iso brownies stuff

[challada]

Having done boy scouts for years, i've moved on to girl scouts now w/DD.

I have a HUGE (14) troop of Daisies this year who will be moving on to their first year of Brownies. This year, I embroidered shirts w/their names and "Daisies" on it for the uniforms, but i know we need the "official" thing now that we're moving on.

So, any troops out there that might be LEAVING Brownies...do you have extras of stuff you won't need? Like those Try-its badges or pins or even vests?

When I went to add up the starting badges (council, bridging, numbers, etc) without books AND without vests, my troop is going to cost me over $200 in badges to START with (and only going to get worse w/all those try-its).

THANKS
C

 

[luvdzne]

I did Daisy's last year and we asked for $20 for each child for the year. This went towards badges and such. That of course is adjusted according to income level. Then we asked for the girls to bring in $.25 each meeting just because it made them feel important to put it in the dues can. Also, since we were just starting out we made a list of things we would need (crayons, markers, paper etc) and asked if anyone would like to donate these towards the troop. It seemed to work well for us doing it this way. Plus if they will be brownies you will earn money for the troop by selling cookies and such.

It sounded like you were responsible for doing their vests. I would have the parents purchase them. We had parents purchase either vests or a sash, any other part of the uniform was up to them. The parents purchased the troop number and any of the other basics like the flag.

Also with the books we did not require them, we had one leader one that we would make a copy if needed.

 

[kidzmom3]

First off, I hope you have a helper, because that is a large troop. You should not be paying for those things. Every parent should be given the list with a diagram of how they go on the vest or sash (whichever you are going to do) the vest holds more but most girls like the sash better. In my area, parents bought the intial set up, United States Flag patch, council patch,girl scouts of the usa patch, troop numbers and gs pin (maybe they have it from daisys?) Also the bridging badge. The rest of the badges or (tryits) should come out of the dues or the cookie sales. We greatly encourage leaders in our council to not use their own money. Good luck.

 

[bevtoy]

One of the grandmothers in my childs Brownie troop took a vest and used it as a pattern. She made vests for the whole troop for $2.00 per child! We also save some of the cookie profits to pay for items. Can they do another fund raiser like a bake sale or something? Maybe the other parents will help?

 

[challada]

Thanks...

I did ask for dues at the beginning of Daisies...I told parents to give b/w $10 and $20 as they could afford...every one of them gave me $10...FOR THE YEAR. Of course, the shirts that I did for the girls uniforms ran well over $10 each so that made everything else come out of my pocket. Which is really not that big of a deal as I have hand me down markers, crayons, glues, foam shapes and craft kits from my years of boyscouts.

Now w/Brownies, I'm looking at these $14 vests and $12 worth of patches thinking, $10/girl ain't gonna do it!

Our council office is about 4 hours away...so we're kinda out on our own here.

In hindsight, I think I'll wait until fall when they actually show up, then tell parents that the uniform is $25 period. Dues for crafts (and all the food these little monsters eat) will be separate.

I like the quarter a week idea...but I have some that NEVER remember their own shirt...I'm pretty sure a quarter would not make it to my house.

I do have a helper...she shows up every few meetings and then usually sits back while I do all instruction, assistance and games. Anyone want to come be my helper out here in the boonies???

 

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

My DD was a Brownie and a Junior. We, the parents, have always been responsible for purchasing/providing a vest or sash and the council ID/troop numbers. Even when I was a kid I don't think the troop paid for those items. Vests or sashes weren't always required by the troop either, however they are the ideal place to display those Try Its and Badges and patches!

ETA: We did paid dues, I don't remember how much, in full at the beginning of the year along with the Council membership. When I was in Scouts we paid a couple dollars weekly at our meetings.

Don't forget that as Brownies the girls will be participating in the annual Nut Sale in the fall and Cookie Sale in the winter that will generate some funds for your troop as well!

 

[clh2]

Thanks...


I do have a helper...she shows up every few meetings and then usually sits back while I do all instruction, assistance and games. Anyone want to come be my helper out here in the boonies???

Just a couple of thoughts here you might not have thought of. Most Daisy troops "grow" by a couple of girls going into Brownies. So, you may end up with more the 14 girls. My DD's daisy troop had about 6 girls, the first year of Brownies was about 14 girls.

