................... Posted October 1, 2016 Share Posted October 1, 2016 Do you find the badge requirements for Pi-Pa way too hard? I understand that AHG wants to encourage character, and of course there are other aspects to AHG so even if a girl only earns one badge per year it's ok. But in looking over the book we are really shocked at how hard the requirements Are. Just for the "Joining Badge" there are about 3 pages AHG specific info to memorize, learn proper use of the flag, how to fold the flag, the pledge of allegiance, and more. It's about a month Worth of work, doing a half an hour, twice per week. I know everyone criticizes the Girl Scouts for making badges too easy, but I feel like this is on the other side of the balance beam. Realistically, if my dd applies herself she will earn maybe one badge per year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted October 1, 2016 Author Share Posted October 1, 2016 It's almost like the Joining Badge alone is designed to make girls who aren't Type A second guess their decisions to join Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taffnus Posted October 2, 2016 Share Posted October 2, 2016 We've been part of AHG for 5 years. My older dd is a 2nd year Pioneer and my younger dd is a 2nd year Explorer. We love it. The Joining Award really isn't all that challenging unless your troop has designed it to be so. We've never required information to be memorized other than the Oath, Creed and Motto. The Oath and Creed are recited every meeting so it takes very little time for kids to learn it. We complete the JA with the Tenderhearts but the older girls complete most of it on their own. We help with flag folding and any other requirement if needed. Concerning the badges, some are more challenging than others. Some, like Money Management are designed for girls who are Patriot age (14+). We don't really do Pioneer badges at home but do only what the unit is doing together. The girls are on a rotation to hit all the required "Gold" badges in case someone is interested in pursuing Stars and Stripes. If you have any specific questions, I'd be glad to try to answer them. AHG is a fantastic outlet for girls but does have a "learning curve" and is like any other extracurricular activity in that it can consume a lot of time. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted October 2, 2016 Share Posted October 2, 2016 We have in the past. I didn't find the Pi/Pa requirements too challenging. FWIW the joining award isn't THAT stringent. No one is going to give her a pass/fail test on the history and such. Do memorize the oath, creed, and mission, but just be familiar with anything else. Mine already knew the flag stuff before we got there; it's pretty basic. Practice on paper at home if she hasn't folded one before. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted October 2, 2016 Author Share Posted October 2, 2016 Thanks for the advice about folding the paper! Also I'm glad to know girls generally don't do a lot of badges unless they're going for Stars and Stripes. That's very helpful because I don't want her to be going against the grain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted October 2, 2016 Share Posted October 2, 2016 Do you find the badge requirements for Pi-Pa way too hard? I understand that AHG wants to encourage character, and of course there are other aspects to AHG so even if a girl only earns one badge per year it's ok. But in looking over the book we are really shocked at how hard the requirements Are. Just for the "Joining Badge" there are about 3 pages AHG specific info to memorize, learn proper use of the flag, how to fold the flag, the pledge of allegiance, and more. It's about a month Worth of work, doing a half an hour, twice per week. I know everyone criticizes the Girl Scouts for making badges too easy, but I feel like this is on the other side of the balance beam. Realistically, if my dd applies herself she will earn maybe one badge per year. We did similar things for Camp Fire, Pioneer Club, and Missionettes. :-) Also, surely you'd be helping your dd memorize those things at home during the week, not just having her work on them at meetings? And also, she can be learning other things simultaneously, yes? IOW, she doesn't have to finish that badge before beginning work on another? If AHG had been around when we were hsing, it would have been a big part of our curriculum. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawthorne44 Posted October 2, 2016 Share Posted October 2, 2016 DD is and we absolutely love it. Love, love, love it. Of course, she is a new tenderheart, and their badges are much easier. I know that the older girls don't do many badges each year. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted October 2, 2016 Share Posted October 2, 2016 (edited) . Edited September 6, 2023 by SilverMoon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted October 2, 2016 Author Share Posted October 2, 2016 We did similar things for Camp Fire, Pioneer Club, and Missionettes. :-) Also, surely you'd be helping your dd memorize those things at home during the week, not just having her work on them at meetings? And also, she can be learning other things simultaneously, yes? IOW, she doesn't have to finish that badge before beginning work on another? If AHG had been around when we were hsing, it would have been a big part of our curriculum. :-) They really recommend you only work on one badge maybe two at a time. The entire program is designed for the girls to become deeply knowledgeable about what they choose rather than just experience different things. And yes we have been working on it at home But I refuse to push my dd. I am super Type A and she is the opposite, very artistic very free flow- always doing smething, always sewing, painting, cooking. But she is not externally motivated for external praise (which is what a Badge is) she is motivated purely by the creative process or the love/relationship. I think knowing that it's typical for a girl to only earn one or two badges per year is helpful!