Daisy Girl Scout Leaders

[Marshay]

My first meeting is going to be next Wed. Our troop meetings will be every other Wed from 7-8pm. This is late enough to have dinner done, but early enough to get home to bed. No snack should be needed due to the time. This will save us time and hassles. I will make a couple of exceptions for parties, etc.

I plan to talk to the parents in one room and the kids will go with my co-leader to another room to play a game to get to know each other, learn the promise, do a promise craft(scoutingweb.com), Make a button nametag, and make a list of rules for the troop. This will actually begin the process for one of the petals since they have to take responsibility for what they say and do.

I will talk to the parents about registration, dues, uniforms, parent help. I am printing out a form for help from parents for different tasks like field trip driver, cookie capt., newsletter, meeting helper, etc. I am also planning to have a wish list of things our troop needs that parents can donate. This will tie in to a project next month.

For the second meeting we are going to jump in right away and get dirty. I have planned a project for the Make the world a better place petal. We are going to plant flowers to bloom in the early to mid spring of next year at the school where we hold our meetings. This will teach the girls teamwork, patience, and making an investment that they don't see immediate results from. Then in the spring we can walk out and watch the flowers and bulbs grow and bloom. It is a win win situation as I have gotten the flowers and mulch both donated. We provide the labor and love.

Meeting number 3 will be a belated birthday party for Juliette Low, each girl will bring a present in honor of JL which will benefit our troop. Wet Wipes for cleaning up after ourselves, kleenex for runny daisy noses, construction paper, foam craft pieces, bandaids, etc. I will have a list that parents can choose from during our parent meeting. This will save on costs on dues.

I am also trying to plan to help another towns troop with a Christmas shoebox project. I would like for our girls to not only gather supplies to take to them, but I would love for our girls to assist them in assembling the shoe boxes(considerate and caring petal). Then we can send cards that we make to the other troop which would earn a petal for being a sister to every girl scout(A. By helping them, B. by sending a card). My co-leader is a mail carrier and she has suggested we put the cards in an envelope and she will take us to our local post office to tour and see how our cards are going to get there.

The thought is there to make cards for the local nursing home to show that we are Friendly and helpful.

I like the toothpast idea for respect myself and others.
I like the Egg hunt idea for honest and fair.
I think selling cookies is being courageous...especially the booths, strong....I am not sure what we will do for that? Carrying the boxes of cookies? JK
I work at a rec center though I am sure I can come up with something for that.
I am thinking of going to a local nature center/farm to work on the using resources wisely. However, I am going to suggest that parents send in a reusable water bottle for our meetings which would actually show that we are using our resources wisely.
Respect Authority....maybe a police or fire( I work for the FD) visit? We also have a troop dad that is an air traffic controller.

Feel free to comment or throw suggestions out there. We are all in the same boat lost somewhere on the waters, I am tossing out a buoy....grab hold and kick! I am open to a pen pal troop if you are interested let me know.

Kari

PS. I do have Disney history. My folks have been DVC members since 96'. My DH and I were married at WL 00'. My pregnancy with my DS7 was announced at Whispering Canyon Cafe a year and one half later. My daughter was conceived hours before heading to WDW(unbeknownst to me at the time) so she managed to swim in the right direction and connect while I was busy riding all of the rides at WDW. My most unique trip was on 9-16-01 when things were eerily quiet there.

Kari -- wonderful ideas!! I love it and will be taking some of them to my co-leader so we can incorporate into our troop too.

THANKS
I am with you, if we can be outside or do activities other than crafts then I think it will keep me sane. We have a nice merto pak near us that has regular activies also that I thought I could incorporate. I figure I can keep the crafts for bad weather, but also during bad weather I am planning on having a few guest speakers (police, fire, stranger awareness). I am still just starting the whole process so I am just trying to wrap my head around all this

I hear ya! I'm in the process of doing the 101 training and have an in-person orientation meeting tonight. I quickly reviewed the Volunteering Essentials and printed out the most pertinent pages.

Did any of you notice that the Girl Scout Pledge can easily be sung to the tune of Old McDonald had a farm. Try it. I got my DD5 to memorize it after only singing it 2x.

 

[r4blessings]

I love the idea of a re-usable water bottle that the girls bring to meetings, to incorporate the "use resources wisely"!