You need far more than 1 helper. I would recommend finding a cookie mom/dad almost right away. FWIW - I was cookie mom for the brownie years, and loved it. It was a lot of work for a very, very short period of time. And, the benefit to the troop was huge. In Juniors, I became the leader, so someone else picked up cookie mom duties. DON'T DO BOTH!!! That is a high contributor to burn-out.

Personally, I would plan the exact same number of meetings as there are girls. Let each family (either the mom or dad) plan and run 1 meeting. There are many parents that have different skills than you will, plus, you you won't get stuck planning it all. I don't have a Brownie Try-it book handy, but if I recall, there are badges for safety, some that are physical activities, computer-related, food related, math related, science related, etc.

Try to get a good variety of try-its that the girls families can help you with, and voila, your year will "plan itself." I would also make this family responsible for the snack/beverage for the meeting. Just because you are the leader, doesn't mean you have to do all the work.

I know one large troop, (>20girls) and they struggled with the snack thing for several years, until they figured out a solution that worked: Have every girl bring their own snack and juice box for every meeting. If a girl forgot, others would share some of their snack, and the girls never forgot more than 1 time.

I would definitely have each family be responsible for the sash or vest. Our troop has never done dues. It just is too much of a hassle IMO to get it collected, and then deposited.

I doubt you'll find any troop with "extras" in either sashes or try-its. Our council office just lets you exchange them for something you can use.

As far as accumulating supplies for the troop - the absolutely best time to do this is in early August, when all the back-to-school specials are happening.

 

[challada]

Just a couple of thoughts here you might not have thought of. Most Daisy troops "grow" by a couple of girls going into Brownies. So, you may end up with more the 14 girls. My DD's daisy troop had about 6 girls, the first year of Brownies was about 14 girls.

You need far more than 1 helper. I would recommend finding a cookie mom/dad almost right away. FWIW - I was cookie mom for the brownie years, and loved it. It was a lot of work for a very, very short period of time. And, the benefit to the troop was huge. In Juniors, I became the leader, so someone else picked up cookie mom duties. DON'T DO BOTH!!! That is a high contributor to burn-out.

Personally, I would plan the exact same number of meetings as there are girls. Let each family (either the mom or dad) plan and run 1 meeting. There are many parents that have different skills than you will, plus, you you won't get stuck planning it all. I don't have a Brownie Try-it book handy, but if I recall, there are badges for safety, some that are physical activities, computer-related, food related, math related, science related, etc.

Try to get a good variety of try-its that the girls families can help you with, and voila, your year will "plan itself." I would also make this family responsible for the snack/beverage for the meeting. Just because you are the leader, doesn't mean you have to do all the work.

I know one large troop, (>20girls) and they struggled with the snack thing for several years, until they figured out a solution that worked: Have every girl bring their own snack and juice box for every meeting. If a girl forgot, others would share some of their snack, and the girls never forgot more than 1 time.

I would definitely have each family be responsible for the sash or vest. Our troop has never done dues. It just is too much of a hassle IMO to get it collected, and then deposited.

I doubt you'll find any troop with "extras" in either sashes or try-its. Our council office just lets you exchange them for something you can use.

As far as accumulating supplies for the troop - the absolutely best time to do this is in early August, when all the back-to-school specials are happening.

Thank you for so many great ideas! It's a learning process and I'm certainly learning as I go along!

I did learn to rotate snack after feeding a dozen hungry boys at boy scouts for five years at my house. The first year w/boys I tried to get them to rotate snack and no one ever remembered...well, with my kitchen here, it was always something out of my cabinets. My last year w/them, I said "we're trying the snack rotation again and if you forget, then NO ONE eats"...suddenly they brought snack.

With the girls, I gave each one of them one week to bring a snack and I think most of them did OK...only two or three of the group forgot. All other weeks, I did as I didn't want it to be unfair that some did two and some didn't. I expect snack to be the same.

I do like the idea of asking parents to run a Try It. I run a babysitting service right now so would be nice to get HELP.

Good to know i can turn things back over to the council office for credit...our council is far away and not helpful at all (they called me at the start of my troop asking me for certain paperwork...when I asked what it looked like or was, they didn't know what it was!). We're losing our council in January in the restructure, so will have one even further away, so not holding much hope for help there!

I like the "cookie mom" idea...I think I'll make my assistant do that and get her to do SOMETHING.

