Anyone have a girl in Daisy Girl Scouts???

[Piglet]

If you do, what kind of activities does your troop leader plan for the girls.

My DD joined at the beginning of the school year. I really thought it would be great for her to learn about helping others and community service. But I have really been disappointed so far. I go to every meeting to help out and their leader so far hasn't done anything but crafts. They go right after school for an 1hr 45 min. and have snack first thing then mostly just do a craft or color. I have tried to help and gave some ideas when the troop leader asked for them, but they don't seem interested.

I have been really disappointed and this is the only Daisy group in our area.

What do your troops do?? What happens at each meeting???

Melinda

 

[glo]

I was a Daisey leader and a Brownie leader, when my twins came along I had to stop. Anyway, we did lots of craft, many we took to nursing homes with the girls to decorate. We read stories about girls in different countries and tried some of their food. We visited the firestation and the library. We had a mom who was a nurse come and talk about hygene and taking care of ourselves, also a dentist. We learned songs and played games from around the world.

Most crafts centered around a theme...we made rainsticks...and weather sttions. Planted flowers...and veggies.


Oh and we did community service..we had a clean up day for the place that let us use the hall. We went Christmas caroling at two nursing homes, we broght decorations to the nursing home each month. We did a can drive and donated the proceeds...


That pretty much sums it up.

 

[zulaya]

Here's what I remember of what my DD has done so far this year, I may be remembering wrong in terms of what petal they earned and what it was for, so bear with me:

Oct - Making new friends - they got a huge piece of brown paper for each girl. Each girl laid down on the paper and the other girls took markers and traced her outline.

Nov - don't remember the skill - we did food drive for food shelves and something else.

Dec - Recycling importance - we each brought a paper grocery bag and cut it, turned it inside out and colored it in Xmas colors. Then we used it as Xmas wrap, recycling materials. On a different Dec day, we did Caroling around the neighborhood. Was originally going to be a nursing home, but the home was too busy.

Jan - Can't even remember what the heck they did

Feb - can't remember the skill - made bird feeders from pine cones and peanut butter, oranges on a string

March - Being responsible for what I say and do - made a God's eye and talked about how God watches over what you say and do. Then did some role playing. Mostly to say "I'm sorry", Please, Thank you, etc.

 

[Piglet]

Thanks glo, I am so frustrated with all this. All the leader does is stupid crafts. I guess I shouldn't be like that, but I really expected and hoped that my DD would learn that it is important to help our community and those less fortunate.

On Monday all they did was make necklaces out of some beads she found in the room. The troop leader is never prepared and sometimes doesn't even have an idea or anything planned on what to do.

The only thing they have done so far was asked to bring in tooth brushes to send to Haiti. These girls don't even know why they are doing it.

She also did this thing where she asked each girl their favorites and listed the color of their hair and eyes to show how each person is different. It blew up in her face, she called one little girl Red because of her hair and her mother spoke up and said that her daughter had been upset recently for being teased about having red hair.

I've printed off some crafts on the computer and offered suggestions but she doesn't prepare so she just has them color or whatever she can find.

My DD doesn't like it and doesn't want to go to the meetings, but I told her she needed to finish the school year out. Am hoping for a different troop leader next year.

Melinda

 

[Mom2Em]

My DD has been very busy in Daisys... A few things they have done:

-Made a thank you card for the city police on 9/11
-Marched in the Riverfest parade
-Had a skating party (with other Daisy/Brownie troops)
-Went to Camp Widji for a Fall Fling (with other Daisy/Brownie troops)
-Took food and toured the local Ronald McDonald House
-Hung up signs for the Girl Scout Food Collection Day
-Made a sign for one of the leaders who hurt her back
-Had a personal trainer come talk to them about exercising
-Had a nutritionist come talk to them about food
-Valentines/Halloween/Christmas parties


In the near future:
-Making a card for troops in Iraq
-Father/Daughter Dance (with other Daisy/Brownie troops)
-Mother/Daughter Ice Cream Social (with other Daisy/Brownie troops)
-Mother/Daughter Lock-In at the church
-Father/Daughter Dinner... they will plan, cook and serve Moms supper the last meeting
-Teddy Bear outing at Camp Widji (with other Daisy/Brownie troops)

 

[Dream]

Melinda....sounds like YOU would make a great scout leader!!!! Reallly....you have some great ideas, enthusiam, and you have the hang of planning meetings already! Go for it!!!!

