Hi everyone....
My daughter, Olivia, will be entering Kindergarten this Fall. She currently does swim, horse back riding and soccer. I just got a notice about Girl Scouts....and am thinking of allowing her to join.....here's my question:
What's your experience with girl scouts been?
How time consuming is it?
Is it worth joining?
Any experiences you wish to share are greatly appreciated...
Thank you so much! 1|1|My experience with Girl Scouts....|Sharon|s_forshee@hotmail.com|23:39:17|06/13/2009|
Hi! My youngest daughter (now 13 and in 7th grade) was in GS from kindergarten to 5th grade (6 years). In the beginning, meetings were held weekly doing crafts, planning events, etc., (trips to the local zoo, visit nursing homes, library, community projects, etc). Every year it was more involved, more events, etc, to earn your badges & so forth. Then in 3rd-4th grade years, meetings were twice a month and 5th grade was once a month. Reason was many were involved in sports, other activities. I was always at every meeting, chaperone driver and more. Also did yearly cookie and nut sales which was fun. My daughter loved it until 5th-6th grade when many girls dropped out for one reason or another and many parents didn't stay for the meetings. Most of the time, I was the only parent with troop leader, so got boring and lack of interest. However, if your daughter is interested, go for it. You will meet wonderful nice people and will have loads of fun!! Go for it!! HTH, Sharon:) 2|1|My daughter was a daisy last year(which is what the girl scouts are called in k and first grade), and found it to be wonderful for her. The meetings were twice a month, To work on Earning their petals. We did not do a cookie sale this year, but the troop will be doing next year. I found it very worth while. |dlpavitt|dlpavitt@att.net|06:41:12|06/14/2009|
ALways looking for:
daisy sourcream .60/1, or .50/1
McDonald's Big mac Bogo's, or Free's
utz chips, any
hunt's snack pack pudding
eggland's best eggs, .50/1 or better
nabisco off 1
powerade(any)
pepperidge farm goldfish
pepperidge farm cinnamon rasin bread
pepperidge farm cakes
pepperidge farm litestyle bread
thomas's english muffins
Smuckers Orchard Select jam/jellies
skippy peanut butter off 1
jif peanut butter off 1
Kellogg's off 1
General mills off 1
viva papertowels, .75/1
cottonelle, 1.00/1 or .50/1
cottonelle wipes 1.00/1 or better
coolwhip, any
gatorade g2
coupons good on ANY coke product
sprite coupons
mystic pizza coupons
arm and hammer detergent off 1
NBPN rebates good in Ct
WINE TAG's bread, beef, poultry,cheese, deli items
Unused Stamps(small denomination's okay)
Well concealed cash
Free's(that I need)
BOGO's(that I need)
bigelow tea, any
pphf, existing funds please
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Try to get all trades out with in 12 hours of confirmation. If you do not have a board name, and feedback, I will mail my end, only after I receive your end. Happy trading. Thanks for looking, Donna
3|2|We did girlscouts for the entire 12 years.|romaninfla|kroman04@tampabay.rr.com|12:05:19|06/14/2009|
In the beginning we had a large troop the first three years are mostly art n crafts, field trips and holiday parties.
They always met up once a week until highschool when we dropped it to every other week, We went from 23+ at times in girls to the final four who just completed their goldaward. Since I was a co-leader the last 6 years or so, I would have to say the first 6 years were much easier, but be warned they will always ask and look for new leaders and unless you have a lot of time to deal with monthly council meetings and tons of paperwork I personally would never suggest anyone be a volunteer leader.
I only opted to become coleader because the girls had become close and we wanted to them to finish what they started (the leaders daughters and mine) Between camping trips and summer camps the girls do get alot of experiences they might not otherwise. (Have great memories of pumpkin picking, christmas caroling, walking in holiday parades, trips to the zoos, sleepovers at the aquarium, sports days, and so much more. Of course you need to sell alot of cookies and calanders and nuts to have the funds to do those things but we always seemed to manage. Some troops have weekly dues like $2 each girl. If a family cant afford that there is a from to fill out and council will approve the child go for free. The dues would cover art supplies and snacks etc.
