This past weekend found my daughters and me with my co-organizer and her daughter, my SU Manager and her daughter, and the SU Outdoor Program Consultant (OPC) and her daughter at the OPC's family cabin for an overnight camping trip. Unfortunately my co-leader and her daughter had a prior commitment, so we missed them.
While we were there, the OPC said that one of the Sorta Juniors who she brought tends to be difficult to please/entertain. However, after the first session, she is extremely enthused and excited about the Journey program. Unfortunately, she and the SUM's daughter will be missing this coming session due to the opportunity to see a professional soccer game in a local city.
The second piece of feedback came from the OPC again. This time it was about the take-home piece for the Juniors. One part was to find out a little bit about a famous woman who could be a role model. Apparently within three days' time, her daughter had done a bunch of research on Abby Wambaugh (US Women's Soccer player) - and even learned that Abby isn't her true first name. My own Junior had finished her sheets by Friday. On Sunday I asked her if she would share them with me or if I had to wait until the next Journey session. She has a special affinity for Harriet Tubman. We are a very Caucasian, Irish-Italian family, so there's not the ethnic identification thing going on. For my daughter, the fact that Harriet Tubman died on March 10, 1913, is doubly important: first because it's the same day as she was born (obviously in a different year); second because it was the year after Girl Scouts started. She has visited Tubman's home in Auburn, NY, so when she was given the opportunity to write about a famous woman, it was a no-brainer to her.
The third piece of feedback came today. The SU Manager watched my daughters while I ran a number of errands today, one of which was to the GS shop to pick up the Journey books. I handed an Agent of Change book to the SU Manager's daughter, and she immediately started reading through it with a big smile on her face.
Showing posts with label Journey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Journey. Show all posts
Monday, August 17, 2009
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
First Session
WHEW! The first session of Join the Journey is over, and I am exhausted and happy.
We had the following girls show up:
1 GS Daisy (actually, she registered tonight so she could take part)
4 GS Brownies
3 Sorta GS Juniors (they Fly Up over the summer)
1 GS Junior
Plus, we know that there is another GS Daisy, Brownie, and Sorta Junior joining in next week. Two group leaders couldn't be there this week due to prior obligations, so we did the whole meeting together. In chronological order, here's what we did in our first Journey session:
1. Greet parents and girls. We meet in a park, so the girls got to play on the playground for a few minutes while parents received their welcome letters and permission slip & health form to complete before they left.
2. Gather girls. I asked who thought they knew why we were gathered, and one girl gave a good general answer that I could then tell everyone was a "Journey" in Girl Scout words. We figured out who was in each GS level and then I gave them one copy of the Journey book from their level to go explore as small groups for a few minutes. The Daisy had a few cute questions for me - she wore her tunic and wanted to know how to earn badges to put on it. I heard the Juniors discussing the word search, graphic novel, and Dez I Ner Spider. I also heard the Brownies noticing the Elf, some of the graphics, and "vlalues" as my own Brownie tried to explain. The Daisy asked as we transitioned, "Where are we going on a journey to?" Perfect? Absolutely!
3. Welcome circle. For this activity, the co-organizer and I gathered the girls again and formed a circle - then we had them rearrange so there was no girl from their own troop next to them. I had a ball of yarn that we tossed around for two rounds. The first round's task was to say, "hi," and introduce themselves. They had to keep a hold of part of the string when they tossed the ball of yarn. The second round was to tell the group one of your favorites... favorite dinner, favorite animal, favorite color, whatever - and they had to toss the ball to someone different. After two rounds, we looked at the yarn in the middle of the circle and described it. The answers were precious... a spider web, a bunch of stars, and a crazy flower. I had them hold up their hands in turns if their Journey had a spider or web... stars... and flowers... I couldn't have asked for a better connection moment! Then I explained the cool part of spider web creation where the web is built from the inside to the outside... just like the Journeys they were starting where we'd explore from inside themselves out and into the community. We set the web-star-flower down where we were as a visual reminder throughout the evening.