We had our first meeting of the new year on Monday night. I had 13 girls and another mom that helped out (my co-leader's son is sick and she wasn't able to make it)

We decorated handled paper shopping bags with the GS promise and their handprint traced, cut and glued down with the thumb and pinky glued down to form the three fingered pledge sign. The girls will use these bags to carry their blue folders and Journey books back and forth to meetings. This will help them to be responsible for their own daisy things.

We also sang some songs, reviewed the pledge and promise and then celebrated one of our girls birthdays.

Last year, one thing we did was have a karate instructor come and "coach" the girls in self-defense for their "courageous and strong" petal. We also had the girls come later one night for a pizza and game night party.....they played games fairly for their "honest and fair" petal. They loved that!

We made old-fashioned friendship pins (remember those, on the safety pins? LOL) and then gave them to the girl on their left as a symbol of friendship.

One thing I want to do this year is order the girl scout songs cd from amazon so the girls can listen to it at meetings and learn the songs.

Love hearing about everyones new ideas too! Keep em coming!

 

[Marshay]

I completed my Basic 101 Training on-line today. Last night my co-leader and I sat down for 3 hours to work on our schedule and special events. I think we have a basic plan. I contacted our school and they have availability for our days and time.

I think our plan is coming together!

 

[cerberus]

I completed my Basic 101 Training on-line today. Last night my co-leader and I sat down for 3 hours to work on our schedule and special events. I think we have a basic plan. I contacted our school and they have availability for our days and time.

I think our plan is coming together!

Congrats
I am doing the leadership online training tonight!

 

[Marshay]

Congrats
I am doing the leadership online training tonight!

Enjoy!

I just realize that I never registered myself (and paid $12) to GS...guess I should go on now and do that.

 

[Marshay]

Hey, ladies! I'm still waiting for my troop approval as a leader and the list of my girls' names. Guess they are getting backed up. I'd really like to get started!

Anyway, today I'm doing the CPR + First Aid training so I qualify as our Level 1 First Aider. Figured I'd do that right away so I'm ready for anything that might happen.

Anyone else still waiting for girls?

 

[anl]

Anyone else still waiting for girls?

Yes, we are still waiting. I have to do training Tues evening and we are waiting on our background checks to clear also. They have not given us a list or even told us if we have enough girls to start.

Who is getting the vests and who is getting the smocks? We are thinking smocks.

How often is everyone going to meet? I'm thinking twice a month for an hour...does that seem about right?

 

[cerberus]

I am still waiting to hear as well about how many girls.
We are also planning on 2x per month for an hour (no snack time)

 

[kinntj]

I think our daisy troop is looking for a leader. They had a parent meeting today at 1, but I couldn't be there. I had seen 23 girls on the list that registered. I will be very involved, but unfortunately I can't lead.

Good for you guys for stepping up.

 

[Familyof4lovesDW]

Which part of Ohio are you in? Our council doesn't allow Daisy's to camp! I just recently became a Daisy Leader as well and our first meeting is 10-6-10. I am in the Girl Scouts of Western Ohio area.
Kari

They told me thay for mother/daughter they can camp since we will be with them the whole time, otherwise they cannot. The leader and myself both asked, because we wanted to camp with our DD's. I am also in the Girl Scouts of Western Ohio.

Let us know how your meeting goes. I left my leader a message, after I returned from my trip, but she has not called me back. I am going to call her again Monday, so hopefully we can start next week.

 

[Familyof4lovesDW]

Yes, we are still waiting. I have to do training Tues evening and we are waiting on our background checks to clear also. They have not given us a list or even told us if we have enough girls to start.

Who is getting the vests and who is getting the smocks? We are thinking smocks.

How often is everyone going to meet? I'm thinking twice a month for an hour...does that seem about right?

We only have my DD the leaders DD and 3 other girls. They did not give us the list until our background check and references were completed, but she did tell us how many girls were interested. It took about 2 weeks for everything to get completed.

We already decided we are going to get the vests and are planning to meet 2 times a month (maybe only one time in December due to winter break). Did you see the "My mom is a leader" patch? It is only $1 here. I have not been to council yet to get it or the vest, my leader told me about it and I saw in on a girls smock at our local festival.

 

[cerberus]

How much do you guys charge for dues and do you do it all at once or ask for it once a month?

 

[anl]

We already decided we are going to get the vests and are planning to meet 2 times a month (maybe only one time in December due to winter break). Did you see the "My mom is a leader" patch? It is only $1 here. I have not been to council yet to get it or the vest, my leader told me about it and I saw in on a girls smock at our local festival.