THANKS
C

 

[kimmikayb]

Sorry if I'm repeating advice here...I didn't read all the posts. I am a GS leader. My Juniors are bridging to Cadettes this summer. We have our Bronze Award nearly completed. 14 Daiseys is a lot. Don't be surprised if your troop grows to to 20+ girls. At one point our troop was 23 girls! Has your troop bridged yet? It's nice to recieve the vests while bridging. You should not be paying for the sashes/vest. It's nice at bridging to have the parents hand the vest/sash to their daughter as she bridges (walks over whatever you have to "bridge" with). You can do the shopping/ordering but mom or dad should buy the items and be responsible to get the patches on. You won't be getting any Try Its until later in the fall, after you have done the fall product sale and gotten some funds in your account. Fall products is the best money maker for your troop, better then cookies, I think.

Your girls really don't all need a book, although it is nice.


Plus, if you have families who are not able to purchase the vest/sash....GS has funds to help them. There are some rules...they will only help with sashes, not vests. Just make sure your families are aware of this.

I am not an expert, but I can help you as much as possible. Just PM me.

 

[Disney Hot Mama]

We are in our second year of Brownies. As parents we were required to purchase the uniform for our kids. Our leader doesn't require a full uniform. In fact she really doesnt' stress much of a uniform at our meetings (which I don't like) We have the skirt/skorts and vest and that's it. My daughter also has the socks and a brag jacket for her extra patches.

As far as costs we pay dues of 20.00 per quarter. This covers all craft supplies, patches etc. We also have a snack rotation. Most parents in our Troop do drop and run. I can't do that. I stick around to help out as needed. I also agree to assign a parent to help with/run a Try It. Have the girls discuss what they want to work on and then assign the Try It's to the kids moms so you are not stuck with all the work.

You may want to consider splitting into two troops. I think a troop of 20 girls is way to many. I know Girl Scouts likes the larger size but I think more like 6 - 8 girls is better.

Hope this helps

 

[aprilgail2]

We are in our second year of Brownies. As parents we were required to purchase the uniform for our kids. A. We also have a snack rotation. Most parents in our Troop do drop and run. I can't do that. I stick around to help out as needed.
You may want to consider splitting into two troops. I think a troop of 20 girls is way to many. I know Girl Scouts likes the larger size but I think more like 6 - 8 girls is better.

Hope this helps

When my daughter went from daisys to brownies they used the money the girls got as daisys from selling cookies to buy the vests etc. for brownies. Otherwise the parents pay for them here. There is no drop and run issue since the meetings are held at school and they just stay after school and you pick them up 1 hour 45 minutes later that day. I wouldn't have her in it if they were held at someones house, not something I would be comfortable with.
They have a limit here of 10 girls per leader so we have 3 women that are leaders so our troop could be 30 kids...though right now we only have 16.
Each meeting a different parent brings snack, usually you sign up for the week closest to your kids birthday so its a combo.snack and birthday!
This year it was pretty expensive to be in Brownies, cost me over 500.00 for the year between the camping and all the trips and activities. One camping trip was 180.00 and the one we are doing in 2 weeks is only 75 plus some things I have to buy for it, like an insulated sleeping bag! Dues were like 25-30 twice this year then all the other things/trips/activites.

 

[tkd lisa]

You've gotten good advice from everyone here. I was a very involved parent in my daughters Junior troop, and took the troop when she bridged to cadettes.

Girl Scouts is very different from Boy Scouts/Cubs when it comes to uniform rules. The only "required" portion of the uniform is the insignia tab and the pin. And the pin usually comes from troop funds (Council should give you a start up pool for this). The tab is less than $2 as I recall. I would put together an information packet to provide to your incoming parents stating that the uniform is up to the parents. Suggest a vest/sash as a place to put try-its and patches (patches can go on the back so they don't need a separate "brag" jacket). But emphasize that they wear these for 3 years, so it needs to be big enough.

You really need to have a different person handle your money. You have enough on your plate dealing with actually leading the girls. In fact, most council's frown on the money staying in the troop leader's hands. They would really prefer a second set of eyes. In your case, you're definitely eating a lot of costs out of pocket (I know, I did too because I wanted to make things nice for the girls). Remember that you can take a tax deduction on those things if you save your receipts.

In that information packet, I'd specifically ask for a money manager and cookie parent. Emphasize that these positions are required in order to allow your girls to enjoy Brownies and make it something more than just showing up once a week for a craft.

Good luck with your brownies. They can be LOTS of fun.

