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Episode 4 – Bridging

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Spring is definitely in the air, and that means it’s…bridging season! This year, GSUSA has announced a National Bridging Week, May 4-11. What does that mean for you? Stay tuned to your council. They might have special bridging events that week that your girls can participate in. If that week works well for your troop to host a bridging ceremony, that’s amazing! If not, don’t feel pressured to host one before you’re ready. But you might still benefit from some resources shared with national bridging week in mind.

In this episode, we’re going through a few of the basics of bridging. This is a perfect episode for new leaders or those who have not hosted a Bridging ceremony before.

First, what is bridging?

Bridging is the act of transitioning from one Girl Scout level to another. Girls automatically transition to the next level when they move to a new grade level in school associated with a given Girl Scout level.

Bridging is a milestone of a girl’s life in Girl Scouts.

That’s why you might like to celebrate with a ceremony. A ceremony typically has three parts:

  • An opening, when guests are welcomed and the tone is set.
  • A middle, which is meaningful to the troop. Often girls walk across a real or pretend bridge, receive a new uniform or flowers, or talk about their experiences and their wishes for the future. It’s important to let girls have a say about what you do in the middle to make it meaningful to them.
  • A closing, when you come together before going your own way. A friendship circle or song is a common ending to a bridging ceremony.

What about bridging awards?

There is an award available for each transition level. The award always has 2 steps.

Step 1 – Pass it on

During this step, your girls pass on something they have learned or done as a Girl Scout at their current level to girls at a level younger than them.

Step 2 – Look Ahead

Your girls must find out what the next level of Girl Scouts do. A troop in the level older should show them something they’ve done or learned.

You can find the exact requirements plus some age-appropriate activity suggestions in your Girl’s Guide to Girl Scouting Binder and here:

For Daisies: Bridge to Brownie Award

For Brownies: Bridge to Junior Award

For Juniors: Bridge to Cadette Award

For Cadettes: Bridge to Senior Award

For Seniors: Bridge to Ambassador Award

For Ambassadors: Bridge to Adult Award



Related Article: Commonly Asked Questions about Bridging Awards

Featured

Take Action – A Key To Leadership Highlight

Is the Girl Scout Leadership Experience working? Is my girl gaining leadership skills? It’s time for a refreshing reminder about the Three Keys to Leadership: Discover, Connect, and Take Action. These are the “what we do” part of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience. Today’s conversation focuses on Take Action, but you can view our other articles on Discover and Connect, if you’d like to learn more.

Take Action is the third and final step on the path to leadership. Activities that help girls “Take Action” are already written into your Journey Award meeting plans. But you might be wondering… is it working? Think about your recent experiences with your girls as we review what “Take Action” means and what it looks like when girls make the world a better place.

Girls find the root cause of an issue they observe.

This varies by age level, but here are some examples of what you might see.

  • Girls gain understanding of how their community functions.
  • Girls can prioritize which issues in their community deserve action.
  • Girls consider their troops and their communities resources when selecting an issue to address.
  • Girls want to identify a network of causes for issues they see.

Girls plan sustainable solutions.

This varies by age level, but here are some examples of what you might see.

  • Girls learn how to plan a project.
  • Girls can brainstorm more than one solution.
  • Girls work with others to make a bigger impact.
  • Girls can debate pros and cons of proposed solutions.
  • Girls assess progress and results.
  • Girls reduce their level of adult guidance for projects over time.

Girls feel empowered to make more change.

This varies by age level, but here are some examples of what you might see.

  • Girls speak up for themselves and others.
  • Girls speak up about issues they care about.
  • Girls know multiple ways to make change and can select what works best in their situation.
  • Girls see value in teaching others about their point of view or about what they care about.
  • Girls get others excited about teaming up to make change.
  • Girls feel like they are important and can make change.

All Girl Scout resources are designed with leadership in mind. With a healthy dose of fun, laughter, and excitement covering it all, we sometimes need a minute to reflect on the benefits of the program and the growth we see in our girls.

How do your Girl Scouts take action to change the world?

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Travel Opportunities for Girl Scouts

Who’s ready for an adventure?! Girl Scouts are! Travel is a common troop experience in Girl Scouts. Girls often plan field trips, overnights, weekend-long trips, and even more. Sometimes these trips are a fun excursion, or the celebration of cookie program goal achievement, or related to a Take Action project. GSUSA’s Travel Progression Chart shows the recommended path for girls to practice travel skills early in an age-appropriate way with increased leadership and length of stay as they age.

If you are a troop leader for girls with the travel bug, take a look at resources for girls interested in larger (either in distance or time) travel opportunities. These trips might take multiple years to plan and save for, so even if the girls aren’t quite ready yet, it’s worth checking out adventures that could be in their future.