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted October 2, 2016 Share Posted October 2, 2016 We are in AHG. My kids are Explorers, but I've been looking ahead at the Pi/Pa requirements for planning purposes. I think they want the badges to really mean something. My kids did the joining badge at age 7. The troop had provided packets with pieces of info to be organized and pasted onto a board and then presented to the leaders. There was also a multi-page list of instructions. That was helpful! Maybe you could ask your troop if they have any helps like this. For my kids, it was one night of work, plus a few read-overs. They didn't have it memorized, but they were prepared to talk about it as they had gone over it. If they were older, I assume they would have been expected to remember most of it. But I don't think it would be a month of work. For us, AHG is a very positive experience. We do try to get at least enough badges and stuff to get the "level award," which really is not very strenuous. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billswife Posted October 2, 2016 Share Posted October 2, 2016 Our troop keeps track of what badges the girls need to get their level awards. The leaders then plan to get those badges done during the meetings. There is sometimes a little work to do at home, but not a lot. Our PI/Pa's this year are doing only 2 badges during the meetings throughout the year. They are also doing a badge in a day with a special day camp. So they will get 3 badges this year. My girls are really just in it for fun. We don't usually do an extra badge at home. They don't plan on doing the Stars and Stripes award. If you are planning to do that your daughter will need to do a lot of work on her own. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted October 2, 2016 Share Posted October 2, 2016 Many AHG folks are homeschoolers, and they incorporate badge work into their homeschool, so it is quite manageable. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tumbatoo Posted October 2, 2016 Share Posted October 2, 2016 We just joined a new troop this year. My girls are Explorer and Tenderheart age. I only have my experience with boy scouts to base it on, but it is definitively not more involved than boy scouts. I'm a little disappointed they only meet twice a month and don't meet over the summer. Our troop seeemed to rush through the cake decorating badge. I feel like they really skimped. We're still working on it at home. But, we're also working on about 5 other badges as the opportunity arises. I've actually read a lot of the pi/pa requirements and I think it's reasonable for an olde girl. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taffnus Posted October 2, 2016 Share Posted October 2, 2016 We've taken a different approach with our PiPas this year. We had a 2nd troop form out if ours and most of the PiPas who left were highly badge-oriented and outdoorsy. The girls who stayed are the artsy, creative non-badge-oriented ones. :-) We brought them into the planning process to make the troop what they want it to be. They chose to plan our harvest event and work on the Architecture badge over the year. They'll complete another badge as a one-day intensive/event this fall. They had a service-oriented Lock-In a couple weeks ago. This week, they're going to the Macdonald's 1/2 mile away just to hang out. It's what they want so we're supporting them. It's taken 5 years for MY type-A personality to be able to step away from badgework. :-) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 We are in AHG and no one seems to find the joining award overly difficult. We had a " Joining 101" event led by a Pioneer. The girls did activities to learn the flag stuff, oath, creed, history etc. in a morning. We had girls from 1st-8th grades and almost all were ready to be checked off on the requirements (by unit leaders) at the end. Regarding badgework, some are longer or harder than others. Every troop or unit has to decide what approach to take. Our PiPa's have several girls clearly headed for Stars and Stripes and several just there for fun and more relaxed learning. We find a balance. Not every girl cares about level awards and such, but every girl is welcome and a valuable part of the group. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 We've taken a different approach with our PiPas this year. We had a 2nd troop form out if ours and most of the PiPas who left were highly badge-oriented and outdoorsy. The girls who stayed are the artsy, creative non-badge-oriented ones. :-) We brought them into the planning process to make the troop what they want it to be. They chose to plan our harvest event and work on the Architecture badge over the year. They'll complete another badge as a one-day intensive/event this fall. They had a service-oriented Lock-In a couple weeks ago. This week, they're going to the Macdonald's 1/2 mile away just to hang out. It's what they want so we're supporting them. It's taken 5 years for MY type-A personality to be able to step away from badgework. :-) I love this. Girl leadership is so important. The PiPa's have to be able to set their own course and take responsibility. (With appropriate scaffolding, of course.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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