 

[KJSJpipe]

In our Troop we have dues that are$5/month to cover earned badges that only leaders can buy and other items needed. The rest is up to the families. Check with your local council, ours offers a 'girl scout in a bag' which includes either the vest or sash and the basic patches that they need-flag,#,s council info...
I think it is about $5-10 cheaper then buying seperatly.
Also as far as art supplies go the first meeting in brownies we bought all the girls a small canvas bag and some fabric paints so they could decorate their own bags which they then had to fill themselves. Each bag was to contain- scissors, crayons, markers, pencils & glue. They are to bring them to every meeting so they can use their own supplies to do crafts, we supply paper and such.
I always think its funny what people think of as a large group. As Daisies we had 26 girls , each year of brownies we lost a few, we just bridged to Juniors with 15 girls and comsider it a small Troop!

 

[challada]

When my daughter went from daisys to brownies they used the money the girls got as daisys from selling cookies to buy the vests etc. for brownies. Otherwise the parents pay for them here. There is no drop and run issue since the meetings are held at school and they just stay after school and you pick them up 1 hour 45 minutes later that day. I wouldn't have her in it if they were held at someones house, not something I would be comfortable with.
They have a limit here of 10 girls per leader so we have 3 women that are leaders so our troop could be 30 kids...though right now we only have 16.
Each meeting a different parent brings snack, usually you sign up for the week closest to your kids birthday so its a combo.snack and birthday!
This year it was pretty expensive to be in Brownies, cost me over 500.00 for the year between the camping and all the trips and activities. One camping trip was 180.00 and the one we are doing in 2 weeks is only 75 plus some things I have to buy for it, like an insulated sleeping bag! Dues were like 25-30 twice this year then all the other things/trips/activites.

WOW! Does your council not enforce the rule about Daisies not selling anything??? I had some girls cry this year when they found out we could not sell cookies (I told them this at the beginning of the year).
This is what has kind of put me in a bind in that Daisies is a no fundraising year, period. First year of Brownies, we sell cookies in the spring, so no fundraising until then. So basically, our troop has no money until the third year.

FYI..our council has no "troop fund" that sets you up. Here, you are required to set up a bank account w/a certain bank and have the leader, assistant and service area rep as your co-signers.

 

[aprilgail2]

WOW! Does your council not enforce the rule about Daisies not selling anything??? I had some girls cry this year when they found out we could not sell cookies (I told them this at the beginning of the year).
This is what has kind of put me in a bind in that Daisies is a no fundraising year, period. First year of Brownies, we sell cookies in the spring, so no fundraising until then. So basically, our troop has no money until the third year.

.

Thats not true..the Daisys are allowed to participate in the late cookie sale..it starts after the cookeis have been delivered by the regular girl scout sale. I think it started in April last year. They can't sell in Jan with the rest of the kids but they are allowed to participate in the late sale. That started in the past few years. The nut sale the daisys did not do but this year we sold them as brownies in Oct. so they had money from that, they also did the magazines somewhere in there too so they had money from that also.

 

[WDWfor5]

Thats not true..the Daisys are allowed to participate in the late cookie sale..it starts after the cookeis have been delivered by the regular girl scout sale. I think it started in April last year. They can't sell in Jan with the rest of the kids but they are allowed to participate in the late sale. That started in the past few years. The nut sale the daisys did not do but this year we sold them as brownies in Oct. so they had money from that, they also did the magazines somewhere in there too so they had money from that also.

It's so interesting how each council's rules are different. I'm a 1st grade brownie leader in NJ and Daisy's are not allowed to sell anything or handle money for dues for the entire year.

I also have a large troop of 14 girls and am growing in 2nd grade to around 17. We charge $45 per year in advance or$5 / month if that's better for the family. Parents bought the vest and the numbers, troop crest, etc. The dues pay for Try-It's, Participation patches, supplies, etc. We did do the Nut and candy and magazine sale (QSP) in the fall and that helped with money - we raised $163 from that sale alone.

I do have a Cookie Mananger and a Snack Manager (she assigns snack duty and reminds parents that they're day is coming up). Next year I have a Trip Coordinator so that I don't have to hassle with permission slips, car seats, etc.

I love my troop They're so much fun and we do fantastic things - but the only way to keep it fun is to delegate, delgate, delegate!!!

I try to remind myself that even though I'm the Leader, it's their troop too and instead of feeling like I'm asking too much I remind myself how much I give to their daughters and I simply expect them to help occasionally when needed.

Feel free to PM me if you need meeting suggestions, sample newsletters or have any questions and good luck with what sounds like it will be a really nice, large troop.