Sounds super cute! I have not seen it, but now I'll have to get it. I did look around our little store the other day and there are some CUTE things in there. I never imagined they would have so much.

How much do you guys charge for dues and do you do it all at once or ask for it once a month?

I'm wondering this as well.

 

[skw444]

We are charging $2 for meeting dues and asking for them at each meeting instead of all up front since we're asking for so much money up front (registration, annual fund, vest, troop start up fee). We are meeting every other week (so usually about 2 times per month). The girls decided on the vests instead of the smocks because it looks more like what the older girls all wear.

 

[cerberus]

We are charging $2 for meeting dues and asking for them at each meeting instead of all up front since we're asking for so much money up front (registration, annual fund, vest, troop start up fee). We are meeting every other week (so usually about 2 times per month). The girls decided on the vests instead of the smocks because it looks more like what the older girls all wear.

Do you mind if I ask then what your total start up fee is?
And what is annual fund?

Also does this start up fee leave any money left over to buy crafts or money for activities?

 

[Marshay]

We are meeting 2x/month -- one meeting and the other a service/fun activity.

We are going with the tunic-smock thing since they are super-duper cute with the Daisy petals right on the front. They are also a bit (IMHO) easier to grow into since it has ties since we'll use this for 2 years. It'll also help cover their shirt/pants when we do arts & crafts.

I went to our GS store yesterday and OH MY is it cute!! I actually bought my daughter a Daisy top (the blue one) and leggings from last year for Christmas presents for her. She looked through the catalog and now wants the socks, too!

After I bought the workbook, tunic, patches -- flag, troop number, something else?, pins and whatever else they said was required to be on the tunic, it came to just over $45!

So for dues we are going with a one-time dues but it will be expensive.

$46 for above
$12 for registration
$5 for additional patches they can earn/fun throughout the year
$30 for arts & crafts and two parties (Easter egg hunt/Tea party and Ice Cream Party at end of year) and incidentals
=============
$93

When we see the total, it's a lot for a parent to do right away. However, if you consider this is 16-18 meetings, it only comes down to $5/meeting. That is extremely economical.

We aren't charging per meeting since we still have to purchase the supplies for everyone and what if someone doesn't show up. Would we ask for their money anyway?

Anyways, there's my thoughts ... but remember I'm totally new at this so maybe I really don't know what I'm talking about...

I look forward to hearing from everyone about what did and did not work so I can learn from you and be a better troop next year!

 

[acklepwifey]

Hey there! Super grateful to have found this thread. I have been feeling more than a little overwhelmed trying to start up my DD5's Daisy troop. 1/3 of this post is going to be a vent session, 1/3 sharing my ideas on what I'm planning for the girls, and the final 1/3 is asking endless questions for advice...because Lord knows its needed . Okay so to jump right in with both feet...

