The first three sections of a meeting are designed to bring the girls together and focus their energy on the meeting. The girls in my troop had a lot of energy, so it was really important to get them together to focus that on Scouts, rather than running around and playing games (which isn't, in and of itself, a bad thing, but you want them to get more from Scouting that just Fishy, Fishy, Cross My Ocean!). I'll go over these parts of the meetings, with some tactics and ideas for making them meet the GSLE.
Pre-Meeting: Last year, I planned most meetings with a Pre-Meeting activity of coloring pages. You can find all sorts of free options on the web, like at Making Friends, or this really cool Girl Scout Law coloring book. However, since the girls usually came in wanting to play games and run around the building, this didn't work as well as I had hoped. It was usually tough to corral them into sitting down at the table. This year, I plan to have more active ideas, such as an alphabet hike or playing the What's in the Bag? game, to help expend some of their energy before the meeting begins and to keep them all in one area.
Make it GSLE: For the first few meetings, you may want to plan these activities yourself. Make them cooperative games (like lining up by height without talking), or use activities that promote learning by doing (like the What's in the Bag? game). After the first few meetings, consider asking the girls what they would like to do, and try incorporating some of these ideas into your Pre-Meeting Activity.
Opening: Our opening ceremony was generally quite short. We said the Pledge of Allegiance, the Promise, and the Law. You may want to add in your own rituals to suit your troop.
Make it GSLE: To make this ceremony girl led, try using your kaper chart to have one (or more) girl(s) lead the pledge, promise and law. One girl could also hold the flag at each meeting. By changing the responsibility from girl to girl each meeting, their confidence in leading will grow!
Song: After the opening ceremony, it can be a good idea to have a song planned, especially one with lots of actions! This way, the girls will get some of their energy out before sitting down for the friendship circle. Have fun with the songs you choose! There are many great Girl Scout-specific songs, as well as fun camp songs you might remember from childhood. Teaching songs to Daisys is easiest if you sing one line at a time, and have them sing it back to you. At the end of each verse, have them try to sing the entire verse. Don't be afraid if you don't have a great singing voice--I'll be the first to admit that I'm not usually on key, but as long as you're enthusiastic, the girls will respond positively!
Make it GSLE: Try offering the girls the chance to vote on 2 songs that you've chosen. Or, have Song Choice be a kaper, so that each meeting offers a different girl the chance to pick a song. Daisys may find it a bit overwhelming to choose a song without having any choices, or choosing from more than 2 or 3 options. If your girls seem brave and like to share, you might even consider having them teach a song at each meeting.
Next week, I'll be talking about the Friendship Circle, Snack, and the Activity portions of the meeting.
How do you gather your Scouts for meetings? Leave a message below!
No comments:
Post a Comment