Daisy Girl Scouts: In Need of Opinions

[_MsJack]

Thanks for the input, everyone. I should give you an update.

The local Girl Scout council is doing a "summer fun troop" for girls ages 5-7, to interest them in enrolling in Daisies or Brownies in the fall, so I signed my daughter up for that. Wednesday was her first day.

She LOVED it. She loved all of it.

I took her to the local Girl Scout office to look at uniforms. I'm going to wait until she has a troop in the fall to make a purchase (then I can buy a "starter kit" with her troop numbers in it). She loved trying on the vest and the little beanie though, and was very excited about becoming a Girl Scout.

I got her the hoodie that I linked to in my OP. I also wanted to get her a t-shirt, but she wasn't showing much interest in any of the Daisy t-shirts. Then I found an orange ringer t-shirt with the Girl Scouts logo on it, and I said, "Look! An orange Portal Girl Scouts t-shirt!" (My daughter currently has a crush on the Portal game series, which involves creating blue portals and orange portals.) Then she got excited about it. She wore it to Scouts on Wednesday, slept in it on Thursday night, and wanted to wear it again on Thursday, but by then it was sweaty and dirty and needed a wash.

She did so well at Scouts on Wednesday. As some people on this forum know, my daughter has a genetic disorder (22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome a.k.a. Velo-Cardio-Facial Syndrome---look it up if you're interested) that involves partial missing chromosomes. Long story short, she's been in a high-functioning special education class for preschool, she's going to be in both regular and special education kindergarten in the fall, and her behavior can be rather erratic and difficult to manage sometimes. I never know how she's going to handle being grouped with girls in ordinary classrooms or extracurricular activities, so it's something that worries me when we try it. However, I do know that the best thing for her is for me to not be there, because whenever I'm around, she gets clingy and can't take her focus off me. When I'm not around, she often does quite well for herself. So I dropped her off at the activity, gave the Scout leader my cell phone number and told her I'd be less than a block away, and left.

When I returned to pick her up, she was having a great time. When she saw me coming she rushed to the door, grabbed my hand and said, "Mommy, do you want to come to Girl Scouts with me?" and proceeded to drag me into the building. The Scout leader said she did very well and was not more difficult to handle than the other girls and got along well with them.

Oh, and I've decided to go with the vest. I'll let you all know when she formally joins Daisy Scouts in the fall.

[_MCB]

It was a good decision to get her involved in the mainstream early. You may tend to hover because she is a FLK (funny-looking kid), and therefore vulnerable to teasing.

My son had serious speech problems when he was little. Dysfluent with problems with prosody. (Look it up.) He sounded like a stuttering Forrest Gump. Was very vulnerable to teasing.

[_Jersey Girl]

Hi Jack,

What a great report! So glad to hear that your DD loved her first GS experiences! Loved the part about her sleeping in her new t shirt. :-) I know you are feeling so good about this and being able to give her something special that is part of your own family tradition.

I think that being a part of an all girl experience is such a confidence builder for young girls. The focus in my two troops was on camping and service. We were able to find so many ways for the girls to be of service to others starting in Daisy's with filling Easter baskets for the local "safe house" or what you might call a battered women's shelter where the children were uprooted from their homes. We did Valentines for Vets (Thank you Dear Abby!) and got letters back from military all over the world, and so many other types of service projects. One year, our council air lifted GS cookies from the local air base to military during Operation Desert Storm. Just amazing things for the girls to take part in making a difference in their world.

I have to share a little story about our camping. I taught camping progressions for both troops (this meant of course planning, budgeting,etc.) while working for the Troop Campcrafter badge (Same one I earned myself as a girl member, so I "earned" it three times!). We started with top notch amenities then worked our way down (or up depending on your perspective) to total primitive camping--sleeping bags, no latrines, no running water, you get the idea. :-)

About a year ago, I happened to run into one of my former troop parents. They told me that their daughter (now college age, they are all in college now or out in the world post-college, married, working, etc.) has been for the past 4 years or so going on missions all over the world with a Christian ministry. Part of this involved working in the Amazon region. They told me that "A" said that if it weren't for the primitive camping she did as a GS she wouldn't have been able to make it through the missions in such good shape since she was already trained to live with virtually nothing. :-) Boy, was ever rewarding to hear!

So Jack, a little book recommend for you and your daughter. Some day, when you have a chance, read the book "Lady from Savannah". This is the story of Juliette Low, her biography and the founding of the Girl Scouts. I think you will find it an awesome read and will love finding out what made Daisy Low "tick" in real life. Amazing woman. Amazing story. They might carry it at your Council store.

And now your daughter is part of this rich "all girl" tradition.

:-)

[_Jersey Girl]

My all time favorite quote from Juliette Low:

"Each badge you earn is tied up to your motto. This badge is not a reward for something you have done once or for an examination you have passed. Badges are not medals to wear on your sleeve to show what a smart girl you are. A badge is a symbol that you have done the thing it stands for often enough, thoroughly enough, and well enough to be prepared to give service in it. You wear the badge to let people know you are prepared and willing to be called on because you are a Girl Scout. Girl Scouting is not just knowing, but doing---not doing, but being."

LOVE THIS! I used this many times at ceremonies where earned badges were awarded.

[_MsJack]

There is a parent meeting for the kindergarten Daisy troops on Tuesday of next week, and then the meetings will start happening twice a month come November.

So excited!!! And my daughter is, too. She loves looking at the uniforms online with me.

You should have seen her in Hawaii this summer. She is so adventurous and wild-hearted.

[_just me]

Fun!

DD just had her 2nd Brownie troop meeting today. She loves it. She has a vest.

[_moksha]

My daughter says the vest, but a tie on tunic is less likely to be left behind somewhere by a five year old.

[_MsJack]

I talked to the troop leader today and she said they're purchasing uniforms for the girls en masse, and they're getting the tunic. She says we can get a vest if we want to, but that means my daughter will be the only girl in the troop with a vest.

So, should we conform and get the tunic then? Or should we stick with a vest?

[_Jersey Girl]

Jack,

What are they using for funds for the troop tunic's?

[_Blixa]

I talked to the troop leader today and she said they're purchasing uniforms for the girls en masse, and they're getting the tunic. She says we can get a vest if we want to, but that means my daughter will be the only girl in the troop with a vest.

So, should we conform and get the tunic then? Or should we stick with a vest?

Ask your daughter. I personally like the vest, but I think if everyone else had the tunic, and I was a little girl, I'd want that too.