Place of Girl Scout Interest – Juliette Low Birthplace

The Juliette Low Birthplace in Savannah, Georgia is a very popular destination for Girl Scouts around the country. Depending on how far you live from Savannah, the preparation needed and the age in which girls are ready for this trip might change. You can learn more about planning a visit on their website.

The World Centres

The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) has 5 world centres, which girls around the world love to visit. Girls can choose from Our Cabaña in Mexico, Pax Lodge in London, Our Chalet in Switzerland, Sangam in India, or Kusafiri which is a centre that itself travels around Africa. A big highlight for traveling to a World Centre is getting to meeting Girl Scouts or Guides from other countries.

Getaways

Getaways are travel programs designed for your troop. They are exciting events or locations with pre-planned itineraries in most cases, often hosted by other councils. It’s a fun way to travel, meet other Girl Scouts from around the country, and take some stress out of planning the WHOLE trip yourself.

Destinations

Destinations are travel experiences for an individual girl. To attend, girls submit an application and are accepted into the program. New Destinations are added each year, usually in late summer. The first round of applications is typically due around November. Some Destinations fill up quick, but many still accept applications through April. These trips can be a fantastic adventure for independent girls (sometimes called “Juliettes”), since they go alone, without troop sisters or leaders.

International Events

Girl Scouts also has the details for international events, like international campouts. You can see the options here. These are fun options for your troop and, like Getaways, you’ll already have your itinerary planned, so you can focus your energy on having a blast.

Planning an Adventure

You might feel a bit uneasy when starting to plan a long trip. Girl Scouts has the perfect resources for you. A guide to U.S. travel and a guide to global travel. These resources take you step by step though not only the planning process, but also the girl-planning process of bringing the dream trip into reality. It even includes recommended timelines. Whether the troop is planning the entire trip, or your group is traveling with a larger group, this packet will help girls prepare for their big adventure.

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Troop Camping -or- Summer Camp

Summer will be here before you know it (despite what the weather that our Northern sisters are getting right now), so you might be starting to think about camping opportunities for your troop. Most Girl Scouts who go camping participate in either Troop Camping or Summer Camp (or both).  

Both experiences can be AMAZING, but there are some big differences between the two. So what does each experience have to offer?

What is Troop Camping?

You guessed it! It is when a troop plans an outdoor outing. “Camping” typically implies an overnight, maybe in a tent or cabin, but it is important to remember that Girl Scouts recommends leaders follow the Outdoor Progression. That way girls’ experiences in the outdoors lengthen and expand over time to prepare for overnights.

What is Summer Camp?

When we discuss Summer Camp in this comparison, we are generally talking about a council-sponsored camp experience with counselors and staff members leading girls through their day or overnight experiences. These often vary from week-long day-only experiences, to half week, full week, or even more-than-a-week experiences. The length and type of programs vary from camp to camp and council to council.

Who are her fellow campers?

In troop camping, her campmates will be other girls from the troop she’s in, girls she is familiar with and likely already has bonds with.

At summer camp, she might sign up with a buddy, but there will be lots of girls that she won’t know.

Your girl likely has a preference. If she is less comfortable in the outdoors, she might prefer starting with troop camping, finding comfort in her friendships. On the other hand, she might not mind arriving on her own, knowing that she will make lots of new friends in her cabin, tent, or unit group.

Who are her adult role models and guides?

In troop camping, it will probably be her troop leaders and other adult volunteers she knows. Not all troop leaders LOVE to camp. And that’s ok. Other adults in your troop might be interested and can complete the training and guide the experience instead.

At summer camp, her adults are typically paid staff or trained volunteer staff that the camp has organized to be there. Many camps offer a few programs where girls can attend with their favorite adults, but the bulk of programs are for the camp kids only.

How does the planning work?

In troop camping, she’ll plan a lot. Troops make decisions about where they are going, what they are eating, and what they will be doing. Troop leaders will also do planning, and this balance changes as girls grow in the program, with girls taking on more and more of the responsibility as they grow. Troop camping offers the most customization and direct planning opportunities for girls.

At summer camp, planning looks different. Girls typically perform very little planning prior to camp, apart from packing their bags. Once at camp, they might have some choices about activities or meals. These opportunities vary from program to program.

Are the benefits different?

These two types of camping share a lot of benefits. Girls get to spend time outdoors, play with their peers, and develop independence and practice nights away from their home.

Girls participating in troop camp will get a stronger focus on girl-planning and strengthen the bond of friendship in their troop.

