Ever start a girl scout troop ?

[luckey-lasvegas]

I was thinking of starting a girl scout troop for DD10. Has anyone done this?
Do you have any tips?

 

[BarbWB]

Yes, I kind of took over a re-aligned troop this year. I love it. There are lots of rules and regulations, but, ultimately, they are practical and not hard to follow.
My best advice is to find another troop leader in your school or service unit and have her walk you through the specifics of everything you need to do.

Then, for "general tips" I think that it is important to have each and every mom register. That way, every mom can drive and/or be a co-leader or assistant at a mtg. If they aren't registered (and background checked) they can't help out.
We have one mtg per month and one "event" per month. Our events this year have been a Halloween party, dinner party, delivering food to homeless, cookie sales. We are planning a shift at a food bank, horseback riding, a campout, a father/daughter dance, and ice-skating.

This is a great opportunity to influence the lives of girls in a very positive way! Go for it!

 

[Sandi12404]

I'm in my second year as the leader of my daughter's brownie troop. I inherited the troop from another leader who moved up with her daughter to Junior's. I really do love it but it's very stressfull and can be time consuming. I agree with the last post to get as many parents involved as you can. I have two mothers and my mom who come to every meeting to help out and I can always count on them. I also have a great council who is very helpful and the woman I inherited the troop from always has my back, and I have hers. This will probably be my last year as a leader but I'm happy I did it for my daughter if nothing else.

 

[grlpwrd]

I am on my 7th year and now I am a leader to Juniors and Cadets. I started out as a parent volunteer. I am on our Leader Support team as an Age Level Consultant and Recruiter/Organizer now.... we need more of you.

This is how we do it in our Council... I would first start off looking at your Council website and then contacting their office and meet with a Membership Specialist or the person in charge who trains and guides new leaders. You can check the Couwebsite for more info and who to contact. You could eventually get hooked up with a Service Unit which is a group of troops in your immediate area. You should start training and each Council handles it differently so be sure to inquire.

There are rules and there are certifications that you must obtain, such as CPR and First Aid. There are other required certifications, such as for camping, but again it also depends on your Council rules and requirements. Also, Safety Wise is a book that lists all the safety rules and regulations. That is what we all go by. It is the certification process that differs among Councils.

Yes, it is a lot of paperwork/regulations/rules/etc and it is overwhelming at first, but it is for the safety and protection of all adults and girls. After a while, you get used it. I just make sure to be organized and place everything in file folders and a binder.

As for tips, I agree with getting the parents registered. It would be ideal if you can get someone to commit to being your assistant or co-leader. If not, you can rotate responsibilities between each parent and make it a requirement in order for your troop to function. No participation means no troop. You need a second adult and Safety Wise spells out the required ratio for the number of girls in your troop among many, many other things, such what activities are permitted, etc.

There are a lot of online resources. It's best to check with your Council for particular requirements, of course, but for things like SWAPs, meetings ideas, and such, there is a lot of info at your fingertips.

From our last Council meeting I just learned that nationally in 2008 there will be a new division of age levels:

K to 1st grade - Daisies
2nd to 3rd grade - Brownies
4th to 5th grade - Juniors
6th to 8th grade - Cadettes
9th and 10th grade - Seniors
11th and 12th grade - Ambassadors

For 2007 your troop would fall under the current age levels and requirements and gradually transition. Girl Scouting is changing ... and thanks for being part of this change and being a leader to the girls. There are a lot of GS leaders and parents here - yay to all of us!

 

[SILLYANDI]

I too am on the service team for my neighborhood, I've been a leader for 4 years now. We have 20 girls waitlisted for troops at our school alone, and a lack of leaders means that they won't get to experience all the fun that scouting has to offer! Some of these girls have been waiting years to get into a troop! I would love to have new leaders join-there are tons of internet resources, but your neighborhood or council are always the best place to start.

Once you've registered and have your training & troop all together then you can go to sites like makingfriends.com, scoutingnet.com, gsusa.org and get great ideas! Fell free to PM me with any specific questions!

 

[WildGrits]

6 years as a leader here. One year as a SUM. I don't know about other councils but right now is a real up in the air time for us. With the re-alignment. Your best bet is like others have said, contact your local council and get all your training done.

Best advice I can give you is be flexible. It will be over whelming but just take a deep breath.

 

[Whosemom]

Yikes! Maybe things are a bit more laid back here, or maybe I am, but I haven't found anything to be too overwhelming or stressful.

