Update #47 American Heritage Girls/Daisys/Little Flowers

[ktgrok]

Looking for some kind of activity  (maybe) for my rising 1st grader. Our parish has girl scouts, but the Daisy level may be full. They do have  Little Flowers group, but I'm not sure that's what I'm looking for. Another parish nearby has American Heritage Girls, which also sounds good. Any thoughts on the various options for a 6 yr old rising first grader? We want fun, crafts if possible, and camaraderie. 

Edited August 3, 2016 by ktgrok

[poppy]

AHG is conservative Christian if that makes a difference . GS accepts all. Im sure either would be fun at the 5 year old level . My daughter was a Daisy and she made friends she still has at age 8 even though she doesn't go to school with them - so I am pleased with it.

[MercyA]

American Heritage Girls is too heavy on the patriotism for me. I'm also not a fan of oaths for little kids (or for adults, for that matter).

 

It does look like Catholics are welcome: "AHG is proud to work with the Programs of Religious Activities with Youth (P.R.A.Y. ) organization and the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry (N.F.C.Y.M.), in order to offer every American Heritage Girl the opportunity to earn a religious award or medal based upon her denominational beliefs and affiliations." 

Edited July 31, 2016 by MercyA

[ktgrok]

American Heritage Girls is too heavy on the patriotism for me. I'm also not a fan of oaths for little kids (or for adults, for that matter).

 

It does look like Catholics are welcome: "AHG is proud to work with the Programs of Religious Activities with Youth (P.R.A.Y. ) organization and the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry (N.F.C.Y.M.), in order to offer every American Heritage Girl the opportunity to earn a religious award or medal based upon her denominational beliefs and affiliations." 

 

Yes, the AHG group is actually at a local Catholic parish. Don't Girl scouts have an oath as well?

[ktgrok]

I should probably mention that the homeschool groups we are a part of are secular, and we as Christians are in a definite minority. Pretty much all our friends are agnostic or atheist or pagan. So I'm hoping to join a group at my church, to balance that out a bit and give her some friends that have a similar spirituality, if that makes sense. I realize that in many areas it is the opposite, most groups are Christian, and those of other/no faith are in the minority,but it is the opposite here. 

[HomeAgain]

I was a Girl Scout growing up.  Girl Scouts make a promise to try and to do their best in various matters with their statement/law.

 

However, I wouldn't put a child in it now.  It is a farce of what Juliette Gordon Low intended.  There are badges for how to clean a home, how to make friends, eating for beauty, the science of happiness, netiquette, drawing comic books, dancing......

 

There is no scouting in Girl Scouts anymore.  They're little more than props for a remake of P!nk's Stupid Girl video.

Edited July 31, 2016 by HomeAgain

[ScoutTN]

We have had a good experience with AHG, though Dd started at age 8. She has nice friends, fun and challenging activities (many of which I would not likely do), camping and other outdoor adventures, and a strong community service aspect. Not really any patriotic activities, except participating in a Veterans' Day parade each year and having a flag in the opening ceremony. Our troop is broadly Christian with many different churches represented and moderately diverse in terms of race/ethnicity. Each one will have it's own personality. 

 

Most scouting organizations have an oath that the kids memorize and say.

 

The AHG oath is:

I promise to love God, cherish my family, honor my country, and serve in my community. 

 

The AHG creed:

As an AHG girl, I promise to be compassionate, helpful , honest, loyal, perseverant, pure, resourceful, respectful, responsible, and reverent. 

 

 

 

 

[rocassie]

My girls (6 and 9) are part of AHG.  It is Conservative Christian so there is that to consider.  Originally I checked into GS as that is what I did when I was little.  However, the three troops I contacted did not mesh with what I wanted for my girls.  It could have just been those troops but I wasn't willing to travel farther so I dropped looking at scouts until a friend mentioned AHG.  I have been very happy with our AHG troop because it is very service oriented, but each troop probably has it's own culture.  Maybe each of these has a info night or meet and greet, something so you can check them out and get a feel for whether it would be a good fit.  

