Rant: New Girl Scout Badge Books

[Punchie]

I keep thinking of starting a Frontier Girls troop--the program seems way more flexible than the Girl Scouts. I just don't think I'm up to organizing/leading right now! Maybe if I got a more organized friend to help out.

 

--Sarah

 

After poking around their website, I really like it! I wish I had known about them last summer. It's what scouting should be. So would it be bad if I sign up DD as an individual? I love GS, and I'm having a blast, but FG is pretty much to a tee what I want. Maybe it could be a "mommy and me" thing? Can she be both a GS and a FG?

[Bassoonaroo]

Well AHG is driving us both nuts with the 30 minute devotionals at every meeting followed by being lectured at for the next hour over something like the Civil War.

 

Is there another troop around? It sounds so BORING what you are enduring now. My dd is in an AHG troop with all levels (K-12) and they do really exciting things: science days, sleepovers, camping, parades, skits, songs, games, etc. Yes, they meet all together but it's for usually a 5 min devotional (an older lady, who is quite nice and interesting, talks about a verse) and they sing some and perhaps have a flag ceremony and announcements -- but most of the time is with peers in their "units" and they do a nice job keeping them chatty and moving. Our city (500,000 people or so) has two very active troops. Maybe your city has a different one you could visit. I'd be snoring with 30 minutes of devotionals followed by a Civil War lecture.

[Happy2BaMom]

Punchie -

 

I went and read the FG blog...it looks like it can be done as an individual, and/or you could also do GS. I think their web site offers the option to join as an individual, and I think it's up to you as to whether you want to do FG and GS.

[Bassoonaroo]

How can you not find that sexist? So the boys get more prestige because the Eagle Award requires more work. So the Girl Scouts make the work for the girls easy so its not prestigous like the Eagle Award? So girls can't hack doing more work? Come on.

 

I don't blame them for being felt like they are being cheated. I know I would.

 

I don't think it's sexist as much as it is just some bad organizational decisions. My ds is a Boy Scout hoping to get Eagle one day (he's still 13 so we're not there) and my dd is in American Heritage Girls which offers Stars and Stripes award which is truly on the same level as Eagle Scout. I've seen the requirements for both. Of cours with AHG, they are not as known yet, so colleges and jobs might not yet recognize the Stars and Stripes but I think they'll get there. It's not dumbed down -- so girls CAN do something big and worthwhile and comparable to Eagle.

[Alessandra]

Is this a 100th Anniversary patch that is specific to your council, or is it this one? http://www.girlscoutshop.com/gsusaonline/GSProductDetails.aspx?ProductID=100th+ANNIVERSARY+OFFICIAL+LOGO+PATCH

 

That's bunk that you have to jump through hoops to get it. I went to our council shop, bought the above patch for my Daisies, and gave it to them at investiture/rededication. Easy peasy.

 

"Bunk"? No, but I wish it were!

 

I get that national GS has a patch you can just buy. But our council has its own patch with very specific requirements. A form has to be submitted and it looks as though Council might check on attendance, etc.

 

Here is the general info --

 

http://www.gsnnj.org/About-Us/100th-Anniversary/Pages/GSNNJ's-100th-Anniversary-Patch.aspx

 

Here is the checklist to be submitted --

 

http://www.gsnnj.org/Resources/Documents/Form_100th%20Anniversary%20Patch.pdf

 

This is the patch that pops up on our Council's site when you search 100th anniversary patch.

Edited January 26, 2012 by Alessandra

[Punchie]

Wow. Just wow. Unless it's terribly important to get your council's patch, I would just order the one from National's website.

 

"Bunk"? No, but I wish it were!

 

I get that national GS has a patch you can just buy. But our council has its own patch with very specific requirements. A form has to be submitted and it looks as though Council might check on attendance, etc.

 

Here is the general info --

 

http://www.gsnnj.org/About-Us/100th-Anniversary/Pages/GSNNJ's-100th-Anniversary-Patch.aspx

 

Here is the checklist to be submitted --

 

http://www.gsnnj.org/Resources/Documents/Form_100th%20Anniversary%20Patch.pdf

 

This is the patch that pops up on our Council's site when you search 100th anniversary patch.

