Girl Scout Way and Sister to Every Girl Scout

My plans for this meeting changed the weekend before the meeting.  I had planned to continue work on Girl Scout Way, and start Making Friends for Brownies.  For Daisies I had planned to do the "Friendly and Helpful" petal.  However, over the weekend a troop of Girl Scouts in Wisconsin was doing a roadside cleanup when they were hit by a drunk driver.  Three girls and a leader were killed.  I decided to change the petal to "Be a sister to every Girl Scout".

As the girls came in I had cards for them to color--From the Bayou State to the Badger State  Our thoughts and prayers are with you in this time of sorrow.

My Favorite Girl Scout Memory

As someone who has been a leader on and off for fifteen years, I have a lot of good Girl Scout memories.  One in particular stands out.

Investiture, Rededication, Bridging and Juliette Gordon Low

My troops have always taken in new girls every year, and of course, we lose some too.  For that reason, I have never liked to have bridging ceremonies at the end of the year.  I just don't see any reason to buy all that stuff if girls aren't coming back.  Also, my worst attendance during the year is in the last month; it just doesn't seem like the best time for a big ceremony.

Girl Scout Way, The Promise Center and Three Cheers

Our first October meeting was kind of disjointed.  We started with the Daisies doing a coloring sheet and the Brownies working on a badge selection sheet.  Unfortunately, the Brownies didn't get far before our opening circle, during which we talked about the Girl Scout Promise.  I explained that the number one most important thing is serving God and that's what we remember when we hold up our number 1 finger.  Next is serving our country (two fingers) and other people (three fingers) and what ties it all together is the Girl Scout Law (thumb and pinkie).

We learned to sing the Girl Scout Law with hand motions.

Think LIke a Citizen Scientist

One of the new Girl Scout Journeys put out in 2018 was Think Like a Citizen Scientist. The plans are on the Volunteer Toolkit. These plans include word-by-word scripts for most meetings and many leaders find them difficult to review due to the length. Therefore, I have read them and compiled a summary. I hope you find it helpful

Update:  One thing I recommend is that you go to the GSUSA store and download their free (as of this writing) packet on this Journey. Of all the things I've seen from GSUSA, this does the best job of explaining and leading you to a TAP. 

Three Cheers for Pets?

This year I have a combined Daisy/Brownie troop.  Most of my Brownies were with me last year and are first year Brownies, but one came from another troop and had, of course, earned several badges.  Therefore, I am trying to not repeat those badges, particularly at a meeting, though I will repeat some of them via outings.

I have one Daisy who was with me last year, and she didn't join until after cookies in the spring.  She earned one or two petals last year but that was it.  My Daisy schedule, therefore, is wide open.

I looked at the requirements for the Daisy 3 Cheers for Animals Journey and the Brownie Pets badge and decided they would work well together.

Take Action?

According to something I read that was put out by GSUSA, Take Action Projects are what Girl Scouts do.  Unfortunately, this seems to be one area where there is a huge disconnect between what the national organization is pushing and what leaders in the trenches are doing.

What is a Take Action Project?

In order to do a "Take Action Project" you first have to know what one is.  According to GSUSA, in a Take Action Project, girls team up to:

• Identify a problem they want to do something about

• Come up with a creative and sustainable solution

• Develop a team plan

• Put the plan into action

• Talk about what they learned — and what they can’t wait to do next!

Part of the idea of a Take Action Project is to provide a necessary service; the other goal is to develop leadership in the girls.