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.

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.

There’s Another Way To Say It

The way we give an instruction, or try to get a girl to do something (or to stop doing something) is important. It sets the stage and tone for the entire interaction. Below are some commonly heard instructions and some alternatives to try.

There is a time and a place.

Sometimes, it’s not that the girl’s behavior is wrong, but now is not the right time, or here is not the right place. Asking her to move to the right area or save the activity for later can be the perfect answer.

Instead of “Cut that out,” try “You can play with the drum downstairs”.

Instead of “Stop that running,” try “Running is for outside, not in here”.

Give girls a chance to show off. Make it a game and show interest when they accomplish a task.

Instead of “everyone, be quiet,” try “I want to hear Mary on the phone, so play more quietly”.

Instead of “put your shoes on now,” try “How fast can you put your shoes on?”.

Instead of “eat your food,” try “How many beans can you eat?”.

Instead of “do your homework,” try “As soon as you finish the first 3, show them to me”.

Be a new role model.

Sometimes girls don’t know how to do things, or they imitate the wrong behavior. Keep in mind that you might need to show them what they should be doing. You can even help them think of new ways to do something together.

Instead of “don’t push the dog,” try “be gentle, pet the dog like this”.

Instead of “don’t do it like that,” try “Let’s see if we can figure out a better way to do that”.

Be clear about “when”.

When giving instructions, you can take time to remind girls that everyone will get a piece or that we will start when you say the magic words, but girls still might be impatient. Here are some tips:

Instead of “not now,” try “I need to finish this, I will be with you as soon as I finish”.

Instead of “stop grabbing,” try “Just a second, you will get one”.

What other ways have you practiced a positive spin to help manage behavior in your troop? Let us know in the comments.

Welcoming New Girls

Welcoming a new girl to Girl Scouts takes two parts. First is the initial greeting where they are recognized as a new member of the group. The second is building a sense of belonging. You can make sure each girl feels welcomed and part of the group by using this handy-dandy SMILE tool to greet girls the first time and every time.

If it’s your first troop meeting, or your first time greeting a new girl, remember to S.M.I.L.E.

Smile a lot! It sends a message of welcome and friendship.

Make eye contact. It connects you to your girls.

Introduce each girl to all the other girls in your group.

Learn each girl’s name.

Enthusiasm is contagious! Be enthusiastic.

Now that you’ve greeted all the girls, it’s time to build a sense of belonging. You’ll S.M.I.L.E. again, but in a different way:

Smile a lot! Continue the message of friendship.

Move around with the girls. Be willing to go to them and be part of the activity.

Include each girl in activities.

Learn two things about each girl, like their favorite animal, hobby, superhero, or Girl Scout activity.

Encourage each girl to make a new friend.

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.

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

Cooperative Learning When Girls Are Less Than Cooperative

Cooperative Learning can be as easy as completing an activity with a partner or as a group, but we all know group dynamics can get in the way of even the best-planned activities. Helping girls get the most out of working together can be difficult when you factor in their relationships to each other in and out of Girl Scouts. Let’s take a look at some common challenges and ways to address them.

Scenario 1: When our troop does group brainstorming, no one talks, or only one girl talks and the rest just go along with what she says.

Idea to help: Divide girls into groups of 3-5 to brainstorm together before reconvening as a group. This way, more ideas make it to the table. At the end, have one person from each group write their group’s ideas on a poster board that everyone can see. Prepare girls ahead of time that you’ll need someone from each group to talk about their ideas so they’re ready for this step.

Senario 2: When picking partners, some of the girls argue over who gets to be partners with one particular girl.

Idea to help: Mix it up by using mini-games or activities to assign partners. Before announcing that they are dividing into groups, consider starting the conversations by immediately announcing how you are dividing the girls, using a count off or similar system. Other ideas could be having a set of matching cards that you hand out so pairs are assigned at random.

Senario 3: I have two girls who don’t get along at school or in our troop meeting, working together always ends up disruptive and adding animosity to their relationship.

Idea to help: Forcing girls who don’t get along to work together can backfire. While your instinct might tell you to put them as partners so they can work it out, that rarely works. Instead, let them keep some space. This doesn’t mean that they never work together, but try not to make them work together one-on-one. When they do work together, perhaps in small groups, try not to put their closest allies in the groups, but girls who are more neutral, then keep an eye on the group to see how it’s going. In the meantime, consider playing a game at each meeting that focuses on learning about similarities and differences or working together. It will help them practice skills of teamwork, even if not directly with each other.

Do you have some suggestions or strategies that have worked for your girls? Share them in the comments!

Tips for Adapting an Activity to be More Hands-On

We’ve all been there. Reading the instructions for an activity we know our girls will love. But then we think about our troop of 12 girls (give or take) and think, how do I possibly give everyone a hands-on experience? It can be tricky, we know. Next time you find yourself in this situation, take a look at our suggestions below. They might not all work for your activity, but using one or two might just solve the problem.

Tip 1: Value quality over quantity

Girl Scouts is not a race. You want to give your girls lots of experiences, but even more, you want to give them quality experiences. Doing this activity in a hands-on fashion often makes it take longer to do than the alternative. Give yourself permission to slow down and let the girls try it themselves. It’s supposed to be fun. Don’t stress yourself out.

Tip 2: Can they all make their own?

Some things you do aren’t easy to divide into smaller pieces, but some are. If you’re making slime or completing your woodworking badge, look at how girls can work either individually, or in small groups, so every girl gets hands on experience. It might be tempting to make one big batch and split it up. It’s cleaner, faster, and requires less supplies. But you might miss out on engagement and interest from the girls, not to mention the accomplishment of doing it themselves.

Tip 3: Think about the roles ahead of time

Imagine you are baking cookies. Based on the recipe, you’ve decided that it’s not going to be easy to have each girl make their own. How can you still make it hands on? Plan out the roles girls can take in the activity. The more girls in your troop, the more you will need to find. For instance, each girl might measure and add an ingredient to the dough. Each girl might get 30 seconds of stirring or take turns reading the recipe. If you still feel that your troop is too big for each girl to have a role, consider dividing into two or more groups.

Tip 4: Pass along tasks outside of activities

Practice bringing hands-on tasks into other parts of your meetings. Cleaning up is a favorite of many girls, to the surprise of most of their parents. But also tasks like passing out supplies, taking notes during a brainstorm, or helping you pack up. Think about how your meeting routine operates and think about where you could institute more hands-on participation.

Tip 5: Set ground rules for your troop volunteers

Parents want to be helpful, which is wonderful, but it can sometimes get in the way of keeping girls hands-on. If you see troop parents stepping in a little too frequently, consider helping your girls and parents set some new rules. Here are our favorites:

• If you need help, you have to ask another Girl Scout for help before you can ask an adult.
• Adults can’t touch the girl’s projects.
• Adults can only answer questions with a another question that might help the girl answer her own.

Some of these tips may feel hard to adapt to, so take it slow and work towards it. It take practice and intention to keep your troop meetings hands-on, but the benefits can be amazing.