I started a troop "from scratch". Is that what you are doing? I called our council office. They have a lady who is in charge of training. She went through training packet with me. It took a couple of hours. They have group sessions throughout the year, but I decided to do it midyear, so she just sat down with me. I sent a letter out to the parents of all the girls in my daughter's grade at our school. I've done some other training as I've had time. Its always fun. YOu'll probably want to get right on your outdoor training, as your kids are bigger (I started in kindergarten). Don't let that freak you out either, our council even has a weekend at camp where you get your outdoor training and the kids do too

As far as programming (what to do with the little buggers), for our weekly meetings, if we don't have some kind of project going, I just choose a try-it (that's a badge for younger girls) and we work on the requirements for that. Then, the council puts on programs, either where the girls earn a badge, or not. Council programs are nice because you transport the girls and someone else does all the planning etc.

We meet generally every-other week, with an additional weekend activity a month.

Its fun. Its great for the girls. You grow, too. There's some paperwork, yes, and some training, but nothing I ever found overwhelming or stressful. It really helps if you can hook up with a leader who has been doing it a couple of years, so you can call and ask questions.

just in case you haven't gotten this far yet , here's your starting point
http://www.frontiercouncil.org/

 

[disneymom3]

I am considering doing this as well. I would like to do a homeschool troop, not because I don't want other kids involved but because I would like to do it in early afternoon. Anyone know if that would be allowed?

 

[Whosemom]

I know there is a homeschooled afternoon-meeting troop in our area. I don't see why not. I don't homeschool, but can really see Girl Scouts as a great supplement to the curriculum. There are badges that align with every academic area, and would make good excuses for indepth projects.

 

[Mrs. T-i-double-g-er]

As a leader and future service unit dirctor, I can tell you that it is not hard to find girls. It's hard to find leaders. If you call your local GS council and say, "I'm interested in being a leader.", they will hook you up with the right people and help you get started.

We had a GS overnight last night. I'm exhausted, but it was so much fun!

 

[EmmaPearl]

Hi! I am one of those who became a leader "by default" when my daughter's leader moved away. Another mom and I stepped up, and we share leadership duties. (She and I met and bonded three years ago when our daughters' kindergarten teacher "ran away" after three weeks -- but that's another story!)

Anyway, she is the creative, "crafty" one, and she leads the girls in the meetings. I keep up with all of the paperwork, financial records, communication, etc. We spend a lot of time on the phone "planning," but then we each take care of our own half of the resonsibilities. It works beautifully for us, but then we just work really well together. If you can, my biggest suggestion would be to find a reliable (and fun!) mom to share the position with!

Also, we too have all of the moms register so that they can drive to field trips, chaperone activities, etc. We are so lucky in that all of our moms attend almost every meeting and activity. While my friend works with the girls, I usually have a little "mom meeting" with the other moms (and sometimes, dads!) and we discuss upcoming events, cookie sales, etc.

Good Luck!

 

[grlpwrd]

I am considering doing this as well. I would like to do a homeschool troop, not because I don't want other kids involved but because I would like to do it in early afternoon. Anyone know if that would be allowed?

Yes, it is allowed. You just have to comply with GS regulations. I know we have a troop of homeschooled girls who meet at the community center... and also a troop of girls with severe special needs. They wanted to meet the needs of their daughters so a group of parents started up the troops.

We just had our Thinking Day events for the past 2 days. (We have it early because cookies are delivered on February 22nd and we didn't want to get overwhelmed.) I love it. GL to all who are starting (and maintaining) troops!

 

[riopooh]

Do it - your daughter will love it.

I'm a BoyScout leader and would love to become more involved in the Girl Scout troop (Brownies actually) but the two troops in my daughters grade meet before I get out of work. My daughter gets so excited whenever I help out and we do some council events on our own - it's hjst wonderful to be able to do something where we both benefit.

My recommendation to get involved is based on my experience with my son's troop. We try hard to do interesting things with the kids and I am always amazed that my almost 13 year old is happy to have me come along with him (as long as i don't get too "Mom-ish"). At this age (pre-teen) where the kids start going out on their own, I am so grateful to have the chance to spend some real quality time with him.

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Hi!

I just had to chime in with my support. I am a "lifer", I started as a Pixie (a pilot program in the Midwest) in 1st grade, went all the way through, and then after a move and working for various nonprofits for four years, starting working for a large Girl Scout Council. I became a lifetime member, and I still support wherever I can. After ds9 was born, I had to take a different position with greater salary -- just couldn't afford daycare as a Membership Specialist.

My mom was a volunteer for over 30 years. Yep, I grew up and she continued to fill various positions in her District and Neighborhood (in the Northeast they are called Service Units). She was a great advertisement -- she found it so fulfilling and important she continued to do it without her daughter.

Do get involved, do have a great time, and do get all the parental support you can!

There are fantastic materials and training opportunities available for you. Take advantage of everything you can.

Girl Scouting is a wonderful experience, and you will be giving your daughter a great gift!