[AnnE-girl]

My daughter just finished her first year in AHG as a first grader. She had a great time, and I think there was a nice mix of activities for badge work. The first badge her group worked on was for "home care and repair" that included a field trip to a home improvement store to learn more about tools. They also learned about theater, including writing and performing their own play, camped overnight, and the day camp had the girls in a stream learning about the ecosystem. The fundraisers have been a bake sale and candy bar sale at the church before and after Masses, with no pressure or competition to sell cookies.

[felicity]

I am a GS leader and have been for 6 years now. Girl Scouts depends heavily on the leader. (So no pressure there!) Daisies is really fun--they earn petals for each line of the GS Law and then go on to do Journeys.

 

Obviously I like GS or my girls wouldn't be in it and I wouldn't be leading them. Our troops go out and do stuff. We spend time outside, we go on field trips, we camp, we have fun together. I understand what the person above is saying, really I do. But to call it a "farce" is a little much. My dd10's best friends are from GS. I'm looking forward to the girls growing together through middle school next year. They've grown up together and love each other like sisters.

 

Just my little plug for GS. We haven't tried any of the other groups--we're Mormon and not real welcome with AHG and Little Flowers is Cathoic, so that wouldn't work either.

[ktgrok]

I was a Girl Scout growing up.  Girl Scouts make a promise to try and to do their best in various matters with their statement/law.

 

However, I wouldn't put a child in it now.  It is a farce of what Juliette Gordon Low intended.  There are badges for how to clean a home, how to make friends, eating for beauty, the science of happiness, netiquette, drawing comic books, dancing......

 

There is no scouting in Girl Scouts anymore.  They're little more than props for a remake of P!nk's Stupid Girl video.

 

Yes...I'm getting that vibe. The big thing in this area is a mall lock in. Um...what? Running around a mall all night is the new camping I guess?

[poppy]

I should probably mention that the homeschool groups we are a part of are secular, and we as Christians are in a definite minority. Pretty much all our friends are agnostic or atheist or pagan. So I'm hoping to join a group at my church, to balance that out a bit and give her some friends that have a similar spirituality, if that makes sense. I realize that in many areas it is the opposite, most groups are Christian, and those of other/no faith are in the minority,but it is the opposite here.

Someone here posted that there was a video shown at an AHG orientation that said something along the lines of raising our girls in the feminine virtues . I'm on my phone or I'd look it up.... I found the focus strange for a little kids program.

 

I've been a Girl Scout troop leader. We hiked, did community service, letter boxing , pottery, studied bugs , visited a pizza kitchen and a police station and a chocolatier shop and the backstage part of the zoo , went rock climbing....lots and lots of adventures. But it really does all depend on the leader. Some just do stories and crafts. Some let girls run wild for an hour. It's probably the same with any of thee programs. They're volunteer run so you seek out good leaders - or just give it a try and hope you get lucky.

[felicity]

Yes...I'm getting that vibe. The big thing in this area is a mall lock in. Um...what? Running around a mall all night is the new camping I guess?

 

I think we must be lucky because I've never heard of that happening in our Council. They are really beefing up their outdoor training for adults and forming special groups of kids from all over the Council to do more outside. My daughter just came home from a Katniss themed GS camp and had a blast.

[ktgrok]

I think we must be lucky because I've never heard of that happening in our Council. They are really beefing up their outdoor training for adults and forming special groups of kids from all over the Council to do more outside. My daughter just came home from a Katniss themed GS camp and had a blast.

 

I wish. The mall lock in is the big annual event. And then there is stuff at Disney and Universal. There is a camp as well, I think, but no one I know locally seems to send their kids. They all do the mall, the theme parks, etc. Oh, and go to the founder's house in Savannah. 

 

I do have a friend involved in the group at our Parish, she's looking into more info for me. 

[felicity]

I wish. The mall lock in is the big annual event. And then there is stuff at Disney and Universal. There is a camp as well, I think, but no one I know locally seems to send their kids. They all do the mall, the theme parks, etc. Oh, and go to the founder's house in Savannah. 

 

I do have a friend involved in the group at our Parish, she's looking into more info for me. 