 

[challada]

Thats not true..the Daisys are allowed to participate in the late cookie sale..it starts after the cookeis have been delivered by the regular girl scout sale. I think it started in April last year. They can't sell in Jan with the rest of the kids but they are allowed to participate in the late sale. That started in the past few years. The nut sale the daisys did not do but this year we sold them as brownies in Oct. so they had money from that, they also did the magazines somewhere in there too so they had money from that also.

Wow, wow, wow! We don't have any "after" cookies sales. It was very expressly stated and written that as a Daisy troop, we could NOT fundraise in any way.

I could swear that our council does no fall product which only adds to my frustration.

I guess these folks who take cruises w/their troops must be those doing all these different product sales! I just can't see getting a trip out of cookie sales...LOL.

Good news is that I sent notices out to the parents saying what the item numbers were they need for the vest, patches, etc. They will have to order online as we don't have a council anywhere nearby. I'm much less stressed about finding 14 uniforms now.

I like the choice of monthly or up front payments. I guess I should not feel bad asking for more than $10 since it sounds like many folks pay much more than that for involvement.

 

[Chilehead Too]

I just resigned as brownie leader after a 4 years. I started as daisy and had the same 10 girls. I just bridged them into Juniors last week. Its alot of work and I had absolutely no parent involvement. Gosh it was like pulling teeth to get some help. I grew more and more frustrated and finally decided enough. Luckily my own daughter had decided she was ready to move on as well. I let the parents know about 2 months ago, and not one came forward to take over. I don't know what happens from here?

But as far as the $, I collected dues of 25.00 and the parents were responsible for paying for the vest. YOu should not have to foot the bill for the troop.

My younger dd is in a very active troop and also very costly. Everytime I turn around they are asking for money. I don't mind, but I thought the point of scouting was to make it affodable for all.

Daisys here are never allowed to sell cookies. They did however, participate in the magazine and nut sale.

And one last thing, our council has a leader/child ratio of 5-1. I had a co leader on paper but very rarely she made it to the meetings.
So you may want to check if your council has a similar rule.

Good luck to you and have fun.

 

[aprilgail2]

It's so interesting how each council's rules are different. I'm a 1st grade brownie leader in NJ and Daisy's are not allowed to sell anything or handle money for dues for the entire year.

.

This is what is in the official handbook we got "According to GSUSA, Daisy Girl Scouts may not sell cookies or any other products, HOWEVER Daisy Girl Scouts who bridge via "boost into Brownies" in the spring may take full advantage of the Brownie Girl Scout program, including:council-sponsored Brownie Programs-camping and local trips-OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IN THE MINI COOKIE CAMPAIGN (APRIL_MAY)"

 

[challada]

I just resigned as brownie leader after a 4 years. I started as daisy and had the same 10 girls. I just bridged them into Juniors last week. Its alot of work and I had absolutely no parent involvement. Gosh it was like pulling teeth to get some help. I grew more and more frustrated and finally decided enough. Luckily my own daughter had decided she was ready to move on as well. I let the parents know about 2 months ago, and not one came forward to take over. I don't know what happens from here?

But as far as the $, I collected dues of 25.00 and the parents were responsible for paying for the vest. YOu should not have to foot the bill for the troop.

My younger dd is in a very active troop and also very costly. Everytime I turn around they are asking for money. I don't mind, but I thought the point of scouting was to make it affodable for all.

Daisys here are never allowed to sell cookies. They did however, participate in the magazine and nut sale.

And one last thing, our council has a leader/child ratio of 5-1. I had a co leader on paper but very rarely she made it to the meetings.
So you may want to check if your council has a similar rule.

Good luck to you and have fun.

Thanks...I pretty much see going thru brownies and then being done myself. I know my girls are all 5 and 6, so I should not bank on what they do/say...but I don't see a huge amount of motivation from them to continue past Brownies. So far, they see this as a playdate at my house w/ those pesky "activities" and "crafts" that I interrupt them with!

I don't really see my own DD going on to whatever is Eagle Scout level in GSs. Plus she is so booked in other activities that keep growing and growing (traveling gymnastics at age 6 only gets worse as she gets older).

Unfortunately, our council has absolutely no ratio rule...so I keep getting "can't you take one more girl". I've held fast to the idea that all my girls need to be the same grade at the same school. This is the group that already hangs out together...I wouldn't want one extra girl to feel like the odd man out. If I took all the extras, I would probably be at 20 to 1.

Again, thanks all the for the info and ideas! Always good to bounce off others!