[Alessandra]

Wow. Just wow. Unless it's terribly important to get your council's patch, I would just order the one from National's website.

 

It sounds as though you had the same reaction I did. If our council shop doesn't stock the GSUSA 100th patches, I will order from National's website -- thank for the heads up! I want our girls to do all they can to celebrate the 100th at a reasonable cost.

 

In any case, no one in our troop would qualify for the Council 100th patch -- we registered them the old-fashioned way (not online) and we did it after August 8 (not before).

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Now that's an award that doesn't garner as much respect as the Eagle Scout simply because no one has ever heard of it.

 

I will grant this is true.

 

I would also say that it's worth being eyes wide open about the weaknesses of Venturing. In particular, that they are supposed to be scout driven and that teen aged Venturers are not always the best at planning, foresight and follow through. And that adults often want to step in and "fix" problems instead of mentoring the scouts through the process.

 

But I think that's the case with many youth organizations. On the plus side BSA requirements are usually pretty straightforward and there seems to be more of a focus on outdoor activities and physically demanding activities.

 

Another negative is that for a female venturer to go on an outing, there has to be a female adult leader attending. This may end up resting on a lot of moms if the Crew teams up with a local Troop for activities.

[Punchie]

It sounds as though you had the same reaction I did. If our council shop doesn't stock the GSUSA 100th patches, I will order from National's website -- thank for the heads up! I want our girls to do all they can to celebrate the 100th at a reasonable cost.

 

In any case, no one in our troop would qualify for the Council 100th patch -- we registered them the old-fashioned way (not online) and we did it after August 8 (not before).

 

 

It's like they're setting troops up for failure. I don't get why GS as a whole is so determined to do itself in.

 

Here's what I plan on doing to celebrate the anniversary (most of this will be next Fall, but...)

 

Go to Rock the Falls in June (Niagara Falls)

Sew a replica of the original GS uniform for the girls to see

Bring in my old GS sashes/vests to show the girls

Read the picture book, Here Come the Girl Scouts! and come up with some activities to tie into it

[Punchie]

Punchie -

 

I went and read the FG blog...it looks like it can be done as an individual, and/or you could also do GS. I think their web site offers the option to join as an individual, and I think it's up to you as to whether you want to do FG and GS.

 

I went ahead and signed her up for it last night. I think we'll do it as "mommy and me" (and next yr, younger DD will turn 3, so she can join in w/us too). DD5 has to share me at GS, and she's having a little bit of trouble with that.

 

Plus...FG has both a Classical Literature badge and a Jane Austen badge in addition to some solid-sounding camping/outdoors badges. :D

[Mom0012]

Is there another troop around? It sounds so BORING what you are enduring now. My dd is in an AHG troop with all levels (K-12) and they do really exciting things: science days, sleepovers, camping, parades, skits, songs, games, etc. Yes, they meet all together but it's for usually a 5 min devotional (an older lady, who is quite nice and interesting, talks about a verse) and they sing some and perhaps have a flag ceremony and announcements -- but most of the time is with peers in their "units" and they do a nice job keeping them chatty and moving. Our city (500,000 people or so) has two very active troops. Maybe your city has a different one you could visit. I'd be snoring with 30 minutes of devotionals followed by a Civil War lecture.

 

Unfortunately, no. We're sticking it out because they do occasionally do something fun and the girls in the group are so sweet. I'm just not sure we'll continue next year or not. A 5-minute devotional seems so reasonable and your group sounds more like what I was hoping for. I'm hoping they take an end-of-year survey so I can voice my opinion.

Edited January 26, 2012 by LisaTheresa

[garddwr]

I went ahead and signed her up for it last night. I think we'll do it as "mommy and me" (and next yr, younger DD will turn 3, so she can join in w/us too). DD5 has to share me at GS, and she's having a little bit of trouble with that.

