Featured

Teaching Songs

There are many successful approaches to song leading. Singing is a fun activity in troop meetings, during outings, and especially at a campout. It helps keep girls and adults in a positive frame of mind. You can sing during cookouts, bus rides, waiting for your next activity to start, or walking from place to place.

Select a teaching style that matches the song.

There are three main styles for teaching a song, and each has its own introduction that is easy to understand. Using this introduction consistently will increase your girls’ ability to sing along.

“This is a catch-on song!”

This is perfect for songs with very few lines that repeat. A song like “this is the song that never ends”, “down by the bay”, or other repetitive songs are perfect for this.

“This is a repeat-after-me song!”

This is for songs that are call-and-response and where the girls say the exact thing you said.

“To teach this song, I’ll sing a line, and you’ll repeat it!”

For songs too long to be a catch-on song, this is perfect. Teach the song line by line, with girls repeating you for each practice line. Then, sing it all together at the end.

If there is a rule, or pattern to the song, be sure to share. Common rules include:

  • Singing a song over and over, but removing a word each time.
  • Singing four lines repeat-after-me style, then all together, then starting a new verse.
  • Getting louder, softer, more off-key, etc, each time
  • Singing a song over and over, faster each time
  • Audience participation, like having someone yell out a topic for the next verse. If you have someone in the crowd who can show off an example, this should help.

Never underestimate how much silliness you can add to a song. Girls like to be silly and see you being silly, too. You can add more flavor to your song with:

  • Motions
  • Holding a note for a long time
  • Making funny voices when you sing
  • Keeping your energy high and having an awesome attitude!
  • Leading the song with another adult, not just by yourself

What’s your favorite silly Girl Scout song?

Featured

Flagpole Ceremonies

Flag ceremonies are often part of a larger ceremony or event. Some troops host a flag ceremony at every troop meeting. Others troops reserve ceremonies for big, important days like bridging ceremonies or end of year celebrations. At camp, a flag ceremony often starts and ends each day. Most of our flag ceremonies aren’t perfect, and that’s ok. Girls are learning and practicing how it’s done, which means mistakes will be made. Your goal as a volunteer is to set the tone and provide guidance to complete the ceremony.

Our flag ceremony reminders in this article are for ceremonies hosted around a flagpole, such as at summer camp. In this case, a folded flag is brought to the flagpole, and raised in the morning or beginning of the event, and retired in the evening or at the end of the event. These take place most frequently at camp, but you might find opportunities to do them at your school or for civic ceremonies.

Make a plan

There are a few decisions you will want to make before the ceremony. You’ll want to inspect the flagpole to make sure all the clips are working, and you will want to make sure you have a flag that is the correct size for the clips. You also want to decide what you want to include during the ceremony. For instance, determine whether you want to add the Girl Scout Promise or Law after the Pledge of Allegiance, or include a poem or song.

Prepare the Girls

Girls have different roles to fill during the ceremony. Each girl needs to know what she is responsible for doing, and what her cues are. You’ll want to set aside time to practice before the ceremony. Let’s look at the roles.

The color bearer (or flag bearer) is the person who carries the flag. During an opening ceremony, this girl will walk forward holding the folded flag with color guards behind her. She will pass them the flag, undo the rope from the pole, clip it onto the flag, and raise the flag. During a closing ceremony, she will bring the flag down the pole, and after it’s folded, will carry it away from the flagpole.

The color guard is a team that guards the flag(s). Any even number of guards may be used, but usually four or six girls are sufficient. During the opening ceremony, the color guard walks behind the color bearer. When passed the flag, they unfold it and hold it as it is raised until they can be certain it is high enough to not touch the ground. During a closing ceremony, they are passed the flag as it reaches them, and they fold it. Folding is a team effort, but the girls doing most of the folding are placed in the back of the line. Be sure girls have a chance to practice folding before the ceremony. And remember, they are learning. Sometimes stage-fright gets the best of them and the folding might not be perfect. You can always refold it after the ceremony, preparing for next time.

