Girl Scouts - Grover,MO

Better than making her social, it will make her want to be a good person.
To respect herself. And she will gain confidence.

Girls Scouts empower girls and lets them know they are smart and capable.

I can't wait for my girls to be in Girl Scouts! I loved it growing up. I started in K and continued until 7th grade. I had so much fun and really learned a lot. You get to do things that you otherwise wouldn't. Camping with friends, selling cookies, crafts, learning science and nature, i can't remember it all.

One thing I remember most of all was Daddy Daughter Date Nights. One that stands out was probably second or third grade and we went to the planetarium. I didn't spend much time with my dad growing up, but he never missed a daddy night with girl scouts.

Do it, it's fun, it's educational, and she will love it!

Don't take her chance away for cooking pancakes on an inverted coffee can in the rain. My most VIVID memory of being a Girl Scout. Nothing like picking out rocks and sticks when you flip it over and lands in the dirt.

Actually I LOVED being a girl scout and would have continued on being one if we had a leader after sixth grade. Such a bummer. Camping rocked!

I didn't know a thing about Girl Scouts last year at this time. Except that they have great cookies and make crafts and went camping. All things I love but wasn't sure that's what I wanted for my shy daugther. Well one year later and after my daugther saying "my mom will be a leader"...I am loving it.

Laurie A. is so right. Our little first graders are planning their activities. They have some major plans this year. Our main goal in our troop is to help them be courageous, to have character, and to be leaders.

I can say though there are troops out there that don't do any of this. I will say that it can be time consuming and we participate in GS and Soccer/or one other sport along with it.

All my kids did scouts. 2 girls, 2 boys
My daughter is a Cadette now, she is in 8th grade.
She loves it. Her best friend is with her, they have been BFF's since PreK and we moved away and came back. The girls have never gone to the same school.
She is now doing more leadership and volunteer work. The opportunities are better as they get older.
I was my older daughters' Daisy through Junior Leader. I was never a scout. I like the program. She is only out because I quit on her. I was seriously bullied by the moms of the girls in my troop and after coming home in tears my hubby said no more.
If she does her 13 years and gets her Gold award, there are scholarships available.
It has opened doors for my now 13yo. She has gotten opportunites and sponsorships for her troops activities becasue of what Scouts has taught her.
She can set up a tent, build a fire,and filet a fish, because of Girl Scouts.

Our leader is super-organized and committed. All of the parents help out.

I don't like....peanut sales, ugh. and all the red tape when your daughter is going somewhere with the troop, but it is neccessary.

My daughter did Daisies last year (K-1st grade) and is starting Brownies this year (2nd-3rd grade). She loves it. they meet twice a month for 1 1/2 each time and have some field trips. Besides the social aspect (my girl is very shy), Girl Scouts teaches the girls "to be a sister to every girl" and to have respect for themselves and others, which is a very good message in this climate of bullying and peer pressure. We haven't really done much with the Brownies yet, but last year they had a craft, then a story with a message, and some games followed by snack. This year they will be earning more badges, which usually center on things like volunteering and environment. I was a Girl Scout and loved it in elementary school and most of the girls in our troop had moms that were former Girl Scouts. I had her join to help her socially, because of the message that is taught, and because I thought she would enjoy earning the badges. I would let her join if she is interested.

Call your local council and find out who the troop leader would be for your daughter. Then get in touch with the leader and find out exactly what this troop involves. Once you know what this local troop does, you can make an educated decision on whether or not your daughter has time and will enjoy their activities. That said, I was a girl scout for 12 years and now I lead my daughter's troop. It is an EXCELLENT program and can lead to lifelong confidence and amazing friendships!

I was in that and Brownies. I hated it!

Now I don't know how old your child is, but if that were my daughter, my primary deciding factor would be, IF she had enough time..... to do her homework daily, without having to stay up until 10:00pm, just to get it done, on weeknights.
My daughter is now in 4th grade, and she gets a TON of homework. She takes martial arts classes, week nights. And this is enough.

Girl Scouts are truly a wonderful experience. I stayed in from Brownies all through high school. My mom was a leader and in high school we met once a month at midnight and had a sleep over. It was a great idea mom came up with to keep the older girls interested. The things I learned in Girl Scouts have stayed with me and are fond memories as well as a lot of life skills. My daughter did girl scouts for the first couple years and then her schedule got too busy and we had to drop an activity. However the mother/daughter camp outs we went to will be memories she will always have. And now when I tell a story or show her something I learned in Girl Scouts she understands where it came from.

If at all possible let her experience a few year of it. You will both enjoy it!

I was a Girl Scout throughout my school years and absolutely loved it. I was very, very shy (still am) but GS helped me make friends. You learn so much. Not just how to do things, but how to be a better, stronger person. I signed my daughter up as soon as she was old enough and she was in all through school. (I did the leader thing for awhile and also the head of our district for a couple of years.) There are so many wonderful memories I have from all those years associated with the GS.
There are some leaders who do more with the girls and some who do a minimum amount and leave the girls to do more on their own (earning badges). So the amount of time involved would be dependent on that more than anything. I think it would be a good idea to see if you could talk to the person that would be her leader before signing her up. But personally, I think it is definitely worth it. :)

I have been a leader and a GS. I have had 2 troops with 7 yrs difference in the girls ages. They have both loved the experience and I enjoyed being with them. We have done many things that the girls might not have gotten to do otherwise. We camped, both in a lodge and tents. We made soap, bath bombs, bath salt, made Christmas ornaments for a animal rescue shelter to sell, have worked with children in a homeless shelter... we have gone to the Muny and taken a tour, done the Science Center, slept over at the zoo, visted a bank and got to walk into the vault.. We have made crafts, earned badges had animals visit us....wow and so much more. There are summer camps of biking, creating, horses and those are overnight camps. there are day camps and special events that you normally would not get for the price they are offered. There is meeting other girls in your troop and outside. My 17 year old was a GS until this year. She did horse camp from the 5th grade my 10 yr old has been to a 2 week camp and she also has loved it.

