Whether you are an experienced leader or just dipping your foot in the pond for the first time, you need to get a plan of what you want to accomplish in a year. Since Girl Scouts is supposed to be "girl led", you should have them at least pick from a menu of options.
I'll be upfront here and say that I don't like Journeys. I think they are long, convaluted and don't really accomplish the goals set for them. On the other hand, I do like badges.
Our first real meeting was a planning meeting. I asked them if they wanted to go camping, and if they wanted to go to our local camp for a day outing. Of course they did (which was a good thing since I had already made reservations for the day trip). Next, I gave each girl a badge insert from my Girls Guide to Girl Scouting. I only passed out those I thought we could earn during the course of a meeting, leaving out those that would be earned at camp, or at home. I had each girl tell the group about "her" badge and whether she thought it would be fun to earn. Next, we voted yes or no on each badge, and then had everyone pick her favorite of the ones left. I used the top choices to plan the year, adding in Girl Scout Ways, the cookie and financial literacy awards and a religious award.
Which badges did my girls pick? Snacks, Painting, Bugs, Dancing, Fair Play and Letterboxing. I'll let you know here how we do with them. They are pretty much the same badges my last Brownie troop picked.
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