 

That's too bad. They really aren't getting a good, full program then. We have Disney programs too but it's pretty rare that whole troops will go.

 

Good luck in your decision! I'm sure your daughter will have a great experience in whatever you choose.

 

[MercyA]

Yes, the AHG group is actually at a local Catholic parish. Don't Girl scouts have an oath as well?

 

Yes, but it's a little less heavy duty ("I will try...," "I will do my best..." instead of "I promise to...") We'd probably just abstain from either oath if we attended.

 

Hope your daughter finds a nice group you both like.  :)

[Faithr]

My dd has been in AHG for 7 years now.  We love it.  It has never struck me as particularly heavy handed in pushing anything political.  Someone complained that it was too patriotic?  I find that odd.  It does have the girls study famous American women and their contributions.  The girls did learn about the flag and the National Anthem, but really how is that too patriotic?  We are Catholic and the troop is sponsored by a Catholic parish nearby.  No problems there.

 

My dd has done lots of great stuff:  nature hikes, camping, outdoor survival skills, singing carols at a nursing home, making cards for sick kids, greeting WWII vets for Honor Flight, collecting canned food for the local food bank, marching in parades, learning first aid, learning about Native Americans, the girls plan, decorate and host a father-daughter dance every year. Last year they worked on the dance badge where they had to learning about the history of dance, interview a choreographer, etc. At the teen level the amount of work the girls have to do to earn badges is quite high.  I mean this is solid, solid stuff.  This coming year the girls are going to work on boating safety, and I forget the other badges they voted to do.  One i think was space exploration.  

 

I highly recommend AHG!

[bwdiaz]

Does AHG have a program for girls who live too far away from the troop? (Sort of like the Juliette in GS.) We've had two unsatisfactory years in GS but the two closest AHG groups are close to 35 miles away.

[Seasider]

Yes...I'm getting that vibe. The big thing in this area is a mall lock in. Um...what? Running around a mall all night is the new camping I guess?

They call it "glamping," the campout takes place in an indoor location and lots of nail polish is involved.

 

I am not a fan.

[Susan in KY]

Does AHG have a program for girls who live too far away from the troop? (Sort of like the Juliette in GS.) We've had two unsatisfactory years in GS but the two closest AHG groups are close to 35 miles away.

 

Yup, it's called trailblazers.

https://www.americanheritagegirls.org/program/trailblazer/

[Janeway]

Where I live, AHG mostly only allows Christian homeschoolers and GS, at some point, only was held at public school and only allowed girls enrolled at that school. They also did not allow everyone to join. Boy Scouts has every variety of group, but the only Trailblazer group I know of is for homeschoolers only.

[Janeway]

I was a Girl Scout growing up. Girl Scouts make a promise to try and to do their best in various matters with their statement/law.

 

However, I wouldn't put a child in it now. It is a farce of what Juliette Gordon Low intended. There are badges for how to clean a home, how to make friends, eating for beauty, the science of happiness, netiquette, drawing comic books, dancing......

 

There is no scouting in Girl Scouts anymore. They're little more than props for a remake of P!nk's Stupid Girl video.

I agree completely.

[mamiof5]

I can only speak for our experience, and I am sure every troop/group is run differently, and it highly varies on the area, troop leaders etc.

 

We tried Girlscouts a couple times. 2 different daughters, about 7-8 years distance between both experiences, 2 different troops/different leaders etc. Both times, WE WERE NOT impressed. We did do a couple fun activities (like a hike, and a horses activity). Other than that? The meetings were mostly play time, they earned badges with minimum effort. None of our dds knew for what had they done to earn a badge, they just got them and it was something cute to put on their vests. About half of the year the main focus was on selling cookies. When you ask any of our dds (now 20 and 11), their most vivid memory from GS is that they sold cookies. With all this, and the fact that GS supports organizations that we cannot support, GS is just a big NO for us.

 

Our 2 dds (11 and 10) have been in AHG for 4 years now. It has been an absolute blast!!! We have done SO much with the troop! Camping, hikes, prolife marches, visiting the elderly at nursing homes, feed my starving children, daughter and dad events, wreaths for America, skating...all this on top of having to work hard to earn their badges. It truly has been a fantastic experience!! And yes, it is a religious based and patriotic group...but in our family we can never have too much of God and love for our country. The more the better!

