You won’t end up talking about makeup and boy bands the whole time unless you decide that that’s what you want. The beauty of Girl Scouts is that it’s a refuge from an awful lot of the more stereotypically girly stuff that tweens and teens have pushed on them.
The girls in my troop were happy to catch crickets and read books and learn how to make foods foreign to their home cultures. Your troop can be like that, too.
I’ve known women who can do this, too. I don’t use NSWE directions for city streets all that much, but when hiking, being able to use a compass and a topo map is a pretty valuable skill. I’ve done quite a bit of hiking for school, so I know how to find my way around using the map and compass.
Really, I think any activity that requires brainpower, introduces girls to new and interesting skills or areas of expertise, and that isn’t cloyingly gender-typical would be a good choice for a Girl Scout troop. Learning to use a compass is a good idea, as are most other outdoorsy skills. (We once had a rather gung-ho young guy in the Marines tell us how to do field amputations–you might want to not go quite that far with the outdoor ruggedness theme.) Engineering or mechanically-related projects might be a good idea, too. I don’t know what backgrounds the girls in your troop are from, but some fun projects about different countries could work well, too.
We got to have a sleepover party of sorts at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. That was a blast! Not to mention that you can’t leave that place without having absorbed some sort of interesting or useful knowledge.
And definitely encourage the girls to earn the book badge and the wildlife badges. Those are cool.
Xbuckeye–are you still within the State of Ohio?
If you’re in the Columbus area, you could do a field trip to the Ohio State University insectary. That’s always fun, and I have yet to see a kid who’s truly ho-hum about exotic insects and spiders. They’re freaky, they’re fun, they’re fascinating, and many of them are really, really beautiful. A trip to the insectary could be combined with a trip to the OSU Biosci greenhouses (the greenhouses and the insectary are in the same building.) If you want, I can give you contact information to set up a trip for your Girl Scouts. Just send me an e-mail if you’re interested.
I was a Brownie and a Scout and I loved it.
I was a B in the '60’s and an S in the '70’s. I went to Camp Manistee in MI–gorgeous. Wonderful two weeks one summer. I still vividly remember the climax forest there.
We CAMPED back then–we pitched 4 man tents in the rain. We learned how to start fires, fire safety, general safety (buddy system and all that), flag etiquette, cooking, cooking over a fire, hiking, sewing (french knots and more!), team work, water safety–I don’t know what all else.
Nowadays, apparently, GS don’t camp. They go to a heated lodge with electricity.
Whoopee. :rolleyes: That is just sooo challenging, no?
I was a Brownie Leader for my daughter–and it sucked. None of the Moms wanted to help (one mom told me, “if there is any way I can help you with something I could do at home in my own time, let me know”–I am not kidding). Some of the girls were brats–best you know this up front. The previous leader gave me some sage advice. “Watch out for Melanie-she bites”. These were second graders(!).
But I know it would have worked except for two things: I was pregnant and horribly sick and my local council was about as supportive as balsa wood. They were so busy constraining what we could do (just getting a field trip together to the local animal shelter was a huge ordeal). I became frustrated. And the council pushed those damn cookies. We had enough money with dues for our activites, but we HAD to sell cookies…whatever.
Recommended activities:
Animal shelter
Tour of the postal sorting facility (not the local post office)
wagon/hay ride/haunted house
nature walks with someone who knows at least a squirrel from a chipmunk–and do this to the same place in each season.
nursing home visit
radio station tour (I did this as a Scout and it was really cool)
trips downtown to museums/parks
bike hikes with sack lunches to forest preserve
Crafts aren’t all bad. Do the stained glass made with crayon shavings and wax paper–that’s always cool. Or have them press leaves in wax paper after their nature hike. Knitting would be very cool.
I really wish my daughter had had my experiences as a Scout. I loved the rituals at the time (the Pledge and the hand signs etc) but now I appreciate the exposure to nature and learning it provided. Nursing is alot like GS, really. (I’m a nurse).
Last thing: I love that Tom Lehrer song about the Boy Scouts…
How.cool.is.that?
I want to see the merit badge for that one!
Alas, I am an (e)xbuckeye, but in my heart, I will always be a Buckeye. But my sister hasn’t defected, I might pass on the info. I had totally forgotten about museum lock-ins, COSI overnights were awesome! I think we could manage the field amputations, though, the other leader is an EMT. I get lost in the building I have worked in for over 2 years, but losing the trail in a blizzard in the Allegheny mountains was no big deal.
I totally want to design the badge for that one!