This is only for Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana, but other areas may have similar activities.)

I plan to bring "my" girls to some of these types of activities next year.

[Linda on the move]

Originally Posted by lifeguard

FWIW's very few units operate over the summer months. It's just too hard with how many people go away so most units don't try it. We usually do at least a camp though.

Even homeschooling specific troops we've been in didn't do much over the summer (except one camp thing) because families vacation at different times, the kids are in different day camps, etc. It just didn't work.

You can always sign your DD up for camp or counsel activities on her own, not with her troop, and she can always work on try-its just with you. You don't have to do everything you do with the whole troop. You could also talk to the troop leaders about YOU planning something for the troop once a month over the summer (or whatever). May be you could host a GS sleepover at your place and plan a couple of try it for the girls.

Originally Posted by greeny

My biggest concern for my brand new troop next year is getting enough parents to help (be at meetings, help chaperone, etc.). Any tips on how to get parents involved?

Be very frank and up front about what you want parents to do. Put it in writing with your "this is how our troop will operate, where we will meet etc."

Don't just say, "all parents need to help." Be specific. What do you want the parents to do? How often do they need to do it? For example, depending on the troop age and what you plan on doing with the troop, having every parent plan one try-it (or badge) and chaperone on one field trip would be very reasonable. Have the parents sign up for the specific try it and the month they want to do it at the planning meeting. Have the other jobs you'll need help with listed so they can sign up (such as helping with sells or an overnight). Be clear that some things, like bringing snacks, just rotate.

[greeny]

Be very frank and up front about what you want parents to do. Put it in writing with your "this is how our troop will operate, where we will meet etc."

Don't just say, "all parents need to help." Be specific. What do you want the parents to do? How often do they need to do it? For example, depending on the troop age and what you plan on doing with the troop, having every parent plan one try-it (or badge) and chaperone on one field trip would be very reasonable. Have the parents sign up for the specific try it and the month they want to do it at the planning meeting. Have the other jobs you'll need help with listed so they can sign up (such as helping with sells or an overnight). Be clear that some things, like bringing snacks, just rotate.

Great advice! Thank you, thank you, thank you!