The Girl Scout in charge (or caller) is a designated Girl Scout who announces or calls each part of the ceremony. You’ll find an example of ceremony commands at GSUSA’s website.

Plan Reminders for the Audience

Because these ceremonies often happen at camp, your audience will be primarily other girls. Be sure to give them reminders like to remove any non-religious headgear (such as baseball caps) or how to make a horseshoe around the pole. If you sing a song, like Taps, during your ceremony, consider teaching it ahead of time.

Get to Know the United States Flag Code

Display of the American flag is governed by law to ensure that it will be treated with the respect due the flag of a great nation. This is known as the United States Flag Code. Some of the rules most useful for Girl Scouts posting the flag on a pole are:

The flag should never be allowed to touch anything beneath it, nor should it ever be carried flat or horizontally—always aloft and free.

The flag should be hoisted briskly and lowered ceremoniously.

When flown at half-staff, the flag should be first hoisted to the top for an instant and then lowered to the half-staff position. When retiring at the end of the day, the flag should again be raised to the top before it is lowered.

During the ceremony of hoisting or lowering the flag all non-military persons should face the flag and stand at attention with the right hand over the heart, or if applicable, remove their headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart. Citizens of other countries present should stand at attention.

It is the universal custom to display the flag only from sunrise to sunset on buildings and on stationary flagstaffs in the open. However, when a patriotic effect is desired, the flag may be displayed 24 hours a day if properly illuminated during hours of darkness.

The flag should not be displayed on days when the weather is inclement, except when an all weather flag is displayed.

Featured

13 Ways to Help Girls Feel Good About Themselves

Catch your Girl Scout doing something awesome. Give praise, recognition, a special privilege, or increased responsibility for a job well done. Emphasize the good choices they make, not the bad.

Take their ideas, emotions, and feelings seriously. Don’t belittle them by saying, “you’ll grow out of it,” or “it’s not as bad as you think.”

Define limits and rules clearly and enforce them. But do allow leeway for girls within these limits. Let them take the lead whenever possible.

Be a good role model. Let girls know that you feel good about yourself. Also let them see that you too can make mistakes and learn from them.

Teach girls how to deal with time and money. Help them set reachable goals so they can achieve success.

Help girls develop acceptance toward those with different values, backgrounds, and norms. Point out other people’s strengths.

Give girls responsibility. They will feel useful and valued.

Be available. Give support when girls need it.

Show them that what they do is important to you. Talk to them about their activities and interests. If you see them at school events or performances, make a point of saying hello and commenting about their success.

Spend time together. Participate in group activities.

Discuss problems without placing blame or commenting on a girl’s character. If girls know there is a problem but don’t feel attached, they are more likely to help look for a solution.

Use phrases that build self esteem, such as “thank you for helping” or “that’s a good idea!” Avoid phrases that hurt self esteem such as “How many times have I told you?”

Show how much you care about them. Give them high-fives and have crazy handshakes. Tell them they are terrific and that you care about them.

Featured

Leadership Opportunity for Girls – Program Aide

What is the Program Aide Award?

To earn a Cadette Program Aide award, follow these steps:

1. Earn one LiA (Leader in Action) Award. See instructions on the Resources Tab of the Volunteer Toolkit.

2. Complete council-designed leadership course training.

3. Work directly with younger girls over six activity sessions.

When someone says, “Program Aide”, what do they mean?

Even though the Program Aide Award is for Cadettes, volunteers often use the term “Program Aide” more generically to refer to Cadettes, Seniors, and Ambassadors who volunteer with troop meeting, events, or activities. If someone is looking for assistance from “Program Aides” be sure to check the requirements. Some are looking for girls who have taken a training, completed the award, or girls who are interested in volunteering.

Program Aides are practicing their leadership skills. Here are some reminders for adult volunteers working with or mentoring Program Aides:

What are Program Aides?

Teachers – They have skills and experiences to share with younger girls.

Specialists – They have talents in songs, games, activities, etc.