4. Values scavenger hunt/Values spiders. This part was done as Daisy/Brownies and Juniors. While we had been working on our web-star-flower, two parents who had stayed cut apart some values words I had printed out and spread them throughout the park. Before we split up, we figured out what "values" were. The Daisy/Brownies were sent on a scavenger hunt to find the 33 values words around the park. The Juniors started on some spiders made out of wooden beads. Tonight they wrote values words on at about 20 wooden beads with permanent markers (I emphasized that spelling was important, but not to stumble over it) - next week we'll add the head beads and chenaille-stem (pipe-cleaner) legs. They had to make sure that they were talking with each other to come up with some words and to make sure we didn't end up with duplicates. They worked steadily. At one point I heard the Daisy/Brownies come back to the pavilion and count up the 29 they had... then they ran off to find the other 4 (oh, they were in a buddy and a truddy [3-person buddy] and had been told it wasn't a race or a competition, they were 2 parts of one team). The two moms helped give a little directional guidance to the girls. One was hung on the lowest tree branch that was just out of the girls' reach. The mom's point was to see how they would solve the problem - she expected, "MOM! Can you get this?" but hoped for different - she witnessed the buddy of girls find it, each take a turn jumping to get it, and then the stoutest (my own little butterball) got down on her hands and knees and made sure she was under the paper . Then her extremely light-weight buddy climbed up on her back, and stood up to grab the paper - the mom/leader was watching to make sure there were no injuries - the other 3 stood nearby, cheering them on. The team work and creative problem solving made for a VERY proud moment for all of us moms. For the record, they found 32 of 33 words.
We gathered back together as a big group and went through some of the words they had found and written. The girls tried to define the words (often by using similar concepts), and when they couldn't, they gave examples or non-examples, showing they knew the concepts. Funny moment: when one Sorta Junior (the SU Manager's daughter; apparently she likes to ask for reasons a lot) defined "obedience" as "when you're told to do something, you do it without saying, 'I don't want to.'" Her leader said, "I'm telling your mom that you KNOW what that word means!"... and we did.
5. Ethical dilemmas. For our last active part, the girls voted that the moms had to take part. We took our web and made it into one thick line on the ground. All the girls and moms stood on the line. I stood slightly in front and off to the side where they could all see and hear me. I read them some short, adapted ethical dilemma scenarios that all ended with, "If you would [action A], take a step forward; if you would [action B, opposite of A], take a step backward." I made it clear that there were no "right or wrong answers," that they needed to step honestly, and they HAD to step (they couldn't stay where they were). We started with: "When you grow up you have to pay taxes, especially when you work. That tax money helps the government run, builds roads and schools, and helps poorer people. Imagine that you are the richest ladies in the world." At which point, a darling little one pops out of the line and shouts, "Hey, I'm a boy!" - it was a boy who had been playing in the park and decided to join our activity - so I adjusted to "Okay, I'm sorry! Imagine that you are the richest ladies and YOUNG MAN in the world. If you think that you should pay more taxes to help poorer people, take a step forward. If you don't think that you should have to pay more just because you have more money, take a step backward." I'm pretty sure everyone stepped forward (one adult hesitated I think). The other dilemmas were:
6. Optional (but encouraged) family activities. We went back to the pavilion where I handed out some papers (My Family Star for the Brownies, Power of One and Tell "Her"Story for the Juniors, and All About Me and Me and My Family for the Daisy). I emphasized that it was not homework, but if they bring it back to the next session they attend, they'll have finished the first award on their Journeys (for the record, with the activities between both 1st and 2nd sessions, they'll have definitely earned it).
7. Closing circle. Rather than singing "Taps" and doing the friendship squeeze, we spelled our way out of the meeting. We went around the circle (starting with the Daisy) and spelled "journey" letter by letter. The girl who had "y," said, "Good night, Girl Scouts," and went to clean up and then play on the playground as their parents allowed. The next girl in the circle started the word over again with "j." I was out on the third round, and by the last one out, everything was cleaned up.
Like I said, WHEW! But I'm encouraged and excited about next week. We'll give the girls their individual books next week (parents handed in the money tonight, hence worksheets for the family activities). They are all excited to get their own book that they can write in and draw in. I can definitely tell the two group leaders that I think they'll have fun with their groups... and since it's a small group overall, I think my co-organizer and I will really be able to stand back, observe, take pictures, and troubleshoot as needed.
We had the following girls show up:
1 GS Daisy (actually, she registered tonight so she could take part)
4 GS Brownies
3 Sorta GS Juniors (they Fly Up over the summer)
1 GS Junior
Plus, we know that there is another GS Daisy, Brownie, and Sorta Junior joining in next week. Two group leaders couldn't be there this week due to prior obligations, so we did the whole meeting together. In chronological order, here's what we did in our first Journey session:
1. Greet parents and girls. We meet in a park, so the girls got to play on the playground for a few minutes while parents received their welcome letters and permission slip & health form to complete before they left.