URGHHHH!! I seriously underestimated the dedication and intricate process it takes to be a Daisy leader. I was a Daisy back in the day, and my mother was my leader. So in the start of this process, I was very eager to get a head start on this whole experience for my DD. I knew Daisies had to be in Kinder to participate so when she was 4, I did the 'General Inquiry" online contact and made a few calls to my service unit (totally confused me btw, no longer neighborhoods but service regions and units) and I was told to inquire when she started her Kinder year. Finally the time had come in August of this year, so the second inquiry was made. I was contacted by the Service Region Manager and was given instructions to get started (online volunteer orientation, attend Council Introduction class, submit for background screen, have @ least 5 girls, and 1 additional co-leader). By late August everything that she told me to do was done, sent in, waiting for further direction. Weeks passed by, and I had been cleared as well as one of my co-leaders, but my other co-leader who sent in her info at the same time as us had been lost in the shuffle . Thats when I was contacted by our SU's organizer asking me if I was still in need of a troop for my daughter. To her surprise I informed her I was starting up a new Daisy troop and she got me in contact with the right people to get the ball really rolling. She also put several Daisy mothers on a 'waiting list' in contact with me. After contact with the waiting parents, and the right people from the SU, I felt a little at ease with the progress. THEN...I had to take an additional Council Introduction class with my co-leaders in our SU, and that opened another can of worms. So now my co-leaders and I have been instructed by our SU (what we called neighborhood back when I was scouting) to take CPR&First Aid, Leadership Essentials and Daisy Level Training within 3 months. PHEW! To top things off, we still do not have our troop #. I am *hopefully* meeting with the Register tomorrow AM and *fingers crossed* get our troop # tomorrow.
Well thanks for the vent sesh, now onto more important things, IDEAS!! Ideas from this thread are totally fueling my motivation for upcoming troop meetings and events. We currently have 5 girls registered, and 2 co-leaders registered. We have 3 unregistered girls (yet to turn in paperwork), and 2 additional Co-leaders (waiting on background check). There is a Round-Up at a local school this Tuesday and I have been asked to attend with my co-leaders to 'recruit new Daisies'. I have obtained a permit from my DD's school to hold the meetings in the cafeteria, but need a liability insurance proof supplied by SU and I need a Representative to fill things out on the form. I have started the process of obtaining the Liability insurance proof but have NO clue who should fill out the form.
So if all goes smoothly from here out, our Parent Information Mtg. is scheduled for Oct. 18th from 645-745PM. Our first mtg. is supposed to be the following week Oct.25th at the same time. We are planning to meet every other week and incorporating field trips either on our meeting day or (rarely) on a different day. At our parent mtg., I have typed up a Syllabus-ish list for parents to review over with me. I am calling it Our Troop Standards for 2010-2011. It basically goes over what is expected of them as the parent and what the girls will be doing and learning over the year. I also touch on the subject of materials and supplies, troop dues, donations, parent participation, etc. We as leaders have decided to ask for $80 either upfront or split into 2 payments of $40. This includes the vest or tunic, all insignia, journey & activity books, and a yearly supply fee of $19 per girl. One lady I talked to said her troop dues were $100 for the year and that didn't include the uniform or badges. So I felt $80 wasn't too pricey considering everything the girls get in return. This is all addressed in the Standards packet I have made up and I also emphasize that due to hardships, all girls should have the opportunity to be in Girl Scouts. At the end of the Standards packet I am asking for parents to sign an acknowledgement and consent form jic down the road we have some PITA mother's who don't agree with what is going on in the troop. I am always one to cross my t's and dot my i's so this is just a precaution I wanted to take.
I also was told, if parents want to participate, they need to be background checked and registered as a precaution. so I stated that unless those 2 things are done, parent CAN NOT be involved in things as simple as mtgs. to things as intricate as field trips.
I am currently making up forms and agendas for the entire year from meeting plans, field trips planned, to ceremonies and end of the year picnics. This is where I find myself being meticulous and OCD. I don't want to leave anything out that might be crucial for the girls to experience in what little time we'll have due to starting late. Some of the ideas I have read from this thread are sooo going into the schedule.
As far as the petals go, I really want the girls to earn each petal but I am a little sketchy as to how they do that. I know each petal represents a part of the promise and law but do they have to complete a certain amount of steps to earn each petal? I have yet to get my Daisy Leader book or any of the books, so I am hoping that once I get the books it will make more sense.
As far as the Journeys goes, I have heard a mixed reaction to these book series. I know a third book 'Its your story-tell it!' is due out very soon, and rumor has it that after this year, petals are dunzo. Journeys is the new pathway for all girl scout levels even though its being fought big time. I don't want to have to do one or the other so I am just going to roll with the times and incorporate all the Journeys in the 2 years they have as Daisy scouts.
Those of you who are just starting out, please fill me in on how the girls earn the petals and complete their journeys step by step. Did the book give any insight to how to complete the process?
A few questions aside that keep coming to mind are: Do scouts only meet during the school year?- since we are meeting at the school and the school is closed during summer session, is it a down time for scouts as well?
Are we supposed to turn in 1 annual financial report or do monthly ones? How long did it take for y'all to get your troop #'s? Please all feedback will be appreciated and taken into consideration . And I am so sorry for typing soo much. I have a tendency to ramble.

-AMANDA from LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
Me&DH ; DD5 ; DD3 ; DS1.5

 

[skw444]

Do you mind if I ask then what your total start up fee is?
And what is annual fund?

Also does this start up fee leave any money left over to buy crafts or money for activities?

We had a $10 start up fee per girl. This will help us by supplies for the activities through out the year. We also chose to participate in the Fall Product Sale to help get money up front and of course the cookies in January. Our service unit hosts an activity once a month, and we're having the parents pay for this themsleves if they choose to have their daughter participate (costs range from $5-$10 an activity).

Then annual fund is the fund that is created on donations from parents. Our council recommends $40 per family which helps support programs such as camps, training, background checks, etc.

