Because I just don't have enough to do...
Because... because... because...
Back in August, we signed Teagan up for Girl Scouts. She's going to be a Daisy this year and will move on to Brownies if she continues it next year (2nd grade).
Our troop is all girls new to the Girl Scouts and all attend the same school, same grade. It's a small troop- 5 girls. I'm told this is a great number to start with.
The families received an email about the troop needing a leader. Jeff and I had registered to be volunteers but didn't feel confident about being leaders.
Long and somewhat complicated story short- I am now co-leading with 2 other moms. We met up last night to disucss.
I was nervous that there would be a strong personality in the group that would take charge and be unpleasant. There wasn't.
Instead, I'm now connected to 2 women who have daughters in the same grade and school as Teagan. And the connections we are finding since our meetup are kind of eerie.
We've all lived in Cincinnati before.
One of the moms graduated from the same college as me in the major I started out in (I changed my major during my junior year which added a year of school on for me). I might even recognize her name- we need to compare notes!
We seem to all be on the same page about what we want, how we like things, what our plans are.
So I'm adding an other title to my list of titles and hats and activities. Now I'm also a Girl Scout Troop Co-Leader.
And Jeff is a Girl Scout Volunteer. Dads get a special name. He's a "Do-Dad."
I'm hoping my experience in leadership and Teagan's experience in Girl Scouts is more positive than my own as a child. I'm confident it will be. One thing we talked about last night was the reason we each wanted out daughter in Girl Scouts. For one mom, her daughter is painfully shy and she's hoping that having a small group of girls that she does activities with will help her confidence grow. Another mom has an only child and there aren't many kids in the neighborhood so she's feeling a little desperate for friends. And then there's me and Teagan. Biggest reason is to help her connect to other kids in our community- kids from school, maybe even in our neighborhood.
I'm putting my Planning Hat on and trying to organize the unbelievable amount of information flowing out to me from the website. Thankfully, one of the co-leaders is already enmeshed and has been sharing helpful links to help me navigate through all of the website information.
Here's to a new adventure!
5 comments:
Girl Scouting has been very much a part of our family and a very positive experience. My mom was our troop leader for several years. She was awesome and we did some wonderful things. (And there was no such thing as "co-leaders" in those days. It was only her and a few moms who helped drive us places.) She was also the leader for my sister's troop many years later. I stayed in scouting until my senior year. My daughter was a scout and now she is a co-leader of my granddaughter's troop. It has all been very rewarding and fun and a great experience for us.
The leader (or leaders) make or break a troop. A good leader is an inspiration and keeps the girls interested and active.
I hope your experience with Teagan and the other girls is a great one!
I'm one of those that did not have a positive Scout-ing experience, but just like Mellodee said, it was all about the leader. Ours made it a miserable experience for me. It sounds like you and your co-leaders are taking a great approach to ensure that your girls all have a great time.
(Also, forgive me a giggle but 5 girls, 3 leaders, and a volunteer - that proves my theory that you should NEVER let them outnumber you!)
I was a Girl Scout when I was little, but never went beyond Brownies. I loved it while I did it (even though my mom didn't let me sell cookies). I hope that Teagan has a wonderful time.
You'll love it!!! I was in girl scouts from brownies to what ever the top one was in high school. But when my sister started, there were Daisies...and mom was the troop leader for a while. She was, like you, already pretty busy...but she loved it!! :-)
Wow! You sure are taking on more! The kids are so lucky to have you and Jeff.
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