2. Gather girls. I asked who thought they knew why we were gathered, and one girl gave a good general answer that I could then tell everyone was a "Journey" in Girl Scout words. We figured out who was in each GS level and then I gave them one copy of the Journey book from their level to go explore as small groups for a few minutes. The Daisy had a few cute questions for me - she wore her tunic and wanted to know how to earn badges to put on it. I heard the Juniors discussing the word search, graphic novel, and Dez I Ner Spider. I also heard the Brownies noticing the Elf, some of the graphics, and "vlalues" as my own Brownie tried to explain. The Daisy asked as we transitioned, "Where are we going on a journey to?" Perfect? Absolutely!
3. Welcome circle. For this activity, the co-organizer and I gathered the girls again and formed a circle - then we had them rearrange so there was no girl from their own troop next to them. I had a ball of yarn that we tossed around for two rounds. The first round's task was to say, "hi," and introduce themselves. They had to keep a hold of part of the string when they tossed the ball of yarn. The second round was to tell the group one of your favorites... favorite dinner, favorite animal, favorite color, whatever - and they had to toss the ball to someone different. After two rounds, we looked at the yarn in the middle of the circle and described it. The answers were precious... a spider web, a bunch of stars, and a crazy flower. I had them hold up their hands in turns if their Journey had a spider or web... stars... and flowers... I couldn't have asked for a better connection moment! Then I explained the cool part of spider web creation where the web is built from the inside to the outside... just like the Journeys they were starting where we'd explore from inside themselves out and into the community. We set the web-star-flower down where we were as a visual reminder throughout the evening.
4. Values scavenger hunt/Values spiders. This part was done as Daisy/Brownies and Juniors. While we had been working on our web-star-flower, two parents who had stayed cut apart some values words I had printed out and spread them throughout the park. Before we split up, we figured out what "values" were. The Daisy/Brownies were sent on a scavenger hunt to find the 33 values words around the park. The Juniors started on some spiders made out of wooden beads. Tonight they wrote values words on at about 20 wooden beads with permanent markers (I emphasized that spelling was important, but not to stumble over it) - next week we'll add the head beads and chenaille-stem (pipe-cleaner) legs. They had to make sure that they were talking with each other to come up with some words and to make sure we didn't end up with duplicates. They worked steadily. At one point I heard the Daisy/Brownies come back to the pavilion and count up the 29 they had... then they ran off to find the other 4 (oh, they were in a buddy and a truddy [3-person buddy] and had been told it wasn't a race or a competition, they were 2 parts of one team). The two moms helped give a little directional guidance to the girls. One was hung on the lowest tree branch that was just out of the girls' reach. The mom's point was to see how they would solve the problem - she expected, "MOM! Can you get this?" but hoped for different - she witnessed the buddy of girls find it, each take a turn jumping to get it, and then the stoutest (my own little butterball) got down on her hands and knees and made sure she was under the paper . Then her extremely light-weight buddy climbed up on her back, and stood up to grab the paper - the mom/leader was watching to make sure there were no injuries - the other 3 stood nearby, cheering them on. The team work and creative problem solving made for a VERY proud moment for all of us moms. For the record, they found 32 of 33 words.
We gathered back together as a big group and went through some of the words they had found and written. The girls tried to define the words (often by using similar concepts), and when they couldn't, they gave examples or non-examples, showing they knew the concepts. Funny moment: when one Sorta Junior (the SU Manager's daughter; apparently she likes to ask for reasons a lot) defined "obedience" as "when you're told to do something, you do it without saying, 'I don't want to.'" Her leader said, "I'm telling your mom that you KNOW what that word means!"... and we did.
5. Ethical dilemmas. For our last active part, the girls voted that the moms had to take part. We took our web and made it into one thick line on the ground. All the girls and moms stood on the line. I stood slightly in front and off to the side where they could all see and hear me. I read them some short, adapted ethical dilemma scenarios that all ended with, "If you would [action A], take a step forward; if you would [action B, opposite of A], take a step backward." I made it clear that there were no "right or wrong answers," that they needed to step honestly, and they HAD to step (they couldn't stay where they were). We started with: "When you grow up you have to pay taxes, especially when you work. That tax money helps the government run, builds roads and schools, and helps poorer people. Imagine that you are the richest ladies in the world." At which point, a darling little one pops out of the line and shouts, "Hey, I'm a boy!" - it was a boy who had been playing in the park and decided to join our activity - so I adjusted to "Okay, I'm sorry! Imagine that you are the richest ladies and YOUNG MAN in the world. If you think that you should pay more taxes to help poorer people, take a step forward. If you don't think that you should have to pay more just because you have more money, take a step backward." I'm pretty sure everyone stepped forward (one adult hesitated I think). The other dilemmas were:
- You're walking down the street and find President Obama's wallet. It has $1000.00 in cash in it. If you take it directly to the nearest police station without taking anything out, step forward. If you take it to the police station but take out a little bit because he probably won't notice, step backward. All but one girl moved forward
- You're on a jury for a trial where someone stole something - the person was a thief. She stole a loaf of bread to feed her family. If you punish her because she stole, step forward. If you don't punish her because she was trying to feed her family, step backward. One mom and daughter took a step forward, all others stepped back.