The first year, the cost will seem like a lot, however, with my Brownie troop, we are totally self sufficient...we pay for all activities, vests, registration and supplies for the entire year. The only cost our parents had to pay was the meeting dues which we collected up front.

 

[Marshay]

Hey there! Super grateful to have found this thread. I have been feeling more than a little overwhelmed trying to start up my DD5's Daisy troop. 1/3 of this post is going to be a vent session, 1/3 sharing my ideas on what I'm planning for the girls, and the final 1/3 is asking endless questions for advice...because Lord knows its needed . Okay so to jump right in with both feet...

-AMANDA from LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
Me&DH ; DD5 ; DD3 ; DS1.5

First -- can you change your font color? I find it very difficult to read. I went ahead and changed it here.
Thanks!

Also, can you cut & paste your Acknowledgement and Consent Form letter? I'm curious what it says and may want to use that.

OK, here's what I know. Correct me if I'm wrong

1) We are not doing Journeys this year. It was recommended to me as a new and hopefully active troop to just concentrate on the Daisy Activity Book and our service projects. We won't have any time to do the Journeys, too. So we plan to do that next year.

2) re: Summer. I don't know the official rule but I know that Boy Scouts still meet in summer (we've seen them at a local park). I was going to do summer but then thought, no, I want to use our summer break for our family and also give the other parents and leaders including myself a break, too. Besides, then you have to deal with vacations and not everyone attending and maybe not getting their patches, etc.

3) I understand you can earn petals in either a formal way (like we are going to work in a food pantry in November sorting and organizing canned and dry goods). For those who participate they'll earn "considerate and caring" or maybe "make the world a better place" ... depends on the other activities. I still need to match them all up. However, in the reading or quiz they talked about how two girls grab for the same marker and one of them says, oh, you use it first" thus avoiding an argument. She qualified for the honest and fair.

So that seemed to me that "on the spot" petals can be given out, too.

4) We have to provide a monthly bank statement to our SU. I'm not the money manager so I don't know more than that.

5) It's been one week and I still don't have a troop number. Someone on here mentioned it took about 2 weeks.

HTH

 

[Marshay]

So today I went through all the Forms and Paperwork that I need for our 1st Parent-Girl Introductory Meeting. I thought I'd share with you in case it helps.

1) Girl's Registration (copy of website page so parents can register their daughter directly). Also asking for the basic information to be completed for my records.

2) Girl's Health History. (Info to be glanced at to see if complete and then sealed in envelope)

3) Girl's Record (parents just fill out top part)

4) Meet My Daughter

5) Readiness and Behavioral Contract

6) Tunic Size Request (since I am purchasing tunics)

7) Parent Volunteer Application (copy of website page so parents can apply to be a volunteer. I am making this mandatory to joining GS.)

8) Adult Health History (I am making this mandatory to joining GS. Info to be glanced at to see if complete and then sealed in envelope)

9) Basic Leadership Support (copy of website page showing 100A Basic Volunteer Orientation training they will need to do. Once again, I'm making this mandatory to joining GS).

10) Copy of Daisy Order Form and GS Merchandise Form, along with Addresses of the two closest GS Stores in case anyone wishes to purchase "extras" (i.e., Christmas presents, CDs, etc)

11) Photo Release for Adults and Child

12) Membership Financial Assistance Request Form

13) Copy of Introductory Email that includes a list of Roles and Responsibilities for Girls and Parents, breakdown of costs, etc. I think I will use this as an Acknowledgement and Consent letter as PP stated above.

14) Sign-up sheet for parent to chaperone one meeting.

15) Sign-up sheet for parent to chaperone one community service or fun event.

16) Sign-up sheet for parent to take on one Role within the Troop. (I am making this mandatory to having a troop. Roles are Cookie Mom, Sewing Mom, Level 1 First Aider, Paperwork Mom. We are still working on these).

17) General Schedule-- dates and locations

Whew!! If I think of something else, I'll update this.


==========================

I plan to work with the parents on the forms and have my co-leader work with the girls on making a name tag, singing songs, playing games, etc. for that Initial Meeting.

I'm very leary about starting Daisies and then being stuck with everything. So I want to start from the very beginning that Parent Involvement is Mandatory.

Now, whether I can really enforce that, I don't know ... but my GS Mentor told me to start strict and then as the girls get older, you won't need as much parent, nor troop leader, involvement. But if you don't have the parent's help, then you'll burn out.

Thoughts?