Girl Scouts questions

[NATALIEBELLESmom]

My daughter got invited to join the local girl scouts brownies what should I know. She has never been in girls scouts before so this all new to me help?

 

[tiggernpooh]

Not sure what all you want to know. I am a Brownie leader for my daughter's troop. We meet for 1 1/2 hours every other week at her school with 9 other girls. We do crafts, learning activities, go on field trips (places like a local theater, pumpkin patch and the zoo.) We work on earning "Try-it" badges, which are supposed to be new activities for the girls to try. Then after doing a certain number, they earn a badge for their uniforms.

Every troop is different and will hold meetings and run them as they think best for the girls. The leaders have to get personal references and attend training for the age level that they plan to lead.

Your area may even have camps for the girls to attend in the summer or do horseback riding and other outdoor activities.

You can check out the national website at www.girlscouts.org. Your local area probably has their own website, too.

Let me know if you have other questions! It's a great organization that is very concerned about helping girls achieveboost their self-esteem, teach them new things, and keep them safe. Of course, what your girl gets out of it depends on what she puts into it and depends on the leader. I would recommend all girls give it a try!

 

[NATALIEBELLESmom]

Not sure what all you want to know. I am a Brownie leader for my daughter's troop. We meet for 1 1/2 hours every other week at her school with 9 other girls. We do crafts, learning activities, go on field trips (places like a local theater, pumpkin patch and the zoo.) We work on earning "Try-it" badges, which are supposed to be new activities for the girls to try. Then after doing a certain number, they earn a badge for their uniforms.

Every troop is different and will hold meetings and run them as they think best for the girls. The leaders have to get personal references and attend training for the age level that they plan to lead.

Your area may even have camps for the girls to attend in the summer or do horseback riding and other outdoor activities.

You can check out the national website at www.girlscouts.org. Your local area probably has their own website, too.

Let me know if you have other questions! It's a great organization that is very concerned about helping girls achieveboost their self-esteem, teach them new things, and keep them safe. Of course, what your girl gets out of it depends on what she puts into it and depends on the leader. I would recommend all girls give it a try!

thank you so much. I will look into the website. We found out today that she gets to join on the nov 19

 

[tlhbdm]

Ooooo...I am so excited for her, I was a girl scout for get this 12 years! 1st-12th grade! I hope she can stick through it until she graduates high school, the last three years we really didn't do much, but every once in a while we would get together to go do fun stuff, I think one year we even went to the Mall of America and stayed overnight at a hotel, we had raised enough money from everything we did that as a fun thing. I still talk to a couple of the girls. I would really like to be a troup leader because I had so much fun, maybe I will have to wait until I have a daughter. But yay for your daughter, she is going to have so much fun, if you have any questions just let me know.

 

[Sunbeamblue2002]

From a girl scout mom they are great. Just be aware that you pay dues to the regional/local to be able to be a girl scout and then you play troop dues also. Also fundraisers and field trip fee's. However my daugter has been blessed by a great leader and a great group of girls for her troop. She has lots of fun. Just be prepaired to understand you'll need to add to your budget both money and time wise. Hope she has lots of fun.

Oh yea ps. You'll have to buy a stach/vest also.

 

[grlpwrd]

I am on my 8th year as a leader and mom to 3 Girl Scouts. My parents were den leaders for my brother's Boy Scout troop so I consider myself 3rd generation in scouting. lol I also have a 4yo son and a 2yo dd and I expect to continue doing this for many, many years.

How wonderful for your daughter! Brownies tend to do more arts and crafts and they do a lot of other fun things. There are badges ranging from art to science. Do you already have a handbook and badgebook for her? You might want to take a look. You may want to ask her leader if they must have their own or if you can can use the troop's copy.

Leaders do things differently, but everyone (leaders and scouts) must follow Safety Wise which has all of our safety rules and regulations in it. I also want to encourage you to become involved with troop activities whether it is helping out at meetings or volunteering to go on events. Parental involvement really makes the troop successful.

From a girl scout mom they are great. Just be aware that you pay dues to the regional/local to be able to be a girl scout and then you play troop dues also. Also fundraisers and field trip fee's. However my daugter has been blessed by a great leader and a great group of girls for her troop. She has lots of fun. Just be prepaired to understand you'll need to add to your budget both money and time wise. Hope she has lots of fun.

Oh yea ps. You'll have to buy a stach/vest also.

Troop dues are a YMMV kinda thing. All troops do not require troop dues, but yes, there is a $10 registration fee which includes insurance coverage for the person registered. As for dues, it really depends on the troop leader and how she does things. I know that because we do a lot of fundraising that our girls and parents have little, if any, out of pocket expenses.

As for a sash or vest, it is not required. According to the National Office, the official uniform is actually just the insignia tab with the 2 pins on it. Of course, most troops choose the sash or vest, but it is not a requirement. Fundraising is optional, too. Please check with your Council Office to get the specifics and to check out their website. I know we have one and we also have one for our Service Unit.


Just FYI, effective October 2008, GS levels and names will change:

Grade K-1 = GS Daisy

2-3 = GS Brownie

4-5 = GS Junior

6-8 = GS Cadette

9-10 = GS Senior

11-12 = GS Ambassador

GS is a embarking on a new frontier! lol ... Your daughter is starting a whole new adventure filled with fun and friendship. Good luck to you all!

 

[NATALIEBELLESmom]

Thank you for all the great information. I know that I have a total up front cost of $30.00. Which I didn't think was to bad. Thanks for the update on the new grade groups. She is homeschooled and is joining her group as an independent. The troop leader seems nice. I talked with her over the phone for a few minutes. I hope to learn more this week.
My DD is the only child and she is so excited at the chance to meet more girls to become friends with. I am glad to hear that you can be involved because I have alots of time to volunteer. Thanks everyone and get the info coming you can never get to much.

 

[tink_lover]

My dd is a Brownie. I was not a girl scout so a lot of the stuff is new to me. It has been great for my dd. Her troop does a lot of crafts, service work at the church where they meet, visiting local nursing homes, etc. It is great socialization for the girls also. This past summer she attended a week of summer camp and had a blast. It is great for the younger girls to have the older girls be the camp leaders - very positive role models. I hope she wants to continue.

 

[Iott Family]

I just wanted to add that GS's is not a by invitation only organization. GS's is for all girls of any race, age or creed. Any girl that wants to be a girlscout can be.

I see that you are from Walkerton Indiana. I know that Central Indiana just went through a major restructuring. GSCI.com is our local council.

Good luck and have fun! We love scouting and look forward to troop meets and summer camp!

 

[NATALIEBELLESmom]

I just wanted to add that GS's is not a by invitation only organization. GS's is for all girls of any race, age or creed. Any girl that wants to be a girlscout can be.

I see that you are from Walkerton Indiana. I know that Central Indiana just went through a major restructuring. GSCI.com is our local council.

Good luck and have fun! We love scouting and look forward to troop meets and summer camp!

Thanks for the link I am sure she will have a blast meeting new girls