I was a GS for 4 yrs growing up. My troop did birthday parties to afford our trips. We would book a party either western, clown or gyspy and did a routine to that theme. we had a blast and were young enough the kids thought it was great. We camped a lot. Lodge camping and in hammocks for primative camping. We made the hammocks, dug laterines, cooked on a campfire.....we went to Amana, Iowa for one trip.

So, try it. Some troops meet once a month and do a field trip for another meeting. some meet x2 a month and do field trips a few times during the year. Even if you do not join a troop you can be an individual GS so that you can still enjoy the camps or special GS events. Good luck and hoping you have all the fun that our girls have had. oh yeah... you do get a lot for the buck. I think someone else said that also. I believe yearly registration is $12 and there might be an activity fee and a few activities might cost a little. But, what value for friendships, learning, fun, and whatever else comes along.

C.

In my experience, the guaranteed benefit is 100% the social experience. The rest of what she is going to get out of it depends completely on the troop leader. A good troop leader is organized, ambitious, kind, fair patient, and will introduce a number of new and interesting experiences and projects and will guide the girls in becoming good leaders and thoughtful people. Being a troop leader is an enourmous volunteer commitment and it takes a VERY special person to do that job. Find out more about the troop leader. What kind of support does she have, what does she need and expect from the parents? How long does she plan to lead the girls? One of my girl's troop leaders committed to the girls in Kindergarten that she would take the girls all the way through as many years as they wanted to be in the troop. My other daughter's troop leader disbanded the troop after she transferred her daughter to another school so her daughter could join a troop at her new school. So we were left having paid for a uniform with no use and a very sad girl that felt abandoned by a trusted adult. Also, think about how you feel about cookie sales. Girls are not required to sell the cookies, but each troop leader will handle this differently. Will she be expected or pressured to sell? My kids loved this activity for about 2 years and then after school fundraisers as well got completely burnt out on selling.

I am a leader of two troops. I never expected to be a leader but in order to provide my daughters with a great experience I felt the need to lead when the leader for my oldest daugthers troop quit and it's led me to lead both of their troops and next year I expect to add my youngest daughter to the mix and lead 3 troops.

The benefits for Girl Scouts is broad. They get great social opportunities, they learn leadership skills, they are exposed to things that they might not be exposed to at home for example if you're not crafty most troops do crafts of some kind at some time or even at most meetings. Things vary so much depending on the leader because we have the freedom to lead our troops in our own ways. I take my girls out on field trips and we are always trying and doing something new. Your daughter may discover things about herself or likes that she may not otherwise have been able to find out about herself. Down the road there aer HUGE opportunities for College Scholarships.

I can tell you my daughters love Girl Scouts and with both of my troops I most always have either 100% attendance at our meetings or very close. My girls do not want to miss their meetings.

I'd say give it a try if she's interested. If there's not a good match as far as a leader and how she does things you can search for another for a better fit just find out who the troop coordinator is for your school/area.

I have girls that are shy and others that are very outgoing and they blend and get along very well.

There's also Summer day camps where they can go for just the day for a week and do fun things and then there's overnight camps at the Girl Scout camp my daughters have not done the overnight camps. You choose what to do there some girls do and some don't. I have found the more they do the more they learn and grow and they always have fun at whatever we do with Girl Scouts.

It's also the least expensive activity I know of for kids too.

L.

P.S. In reference to the comment about cookie sales troops are required to sell cookies.... the leader cannot make anyone sell but the troop does have to sell it's required by the Girl Scout Council and your troop NEEDS the cookie sales for funds. The $12.00 registration fee goes to GS USA it does not go locally to the council OR the Troop! The Troop needs funds just like everything else the craft supplies anything you do costs money. So if you're going to put a child in scouts please support them and help them sell cookies and nuts etc. A leader cannot run a troop without money but we start out that way with a new troop and the leader ends up footing the bill for a lot and/ or has to wait till the troop sells cookies etc and gets the money in which for our area is towards the end of the year. So don't be upset if you need to sell cookies etc and/or need to pay dues. Everything costs and your leader shouldn't have to foot the bill.

While I am in agreement with all the other moms - I was in scouts and loved it - but I started my granddaughter in it and was really disapointed in the structure. We live in a fairly rural area and not many of the girls can afford the uniform and book - scouts said that they would not scolarship books and would only scolarship a limited amount of uniforms. They would not let us have fund raisers due to conflicts with dates, we could not get private donations b/c that is off limits, we could not make the kids uniforms, on and on...

The final straw was that they only make 25 cents per box of cookies.. boy scouts make 75% of each sale... really????