 

Plus...FG has both a Classical Literature badge and a Jane Austen badge in addition to some solid-sounding camping/outdoors badges. :D

 

I love the variety of badges. I keep going back and forth between just wanting to do it as a whole family thing (with Quest) or starting a troop for my daughter. I think a lot of the fun is in having a group, and my son will be in cub scouts soon. I should probably just go ahead and join Frontier Girls as an individual (I think I read on their blog when they started the Quest program that if you were registered with FG you got access to any Quest specific stuff anyway) and learn my way around, then maybe next year I could get some people together and start a troop for the girls.

 

--Sarah

[Pegasus]

My thanks to the OP for starting this thread. My older DD is ready to start working on her Gold Award and she is very disappointed in how Girl Scouts has gotten worse and worse since she started as a Daisy almost 10 years ago!

 

The journeys and new badges are only the latest "innovation." Does anyone else remember the Studio 2B fiasco with girls earning charms instead of badges?

 

Not sure how true it is, but I heard recently that the reason that Girl Scouts goes off in these directions is because they do research with girls WHO ARE NOT IN SCOUTS about what they would like scouts to be like.

 

Pegasus

[Alessandra]

It's like they're setting troops up for failure. I don't get why GS as a whole is so determined to do itself in.

 

Here's what I plan on doing to celebrate the anniversary (most of this will be next Fall, but...)

 

Go to Rock the Falls in June (Niagara Falls)

Sew a replica of the original GS uniform for the girls to see

Bring in my old GS sashes/vests to show the girls

Read the picture book, Here Come the Girl Scouts! and come up with some activities to tie into it

 

Those are some great ideas! I am trying to think how to adapt them to out 5th & 6th graders -- maybe each girl could read part of a book? Maybe by candlelight?

 

I wish I had my old GS stuff -- perhaps I can buy/borrow an old handbook....

 

Your Niagara Falls celebration sounds great -- and reasonably priced, even with the park ticket add-on. Some of our troop is going to a brief candlelight ceremony at a local hotel (light refreshments, $15 per person). Our Council's big June celebration is $89.50 per person and doesn't sound that interesting.

 

http://girlscouts100nj.com/girl-scouts-nj-the-big-celebration.html

 

ETA

LOOK -- Amazon has free Kindle editions of a lot of the old GS materials!!!

 

http://www.amazon.com/Scouting-Official-Handbook-Scouts-ebook/dp/B004UJUNBS/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1327627648&sr=8-3

[TracyR]

Oh, boy, I could rant on & on about this....

 

Here's an example -- the requirements for the Cadette Happiness badge (this is an exact quote):

 

-- Make yourself happier

-- Think differently for happiness

-- Get happy through others

-- Do a helpful happiness experiment

-- Create a happiness action plan

 

And in the Junior First Aid badge booklet, there is one page per requirement. So for # 3 Make a portable first aid kit:

 

-- box # 1 "antiseptic wipes" + pix

-- box # 2 "antibiotic ointment" + pix

-- box # 3 "assorted bandages" + pix

-- box #4 "What else would you include?" [italics mine]

 

There is plenty of blank space, but no one can provide a list of supplies????? What the *%*%! I can look in any Boy Scout publication and find an actual list. Why don't GS include a list?

 

Than, I discovered that there is a 100th Anniversary patch offered by our council. To get it, girls have to do activities that generate a lot of revenue -- attend overpriced programs, sell 105 boxes of cookies, have an adult give to the annual fund campaign, etc. And they track this. In Boy Scouts, whose 100th anniversary was last year, you could just buy badges & patches for a few dollars and wear them proudly. There were some additional awards that scouts could earn via accomplishments, but no activities that had to be paid for through BSA.

 

Gag... :ack2:

One thing I teach my own children is to not depend on other people to make you happy, because they won't.

[Punchie]

Those are some great ideas! I am trying to think how to adapt them to out 5th & 6th graders -- maybe each girl could read part of a book? Maybe by candlelight?