- Imagine you're a teenager (adults, remember your teens). It's nearly 11:00 p.m., and that's your curfew - your mom had told you to make sure you were not late, not even by a second. But you've been playing the most awesome video game at your friend's house, and you just noticed that it's a few minutes before 11:00 p.m., and you know there is no way you'll make it home in time. If you call your mom, apologize, and leave immediately, step forward. If you try to sneak in so your mom doesn't catch you, step back. All went forward except one parent who then stated that even a phone call wouldn't have woken her mother if she was asleep.
- Your fairy godmother has made you an offer. She make it so you'll live forever! However, in order to do that, you need to choose a type of animal and wipe it off the face of the Earth - make it extinct. If you take up your fairy godmother on her offer and choose an animal, step backward. If you decide to live a long life and keep the animals on the planet, step forward. They split about in half, and two of the parents took about 4 steps backward with (joking?) comments about rodents and flying rodents of which they are extremely afraid.
6. Optional (but encouraged) family activities. We went back to the pavilion where I handed out some papers (My Family Star for the Brownies, Power of One and Tell "Her"Story for the Juniors, and All About Me and Me and My Family for the Daisy). I emphasized that it was not homework, but if they bring it back to the next session they attend, they'll have finished the first award on their Journeys (for the record, with the activities between both 1st and 2nd sessions, they'll have definitely earned it).
7. Closing circle. Rather than singing "Taps" and doing the friendship squeeze, we spelled our way out of the meeting. We went around the circle (starting with the Daisy) and spelled "journey" letter by letter. The girl who had "y," said, "Good night, Girl Scouts," and went to clean up and then play on the playground as their parents allowed. The next girl in the circle started the word over again with "j." I was out on the third round, and by the last one out, everything was cleaned up.
Like I said, WHEW! But I'm encouraged and excited about next week. We'll give the girls their individual books next week (parents handed in the money tonight, hence worksheets for the family activities). They are all excited to get their own book that they can write in and draw in. I can definitely tell the two group leaders that I think they'll have fun with their groups... and since it's a small group overall, I think my co-organizer and I will really be able to stand back, observe, take pictures, and troubleshoot as needed.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Preparation for "Join the Journey"
I've spent probably 24 hours customizing worksheets and letters to our program's use. I found an old dart board in our house that with the help of some yarn and a staple gun became a green spider's web. Perhaps while the Brownies and Daisies do a Values Treasure Hunt, the Juniors will make bead spiders that my Junior found in her Highlights magazine today (talk about coincidence)... maybe they can label each spider they make with a different value.
The hours of preparation have been worth it so far. I seriously hope they remain useful and the program doesn't tank. I've adapted a number of worksheets that would be nice if we didn't have to use (I loathe worksheet-based activities)... hopefully they can be sent home to use as a home-session connector or to use at the beginning while everyone is showing up.
I also figured out a "fun" way to give out most of the Brownie Quest Keys. The first one will be attached to a star that has the appropriate chant typed on it (these will be printed on cardstock). These will be stapled to the triangle-shaped key award and then hidden around the park where we will be meeting. The girls will be set loose to find them, and when they find one, they read the chant loudly and keep the one they find... it'll be up to the girls whether they look individually or as a group (definite pros to each way). For presentation of the second key award, I took a picture of the new Brownie Elf and set it up so on the reverse side the appropriate chant is typed. These will be printed on cardstock and laminated; then they'll have a hole punched in them and a ring put through... making a key chain/holder... then we'll attach the award to the ring using a safety pin. I haven't figured out a "fun" way for the third key award yet... I have a graphic of a heart with wings and the appropriate chant typed over it, but I don't know what we're doing with it yet.
