Girl Scout Memories Thru the Years Camptured in Photos

Girl Scout memories thru the years camptured in photos.

I have so many more but these are some of my all time favorites.

Free time at camp to just sit with friends

 Tie Dye Porch

Get to Know You Ball

Human Knot

Girl Scout Tree of Gratitude 

Campfire Friends

Bridging Bridge Built by Troop 2245

Service Unit Encampment Candle Opening Ceremony

Service Unit Encampment Platform Tent Camping

Some time to sit and read

Moonlit Hike at Camp by Flashlight

The perfect spot for my shoes 

Teaching the younger girls Cats in the Cradle

Froggy Fun

Service Unit Day at Camp Woodhaven

Platform Tent Peak-a-boo

Friendly Game of Spoons

Friendly and Helpful even when they think no one is looking

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Please be patient with me as I am working on my blog converting and moving my other blogs to one location.  Moving forward "One Leaders Guide to Scouting" and "On the Move" will be here on artsyBE.  I am trying to go thru and label the subject content in my posts.

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Thank you for reading.

"But if I'm honest, I'm pretty sure I get more out of Girl Scouts than they do,"

4/30/18

 I read something today in a Facebook Girl Scout Leader Group,

"but if I'm honest, I'm pretty sure I get more out of Girl Scouts than they do,"  

That statement is so true. I have been leading my daughters Girl Scout Troop for 11 years.  For years at our fall ceremony I have thanked my scouts parents for giving their daughters the gift of scouting.  Fact is I would like to thank them for giving their daughters to me to mentor them.  I have I have watched them grow from shy little daisies thru their awkward middle school years and into high school.  Finding their way and watching their personalities come out.  

I started this post a while ago but after camping this weekend I am able to wrap it up.  Both troops went camping together again since our numbers are down it's the only practical way to go camping.  Only 3 Seniors went, 5 Cadettes and 5 adults.  It was a fun weekend full for adventure, laughter, "spoons" and silliness, they even accomplished a badge and the Cadettes worked on their journey.  We have been working on the MEdia journey and also the Outdoor Journey.  They each chose which issue they wanted to address and are making individual PSA videos and having the other girls be part of their video.  They each had to do a storyboard and come up with a plan to get the other girls involved, so they show leadership.  There was some ad libbing in each of their videos.  Now for the fun part and suspence for the rest of us.  They need to put edit and put their videos together and then plan a "Premiere Night."

As I have said so many times before they girls inspire me to lead them.  And so this weekend they inspired me to make a video using iMovie I put together a short trailer of this weekend.  

They give me Courage, Confidence and Character to try new things

5/15/18 

These girls challenge me every day to be a better version of me. In January I told my older daughter she inspired me to stop being afraid and to stop standing on the sidelines watching. Shortly after that I started my transformation and Oola journey. These girls not just my daughters but all of them are helping me to face my fears. Within one week I have tried a high ropes course and rode a horse. All because of them showing me their courage and confidence to try new things.  I am grateful, thankful and blessed to be a Mom and Girl Scout Leader.  

Cadette PSA Videos

5/21/18

 

As a troop throughout the year my Cadettes worked on the MEdia Journey and the new Outdoor Journey.  So when we were camping in April the girls shot their videos and took pictures for the final take action project I gave them the choice of making a PSA (Public Service Announcement) for either journey.  Two of them chose to do MEdia and two of them chose Outdoor.  My co-leader and I gave them all both journey's because they worked on both.  They earned all of the badges for for the Outdoor Journey this year, Night Owl, Primitive Camper, Trailblazer and their take action was creating the PSA, educating others.   All of them also earned the steps for the MEdia Journey Monitor, Influence and Cultivate.  For Cultivate, which is the Take Action Project they created the PSA's.  Each girl had to come up with a message and create a storyboard before they made their video.  They each had to lead the others to help them with their individual videos.  I hope you like their final projects.

Abby's PSA "Don't Trash My Camp"

Regan's PSA "We Are More Than One Stereotype, We Are Unique"

Briana's PSA for Outdoor Cadette Journey

Amy's PSA "Smile You Look Good Like That"

I got a random leader survey from GS USA so I told them what I thought...

Apr 4, 2019

 I got a random leader survey from GS USA.  They asked what I thought of my experience in Girl Scouts so I told them, they gave me a small box but I just kept typing.

I think that work needs to be done on fundraising.  Cookies are our thing but they can be better.  Councils bordering each other should be the same price because families sometimes cross the boarders and then question why ours are more expensive than theirs.  I also think that the rules for outside fundraising need to be loosened up.  Not all girls like selling cookies.  All troops don't sell thousands of cookies, especially as they get older and less girls in the troop.  But troops need money to survive. 

I am a proud Girl Scout Mother of 2 girls, an Ambassador working on her Gold Award and a Cadette working on her Silver award.  I am also a proud mother of an Eagle Scout.  I have supported both organizations for many years.  I think they both have given my children opportunities to do things that they might not have had otherwise.  I am also the proud Girl Scout Leader of 2 troops, for 12 + years of over 50 girls in total through the years.  Each troop is down to 3 girls now, but these 6 girls are committed and have been together since they were Daisies.  I have watched these girls grow from shy and silly children into confident and courageous young women.  Not only have the girls developed strong friendships, but the adults have too.  We have so many great memories together that I cherish.  At the end of every ceremony I always thank the parents for giving their daughters the gift of Girl Scouts.  Because I really believe that it is a gift to be part of this organization and watching their daughters grow has also been a gift.

The thing that saddens me is the relationship between Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts.  I do not agree with the changes made to Boy Scouts over this past year and I feel it has devalued the organization and the rank of Eagle Scout.  I don't think that Robert Baden-Powell and Juliette Gordon Low would be very happy with the way things have been.  They were friends and that friendship is where our journey began.  In the beginning we celebrated Thinking Day because it was Robert Baden-Powell and his wife Olave Baden-Powells birthday, the founders of the Scouting Movement.  I think that some need to be reminded of that.

I also wish that the Girl Scout Gold Award got more recognition.  People including myself always say is equal Eagle Scout.  But in fact I have learned recently while my daughter is working on her project that the two are not equal.  Girl Scouts requires more hours, must be sustainable and gets less recognition.  Another difference is that Eagle Scout is considered a rank and Girl Scout Gold is an award earned.  I would love to see the statistics how how many girls earn Gold compared to Eagle.  In my daughters troop that was once 25 Brownies and now 3 Ambassadors only my daughter is going for Gold.  In my sons Cub Scout Pack that was once 21 went down to 3 for the last 4 years in Boy Scouts all 3 earned Eagle Scout.

I probably could have gone on more but like I said the box was small and I'm surprised it didn't stop me from writing what I did.