Potential song leaders – They should be given the opportunity to lead songs.

Service-minded – They want to help and be of real use.

Girls at heart – They came for fun, too.

Teenagers – They will want free time with other teens.

Examples – They will be looked up to by the younger girls, and actions speak louder than words.

Program Aides are not:

Errand girls – but they can accompany messengers when necessary.

Girl Scout Leaders – They are capable, but they are not adults.

Cleaning ladies – but they can help get an area organized.

Pack horses – but they do carry their own equipment.

As Program Aides, girls should enjoy a complete Girl Scout experience. With some activities, they may be participants. With others, they will take leadership roles. Program Aides are there to learn, to lead, and to have fun. Be sure to factor in a girl’s maturity and experience when determining her particular leadership roles.

Featured

Episode 6 – Group Agreements

Spring is the perfect time to revisit a group agreement. If you did one in the beginning of the year, your girls will have grown a lot since then, you may have added new girls, and you likely have some summer trips planned and revisiting what behavior is expected is a good idea. And if that doesn’t quite fit your group, you sure can save this episode for the start of the next year.

What is the point of a group agreement: The goal is to set a standard of rules, guidelines and norms, typically around behavior, that the entire group agrees upon and commits to. This is girl-led, so they set the rules.

Group Agreement Examples

The traditional group agreement

It usually involves a big piece of paper, and girls writing, or delegating someone to write, rules they think they should follow. They typically come up with things like be respectful and listening, but also traditions like they always want to do a friendship circle at the end of the meeting, and fun things, like a fun chant to encourage each other.

Once you have all the rules they think they need, and you have brought up anything they might have missed, it is time for signing. All girls and leaders should personally sign the big paper to agree to following these guidelines.

The “Be specific” group agreement

This time, you are going to take your big paper, and on one side your girls will brainstorm just like they did in the first example. After they have a pretty good list, we move to the next side. Here they will come up with examples of what that means. So, if they put respect on the first side, on side two, they think of ways to be respectful. If you think about it, some of these rules that all kids know are abstract concepts, so helping them think about what they look like can help a lot. If your group has a long list, you might talk about the top three and then go more into detail there.

On-the-go group agreement

All you need is your hand to explain this agreement, perfect for one day or short events as a quick reminder of what we need to focus one. It’s called the five finger contract. Each finger represents something different. Safety, commitment, attitude, listening, and encouragement. View our downloadable example of what to say and how to customize your own agreement. More details in the podcast too.



Once you have gone over each finger, ask if the group can agree to them. If they say no, talk about what needs tweaking. If they say yes, you seal this agreement with high-fives. Depending on group size, they can high-five everyone or high five at least x number of people. Adults should participate too.

A formal agreement

When troops do domestic or international trips, it is not uncommon to have a behavior agreement that is signed by the girl and her family. Your council likely has an example, so if your girls are approaching this style of trip, you can contact them. It generally involves terms for which the parent would be required to come get their girl in the middle of the trip for things like drug or alcohol use, inappropriate behavior, or similar things. Part of this is to set the expectations for the girls about what type of behavior would not be tolerated, and to alert the parents that they could be called upon to come get their girl. The need to use these is hopefully rare, but they are an important part of the planning process.

Ok, we have set the agreement, now what?

If you did a paper one, I recommend keeping it around. You could bring it and pin to the wall at troop meetings, or take a picture and reformat to a smaller size. The goal is not to do all that work and then forget about it. You want to use that agreement to reinforce behaviors and discourage some.

Keeping it handy means that their own rules are what’s monitoring their behavior, not yours.

When using the on-the-go contract, almost anything you want to correct can be related back to a finger. So you can have a conversation if needed or, and maybe more often, you can just point to your pinky and say, what’s this finger for. And they girls will answer safety and then rethink their choices.

Which group agreement style will you try next?

Featured

Valuing Differences

At Girl Scouts, we make sure girls are valued members, regardless of their economic, physical, psychological, or intellectual capabilities. The goal of each volunteer is to contribute to a girl’s path of becoming a caring, competent, and confident woman.

