With the economy not recovering as quickly as most people would like and everywhere charging for every little thing, I find that leaders are having a hard time finding a meeting place that will not charge a large amount of money.  It is time to get creative in our thinking and our actions in a time of crisis.  Girl Scouts is about forming the Leaders of Tomorrow.  With that, we need to find a solution to a problem that will continue in years ahead.  Once every place figures out they can charge and get away with it, we will lose some of the basic Community Services we are use to.  It is time to stand up and dedicate some of our service hours as Girl Scouts to change the commuity and their thinking.  I recommend bartering community service with a meeting place.  All meeting places need a little help now and then.  It would give our girls a sense of accomplishment and pride to give back in a direct way.  Plus they can see what their hard work does as a result of having a place to meet.  I hope as you read this, you too, can come up with other ideas and post them below.  It would be helpful to all Girl Scout Leaders in the area.

Thanks!

Today I witnessed an amazing act of kindness by a family who have an amazing amount of love and kindness for people around them.  This act brought tears of joy to my eyes as I witnessed them pull their two flatbed trailers around the corner into this charity.  On Fox 2 News tonight, there will be a news article about the Scott Family from Poplar Bluff.  Their family has found away to give back to the community in the simpliest yet profound way.  In this tough economy, we find that charities are not receiving the funds and help they need.  This is where Girl Scouts should want to double their efforts and give back.  The Scott Family found away around these challenges, and it is as simple as removing a Tab Top. 

As someone who is not originally from this area, I see assets that seem to be overlooked by many of my friends who have grown up in St. Louis, and rightfully so.  St. Louisans have amazing assets in this area that others only dream about.  I know I would have loved to finish my Girl Scout high school years, but that wasn't readily available in my small town.  I know two families in my community that would have loved to have a quality children's hospital in their backyard, and we have more than one in St. Louis!  The quality of education and opportunities for continued education is vast and plentiful here in St. Louis.  Some people can only dream of getting to the "BIG" city and receiving an education. 

So I am making a challenge to all the Leaders, Parents and Girl Scouts.  As we look for those Take Action projects, please take advantage of helping the wonderful amazing assets here in St. Louis.  I challenge everyone (including myself) to be more like the Scott Family and collect over 2700 pounds of Tab Tops to donate to a charity.  This is a perfect recycling project for any It's Your Planet, Love It Journey.  Challenge yourself, as I will, and lets Make the World a Better Place.

As I teach in all my classes, customize your journey to fit your needs in your community.  You don't have to follow the book word for word!  There are lots of "customized" ideas out there to help you make the most of your journey. 

I have to say that 2011 has not started off on the right foot for me.  I struggle with so many things as I try to get everything done.  As I took a step back during all of our snow days, I realized I wasn't the only parent in my group that felt this way.  I say group, since our sister troops meet with us most of the time.  Each parent that has contacted me has the desire to connect more with their girl.  I find as a volunteer, parent, employee, wife, etc, that I don't have enough hours in the day to do all I want to accomplish.  I find that everyone in my group feels that same way.  So starting in April we are going to set aside one meeting a month to accomplish the Dove Foundation/Girl Scout's Uniquely Me program with their female mentor.  As these girls are faced with more challenges at school each day, mothers'/grandmothers' wanting to find the time to connect with their young girls, and the girls wanting to be unique...this seems like the perfect way to accomplish it.  We shall see how it goes, since the next meeting is the start of a new journey.  Wish me luck!

As most of us sit at home today with our children off of school on a wonderful snow day, I am reminded by a dear friend of mine the excitement Girl Scout Leader's can have with their troops. 

Do you know how to find a Girl Scout Leader's house on a snow day?  It is the house with the giggling girls learning to discover the fun of snow days, by making paper snowflakes, and reading stories about snow.  Most of all they are discovering through education the fun and dangers of playing in the snow.  The girls continue to connect by going outside and playing in the white fluffy stuff.  They make snow families and snow animals.  They take food coloring and color the snow every color under the spring rainbow.  All the while wondering if all kids have this much fun on snow days. 

When it is time to come in, the questions are: 

1.  Does everyone have this much fun in snow? 

2.  Is everyone as warm as I am in the snow? 

3.  How do we make sure other's are warm? 

The fun of being a Girl Scout is anything can lead to an age appropriate Take Action Project. 

So how do you know you found the house of a Girl Scout Leader on a snow day?  It is the one with the hot chocolate with marshmallows.  The snow family on the lawn.  The purple, green, pink, blue and orange snow.  Last but definitely not least, it is where the Girl Scout is ransacking the house for old gloves, hats, coats and scarves to give to the needy...or maybe even a neighbor.  I hope everyone has fun on the snow day.

 (By the way they say, "Don't eat yellow snow!"  Well I don't recommend the purple, green, pink, blue and orange snow either.  Unless you like the taste of food coloring.)

Happy 2011 Everyone.  As we start a new year, many people are setting resolutions and starting new adventures to make this year better than the last.  I would like to set a challenge for each of us to try something new and make a positive difference in someone else's life.  As a leader, we strive to do that at every meeting...but have we tried to instill that same quality in the girls.  I hope as my troop and I journey through this next year, we find our story and use it to tell the world we care enough to make a difference in the lives around us.  Happy 2011 Everyone! 