[SKL]

My kids are starting their 3rd year with AHG - joined when they were 7.  I chose AHG over Girl Scouts because I have heard the Girl Scouts program is more like school after school, and not like scouts.  The religious aspect of AHG does not bother me as I have no problem telling my kids if I disagree with something.  So far I don't see anything "extreme" about it in practice, given that we knew going in that it is unapologetically Christian.  They have a brief devotion at each meeting where they talk about character stuff using Bible references.  While our troop meets at a Lutheran church, my kids' AHG pen pals are both Catholic.

 

As expected, my kids do interesting and challenging outdoor activities, community service projects, and skill building / educational stuff.  They have frequent opportunities to get up and present to the group, which I like.  There's a nice mix of group cohesiveness and individuality.  There are a number of dads as well as moms involved as leaders and volunteers.  Many of the families are homeschoolers.

[Laurel-in-CA]

We've done GS (my oldest was a Brownie and a Junior), 4-H, and AHG in various groups. So much depends on leadership, and in our case we really had to let the kid's interests lead as well. The GS leader was not someone I wanted my daughter to imitate...very abrasive, able to make grown women cry, talked about girl leadership but only if they did it her way. A relief to leave.

 

4H was just right for my oldest because, horses, and my next child because bunnies and public speaking and leadership, and my next child because cake decorating and dogs and high school credit for community service/leadership. But my last kiddo was not interested in any of those things and AHG has been very good for her, getting both of us to do things we wouldn't have otherwise, emphasizing serving and including presentations/mentoring younger girls as well as learning outdoor skills. This is our 7th year upcoming and she's now a Pioneer. Badges at their level are thorough and challenging and include going out into the community or bringing people in for speakers as well as teaching the younger girls. But the elementary girls (Tenderhearts) have badges that are fun and geared to their level of skill and understanding.

[catz]

I used to be a campfire leader and I have friends that have led GS/CS groups. What I would say is any kind of volunteer run program like this is going to be extremely dependent on the leadership involved. As a campfire leader, we mostly tossed the standard curriculum and did mostly environmental, outdoor, and community service activities. I have a friend that ran a Girl Scout group that did the same, focused on badges relating, and if my daughter would have been a little older I would have had her in that troop. That said there was another GS troop targeted to homeschoolers we tried and that troop was a train wreck. Poorly led with siblings running around during meetings and very focused on the paper curriculum.

 

I'd personally be a bit tentative about any group like this that didn't have pretty dynamic leadership or if I was going to be heavily involved as a leader. Leaders tend to focus on the kind of group and experience they want their child to have. For some that might be primarily social. The 4H groups here seem more consistently worthwhile than the scouting troops and maybe partially because there are so many directions a kid in a 4H group can go in.

Edited July 31, 2016 by WoolySocks

[City Mouse]

If you are just looking for something fn and social for your little girl, then I would pick one of the programs at your own parish where she would get to know the girls that she will run into week to week and at church functions.

 

Pretty much, with any of those programs, you get out of them what you put in, and she is only 6 yrs old. It has been a million years ago, but when I was active in GS, Daisy Girl Scouts were not even allowed to go camping as a troop except as a patent/child activity. Running a mother/daughter camp out is the pits. An overnight experience at a mall or museum is pretty typical for the Daisy and Brownie level. In fact, overnights like that are actuall part of the progression that is explained during training. Waiting until about 3rd grade for real troop camping is a good idea. By that age, the girls are old enough to learn the skills and do more independently and the adults are not having to do all the work.

And girls are all different. Some love the "roughing it" type camping and backpacking, while others absolutely hate it. Of the 6 girls that stayed in our troop through high school, two loved that kind of camping, too tolerated it, and two absolutely hated it. They all had the same opportunities and experiences, but they just had different preferences. Just like school, no one style or program is right for all girls.

[poppy]

They call it "glamping," the campout takes place in an indoor location and lots of nail polish is involved.