As for the Daisy Flower Garden awards, we're going to put the background pieces in individual plastic bags and bury them in the potting soil the girls will use for planting their garden/flower. I can envision putting the watering can in a plastic baggy with a marble to weight it, and then submerging them in the watering cans the girls will use to water their garden/flower. Golden Bee and Amazing Daisy awards... don't know yet. Any ideas?
The Junior Power awards are lagging sorely behind. I think the Power of One could easily be made into a spider for presentation. The Power of Team and Power of Community?? No clues yet.
Hopefully the people working with the GS Daisy and Junior groups can come up with something creative and "fun."
The hours of preparation have been worth it so far. I seriously hope they remain useful and the program doesn't tank. I've adapted a number of worksheets that would be nice if we didn't have to use (I loathe worksheet-based activities)... hopefully they can be sent home to use as a home-session connector or to use at the beginning while everyone is showing up.
I also figured out a "fun" way to give out most of the Brownie Quest Keys. The first one will be attached to a star that has the appropriate chant typed on it (these will be printed on cardstock). These will be stapled to the triangle-shaped key award and then hidden around the park where we will be meeting. The girls will be set loose to find them, and when they find one, they read the chant loudly and keep the one they find... it'll be up to the girls whether they look individually or as a group (definite pros to each way). For presentation of the second key award, I took a picture of the new Brownie Elf and set it up so on the reverse side the appropriate chant is typed. These will be printed on cardstock and laminated; then they'll have a hole punched in them and a ring put through... making a key chain/holder... then we'll attach the award to the ring using a safety pin. I haven't figured out a "fun" way for the third key award yet... I have a graphic of a heart with wings and the appropriate chant typed over it, but I don't know what we're doing with it yet.
As for the Daisy Flower Garden awards, we're going to put the background pieces in individual plastic bags and bury them in the potting soil the girls will use for planting their garden/flower. I can envision putting the watering can in a plastic baggy with a marble to weight it, and then submerging them in the watering cans the girls will use to water their garden/flower. Golden Bee and Amazing Daisy awards... don't know yet. Any ideas?
The Junior Power awards are lagging sorely behind. I think the Power of One could easily be made into a spider for presentation. The Power of Team and Power of Community?? No clues yet.
Hopefully the people working with the GS Daisy and Junior groups can come up with something creative and "fun."
Huh, who'da thunk??
I admit, I'm a grown-up. I am not the market for which the Journey books are being written. Having said that, my first impression of the program is that it's quite do-able... hence organizing the program for the entire Service Unit. However, that does not mean I don't find fault... well, didn't find fault in some cases... with the girls' books.
Originally I thought the Brownie Quest book had too complicated a story to keep the girls' attention. I also think the first half and the second half are too disjointed. The way it is presented, the first half of the book is for the Brownie to do on her own or with her family while the second half is the Journey that is meant to be done with her troop/group/team.
Similarly, I thought the Junior Agent of Change book's graphic-novel presentation was too out of sync with what the girls would actually like. I also think the story sets up an example for the girls that raises the bar awfully high out of their reach... to expect a few 4th and 5th graders to be able to pull of a pet adoption day and shelter clean-up as a first project is a bit unreasonable (IMO). Expect them to aim high? Absolutely! However, as GS taught previously, a "Smart" goal is attainable with some stretching... not with pulling a miracle out of a hat. ...I digress.
Earlier this week, my daughters (a GS Brownie and a GS Junior) were begging for something "new" to read. They noticed the books lying around since I have been working on the organizing the first session, neither the Daisy nor Brownie group leader can attend, and asked if they could look at them. They both liked the books when they first came out and the girls first looked at them... but after the first half-hour to forty-five minutes, the books were set aside like Christmas/birthday presents. The Brownie realized her book contained a story first... causing a slight tinge of jealousy in the Junior until I pointed out the graphic novel in her own book. I didn't see the books again for two days!
I've been chatting with the girls over the past day and a half, and it turns out that both girls really liked the stories. The Brownie told me excitedly that she wanted to read the second part of the book with me to find out what happens next to Campbell, Alejandra ("Al" as my daughter calls her), and Jamila. She was so disappointed when I explained that the second half wasn't a story... she brightened a little when I explained that the Join the Journey program was going to go through the second half of the book. She is completely intrigued by the map, and after she summarized the first half chapter-by-chapter for me, we picture walked through the rest of the book and figured out how the activities matched up with the map. It is her not-so-humble opinion that the Brownies and Daisies should start out tomorrow with scavenger hunt, looking for "vlalues... whatever they are." So, it's clear that she's intrigued... and she's willing to figure out what this "vlalues" word means (yes, she does actually say it that way, it's not a typo).