 

I wish I had my old GS stuff -- perhaps I can buy/borrow an old handbook....

 

Your Niagara Falls celebration sounds great -- and reasonably priced, even with the park ticket add-on. Some of our troop is going to a brief candlelight ceremony at a local hotel (light refreshments, $15 per person). Our Council's big June celebration is $89.50 per person and doesn't sound that interesting.

 

http://girlscouts100nj.com/girl-scouts-nj-the-big-celebration.html

 

ETA

LOOK -- Amazon has free Kindle editions of a lot of the old GS materials!!!

 

http://www.amazon.com/Scouting-Official-Handbook-Scouts-ebook/dp/B004UJUNBS/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1327627648&sr=8-3

 

The picture book looks like it would be geared more for Brownie age than Daisy. It is very wordy. If you would like, I can scan a few pages and email them to you. PM me if you're interested.

 

I think Rock the Falls will be fun. The anti-crowd part of me is screaming in terror at dealing with the madhouse it will be, but the girls will love it.

 

$89.50?!?! Wow....that's quite a lot of money. How many girls are going to be able to afford that?

[GailV]

$89.50?!?! Wow....that's quite a lot of money. How many girls are going to be able to afford that?

 

The Powers That Be might be expecting troops to use their cookie money for it. A couple of years ago our Juniors earned at least that much per girl in various fundraisers -- they did a really cool camping weekend with horseback riding.

 

I can't imagine our troops wanting to spend their funds on that event, though. It sounds fun, but not $89.50 worth of fun. Moot point, since we're no where near that council, of course.

[Mommy22alyns]

 

We began AHG this year thinking it would be a great opportunity to make other homeschooling friends since almost everyone in our AHG troop is homeschooled. My daughter actually has more PS friends than hs ones and sometimes she would like someone to join us on a field trip or something and it's not possible because most of her friends are in PS. Well AHG is driving us both nuts with the 30 minute devotionals at every meeting followed by being lectured at for the next hour over something like the Civil War. The girls hardly get to say a word to each other during the meetings. It's really a shame.

 

My son is in the Boy Scouts at the same time my daughter is in AHG and the same families are involved, but they don't push 30 minute devotionals and constant lectures on the boys. They have lots of fun activities planned. AHG and the Boy Scouts are affiliated, unlike Girl Scouts, so I just don't get it. My daughter would love to be a Boy Scout as well.

 

Lisa

 

 

Like others have said, can you look for a different troop? Ours is definitely not like that. They start with flag ceremony, then the girls break off into their groups and do work on badges. No lectures! ;)

[TracyR]

Yeah. No lecture in our group either. We say the pledge, the Girl Scout promise. I go over information that I put in the newsletter I make ( the working parents really appreciate that), have a snack, then break out into our groups.

[KungFuPanda]

My daughter has been out for a few years, but I was her leader for Daisies through Juniors. She was too young to be affected by the Studio 2B disaster and out before the Journeys hit. She was also grandfathered in and one of the last to do the 3 year Junior program.

 

As a leader we had a lot of autonomy. As long as we sold cookies, and turned in our paperwork, council didn't interfere. They even let us do a two year Daisy program for 4-5 year olds before a 'real' two year Daisy program existed; and this was before Daisies had to bother with cookies at all. It was nice.

 

I guess my point/question is, how much of the new program are you REQUIRED to use? Is it completely tied into the awards already? If I were still leading today, I'd be tempted to focus mainly on Council's Own badges. There are TONS of great ones out there. At the end of the day, there MUST be a way to just have lots of outdoor fun and learning adventures while GSUSA gets it's head out. When they lose girls over it, it'll go away like Studio 2B did and troops can carry on as usual.

 

For us, the benefit of a scout troop was access to resources, events, and properties. Those things are all still there and how much can the new books really ruin a good camping trip?