Girls participating in summer camp will practice making new friendships and experience a different type of independence because they are away from their families and troop leaders.

New research from the Girl Scout Research Institute and the American Camp Association gives us a look into even more benefits for girls.

Both camping experience are wonderful for girls. There are lots of camping opportunities in between, like service unit/community camporees and weekend programs for troops or families at camp properties. Each has its own specialty and rewarding qualities.

What is your girl’s favorite way to camp?

Featured

Connect – A Key To Leadership Highlight

Is the Girl Scout Leadership Experience working? Is my girl gaining leadership skills? It’s time for a refreshing reminder about the Three Keys to Leadership: Discover, Connect, and Take Action. These are the “what we do” part of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience. Today’s conversation focuses on Connect, but you can view our other articles on Discover and Take Action, if you’d like to learn more.

Connect is the second step on the path to leadership. Activities that help girls “Connect” are already written into your Journey, Badge, and Award meeting plans. But you might be wondering… is it working? Think about your recent experiences with your girls as we review what “Connect” means and what it looks like when girls connect to others locally and globally.

Girls connect to care about others.

This varies by age level, but here are some examples of what you might see.

  • Girls spontaneously offer help to others.
  • Girls empathize with someone else’s difficulty.
  • Girls can identify behaviors that build relationships, like listening or being honest.
  • Girls can identify behaviors that harm relationships, like bullying or gossiping.
  • Girls seek help when a relationship is harmful to themselves or when someone they care about is in a harmful relationship.

Girls connect to inspire others.

This varies by age level, but here are some examples of what you might see.

  • Girls share with others problems they have overcome.
  • Girls work together to think of solutions.
  • Girls stand up for themselves and others when they see something unfair.
  • Girls can explain what inspires them.
  • Girls model behaviors they think make the world a better place.

Girls connect to team up with others.

This varies by age level, but here are some examples of what you might see.

  • Girls suggest roles for each other during a group project based on what they know about other girls’ preferences and talents.
  • Girls can identify behaviors and guidelines that make a good team.
  • Girls make decisions using consensus building.
  • Girls resolve group conflicts.
  • Girls can explain the pros and cons of working in a group vs. working alone.

All Girl Scout resources are designed with leadership in mind. With a healthy dose of fun, laughter, and excitement covering it all, we sometimes need a minute to reflect on the benefits of the program and the growth we see in our girls.

How do your Girl Scouts connect with each other and the world around them?

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Episode 3 – Addressing the Risk in Risk Taker

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Do girls need to experience risk? According to the Girl Scout Movement, they answer is yes. The R. in G.I.R.L. is risk-taker afterall.  Our goals is for girls to take appropriate risks, try things even if they might fail, and learn from mistakes. So how do you give a girl risk opportunities that don’t give you, as the leader, heart palpitations, and how do you make those risky moments count, so girls learn from it.

Use Safety Activity Checkpoints

Girl Scouts have already assessed risk for a ton of activities. You may have heard of a little document called Safety Activity Checkpoints. Each checkpoints covers safety guidelines for a different activity.

When girl-planning an activity, talk to your girls about risk. Whether you have them look at the actual checkpoint or not is probably based on their age. You can lead a discussion when planning about what you need to be safe. Check their list of reminders with the checkpoint. Odds are they will have come up with even more safety ideas. If they have missed something, you can introduce it and they can learn together.

Be Prepared

Ah, the Girl Scout motto never lets us down. Being prepared is all about managing risk.  

Did you make a packing list? Turn that task over to the girls. Add reminders where needed. Ask questions from time to time like, “What would happen if we didn’t bring that” so they can work out what the consequences might be.

Do you have an emergency plan? Have the girls practice the plan during a meeting, or even have them make the plan with you, especially if they have practiced one before.

Instructions and Reminders

Before an activity with safety risks, provide instructions or an orientation.

Once girls are getting the hang of it and are becoming comfortable, provide additional safety reminders to keep them attentive.

Don’t Let the “What If’s” Stop Her, or You

Yes, we want girls to learn about risk, how to reduce it, how to address it, but we also don’t want reasonable risk to paralyze them. You may find a girl who won’t do something because “what if”. What if I fail? What if I do it wrong? What if x, y, z.  A good way to address this is to walk through the “what if” with her so she can realize if the worst case scenario is really all that bad.

As for us adults, the what if scenario is good for us too. What if gets in the way for us letting our girls do things. Remind yourself of the safety you have put in place and your response plan.

Mistakes Were Made

The last piece of risk taking is accepting mistakes and recovering. Girl Scouts is a safe place to fail. We want our girls to be willing to try hard things and try new ideas, which means they will fail.