 

I am not a fan.

No, glamping is not the same as an overnight / lock in.

 

I did an overnight with my daughter at Plimouth Plantation. It was cool to have a night time exploration of the recreated old town and play with 17th century toys and try to use a .... Oh gosh I forget what it's called. The feather pen.

 

I don't see the point of a mall lock in. Unless the mall is just a location and they do fun activities?

 

I personally would have preferred to camp... but only 3 of our 12 girls parents agreed to that. That number includes my kid! It's not necessarily that no one will camp, it's the age. My kids were all 7-8.

[HomeschoolingHearts&Minds]

You've already had plenty of feedback on GS and AHG.  I'm going to talk about Little Flowers. ;)

 

The personality of a LF group can vary a good bit depending upon who is leading it and what the participating families want to get out of it.  The LF group through our local Catholic homeschool group is very low key.  They meet once a month, learn about that month's saint and virtue, do a craft, and play some games together.  They have also done service projects.  Anything beyond that is up to the individual families.

 

It is a very good fit for my youngest, who just turned 7, and she has made ready friends. But the focus is very different from GS and AHG in that they are not really working on camping or practical life skills.  

 

In our group, the moms take turns leading each meeting, but the two moms who organize it prep all the crafts ahead and help to run the meetings.  This particular group has been run for a number of years (my 12-year-old did all 4 wreaths with it) and its character has changed over time as leaders changed, etc.  There are a couple of other groups 1/2 hour away (in opposite directions) that are more involved and less laid back than our group.  I would ask the leader of the group you are considering what a typical meeting is like, what volunteer expectations are, etc.  The leader manual of LF specifically states that it is meant to be a collaborative effort by parents, but groups vary in how they run things.

[momto10blessings]

We have participated in little Flowers and AHG and much prefer AHG. it's more time consuming, but I love how our troop starts service projects when they are young. And not just making cards for soldiers, actually getting out in the community and serving.

We're catholic and have never had a problem with the program. We've been in a Catholic troop but moved to a Christian troop when it started because it was half the distance.

It's really what you make of it. You can just have your girls complete the Badges with their troop or you can tie them into your homeschool.

[KungFuPanda]

I led Daisies 15 years ago. My perspective may be dated, but the individual leaders have a lot of leeway with how they run troops. There was some talk of God in the oaths, but nothing that couldn't be easily changed to meme individual families more comfortable. It's not a religious program. I didn't get my daughter into scouting to take her and her friends to build-a-bear. Even as Daisies they camped, day camped, fished, hiked, learned to use a compass, etc. Some petals/try-it's were craftier than others, but my girls did liars of outdoor activities from Daisies-Juniors (when my daughter quit)

 

There ARE some lame badges, but with so many to choose from it's impossible to get to them all, so you don't HAVE to do the doofy ones. Part of the deal is that the girls gradually learn to take charge. By Brownies my girls were deciding which badges they wanted to do. They didn't always choose what "I" would like, but they were happy. When we camped, they started fires, used knives, cooked, and cleaned up after themselves.

 

When someone dismisses the program outright, I just assume they don't get how vastly different the experience can be from troop to troop.

[Seasider]

No, glamping is not the same as an overnight / lock in.

 

I did an overnight with my daughter at Plimouth Plantation. It was cool to have a night time exploration of the recreated old town and play with 17th century toys and try to use a .... Oh gosh I forget what it's called. The feather pen.

 

I don't see the point of a mall lock in. Unless the mall is just a location and they do fun activities?

 

I personally would have preferred to camp... but only 3 of our 12 girls parents agreed to that. That number includes my kid! It's not necessarily that no one will camp, it's the age. My kids were all 7-8.

Oh, you're right, we've done overnights at zoos, aquariums, museums. But there is a definite thing called "glamping," an indoor (non-destination) sleepover where they do manicures, hair stuff, crafts... I can understand doing one in a blue moon for actually completing some personal care badge (but personally wouldn't spend an overnight on it).