[GailV]

I guess my point/question is, how much of the new program are you REQUIRED to use? Is it completely tied into the awards already? If I were still leading today, I'd be tempted to focus mainly on Council's Own badges. There are TONS of great ones out there. At the end of the day, there MUST be a way to just have lots of outdoor fun and learning adventures while GSUSA gets it's head out. When they lose girls over it, it'll go away like Studio 2B did and troops can carry on as usual.

 

 

You must complete a Journey before beginning the Bronze/Silver/Gold. Absolutely tied to the awards. No shirking allowed.

 

The Council's Own Badges can be a pain to track down -- find out what they are, what Councils currently have them, etc. etc. The council boundaries and names are constantly changing, so the online information becomes out-of-date in the blink of an eye. I can no longer find some of the really cool ones I knew of just a couple of years ago -- some place out west had some from the Society of Women Engineers, for example, but now I can no longer find those.

[higginszoo]

My dd is counting down until she can join Venturing. 18 mo today.

 

Our SU has been AWFUL about getting her in an age appropriate troop, and my connections with moms with troops a year younger hasn't worked (she has tried 2 different troops). She has half of one Journey done that we tried to do on our own last year, and half of another one that she got done with her latest troop this year, but they're young 6th graders and in no hurry to finish. I'm thinking I'll have her do some sort of Take Action project on one and call it good. She'll be working on her Silver as a Juliette, but it pretty much has to be individual under the new rules anyway. It would be nice for her to get her Gold (I did), but getting any information about anything while on the Juliette pathway is next to impossible. At least as a Brownie leader, I might be able to get some info, but with all of our older girl/high adventure stuff having to be by troop, they're kind of forcing her out unless she stays with a younger troop (where she feels like she's babysitting).

[Shellydon]

I have been looking at the Frontier Girls website. It looks like such a neat program!

[jenbrdsly]

My own Girl Scout experience as a child was so great, that it saddens me to read about the controversy about all of the "Journey" changes.

But you know, I'm willing to give the Girl Scouts the benefit of the doubt. They have always been forward thinking. It's hard not to love an organization that Martin Luther King Junior called "a force of desegregation." (That’s not to say that I’m not hearing your frustration.)

So yes, when my daughter is old enough for Daisy's I'll sign up to be her leader, and find some way of making whatever program that is handed to me work. :)

[Caroline]

That is what I did, and we are having a blast!

 

My own Girl Scout experience as a child was so great, that it saddens me to read about the controversy about all of the "Journey" changes.

But you know, I'm willing to give the Girl Scouts the benefit of the doubt. They have always been forward thinking. It's hard not to love an organization that Martin Luther King Junior called "a force of desegregation." (That’s not to say that I’m not hearing your frustration.)

So yes, when my daughter is old enough for Daisy's I'll sign up to be her leader, and find some way of making whatever program that is handed to me work. :)

[Punchie]

...

 

So yes, when my daughter is old enough for Daisy's I'll sign up to be her leader, and find some way of making whatever program that is handed to me work. :)

 

This is what I am doing. I am having an absolute blast being a leader! That being said, in general, there is a heck of a lot less "scout" in GS than when I, or my mom, were kids. There is much heavier focus on feelings and fluffy bunnies. In order for the girls to have a great experience, you have to be willing to do some major overhaul on what they're offering. The Journeys are a big source of issues right now. They are lame, lame, lame...in how they are presented. BUT, they have a ton of potential - if you're willing to knock it down to its core and then build it back up again.

 

I've been posting about my GS experience as a Daisy leader on my blog. If you're interested in looking at it, let me know. No worries if you're not.

[Elizabeth in MN]

My problems with GS was before the new badges system. The groups here are so.. wrong. To say there is a lot of nepotism would be an understatement. Known bullies are allowed free reign because their mother and the local leader are friends. When I mean bully I mean *I* almost spanked the child in question for what she said to my dd ("What is that *thing* doing back here? I took care of that problem already!"). My attempts to sign up and help were refused, and when I tried to take the leader training classes I was told that if you had a daughter in GS you couldn't be *a* leader.

 

I'd love to enroll her as a Juliette and just do all the work myself but the two years DD was in has soured her on the whole organization.