Featured

Discover – A Key To Leadership Highlight

Is the Girl Scout Leadership Experience working? Is my girl gaining leadership skills? It’s time for a refreshing reminder about the Three Keys to Leadership: Discover, Connect, and Take Action. These are the “what we do” part of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience. Today’s conversation focuses on Discover, but you can view our other articles on Connect and Take Action, if you’d like to learn more.

Discover is the first step on the path to leadership. Activities that help girls “Discover” are already written into your Journey, Badge, and Award meeting plans. But you might be wondering… is it working? Think about your recent experiences with your girls as we review what “Discover” means and what it looks like when girls embrace discovery.

Girls discover themselves.

This varies by age level, but here are some examples of what you might see.

  • Girls talk about or demonstrate their skills and talents.
  • Girls can identify their feelings and express them.
  • Girls take pride in their accomplishments.
  • Girls understand how friends, family members, or cultural influence can affect how they see themselves.
  • Girls can identify challenges of being part of a group and/or making their own decisions.

Girls discover their values.

This varies by age level, but here are some examples of what you might see.

  • Girls can identify fair and unfair actions and explain the difference between right and wrong.
  • Girls take responsibility for their actions.
  • Girls think it’s important to help others, the environment, and other things important to them.
  • Girls make decisions and can explain how their values played a role in their choice.
  • Girls can talk to someone about values that are different from their own.

Girls use their knowledge and skills to discover the world around them.

This varies by age level, but here are some examples of what you might see.

  • Girls ask lots of questions about the world.
  • Girls try new things, even when they think they can’t do it.
  • Girls know they can learn from their mistakes.
  • Girls can explain how completing something challenging helped them grow.
  • Girls set challenging goals for themselves.
  • Girls move from trying new skills, to seeking proficiency, to seeking mastery.

All Girl Scout resources are designed with leadership in mind. With a healthy dose of fun, laughter, and excitement covering it all, we sometimes need a minute to reflect of the benefits of the program and the growth we see in our girls.

Badges and Patches

You Earned It – Bridging Awards

Are you starting to plan for National Bridging Week, May 4-11, 2019? Kick-off your planning spree with a review of the bridging awards and common questions about them.

How do my girls earn the award?

The award requirements stay the same at each level. There are always 2 steps.

Step 1 – Pass it on

During this step, your girls pass on something they have learned or done as a Girl Scout at their current level to girls at a level younger than them.

Step 2 – Look Ahead

Your girls must find out what the next level of Girl Scouts do. A troop in the level older should show them something they did or learned.

Just like in your badge packets, each step has a few ideas about what to do with your girls and a group of older or younger Girl Scouts to finish the requirement.

Where do I find the official requirements?

The official requirements for Bridging Award are in your Girl’s Guide to Girl Scouting binder. GSUSA has also shared all the requirements on their website. You can see them linked below.

For Daisies: Bridge to Brownie Award

For Brownies: Bridge to Junior Award

For Juniors: Bridge to Cadette Award

For Cadettes: Bridge to Senior Award

For Seniors: Bridge to Ambassador Award

For Ambassadors: Bridge to Adult Award

Do my girls have to earn the award to bridge?

Nope. Girls advance to the next level of Girl Scouts based on their grade level, not whether they earned the bridging award. Girls who do complete the requirements will earn the award, which they can wear on their uniforms.

Do my girls have to earn the award to participate in a bridging ceremony?

No again! Although the bridging award is recommended, it’s not a requirement to participate in a bridging ceremony.

What do I do if I can’t find an older or younger troop to meet with?

The first place to find a troop is at your service unit meetings. Start asking around and see if you can plan a meeting together. There might even be a service unit event where girls complete the award and hold a bridging ceremony together.

Still looking? Ask a neighboring service unit. Your council staff contact can help you get in touch.

Still having trouble? Get creative. Expand past your neighboring service units. Maybe you can do a virtual meet-up or a video or letter exchange with a troop further away.

What are Brownie Wings?

Brownie wings are worn on a girl’s uniform after their Brownie years. If you were a Brownie and bridged to Juniors, also called “flying up” to Juniors, then these wings are for you.

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Being a Girl-Led Troop with Older Girls

Leading a girl-led troop takes planning and choices on the leaders’ part to make sure girl have the opportunity to be decision makers. Follow along with our checklist to see if your troop matches up.  

At each level, girls take on more and more of the decision making responsibility. Today’s article is all about older girls, but if you mentor younger girls, have no fear. Catch our previous article on the same topic, but for younger girls. If you work with Juniors, you may find yourself in the middle, using tips from both!