 

However, I have heard many moms and even parent leaders ask for this type of camping because they don't want to have to be outdoors or sleep in a tent; some consider it a completely acceptable option to a traditional campout. When looking for a troop, the OP should consider how each prospective group views and pursues activities, and decide what level of outdoor skill engagement is good for her family. In our experience, it's very disappointing when a child joins scouting with a desire to actually go camping, only to find that there's rarely any actual outdoor camping on the agenda.

[mom2scouts]

I think we must be lucky because I've never heard of that happening in our Council. They are really beefing up their outdoor training for adults and forming special groups of kids from all over the Council to do more outside. My daughter just came home from a Katniss themed GS camp and had a blast.

 

That's good to hear. Our local council sold almost all of the camps claiming that girls weren't interested in outdoor activities. Leaders tell me girls don't go camping because the camps are always full or closed. I've heard so many bad things about Girl Scouts from both parents and leaders. I was a GS growing up and I really enjoyed it, but after looking at the changes in the program, I won't allow my dd to join.

[ktgrok]

Yeah, I really don't find a lock in at a mall to be a beneficial thing for girls, in general. I've seen videos...it's loud music, strobe lights, and crazy party time. 

 

That said, I know each troop can be different. I am concerned that I was told that the ones at our parish are actually made up only of school kids from the parish school, and held directly after school like an after school club. I'm worried that as a homeschooler my daughter may be at a disadvantage there. 

 

The AHG troop at the other parish is the only one at a catholic parish in our area, and one of only a few in the county, so I'm assuming that it will possibly have girls from all over in it, not just from that school/parish. If that is the case, I'd much prefer that. Even if none are homeschooled, at least they wouldn't all know each other already. I hope. Definitely going to ask. 

[felicity]

I would go for a troop/group of kids that aren't from the same school. It can be really hard to be a part of the group but not really, plus you end up with school drama regardless of the leader's attempts. My dd10's troop comes from 4 different schools and homeschool and it's really peaceful and nice.

[SKL]

I agree that it's nice to have a troop that doesn't all go to the same school.  That's the case with our AHG troop too.  It's held at a church that doesn't have an attached school.  There are still sub-groups of kids who know each other, but there's not one main "in group."

[KungFuPanda]

See, I've BEEN to the mall sleep in. There are busy areas on one floor and quiet areas to park sleeping bags on another. The food court is partially open, but the stores are closed, so it's not really a "mall" experience. The mall is just the building that will hold so many people. In our council the Juniors attend the event and the Cadettes run the activity stations. The level of organization and security is impressive and the girls LOVE it. If it's too much late-night activity for an individual girl, they could easily stay home and skip that one event.

 

Granted, my last mall sleep-in was around 2008 before Ambassadors, Studio 2B, and whatever-they-do-in-addition-to-badges-and-patches existed. Back then Daisies lasted one year, they wore tunics, and thy didn't sell cookies. My homeschool co-op has a Brownie troop and I recently saw photos of them doing rustic camping, and our area still has some nice properties, so it looks like they're still having fun.

[busymotherof4]

My 17 year old daughter did little flowers when she was in early elementary. It was a very sweet low key program. Lots of crafts. It was twice a month after school. Not really comparable to the other 2 programs but she loved it and it was easy and cheap.

[ktgrok]

My 17 year old daughter did little flowers when she was in early elementary. It was a very sweet low key program. Lots of crafts. It was twice a month after school. Not really comparable to the other 2 programs but she loved it and it was easy and cheap.

 

Depending on what I hear about the other programs, we may do that. Low key for this year sounds pretty good, actually. And she ADORES crafts. 

[shawthorne44]

DD has just done one year of AHG, and we are ridiculously pleased with it.  Originally, I wanted to be DD's girl scout leader because I'd loved it as a kid, and to ensure continuity for her.   Then I looked into G.S.   They've changed.  Or maybe I didn't notice stuff as a kid.  Probably they've changed. 

 

One of the things in AHG that is better than the G.S. of my memory is the broader age range.  It is very homeschool-activity-like in the that way.   The campouts had all the girls.  DD aged 5 became the favorite of two girls aged 10.   One girl was the small-for-her-age youngest of many, and we think we liked acting like an older sister.   The other girl is a sweet mother hen.  DD had friends her age too, but I liked the broad age range.  

