Girl Scouts ?

wonderwoman

Cathlete
My 2nd grader wants to join the girl scouts this year. She has never done it before. Can someone tell me want it's all about? Is it a big commitment? I also wanted to enroll her in other activies as well so thats why I am asking. Thanks!
 
Last year was my daughters first year (2nd grade). I think it depends on the troop leader. My daughter usually has one troop meeting a month and then in addition to that they have various outings or field trips. All of the field trips are optional, however, they usually earn a patch for each outing so we try to go to all that she's interested in. As for the cookie sales, those usually take place in January or February. Last year we only sold to family and friends, but I know some troops will set up booths at local businesses on a saturday or sunday.
Just to give you an idea, we have an upcoming hayride, a field trip to a business that screenprints t-shirts, an overnight trip to a planetarium (sp), and in December we do a day of community service at the senior center. There was also a field trip to the Parade Company in Detroit that we missed out on, and last weekend on older troop put on a day (3 hours) of activitites for our troop which helped them to earn 3 badges.
All in all she enjoys it. She's in other activities (dance, running club, religious ed, tennis) and she has 3 younger siblings so when it gets too much or we can't make it we'll just not do it...no guilt.
I will say though, this year I am homeschooling my kids and because of that we have much more free time during the "after school" hours. There is no way we'd have time for all of the extra activities if she was getting off the bus at 3:45, tired and grouchy with homework to complete.
Hope this helps and that I haven't totoally confused you.
 
I was a Brownie troop leader for 5 years...we met once a week...had a few camping outings...cookie sales IMO not a big comitment. We had fun! We would get together with my sister-in-laws Girl scout troop and had a blast. Go for it and have fun!
 
As one of the other replies said, it all depends on the troop leader(s). My daughter's troop stayed together through 8th grade (which is VERY rare) because her leaders planned such fun activities for them. They only did something once a month, and it was always an outing, so there wasn't much commitment at all. Have her try it and see how she likes it :)!
Paula
 
I grew up participating in Girl Scouts! My mom was a Brownie leader - she was always making things like pigs in a blanket in a carboard box. I stayed in until 9th grade and we did some really cool stuff like trips to the World's Fair, skiing in Vermont and Pennsylvania.

I lived in Northern Virginia and in the summer I was accepted into a program where I interned for a congressman in D.C.! That was amazing ....
 
Girl Scouts rock!!!

I am a currently a leader for a group of 10th graders that has been together since early grade school. We meet once a month now. In the earlier days, we met twice a month after school in one of the classrooms.

I had another troop that graduated high school together two years ago. Many of these girls earned their Gold Awards (the GS equivalent of Eagle Scout). They also started out together early in grade school and all are now attending college and continue to stay in touch with one another.

IMHO, it gives a great return for a minimal time (and money) investment. Our girls were and are a diverse bunch that might not otherwise have gotten to know one another. This helped them to learn about tolerance and how to respect and appreciate differences. In addition to developing many life-long friendships, Girl Scouting helps build leadership skills, looks great on a resume and has helped many girls get after-school jobs and into good colleges.

I would suggest talking with the leader(s) and maybe visiting a meeting to get an idea of what the group is like. As someone mentioned, a lot depends on who is in the troop and who is leading it. If there is more than one troop, you might want to check out a few troops to find a good fit for your daughter.

Good Luck!
 
My oldest daughter is in 4th grade and has a very close group. There are about 12 of them. They meet 2x a month during the school year for 1.5 hours. My 2 triplet girls are in 1st grade and this will be their second year. They also meet 2x a month for 1 hour. My oldest absolutely loves it and she has gotten to do so much with her troop. The thing about GS is, you get out of it what you put in it. My 2 younger girls want to do it again this year, though they really didn't like it last year. *shrug*
 

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