Brownies
Congratulations, you've made it through your Daisy years and bridged your troop to Brownies ... or perhaps you are just starting as a Brownie Leader. Either way, you are in for some fun! Here are some tips from experienced Leaders to help you in your Brownie years.
If you haven't done so already, now is a great time to enlist more help from your parent/caregivers! Have each parent/caregiver, along with their Girl Scout, run a meeting to earn a badge. Tell them you'll be there to assist, but let them plan and run it from beginning to end ... they can do it, and then you won't have to! You'll be amazed at the skills and talents your parent/caregivers have to share with the troop. And the girls LOVE having their mom or dad running the show!
Chatham Girl Scouts has a lot of community activities for Brownies - the 2nd grade Brownie Sleepover, the Square Dance, Chatham Girl Scout Bowling, etc. ... put them on your calendar and take advantage of them all. These events are rites of passage for Brownies in Chatham and the girls will remember them long after their Brownie years are over.
Think Camping ... Mom & Me camping that is! Brownies is a great age to start camping, but the girls are still young and homesickness can be an issue, so have the girls go on a Mom & Me camping trip first. This gives the girls an opportunity to experience camping without having to miss Mom in the process, and it gives the Moms an excellent opportunity to see what Girl Scout camping is all about!
Don't forget to check out the Council sponsored programs in https://www.gsnnj.org/en/discover/activities/events.html- now that the girls are older, they are ready to take on more trips and more outside activities, and the Council programs are an excellent way to do it!
Attend Leader Meetings and talk to other Leaders - sharing knowledge of what works and what doesn't is a great way to plan your Troop activities. And with over 175 Leaders in Chatham, we have a lot of information to share!