The Junior has decided that she wants to read more graphic novels (Yay, for literacy!). After reading it, she said it gave her a "better" idea for her Bronze Award project. She had been talking about holding an event for GS Brownies and Daisies where they would make Happy Socks for cats and Spread the Bread dog biscuits for dogs in a local animal shelter. Now she's thinking she can organize a shelter clean-up and adoption day. She's so used to being the outsider in a troop - for the 3 years we've been in this school district, she has been a member of 3 different troops because her grade level's troop was full, and the one that took her mid-year Flew Up to Juniors a year before her, leaving her to join a troop that didn't bridge until a year after her; this year she had another Junior in the troop, but that one didn't come all that often, so she was often the only Junior with a bunch of Brownies. Because of her experiences, she automatically thinks of project management as an individual thing rather than as a group effort... she often bites off more than she can chew, so the Journey Take Action Project should help her take on something more manageable with the help of her peers. Last night she asked if she could do the word search in the book... for a kid that finds word searches extremely difficult, this request was definite progress.
Color me amazed that the girls have taken to the books as they have... hopefully the other participating girls will, too.
Originally I thought the Brownie Quest book had too complicated a story to keep the girls' attention. I also think the first half and the second half are too disjointed. The way it is presented, the first half of the book is for the Brownie to do on her own or with her family while the second half is the Journey that is meant to be done with her troop/group/team.
Similarly, I thought the Junior Agent of Change book's graphic-novel presentation was too out of sync with what the girls would actually like. I also think the story sets up an example for the girls that raises the bar awfully high out of their reach... to expect a few 4th and 5th graders to be able to pull of a pet adoption day and shelter clean-up as a first project is a bit unreasonable (IMO). Expect them to aim high? Absolutely! However, as GS taught previously, a "Smart" goal is attainable with some stretching... not with pulling a miracle out of a hat. ...I digress.
Earlier this week, my daughters (a GS Brownie and a GS Junior) were begging for something "new" to read. They noticed the books lying around since I have been working on the organizing the first session, neither the Daisy nor Brownie group leader can attend, and asked if they could look at them. They both liked the books when they first came out and the girls first looked at them... but after the first half-hour to forty-five minutes, the books were set aside like Christmas/birthday presents. The Brownie realized her book contained a story first... causing a slight tinge of jealousy in the Junior until I pointed out the graphic novel in her own book. I didn't see the books again for two days!
I've been chatting with the girls over the past day and a half, and it turns out that both girls really liked the stories. The Brownie told me excitedly that she wanted to read the second part of the book with me to find out what happens next to Campbell, Alejandra ("Al" as my daughter calls her), and Jamila. She was so disappointed when I explained that the second half wasn't a story... she brightened a little when I explained that the Join the Journey program was going to go through the second half of the book. She is completely intrigued by the map, and after she summarized the first half chapter-by-chapter for me, we picture walked through the rest of the book and figured out how the activities matched up with the map. It is her not-so-humble opinion that the Brownies and Daisies should start out tomorrow with scavenger hunt, looking for "vlalues... whatever they are." So, it's clear that she's intrigued... and she's willing to figure out what this "vlalues" word means (yes, she does actually say it that way, it's not a typo).
The Junior has decided that she wants to read more graphic novels (Yay, for literacy!). After reading it, she said it gave her a "better" idea for her Bronze Award project. She had been talking about holding an event for GS Brownies and Daisies where they would make Happy Socks for cats and Spread the Bread dog biscuits for dogs in a local animal shelter. Now she's thinking she can organize a shelter clean-up and adoption day. She's so used to being the outsider in a troop - for the 3 years we've been in this school district, she has been a member of 3 different troops because her grade level's troop was full, and the one that took her mid-year Flew Up to Juniors a year before her, leaving her to join a troop that didn't bridge until a year after her; this year she had another Junior in the troop, but that one didn't come all that often, so she was often the only Junior with a bunch of Brownies. Because of her experiences, she automatically thinks of project management as an individual thing rather than as a group effort... she often bites off more than she can chew, so the Journey Take Action Project should help her take on something more manageable with the help of her peers. Last night she asked if she could do the word search in the book... for a kid that finds word searches extremely difficult, this request was definite progress.
Color me amazed that the girls have taken to the books as they have... hopefully the other participating girls will, too.