 

Don't get me started on the *curse words* cookie issue! LOL

[jenbrdsly]

This is what I am doing. I am having an absolute blast being a leader! That being said, in general, there is a heck of a lot less "scout" in GS than when I, or my mom, were kids. There is much heavier focus on feelings and fluffy bunnies. In order for the girls to have a great experience, you have to be willing to do some major overhaul on what they're offering. The Journeys are a big source of issues right now. They are lame, lame, lame...in how they are presented. BUT, they have a ton of potential - if you're willing to knock it down to its core and then build it back up again.

 

I've been posting about my GS experience as a Daisy leader on my blog. If you're interested in looking at it, let me know. No worries if you're not.

 

 

I'd LOVE to see. I'll bookmark it for the future.

[AuntPol]

Has she looked into joining a Venturing Crew? This is an older, high adventure oriented program from BSA. Quality of the Crews varies widely, so I would shop around before committing. Girls can't earn Eagle Scout or merit badges, but they can earn Venturing specific awards (Bronze, Gold & Silver as well as the Ranger award).

 

 

 

My daughter isn't old enough for Venturing (and we don't have that many crews around).

 

We also do AHG but like someone else said -it's BORING w/30 minute devotionals that even I can't stand and absolutely zero girl input.

[higginszoo]

But you know, I'm willing to give the Girl Scouts the benefit of the doubt. They have always been forward thinking. It's hard not to love an organization that Martin Luther King Junior called "a force of desegregation." (That’s not to say that I’m not hearing your frustration.)

 

I guess it depends on where you were. About 20 years after Dr. King died, there was much ado made when I went to participate in the SC legislative page program in Columbia. Whether it was because of the demographics of people who signed up to host or possibly assumptions made, but I was apparently the first white girl to be hosted by a black family for such an event. It wasn't a big deal to me or to the host family. I had been to an international event with my host girl's older sister, and had a great time with my host family and the other girl being hosted for the event (who was heavily influenced by the program and now serves as a top legislative aide). But higher ups for the event and the council were all in a tizzy over it all, as Girl Scouting was still somewhat segregated in SC, even in the late '80s (so was the high school I went to, a concept which I found completely bizarre.)

[Brooketopia]

We do Girl Scouts as a Juliette/Lone troop because I can't stand other parents.

 

I was so disappointed with the curriculum changes and the near-complete absence of outdoor activities. When I was in Brownies and Juniors we had some serious camping skill badges available to earn. The Brownie "cooking" badge is "Snacks"--as in, spread peanut butter on some celery sticks and stick on some raisins.

 

To earn my Baking badge at the same level twenty years ago I had to bake bread, two desserts and something else, explain how to follow a recipe and demostrate a working knowledge of basic baking skills. It's so dumbed down now.

 

We're done with the program after this year.

[frugalmama]

We do Girl Scouts as a Juliette/Lone troop because I can't stand other parents.

 

I was so disappointed with the curriculum changes and the near-complete absence of outdoor activities. When I was in Brownies and Juniors we had some serious camping skill badges available to earn. The Brownie "cooking" badge is "Snacks"--as in, spread peanut butter on some celery sticks and stick on some raisins.

 

To earn my Baking badge at the same level twenty years ago I had to bake bread, two desserts and something else, explain how to follow a recipe and demostrate a working knowledge of basic baking skills. It's so dumbed down now.

 

We're done with the program after this year.

 

We are Juliettes too - fwiw you can still earn any of the old badges as long as they are for the same AGE {not level} as intended. Doesn't matter how old they are - it can be from the 50's even!

 

That's what we're doing - OLD badges mostly.

[Shellydon]

We do Girl Scouts as a Juliette/Lone troop because I can't stand other parents.

 

I was so disappointed with the curriculum changes and the near-complete absence of outdoor activities. When I was in Brownies and Juniors we had some serious camping skill badges available to earn. The Brownie "cooking" badge is "Snacks"--as in, spread peanut butter on some celery sticks and stick on some raisins.

