talk to me about girl scouts

[meister31]

Hi~ my dd is 5 and I was wondering what everyone felt about girl scouts--I was a girl scout but don't really recall if I loved it or just thought ehh---so what does everyone think? Any input would be great

[dziejen]

My oldest dd joined Daisy Girl Scouts at age 5 and liked it and is now in 5th grade and in junior girl scouts. As the years go on, the girls do more and more activities and she really is having fun this year. Her leaders have been involved with Girl Scouts for years (many years!) and they are great. My 5 yr old is a Daisy Girl Scout this year and my friend and I (another MDC mama!) are co-leaders and the girls really seem to enjoy it. We do crafts, play games, read stories, and different activities. We meet twice a month for 1 hour each time but every group is different. We can decide our own agenda but the Daisy girls earn petals based on 10 different parts of the Girl Scout Law (ie. honest and fair, considerate and caring, responsible for what I say and do, etc.). My advice would be to find out more in your area (who the Leaders are, what they do for activities, etc.) At 5yrs they do not do any fundraising but starting in Brownies they begin selling cookies for fundraising and doing more projects. I am by no means an authority but it has been a good experience for us -- feel free to PM me if you have more questions : )

[techno_dara]

My oldest DD is in scouts too. This is her second year. She loves it. I loved it. I really hope she enjoys scouting as much as I did. Like the pp mentioned meeting and field trips vary. My dd's troup met once a month as daisey's. They generally had one field trip (usually Saturday afternoon, participation optional) a month. This year as brownies, they are meeting twice a month and about 1 field trip a month too. This year they are also doing sleepovers/campouts.

[Brigianna]

I was a girl scout. We talked about girl scouts for dd1, but I didn't like the idea. I think there is a lot of variation from one troop to another, but problems I had with it were:
-the selling cookies thing--reeks of child exploitation to me. Takes advantage of people's reluctance to say no to a little girl.
-the "girl power" thing--not part of our family's values.
-seeming parent-endorsed cliquishness.
-school emphasis--as homeschoolers, this is not our reality.

[lindberg99]

My DD is 3rd grade and this is her 2nd year as a Brownie. I think it really varies and so much depends on the leaders. We were in a different state last year and the troop there seemed to do a lot, go on little field trips (to the grocery store, a nature center, etc), went hiking, went to a ballet and went camping once. Now this year, they meet twice a month, have a snack and then do a craft. No outdoor stuff other than one trip to a pumpkin patch to get pumpkins. No field trips, no hikes, no camps.

It just seems like a playgroup to me. I have been kind of disappointed but DD does like it. I'm not sure she will do it next year as a Jr. Girl Scout because I think both leaders are quitting and I doubt anyone else will step up to do it.

Brigianna - I can tell from personal experience that PLENTY of people have no trouble saying no to girls selling cookies.

[meister31]

thanks for your input~ we are gonna head to an informal get to knw girl scouts/Dr. Seuss Bd party at the Lib in a few weeks ----I will see how it goes and if it looks right for dd.

[flyingspaghettimama]

You can opt out of cookie selling. We did, no big deal. We will probably give money in lieu of the sales (they don't make all that much per box). Our troop is a mixture of girls in our geographic area (not schools). Our troop is also volunteer-if-ya-wanna : it seems that the troop's leaders are two single, childless, churchy women and no other parents stay. I did a few times, but the troop is so small they really don't need my help, and I have a toddler underfoot.

We also didn't buy the outfits, etc. I would say a lot is dependent upon the troop's leaders. I was hoping for more girl power, actually.

[chel]

I'm a troop leader for my dd's troop. I also was a GS myself. Yeah, every troop is different.

[ashleyhaugh]

i loved girl scouts, and cant wait til i have a daughter so i can be a leader, lol

[EdnaMarie]

I had fun. I wasn't particularly social and it was nice to kind of get instant friends. I hated the cookie thing because it was always the rich kids who got the prizes since nobody in the projects buys like a gazillion boxes whereas in the suburbs their parents just took them to work and sold out in a second.

Camp was great- I learned to use a portapotty and make those friendship bracelets. I also liked the uniforms. We were poor and it was the only thing I had that everyone else had. I'll probably let DD go if she wants.

[koofie]

I was in Girl Scouts form first grade until I finished high school. I was so lucky to be involved with a very active troup and had incrediable leaders. They all provided wonderful female role models for me! We went camping at LEAST 3 times a year and activally worked on badges/ect. The summer between 9th and 10th grade we went to Mexico! It was so much fun. I didn't always enjoy Girl Scouts - there were many times I wanted to quit because I felt it took up a lot of my time, but mom's rule was if you sign up, you follow through with it, and every year I wanted to sign up again! that lesson was a good one for me. I also learned to do things I wasn't crazy about doing, also a good lesson. Each year, more and more girls dropped out, but that meant that by HS, there were only a few of us, but at that point we were all pretty committed. Also, I leared in HS to stand up for myself, because people would say "You're STILL a Girl Scout? Isn't that only for little kids?" and I figured out how to answer, defending my decision. It made me a stronger person. Also, I found that even though I spent time with these girls each week, we didn't hang out or get cliquish at school.

Honestly, I would check out the troop or troops that you couls have your DD join and see what they could offer. As little kids, it is mostly all fun, but as the kids get older, the troop leaders really need to be dedicated to the troop to ensure that it is going to be worth the time.

For my DD, I think I will have her join if she wants, but I won't push her only because I was in it. Girld Scouts may not be her "thing"

Oh, you are welcome to PM me if you have any questions!

[Houdini]

My daughter is in her fourth year of Girl Scouts. She is a junior this year. I agree it depends on the leader. We have been looking for another troop b/c our leader is not very interested in doing much outside of the house. I have suggested several field trips, but she always has a reason why they can't. It drives me batty.: There are only five girls in the troop and they still only manage to do field trip things about four times a year.

[flyingspaghettimama]

And of course, we all know that Amy Sedaris was a girl scout.

What other reason do you need to join?

[ack26]

I also agree that it depends on the leader.
My dd is in 2nd grade and just joined Brownies this year. Her leaders are fantastic! Her leaders focus a lot on giving to the community - they have done a sort of meals-on-wheels for the elderly, they did a very in-depth workshop on the homeless and will be donating supplies, and they made a get-well activity box for a local child undergoing surgery. We have also gone on quite a few fieldtrips. This year has been great for my dd.