 

[MOMTOMOOTOO]

I am a daisy troop leader and according to our council, for girls this age crafts and snacks should suffice. If I didn't volunteer to be the leader there would have been no troop so the kids are stuck with me! I have 7 girls and we are very limited in terms of what we can do. We can't go places, because I cannot have all 7 kids in my car obviously, and most of the parents do not seem to want to get involved. Our troop started meeting in Oct so we did a halloween craft. Nov. a food drive, Dec. we "adopted" a family for Christmas. Jan we had our formal ceremony with the parents, etc. and Feb we centered on LOVE. This month we are having a fireman come to speak. This friday the council is holding a roller skating party so the girls are really looking forward to that.

I find myself getting frustated as a leader at times because of the lack of support, however, I am new to this just as the girls are and we are learning together. I know all the girls really enjoy the the meetings and thats all that really matters. If my DD decides to move up to brownies, and I am again the troop leader I am sure it will become more "SCOUT" orientated. But for now the kidergartners are fine even on the days its just snack and a craft and some stories.

In April all of the scouts in the area are invited to Six Flags, we will see if the parents will want to participate in that!

Melinda, as long as your daughter is having fun, just know that Daisys are only the beginning.

 

[CarolA]

I always find these thread amazing.

I am a lifelong Girl Scout. I have a Brownie troop this year. We bridged from Daisys.

A couple of suggestions.

1. If you are the leader and you are doing everything, you need to have a meeting with the parents NOW!!! They need to be told that without support the meetings will end and the troop will disband! You are NOT a babysitting service.

2. If you have these great ideas, volunteer to be in charge of a whole meeting. Giving the leader suggestions probably is not going to do it.

3. PROGRESSION. Daisy's are not suppose to set the world on fire. They don't go on camping trips and don't really have to ever leave the meeting place. (I had a leader who wanted to take her Daisy troop to Disney World. We live in NASHVILLE! That did not happen!)

4. How often are you meeting? WIth both my Daisy and Brownie troop we have met every other week. We met for an hour until this Feb when we moved to 1.5 hours. We do NOT do snacks since we meet in the evening after they do dinner. It is not necessary to meet every week.

And just in case you are wondering. I do work full time and when you ask which of the cute little girls selling cookies is mine, the ansewer is None of them. I don't have a child. You might consider looking around for women you know who might not be parents, but might be willing to help out. I have a friend who plans to be the assistant for a Brownie Troop next year. No kids either. Most of the time, no one ever asks anyone but Moms. A leader can be anyone. Actually some of the best troops I know are led by Dads!

 

[December99]

I agree alot with what Carol has said. It is progression and we stress that the Daisy year is used to get use to each other, get use to not having mom and dad around and getting some socialization. We did alot of crafts and did one community service project on a very small version.

Please remember that when Daisy troops start out - THEY HAVE NO MONEY!!! Without asking the parents constantly for money, they do the best they can with what they have. We have always told our leaders that they can't strap the parents down every chance they get and ask them for money or we will lose girls so they have to do with what they can.

Now my next suggestion is you need to approach the leader and talk to her. Ask her if you can help in anyway at the meetings, ask if you can bring a craft to do some meeting with them and that you will supply the supplies (it may be she doesn't want to peg the parents for alot of money and can't afford to do things on her own). If she is very resistant then you need to carefully find out who the troop service coordinator is or who the service unit (neighborhood) manager is and approach them on the problem you are having. They will need to speak with her and let her know that there is a parent, or some parents, upset with the way she is holding the meeting. Also we encourage our Daisy troops to hold small meetings because of the attention span of the age of the kids - a few times a month for about an hour or so.

Please don't cut the leader down - talk with her, give her your concerns, and ask to volunteer at the meetings. Sometimes the leaders are ones that were once Girl Scouts and want their girls to also be and no one else wanted to do it so they are stuck with it.

Once they get into Brownies they can do a whole lot more and you should relish that this is a year that they aren't bombarding you for Fall Product Sale items, cookies, and other monetary items. Perhaps ask her if you she could use a co-leader and volunteer to be a leader with her. It may just be that she is more a paperwork type of person and not an organized, sit down plan out a meeting type person - that's how I am and my poor troop of Cadette's is disbanding after this year because of it and I have asked my parents for help and they won't help (I only have 4 girls and 3 of them will register as Independents).