 

To earn my Baking badge at the same level twenty years ago I had to bake bread, two desserts and something else, explain how to follow a recipe and demostrate a working knowledge of basic baking skills. It's so dumbed down now.

 

We're done with the program after this year.

 

I agree. We are quitting after this year.

[trlt]

For those that have said they work on the old badges, do you find badges that the girls put on their uniforms or do they just fulfill the requirements? I was just wondering how that works. When my dd is a brownie, could she earn the same badges that I did when I was a brownie (I have all my old ones) and I could present her with my badges for her to wear on her uniform?

[Just Another Jen]

I would encourage you to look around for a AHG troop. The first one we joined was boring. In their defense they were a new troop and my daughter was by far the oldest girl.

We found another troop about an hour away. It's completely girl led. Just like a good boy scout troop. My daughter is camping with them this weekend. They are doing a service project for the camp clearing brush and then will learn about lashing. She was really excited when they left yesterday. She's not old enough for venture scouts so this is perfect for her. I wish it were closer, but it's worth it to us. Our older boys learned so much through scouting, I'm glad she will have the same experience.

[prairiebird]

Our council is really trying to discourage troops doing the old badges. They don't carry them anyhow, but they don't even want troops doing them so the girls are doing similar activities across the council.

 

I am in the middle of some deep contemplation about the entire thing. I was a GS from brownies (no daisys existed yet) until seniors with sliver and gold awards. After doing cub scouts with my oldest two boys that have or will soon bridge to boy scouts, I was planning on focusing on my three girls (7, 5, and 3) in a row with girl scouts. My oldest was a daisy, and I thought it was very different but had no assumptions since I'd never been a daisy. But the new binders seem so odd. Plus, I find it strange that you have to go back and buy more badge requirements to put in the binder!

 

I don't know if I could work with that as a leader or not because I'd run a heavily service/environmental/outdoors troop as that's my main area. However, I'd be hesitant to move to AHG because of the Christians-only requirement while I lived here (I live in a hugely multicultural area with friends and acquaintances of many religions, particularly Muslim.) I would have to start my own Frontier girl troop (and don't know their religious restrictions), though their variety seems to remind me of 4-H, actually.)

 

 

(we've done cub scout and old girl scout book requirements for learning and family fun purposes on our own.)

 

I'd really like to become involved in something that will grow with my 3 girls.

 

I will say that I like the concept of the binders though because while expensive, I think they could be a very cool scrapbook like keepsake for my girls. I had to hand all my uniforms and my books down to my little sister and pull all my badges off so she could reuse a bunch of them. This left me with very few keepsakes of my scouting experience.

[m0mmaBuck]

My daughter isn't old enough for Venturing (and we don't have that many crews around).

 

We also do AHG but like someone else said -it's BORING w/30 minute devotionals that even I can't stand and absolutely zero girl input.

 

Our AHG troop doesn't do a 30 min devotional... We meet together with a Cub Scout Pack. We start with a flag ceremony and welcome by the Cubmaster/Troop Organizer. We break into our groups and go right into doing activities (last week we learned a bit about Michaelangelo via Powerpoint and then tried painting like him, laying on the floor under a table and painting a picture on a paper taped to the underside of said table). Then each girl worked on her "logo"... a symbol that could represent her if she was trying to brand herself (like McDonalds or Apple). We end with group announcements and retiring the flag. End of meeting.

 

See if you can find another troop!

 

I would encourage you to look around for a AHG troop. The first one we joined was boring. In their defense they were a new troop and my daughter was by far the oldest girl.

We found another troop about an hour away. It's completely girl led. Just like a good boy scout troop. My daughter is camping with them this weekend. They are doing a service project for the camp clearing brush and then will learn about lashing. She was really excited when they left yesterday. She's not old enough for venture scouts so this is perfect for her. I wish it were closer, but it's worth it to us. Our older boys learned so much through scouting, I'm glad she will have the same experience.