 

As far as patriotism it isn't any different than the G.S. I remember.  For example, you learn things like the proper care of the flag.  

 

One other thing with AHG, or at least our troop since I don't know what is AHG what is a quirk of our troop, is that a parent is required to stay for the entire meeting and participate.  Very homeschool co-op like in that manner also.  Which makes starting an AHG troop less scary if one is too far away.  

[mommyoffive]

Where do you find these?

[MeghansMom]

My daughter is starting her fourth year with AHG and just turned Pioneer. It was been such a blessing to our family. Meg has learned a lot and made some good friends. A dear friend of mine is Catholic and her daughter is in it. They started with us but branched out and have an AHG troop at their parish. I recommend AHG highly.

[ktgrok]

So, the Girl Scout troop at the church made it sound like they may not have room, and every one there is a student of the school, it's more of an after school club. And it is during the day, and I can't bring my son. So, no, for all those reasons 

 

The AHG group turns out to not only NOT have only girls that attend that school, but the majority are homeschooled! And no, they don't all attend that parish for Mass, in fact some aren't Catholic at all. So it sounds like it isn't hugely cliquish, and sounds really nice. Right now my daughter would be one of two first graders, but they'd put her with the 2nd graders in that case. 

 

Everyone sounded very nice, and I like that ALL parents involved have had a background check, finger printing, etc. They do several service projects, and there is a big camp nearby, although that is for 2nd grade and up. There may be some family campouts as well, depending on what we want to do, etc. It definitely sounds like a better fit. 

[Faithr]

That AHG troop sounds a lot like ours.  Half the girls go to the school and the other half are homeschooled.  All the girls are nice.  It is a great, wholesome, interesting experience.  We have had such a wonderful time with AHG these last 7 years.  

 

And also, though most are Catholic because it is sponsored at a Catholic parish, we also have people from the surrounding area who are not Catholic.  It is a really warm, encouraging group.

Edited August 3, 2016 by Faithr

[poppy]

Hope she has a great experience .

[shawthorne44]

That AHG troop sounds a lot like ours.  Half the girls go to the school and the other half are homeschooled.  All the girls are nice.  It is a great, wholesome, interesting experience.  We have had such a wonderful time with AHG these last 7 years.  

 

And also, though most are Catholic because it is sponsored at a Catholic parish, we also have people from the surrounding area who are not Catholic.  It is a really warm, encouraging group.

 

I've noticed that with ours, although ours is at the big Baptist church in town.  I think it just naturally happens because it will get mentioned in the church news that the troop will have a meeting at X time.   But, people outside the location church are there because they went looking for a troop.   In fact, I've been meaning to mention to the main leader that I could pass out a handout or something at the Sunday School classes at our church.  

[felicity]

That sounds perfect! Hope your daughter has fun!

[OhanaBee]

:hurray:  :hurray:  :hurray:

 

I'm often confused by GS's stance of "not enough room". Really? Why don't you open another patrol? BSA troops might have TEN patrols, but all be part of one troop. That said, most folks aren't looking for that big a troop, but I've never heard of a boy being turned away because of numbers. If an activity has a limit (say, river rafting) you arrange it within your patrol rather than the entire troop. Never gotten this idea. 

 

GS isn't set up that way.  If there's not enough room in a troop then a new troop needs to be formed.  That means someone needs to step forward as a leader, which can be hard to find.

[shawthorne44]

I think that there is also something in G.S. about you can't kick a girl out of the troop, no matter what she or her parents do or don't do.  So, someone might decide they will be a troop leader for the girls they somewhat know, or know someone who knows.  Invite them into a new troop, and set the max size at whatever the initial troop number is.  

 

DH and I were just discussing scouts.  He said that there was a troop with 200 boys.   I think it was one he was in, but I could be wrong. At every activity there would be the same 20 boys, and then another 20 boys from among the 180.  I just thought was interesting.  

[MarinesWife]

We have been in AHG for six years and love it. Our troop is a mix of public and homeschool and also from different churches. It is fabulous. I hope you have a great year!