To ensure that each girl is valued, we can provide opportunities when:

Girls are actively planning an activity, like a meal or a trip. Be sure to encourage brainstorming, and acceptance of all suggestions.

Duties are rotated: kapers, roles in a ceremony, skits, songs, graces, choices for games, etc. Make sure that girls all get a chance to make decisions and be leaders. Celebrate creative solutions or ideas.

The situation calls for problem solving efforts. Lead the girls in ways to solve the problems, but do not do it for them. Encourage input from all girls.

Asking questions about appropriate behaviors for a particular activity or event. Our past experiences are not the same. By asking what is appropriate, you are encouraging the sharing of ideas and learning about differences. Then everyone knows the expectations and has participated in the choosing of appropriate behaviors.

Discussing family traditions. Holiday and family traditions are part of our socialization process. But they are unique to each family, because each family is unique. We are usually unaware or unconscious of this fact and act as if each family is just like ours. As a result, we remain unaware of the family and holiday traditions other people observe. Ask questions about traditions that girls in your troop observe, but try not to make them fit a mold based on your own. List many activity options and let the girls choose how they would like to observe the holiday.

We make an effort to be aware that family size, education level, jobs, economic status, heritage, geographic location, and health status are a few of the factors that influence each person’s behavior. They are also unique to each person. To promote understanding and valuing of differences, we can ask ourselves, “What may have been the experiences of the person to cause her to choose to act that way?” Then gently ask questions that build rapport and acceptance.

This is a task that is ongoing for each of us personally and as part of the group. If we do not learn to value differences, we lose the appreciation for the uniqueness of an individual. We also lose the contributions each will make when encouraged in a safe environment.

Featured

10 Things Caring Leaders Do

Make safety and health the number one priority.

Caring troop leaders know where their girls are at all times. They can say “no” to girls when needed.

Play with the girls.

Caring troop leaders are with their girls, watching them, listening to them, playing with them, and having fun together.

Listen to girls and have one-on-one talks with each girl.

Caring troop leaders let girls do most of the talking and listen deeply. They make time for one-on-one talks with each child. One-on-one does not mean alone or away from other people, rather that you have conversations with each girl in addition to group conversations.

Create enthusiasm.

Caring troop leaders do this by singing, chanting, laughing, being cheerful, being enthusiastic, and genuinely enjoying time with their girls.

Praise and encourage the girls.

Caring troop leaders praise girls for doing something creative, altruistic, or beneficial for the group.

Lead girls, but never boss them around.

Caring troop leaders are not bosses, they are leaders.

  • A boss says “I”; a leader says “we”
  • A boss inspires fear; the leader inspires enthusiasm
  • A boss makes meetings boring and dull; a leader makes it a game

Interacts with girls at each meeting.

Caring troop leaders make sure that every meeting has time to share experiences, ideas, laughs, and work as a team. They make sure girls have time to make choices and talk about things that interest them.

Stay alert for girls who need extra help.

Caring troop leaders are continuously on the watch for girls who are unhappy or having troubles. Girls who are too aggressive or too quiet usually need special attention. They encourage girls to talk but never force them.

Puts the needs of the girls first.

Caring troop leaders know that the needs of the girls must be put ahead of their personal needs in order to be effective. Let the girls decide what they want to do as a troop, don’t reject ideas because they seem to be extra work for you. During troop meetings or outings, you should be interacting primarily with the girls, not other volunteers.

Give special attention to each girl during a farewell.

Caring troop leaders do this at the end of a meeting, or even before bedtime during an outing. They offer high-fives or other personalized moments to let girls know that they are welcomed back and that their leader likes having them in their troop.

Troop Tips

A Closer Look at What Teen Girls Want (Even…

When it comes to working with our teen girls, it’s all about balance. Balancing the fact that they want to be adults and are maturing in a lot of ways, and that they are still girls who need chances to choose, learn, and be silly. Take a look at what teen girls need and think about how you can balance this in your troop.