 

This is more of what we are trying to do for our AHG girls. We have a Venture Crew that they can go to if they would like when they get older but when they are younger we still want them active and outside.

[warneral]

I'm unimpressed. This is our first year and we didn't even get any material until November! Preordered in September but GSUSA was back ordered for months.

[frugalmama]

For those that have said they work on the old badges, do you find badges that the girls put on their uniforms or do they just fulfill the requirements? I was just wondering how that works. When my dd is a brownie, could she earn the same badges that I did when I was a brownie (I have all my old ones) and I could present her with my badges for her to wear on her uniform?

 

Yep - I find badges for her uniform. I get mine from ebay as I never earned any as a brownie myself. You also could use the create your own badge in the new badges, but use the old requirements.

 

I would encourage you to look around for a AHG troop. The first one we joined was boring. In their defense they were a new troop and my daughter was by far the oldest girl.

We found another troop about an hour away. It's completely girl led. Just like a good boy scout troop. My daughter is camping with them this weekend. They are doing a service project for the camp clearing brush and then will learn about lashing. She was really excited when they left yesterday. She's not old enough for venture scouts so this is perfect for her. I wish it were closer, but it's worth it to us. Our older boys learned so much through scouting, I'm glad she will have the same experience.

 

AHG isn't an option for us - we were looking for a secular inclusive group and Girl Scouts is pretty much the only one. It's times like this I wish Boy Scouts was co-ed or had an option for all girl troops.

 

Our council is really trying to discourage troops doing the old badges. They don't carry them anyhow, but they don't even want troops doing them so the girls are doing similar activities across the council.

 

I am in the middle of some deep contemplation about the entire thing. I was a GS from brownies (no daisys existed yet) until seniors with sliver and gold awards. After doing cub scouts with my oldest two boys that have or will soon bridge to boy scouts, I was planning on focusing on my three girls (7, 5, and 3) in a row with girl scouts. My oldest was a daisy, and I thought it was very different but had no assumptions since I'd never been a daisy. But the new binders seem so odd. Plus, I find it strange that you have to go back and buy more badge requirements to put in the binder!

 

I don't know if I could work with that as a leader or not because I'd run a heavily service/environmental/outdoors troop as that's my main area. However, I'd be hesitant to move to AHG because of the Christians-only requirement while I lived here (I live in a hugely multicultural area with friends and acquaintances of many religions, particularly Muslim.) I would have to start my own Frontier girl troop (and don't know their religious restrictions), though their variety seems to remind me of 4-H, actually.)

 

 

(we've done cub scout and old girl scout book requirements for learning and family fun purposes on our own.)

 

I'd really like to become involved in something that will grow with my 3 girls.

 

I will say that I like the concept of the binders though because while expensive, I think they could be a very cool scrapbook like keepsake for my girls. I had to hand all my uniforms and my books down to my little sister and pull all my badges off so she could reuse a bunch of them. This left me with very few keepsakes of my scouting experience.

 

While your council may discourage earning old badges, the National office of GSUSA has ruled that you may earn ANY badge, new or old. If your council gets onto you about it, I'd call the National office and let them know they are preventing you from earning a badge.

 

The new binders are kind of odd, but I like them too. Since we are Juliettes and do GS as part of school, I take the booklet for each patch out of the binder and put into our hs binder for that week / 2 weeks. That way I only have 1 binder to deal with and we can grab and go easier.

 

And fwiw, the Juliette program sounds like it would be a great fit for you - it's basically Girl Scouts but not part of a troop so you don't have to deal with that hassle. Sometimes it's called Individually Registered Girl Scouts fyi.

[Firestar Academy]

For those that have said they work on the old badges, do you find badges that the girls put on their uniforms or do they just fulfill the requirements? I was just wondering how that works. When my dd is a brownie, could she earn the same badges that I did when I was a brownie (I have all my old ones) and I could present her with my badges for her to wear on her uniform?

 

yes you can. As long as you follow the requirements for earning that badge.

 

and councils still have some of the more recent 'old' badges on clearance.

 

robin in nj