Friday, August 7, 2009
It's Your World - Change It! in a small-town Service Unit
Setting the physical stage:
In the world of Girl Scouting, the national organization (GSUSA) is broken up into councils... my state has five or six of them after the Great Realignment. My Council covers 9 counties, including 3 major cities, 2 minor cities, and an abundance of towns and villages (one county has more dairy cattle than people - in an almost 3-to-1 ratio). The counties are then broken up into smaller Service Units - mine is one of 4 (I think) in my county. Service Units are broken into troops... my Service Unit covers two villages and the towns immediately surrounding them - it's easier to say that the Service Unit covers the school district. This past year we had 1 GS Daisy troop, 4 GS Brownie troops, 4 GS Junior troops, 2 GS Cadette/Senior troops and 1 GS Ambassador troop. We live in a pretty rural community near a relatively large city.
Got all that?
Setting the Program stage:
In my Service Unit, I have voluntarily taken on co-leading a GS Brownie/Junior troop, Adult Recognition Chair, Facilitator, and Leader Development Coordinator (sounds much nicer than "Training and Records Nazi," right?). I also organize a number of events for all of the girls in the Service Unit, including our annual World Thinking Day event, our SU Kick-off event, J-Low Birthday Party With A Twist (co-organizer), Brownie Weekend (co-organizer), and Junior Jamboree (co-organizer)... yes, in my perfect GS world, I would give up leading a troop and become SU Event Wrangler, but that's not happening anytime soon as far as I can tell.
Over the past couple of years, GSUSA has developed a new core program for Girl Scouts called "Journeys." As far as my council has said, and I pointedly asked the Director of Training, these Journeys are meant to be the core of the program, and Daisy Petals, Brownie Try-Its, Junior Badges, and Older Girl Interest Projects are the side courses on the Program buffet. The first Journey that was released is called It's Your World - Change It! The second Journey that is now being released is It's Your Planet - Love It!
Action:
SO, one of my co-leaders signed on to help oversee a program offering for the Service Unit where we focus on the first Journey for a number of weeks over the summer. It's win-win: she is in charge of an event but not on her own, and I'm able to teach someone else event planning and then hope to hand it off in the future. We got together a couple of weeks ago and looked over the adult and girl books for the GS Daisy, Brownie, and Junior levels. We figured out that within a session or two, they all paralleled each other - enough to make our idea feasible.
We have opted for the following set-up
1. A 5-week program meeting on the same night each week - excepting the first day of school - for an hour and a half in the local park.
2. A "Parent Zone" where parents can hang out and socialize without being "helicopter parents."
3. We'll open and do a small activity together, and then break into the three GS-level groups to complete Journey-specific activities.
4. Ideally, a GS Parent will lead each of the three groups with a current GS Leader as direct support - creating the potential for a small-theatre success for parents who are on the fence about becoming a GS Leader.
5. We're going to strongly encourage the girls to think of outdoor projects for their Take Action Projects.
6. The girls can participate regardless of their leader's level of participation or the rest of their troop's level of participation. The "Teams" as the Journeys call for will be created with the other girls in their GS level at the program.
Step one, planning... done!
Step two, recruiting...
I called a number of parents and leaders, and when all was said and done, we had a GS Daisy Parent, a GS Daisy Leader, and a GS Brownie Leader... I'm not giving up hope, but that is at least adequate for now. Within the last 12 hours... all heck has broken loose, it seems language became too muddled, and the short end of it is that we have a GS Daisy Parent-looking-to-lead-next-year and a GS Brownie Leader. Still, we're okay.
Step two, recruiting... done... well, maybe or maybe not.
Step three, advertising to girls and parents...
When we had at least a minimal number of adults to lead the program, I put together a flyer and sent it out through e-mail as a PDF file to all of the leaders, specifically asking them to forward the information to the girls in their troops and clearly stating that the girls were welcome to attend even if the leader did not want to attend. Within the last 24 hours, I found out the leaders of two troops haven't even told their girls about this offering. cue vocalized growling
Step three, advertising... done... at least as well as I can personally manage.
The first night of the program is on August 12th, so the next update will probably be posted near then.