1. Are my girls researching and choosing their activities?

While girls may no longer need you to select a subset of options for their activities, they still need your help knowing where to find information. The saying goes, “You don’t know what you don’t know”. Your role is more about directing girls to new ideas and resources, and then letting them take the wheel.

Where to direct them for ideas:

  • Bring out badge packets or print PDF resources from www.girlscouts.org/badgeexplorer for girls to look at when discussing and deciding
  • Safety Activity Checkpoints – yes, safety is important, but in this case, you might just want them to read the table of contents to see new activities they may not have considered yet.
  • Are girls starting to think about Girl Scout Silver and Gold Award Projects? Take a look at GSUSA’s Young Women of Distinction and your council’s own award recipients and their projects, so girls can see what’s possible.
  • Sign up for events with other troops. Lots of troops get their best ideas from listening to another troop’s adventure. Find a way for your girls to share what they’re doing too!

2. Are my girls planning their own outings?

Your girls have likely been taking on some part of the planning for their trips, but make sure that you continue to add new aspect of the planning process. Girls may need help finding resources to make their planning decisions or even knowing what items to plan for.

Here’s a planning scenario: It’s time to plan your upcoming trip. Brainstorm some top options and then divide girls into small groups to do some preliminary budget planning before making the final decisions. What should you have girls include in their preliminary budget?

  • Transportation
  • Overnight accomodations
  • Admission fees or tickets
  • Meals
  • Special gear/supplies needed

3. Do my girls address problems and consequences?

Sometimes you can see the consequences coming, sometimes you can’t. Girls develop resiliency when overcoming hurdles and trying again after failure.

What to keep in mind when it comes to consequences of their actions:

  • Consider safety – As the leaders, you always want to step in to address a safety issue. Depending on the issue at hand, it might mean immediate action on your part, or an opportunity for you to have the girls step back and re-evaluate the issue themselves.
  • Debrief – Guide a conversation for the group after something didn’t work out to help them find solutions for next time.
  • Ask lots of questions. Critical thinking skills are the best way for girls to avoid or overcome obstacles. You can help them by asking questions often.

4. Do my troop volunteers know when to help and when to be hands-off?

Volunteers sometimes feel that passing more leadership to the girl takes them out of the picture, and when doing so, they see the troop struggle or become ineffective. The trick is, girls still need guidance. For many girls, it’s their first time having the power to make so many choices about their path. Suddenly taking a hands-off approach will leave them stuck without all the right skills. Instead, still be a guide, set them up for success, and direct them to the resources they need.

How to get on the same page:

  • During a volunteer or parent meeting, have a conversation about the changing role of the adults as the girls age. Review any changing expectations.
  • Share your expectations with the girls and set them up for success.
Featured

Embracing a Girl-Led Approach with Younger Girls

Leading a girl-led troop takes planning and choices on the leaders’ part to make sure girls have the opportunity to be decision makers. Follow along with our checklist to see if your troop matches up.  

At each level, girls take on more and more of the decision making. Today’s article is all about younger girls, but if you mentor older girls, have no fear! Catch our article later this week on the same topic but for older girls. If you mentor Juniors, you may find yourself in the middle, using tips from both!

1. Are my girls choosing their activities?

Selecting what they do for the year is a wonderful way to get the decision making started.

Ideas for putting this into action:

  • Bring out badge packets or print a PDF resource from www.girlscouts.org/badgeexplorer for girls to look at when discussing and deciding
  • Sit in a circle when discussing your options so all girls can share their opinions
  • Use a “talking stick” or other item to help girls take turns sharing verbally

2. Are my girls planning their own outings?

Girls can have a big say in their upcoming field trip or overnight.

What could be on the agenda for their decision making?

  • Snack or meal choices
  • Selecting from a set of option of where to go
  • Voting on some of the main activities

3. Do my girls address problems and consequences?

When a problem arises in your troop, or a decision was made that they later regret, do your girls see what happens and do they understand the cause-and-effect.

Situations where girls can address challenges:

  • A mess! If a mess was made (accidentally or on purpose) make sure girls play a role in cleaning it up.
  • Troop disagreements – depending on the issue at hand, it might be an issue for a girl (or a few girls) needs to talk out, and you can make time for them to do so. When it comes to larger decision making with a disagreement, guide girls to compromise or find a new solution.

4. Do my troop volunteers know when to help and when to be hands-off?

Troop volunteers are AMAZING and we need their assistance for running a safe and happy troop. Sometimes, they need a little guidance on when to step in and when to let the girls take the lead.

How to get on the same page:

  • Have a volunteer meeting and brainstorm some general rules about when to intervene and when to let the girls handle it
  • Share any new guidelines with the girls so they know what to expect