Teen girl want you to:

  • Accept them for who they are.
  • Respect their need for space.
  • Respect their need for privacy.
  • Accept their right to their own opinion.
  • Accept their right to have a say.
  • Understand that their “self” as an individual is not the same as their “self” when part of a group.

Teen girls want:

  • Opportunities to learn skills – anything that increases their sense of mastery, proficiency, or the ability to “hold their own” in the adult world.
  • Activities that are social.
  • Activities that are separate for “little girls” – even teens who like working with younger girls need time with their peers.
  • Activities that allow them to demonstrate their know-how.
  • Opportunities to joke around with an admired adult (as long as the fun is not at their expense).
  • Food.
  • A sense of choice.
  • A chance to save face.
  • A chance to contribute.
  • Fair feedback – without humiliation or embarrassment.
  • Reassurance without feeling childish.
  • Milestones and privileges that come with being older.

During confrontations, teen girls want:

  • A chance to talk without interruption.
  • To feel heard, that their position was truly considered.
  • To avoid “traps” and “bait”.
  • To prove that they have control over themselves, that you can’t make them.
  • Opportunities to “repair” mistakes.

What tips and tactics have you tried that help teen girls thrive?

Service Community

Weekend of Service: May 17-19

The Girl Scouts of the Northwestern Great Lakes (GSNWGL) council is inviting all Girl Scouts to participate in a Weekend of Service on May 17-19 in honor of Girl Scouts from Chippewa Falls Troop #3055.

Join us in helping our sister council honor the memory of those lost by continuing their work through service in your own communities.

The Girl Scouts of the Northwestern Great Lakes council’s Weekend of Service Patch Program Packet includes:

  • A message from a leader of Troop #3055
  • A history of environmental stewardship in Girl Scouts
  • How to complete a Weekend of Service activity and receive a patch
  • Project ideas

Outdoor

Helpful Hints for a Tidy Campsite

Yes, camp is a place to get messy, but keeping things tidy can make a big difference when trying to pack up, unpack, or keep critters out. Test out these strategies and add your own favorites in the comments.

Keep your cookware clean(er)

  • If you’re cooking a meal in a pot or heating water, rub liquid soap on the outside of the pot before cooking to more easily clean off the black residue the fire leaves behind.
  • Take your time and wait for the coals. Food is less likely to burn when evenly heated by coals.

Plan out your dish-washing station

  • Add a trash can and a scraper to the beginning of the dishwashing line. This will keep your dishwater from getting gross long before dishes are done.
  • Dispose of your dishwater at least 200 ft (about 70 adult paces) from both your campsite and any nearby water sources. This will help keep away critters interested in any floating food.

Keep sleeping areas tidy

  • Consider a “Golden Dustpan Award”. Spray paint any old metal dustpan to make it gold and award the honor each day to the tidiest cabin or tent. Encourage things that keep critters out and prevent lost items, like having bags zipped close.
  • Make sure your girls have a packing list. They can even help you create it. Depending on the trip, you might need to limit the amount of baggage girls can bring. Keeping girls and families in-the-know will help them pack more of what they need, and less of what they don’t.

Keep activity areas and bathrooms clean

  • Set a kapers routine. Your length of stay, your activities, and your girls will determine how frequently the girls need to do kapers. Starting a routine during even your first, short campouts will help your girls see it as a natural structure as they grow.

Keep girls clean

  • Take note of a girl’s clothing. Some girls don’t have any interest in changing their clothes regularly, or out of their pajamas. You may need to prompt them for this task if you noticed today’s outfit looks similar to yesterday’s.
  • Girls, especially the young ones, sometimes struggle keeping their hair free of knots and snarls. The longer knots stay, the more painful they are to get out. If you notice your group getting a little tangled, hair brushing and braiding time can be a fun and chill activity.
  • If your campsite is lucky enough to have shower facilities and you’re making use of them, make sure girls know how to turn them on and off before shower time starts. A strange new shower can be tricky or just quite different to what girls are used to at home.