In the world of Girl Scouting, the national organization (GSUSA) is broken up into councils... my state has five or six of them after the Great Realignment. My Council covers 9 counties, including 3 major cities, 2 minor cities, and an abundance of towns and villages (one county has more dairy cattle than people - in an almost 3-to-1 ratio). The counties are then broken up into smaller Service Units - mine is one of 4 (I think) in my county. Service Units are broken into troops... my Service Unit covers two villages and the towns immediately surrounding them - it's easier to say that the Service Unit covers the school district. This past year we had 1 GS Daisy troop, 4 GS Brownie troops, 4 GS Junior troops, 2 GS Cadette/Senior troops and 1 GS Ambassador troop. We live in a pretty rural community near a relatively large city.
Got all that?
Setting the Program stage:
In my Service Unit, I have voluntarily taken on co-leading a GS Brownie/Junior troop, Adult Recognition Chair, Facilitator, and Leader Development Coordinator (sounds much nicer than "Training and Records Nazi," right?). I also organize a number of events for all of the girls in the Service Unit, including our annual World Thinking Day event, our SU Kick-off event, J-Low Birthday Party With A Twist (co-organizer), Brownie Weekend (co-organizer), and Junior Jamboree (co-organizer)... yes, in my perfect GS world, I would give up leading a troop and become SU Event Wrangler, but that's not happening anytime soon as far as I can tell.
Over the past couple of years, GSUSA has developed a new core program for Girl Scouts called "Journeys." As far as my council has said, and I pointedly asked the Director of Training, these Journeys are meant to be the core of the program, and Daisy Petals, Brownie Try-Its, Junior Badges, and Older Girl Interest Projects are the side courses on the Program buffet. The first Journey that was released is called It's Your World - Change It! The second Journey that is now being released is It's Your Planet - Love It!
Action:
SO, one of my co-leaders signed on to help oversee a program offering for the Service Unit where we focus on the first Journey for a number of weeks over the summer. It's win-win: she is in charge of an event but not on her own, and I'm able to teach someone else event planning and then hope to hand it off in the future. We got together a couple of weeks ago and looked over the adult and girl books for the GS Daisy, Brownie, and Junior levels. We figured out that within a session or two, they all paralleled each other - enough to make our idea feasible.
We have opted for the following set-up
1. A 5-week program meeting on the same night each week - excepting the first day of school - for an hour and a half in the local park.
2. A "Parent Zone" where parents can hang out and socialize without being "helicopter parents."
3. We'll open and do a small activity together, and then break into the three GS-level groups to complete Journey-specific activities.
4. Ideally, a GS Parent will lead each of the three groups with a current GS Leader as direct support - creating the potential for a small-theatre success for parents who are on the fence about becoming a GS Leader.
5. We're going to strongly encourage the girls to think of outdoor projects for their Take Action Projects.
6. The girls can participate regardless of their leader's level of participation or the rest of their troop's level of participation. The "Teams" as the Journeys call for will be created with the other girls in their GS level at the program.
Step one, planning... done!
Step two, recruiting...
I called a number of parents and leaders, and when all was said and done, we had a GS Daisy Parent, a GS Daisy Leader, and a GS Brownie Leader... I'm not giving up hope, but that is at least adequate for now. Within the last 12 hours... all heck has broken loose, it seems language became too muddled, and the short end of it is that we have a GS Daisy Parent-looking-to-lead-next-year and a GS Brownie Leader. Still, we're okay.
Step two, recruiting... done... well, maybe or maybe not.
Step three, advertising to girls and parents...
When we had at least a minimal number of adults to lead the program, I put together a flyer and sent it out through e-mail as a PDF file to all of the leaders, specifically asking them to forward the information to the girls in their troops and clearly stating that the girls were welcome to attend even if the leader did not want to attend. Within the last 24 hours, I found out the leaders of two troops haven't even told their girls about this offering. cue vocalized growling
Step three, advertising... done... at least as well as I can personally manage.
The first night of the program is on August 12th, so the next update will probably be posted near then.
Why Blog? Why Now?
So some who read this might wonder why I'm embarking on such a "Journey" at this time. Easy answer: I've done Web page designing and updating... now it's time for blogging. More complex answer: I saw another Girl Scout Leader who is setting up her blog to focus on her troop's experience with the "new" Girl Scout Journey program, and I thought it was a good idea.
SO, this blog is meant to focus on my girls' (my own, my troop's, and my area's [Service Unit]) experiences with the Journeys. The next post will start the process with some background on how my Service Unit is offering the Journey experience to girls for the first time.
SO, this blog is meant to focus on my girls' (my own, my troop's, and my area's [Service Unit]) experiences with the Journeys. The next post will start the process with some background on how my Service Unit is offering the Journey experience to girls for the first time.
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