This version (to the right) is what my Girl Scout handbook looked like. If you squint, you can see the bell bottom jeans and braces on my teeth, too. My copy was well read, the corners rippled and perhaps some dirt in the binding from all the camp sites. Girls scout badges covered First Aid, cooking, sewing, campfires, .. mostly domestic skills. Many of the things I learned from girl scouts informed the things I do as a mother today - mostly to save money, but also to reconnect with previous generations. So many domestic skills are a mark of one's culture. When I think of family traditions; it's usually from the kitchen. But of course, there's other traditions worth passing to the next generation. At the same time we want to celebrate those traditions, we also want to empower our girls to reach beyond traditional gender roles - to break barriers that previously kept girls from learning about new things. This is why I'm happy to be a leader, and grateful for the opportunity my daughter has to explore the 21st century world.The Girl Scouts of today have a lot to balance (as do we parents). We don't want to overwhelm them with keeping all of the past while piling on new skills. Heaven's our girls would end up in therapy! But if we want our girls to achieve some recognition as well as try new things, we must keep up with the changes in the Girl Scout program as best as we can. Any good organization who's mission is simple, "Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place." will evolve as the needs of their clients change. Our girls want and need to be exposed to many things.
In order to get the most up to date information on available and current badges, we had to buy the Junior Girl's Guide to Girl Scouting book ($22.50). I did find some guidelines on the internet, but they were out of date, and many of those badges are out of circulation. The guide included requirements for seven legacy badges (Drawing, Practice with Purpose, Inside Government, Simple Meals, Junior First Aid, Junior Girl Scout Way and Flowers.)There are five other categories of badges: three skill building badge groups that complement the Journey badges, and two categories that support Cookie sale and financial literacy.
All the juniors who attended the Banana Factory art classes as part of the Holy Infancy program earned the legacy "Artist" badge. It made sense to recognize the quality art program already covered the requirements of the badge. To earn the Cookie CEO badge, I went through the requirements as a part of the troop meetings, and as part of the cookie sale program for the older girls. Some girls also earned the "Simple Meals" badge. I shared the badge requirements with the troop. Badges can be earned independently, and on the honor system.
Bridget and I have been reading through the requirements for many badges. As we read through more of the requirements, we saw that many of them happen in dance classes, music lessons, family trips and summer camps. This summer, we'll explore some of the badges and invite a few friends over for badge "play dates." They're not official troop meetings; but they're a way to stay connected over the summer and to have a little fun learning together.
We don't have the requirements for all of the possible Junior badges (yet), and I also have to prepare the Cadette badges for launch in the fall. It would make the most sense to combine start with legacy badges, and with the badges that complement the Journey we'll start with in the fall. If we are able to make it through the first journey before the cookie sale, we may be able to start a second journey before the end of the school year.
I'm setting high goals for this year. Stay tuned for badge earning documentation. I'm hoping this blog helps other parents explore the badge activities with their girls over the summer.
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