It's Your Story, Tell It! Series will be here December 2010!  If you haven't tried a journey yet, or you have tried a journey and became frustrated...PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE give the Journeys another try.  You will be amazed at what the girls will learn and accomplish in this new journey.  I can't wait and I know my girls will enjoy it as much it not more than the first two journeys.  It is a great honor as a leader to be given the privilege of empowering young ladies through their own discoveries of themselves. 

Tonight was the District 10 Leader Expo.  It is a great night to get out and learn about what is available in our District.  Once again, I was hosting the Journey's Display with the Journey series "It's Your Planet, Love It!"  This is the one night a year, I feel like I am going to lose my voice from talking so much.   

I love the challenge of the questions I receive in regards to the Journeys.  My first question of the night was in regards to how does one complete a journey that requires being outside learning about weeds?  I chuckled inside, as I explained to this leader, I shared the same problem a year ago. 

When my little girl started out as Kindergarten Daisy, our troop did the It's Your World, Change It Journey- Daisy's Flower Garden.  The girls enjoyed the Journey and looked forward to the release of the next Journey.  The release date for It's Your Planet, Love It Journey- Between Earth and Sky was just in time with the start of our 1st Grade Daisy year.  We were so excited.  We were looking forward to the next Journey with our Flower Friends.  As we proceeded into this Journey, we realized some of the activities were not applicable due to Missouri's wonderful winter weather.  This is where Customizing Your Journey comes into play.   

As I have to remind myself and others I help with their Journeys, the sample sessions in the leader's guide are exactly that- SAMPLE SESSIONS, they are not written in stone.  Adapt the Journeys to fit your situations and your troops needs.  It may seem difficult at times to come up with ideas on how to adapt or expand the Journeys.  But with the help of fellow Girl Scout Leaders and Council Members,  I was able to have another amazing year with the girls.  There are amazing resources out there to help you Customize Your Journey.  We even thought so far outside of the box, we worked on our schools Butterfly Garden, built a bridge and raised butterflies to release in the garden for our Bridging Ceremony.  Our sister troop and ours became known as Team Butterfly. 

So if you are in need of any additional information or help with your Journey, please don't hesitate to ask for help.  Spend the extra $5.00 on It's Your Journey, Customize It!  I only wish this resource had been available when I was stumped last year.  We are blessed to live in St. Louis with all of our wonderful resources to help expand and adapt the Journey Programs.  If you find yourself stuck in the middle of winter working on the It's Your Planet, Love It Journey series, remember your park departments.  They have wonderful resources for classroom type settings, and then you can complete the other activities when Spring finally arrives. 

Plus there is also a workshop you can take called, "Journeys-Map It Out" which will be coming in the new Spring Course Catalog. 

JourneyWorksheet1[1].pdf (10.78 kb)  I have found this worksheet to be extremely helpful in planning quality activities for my troop that compliment the Journey Program.

Enjoy and don't forget, there are all kinds of wonderful people there to help you with this AMAZING JOURNEY you are on now called, "It's Girl Scouts, Enjoy It!"

I have just returned from my first Girl Scout meeting of the new scout year.  Tonight was the perfect example of why I love being a Girl Scout Leader and why I keep volunteering long hours for each of these girls.  Our meeting was a little different.  My team of leaders and I decided to mix things up.  We brought together all of our girls for one night of extreme journey fun.  The new little Daisies all wide eyed and smiles.  My experienced Brownies wanting to share their knowledge of Girl Scouting with the younger girls.  And my amazing Juniors stepping up to the plate and leading the way.  It was the best night a leader could have and I was able to share this amazing night with five other leaders/co-leaders.  With the help of everyone involved, including the girls, this was the easiest meeting I have ever been apart of.  I saw teamwork at its best, by leaders and girls.  I saw first hand girls that I have known for three years now, have the confidence to lead an opening ceremony.  I saw one of my precious bashful shy Brownies step up with courage and talk with the younger girls about what she loves most about being a Girl Scout.  My Juniors are dynamic.  They will change the lives of others and the world for the good.  I cannot wait to see what they are going to do for their Bronze Award, and I know whatever it is it will be inspiring.

As a leader, I have been trying my hardest to instill in each of the girls the Courage, Confidence and Character needed to be they type of leader they were born to be.  I wondered at times if they were getting anything I was trying to teaching.  I am watching these girls grow before my eyes, and I am proud of each individual girl.  They enjoy their Journey Books and the journey they are on because of the books.  

One girl discovered tonight she has a gift of respect.  I could have told her that, but it was inspiring to see her figure that out on her own. 

Another girl discovered her family does activities that are changing the world.  She just thought her family did this type of volunteer work because that is what families do.  She never realized how different her family is from the other families around her.

One of the Dynamic Juniors discovered the power to deal with change well.  She isn't letting change bother her or stand in her way.  It was enlightening to talk with her after our meeting.  She is growing up do fast and into a beautiful young lady.

My newest Dynamic Junior taught me that I touch her tonight with words of praise.  She needed to hear that.  I hope by the end of this year, she sees herself the way I do.  Dynamic!

Daisies are always so much fun!  Their desire to discover things and learn, the perfect little sponges.  They really loved Daisy's Flower Garden.  It was fun to crack out the old book and start it up again.  I think all my girls would enjoy a refresher course in Daisy's Flower Garden. 

I know at times being a leader can be discouraging.  Please remember to take the time to look hard at each of the girls.  You might just be amazed at what you find in them but also in yourself.