Starting you a Daisy Girl Scout troop with your daughter can be very fun and exciting, especially if you were a scout growing up. Scouting has not changed too much, but if it has been awhile since you have been involved with Girl Scouts, you may not know a lot about Daisy Scouts. Daisy Scouts are designed just for girls ages 5 to 6, or in kindergarten. The girls will be Brownies from ages 6 to 8, Juniors from 8 to 11 and Studio 2B Scouts from 11 and up.
The first step in starting a new Daisy troop is to not get overwhelmed. It may seem like there is a lot of paper work and things to know, but you will attend leader certification to help guide you through the finer points of scouting. Also, it will be important that you get help. The more parents that you can get to help you, the more successful your troop will become. Even parents that say that cannot help because they work can be given small jobs to help the troop run smoothly.
Here are some good suggestions to help get your troop off and running:
Parent’s meeting: After you have gotten a list of the participating girls, you will need to set some basic guidelines for your troop and hold a parent’s meeting. Before the meeting, you will need to decide when the meetings will be, how often you will meet, location of the meeting, dues, uniform requirements, snack schedules and how much participation you will require of your parents. While you always want to be flexible, you must make it clear that you will hold meetings at the same time each meeting time. Otherwise, everyone will expect you to work around scheduling conflicts. This is a time when you need to talk to the parents, so find something for the girls to do to keep the busy. If you know of an older troop, invite several older girls to teach the new Daisy Scouts the Girl Scout Law and Pledge and a few songs.
Uniform: Some parents will want their girl to have every piece of the Daisy uniform, while others will not want to spend the money. Have the cost of the uniform available, but you do not have to make the whole uniform mandatory. The blue Daisy smock and a plain white shirt is all that you will really need. Remember that the girls will only be a Daisy for one year. If parents are reluctant to pay, suggest that they check on Ebay for lower prices on Daisy uniforms.
Plan Ahead: Before the first meeting, it will be a good idea to plan the general idea for each meeting for the entire year. This may seem like a lot of work, but it will save you time in the long run. Most Daisy troops meet only every other week for about an hour and a half. This is plenty of time for the troop to earn every petal during the year. You can plan a petal for each meeting. The Internet is an awesome source for planning ideas and activities designed specifically for the Daisy Girl Scout. You can even find sites that have a whole year’s worth of meeting already mapped out for you. Take advantage of these planners and change them to suit your needs. Also, try to plan frequent field trips. Girls love these and you can order patches off the Internet, or through your local Girl Scout store to coincide with the field trips. These can be sewn on the back of the smock.
Speaking of Field Trips: Your troop will love going on field trips. However, before you hit the road, you need to make certain you are following each and every Girl Scout rule. Girls may ride in the car with one parent that has taken the online course. However, that person must not be a male. Also, remember that anytime you take the girls anywhere, there MUST be at least two adults at all times. This even applies to taking the girls to the restroom. This is to protect you as the leader and the girls. The fun part of field trips is planning them. You don’t have to spend your entire troop budget on field trips. Remember there are lots of cool places you can go for free. Tour the local hospital, fire department or police station. Visit an animal shelter. Go caroling at a nursing home. Plant flowers at the elementary school. The possibilities are endless.
Save Troop Money: Try not to get caught up in buying a lot of pricey craft kits and items for the troop. Get your girls in on donating items to the troop at the very beginning of the year. One idea that you can use is to hold an arts and crafts scavenger hunt. Give each girl a list of items you will need to get the troop going. This may include scissors, glue, felt, paper, markers, and crayons, anything you will need. Have each girl bring as many of those items they can find around their home to the next meeting. Have a large bin or empty cabinet just for Scout supplies. Have a reward for each girl that participates. Also, if you plan your meetings ahead, you will know that you need 12 milk cartons in two weeks. Send letters home to the parents and they will be happy to help.
Snacks: The girls will want snacks during the meeting. The troop doesn’t have to foot the bill for this each meeting time. Instead, let the girls take on some responsibility and provide snacks for the troop on a rotating basis. Set a master snack schedule at the beginning of the year. Perhaps schedule the girls to bring snack near their birthday. Send the schedule home. Then help your girls remember when it is their turn. You can do this several ways. One fun way is to make a Daisy Scout apron out of scrap fabric. Or, you can purchase an inexpensive chef style apron and have the girls decorate it. When it is their turn to bring snack for the following week, they take the apron home to remind them. Instruct them to bring the apron back when they bring the snack.
Communicate: This is one of the most important parts of having a successful scout troop, whether you are a Daisy leader or a Junior leader. You must let the parents know what is going on in advance. If you are planning a field trip, send the notes home three weeks ahead of time. This gives everyone a chance to mark it on the calendar, fill out the permission slip and get it back to you. Then, send out a reminder email a couple of days before. They need to know everything about what is going on in the troop. Email lists are great, but nothing replaces the good old fashion printed note. Also, your parents need to know your rules and expectations. They need to know that it is not okay to pick up the girls 20 minutes late and where and when they need to pick up after field trips. Keep the lines of communication open at all times. Most five and six year olds are not the best at keeping up with important information!
Keep the Girls Involved: Keeping the girls involved in their troop is what scouting is all about. They will get more of this responsibility as they move up into Brownies, but they are not too young to start as Daisy Scouts. Let them help plan activities, get them to write thank you cards, and have them responsible for learning their part. Perhaps you can have the girls decorate a small tote bag to bring back and forth to the meetings. Instruct them to use this bag to put their newly earned petals, notes and dues in it. They will learn to love scouts when they know they have made a difference. Also, keep in mind that with this age, simple is better.
The most important part of scouting is to remember to have fun and enjoy the experience. Daisy Scouts is the perfect time to introduce girls to the world of Girl Scouts.