My daughter was very shy had few friends and it helped her out of her shell, even my older daughter atteneded all the meetings to help. The older they get the more they do, like run charity events and community services which help towards graduation depending on where you live. Overall it was a great experience, but I think for me personally it would have been better just to be a parent and stay out of the politics of it all. Most parents do attend the first few years and then get to trust the leaders and tend to not show up which in some cases is good depending on the age of the child the books and work they do is age appropriate but nothing will be taught without parents permission and the books are always reaily available for parents to look through and see what they are up too.
Basically see if she likes it some girls stay interested others arent depends on the child. Hope this helps a bit Kim.
The truth is out there..... 4|1|Thank you ladies....this has greatly helped me..|kellysp6637|frugalk76@aol.com|18:47:55|06/14/2009|
I will definately go to the June 17th meeting with my daughter and sign her up....I don't plan on volunteering to become a leader....however, I do plan on staying for each meeting and will volunteer to help whenever possible....
Thank you again....I'm now looking forward to the experience. 5|1|I didn't enjoy my time in scouting in outer boroughs, New York City|mfrs|mfrs.sv.ca@gmail.com|02:24:05|06/15/2009|
I was a scout for grades 4 and 5, my patrol named itself 'The Prima Donnas' over the troop leader's objection. I didn't like wearing the required uniform--it made me look jaundiced and was extremely ugly, I wasn't yet aware of wearing something ironically. My father felt that being a critical thinker was important, and the scouting handbook didn't fare too well under our analysis. I would have used the phrase crypto-fascist if it had been available at the time.
I didn't like the perpetual need to raise funds--including the requirement to go door-to-door several times a year. This might work in a suburban community, but this was New York City. Many of my neighbors followed dietary laws that only allowed one kind of cookie, and these weren't good; my own extended family wasn't into sweets. Fortunately were weren't pushed to beat any sales records and I probably wouldn't have cared.
We spent meeting times doing crafts, talking about nature (in the abstract), small cooking projects, and going to events in Manhattan. 6|1|i was a girl scout for man years. to me it was a great learning experience|ppe1952|MATWELL3@ROCHESTER.RR.COM|07:17:22|06/15/2009|
summer camp, field trips to great places( we were a very active group for years) we learned first aid,home ec stuff, swimming. great experience.
Remember your manners: when god answers your prayers----- say thank you.
7|1|I was a Girl Scout myself and a leader for Brownies and Juniors, I loved it! When I was|Mackiesmudder|Mackiesmudder@aol.com|12:56:41|06/15/2009|
a child, our troop was very active and as a Leader, it was also very active. I still adore my former leaders, they gave so much and my girls are still remember me and what we did. The experiences were priceless. I worked full-time when i was a leader and it was very frustrating to not be able to count on Mothers whose children I was teaching and taking all over creation on field trips for much of anything. Some were great and some treated it as a time that they had a FREE babysitter for awhile. I cannot tell you how many times I waited in the parking lot of the school after the meetings with girls whose parents hadn't arrived to pick them up. Our dues were small so that everyone could afford them and we had garage sales and bake sales to pay for our trips. My assistant leader and I did not look at who didn't participate in fund raisers, we shared equally with all, it was for the girls and they learned to pull together to make things happen and they had a ball! In an active troop, you have joined as well as your daughter. I have to say though, remember that the Leaders are volunteers and it is very time consuming and life juggling to prepare meetings every week. More than once I wanted to hand it over to someone who had more to say and didn't want to back-it up with DOING. The girls love it and it is very worth it to join.
Cathie
8|1|Scout here too! (M)|bluh2oeyes|bluh2oeyes@yahoo.com|15:42:17|06/15/2009|
I was a scout from Brownies to HS (I earned my Silver badge, only the gold a that time was higher but by the time I was in HS my interests changed to other after school activities like Ski club, etc.). I'm a lifetime girl scout memeber.
My mother was a troop leader for many of those years and a day camp leader as well. When I became old enough and because I'd spent so many summers at both day camp and sleep away camp I became I camp leader.
I think scouts are a good thing. I wasn't into "sports" so this was something that I really liked. It still involved "excercise" of the body (hiking, and other activities) but it also included excercise for the mind (Crafts, earning badges, etc.)
Jennifer in North Carolina...the Tar Heel State