Tell me about being a Daisy troop leader

[Anonymous]

8 year troop leader of 2 troops.

Parents MUST sign up for a job to be in the troop. No if, ands, or butts. You may feel all ready to tackle it but GS isn't always easy. To keep your troop in the know, you need help.

1. Troop leader
2. Two co-leaders (one will end up slacking)
3. Registrar and paperwork parent
4. Treasurer (this is mandatory)
5. First-Aider and Carpool Coordinator
6. Cookie Parent
7. Cookie Booth Coordinator
8. Trip Researcher and Planner (researches GS events and businesses that have troop events. Decides which ones work for your troop)
9. Service Unit Parent (attends monthly meetings and updates current news in GSCNC)
10. Shopper (goes to council stores to pick up things needed)
11. Once they are Brownies you should have a camp coordinator.
12. Community Service Parent


This seems like a lot but you REALLY need to have families that will work with you and not treat this like a drop off situation.

I recommend a room at a church or community/recreation center. This takes away toys, pets, things to get into, and breaking something. We always do Sundays from 4:00pm to 5:30pm. It works around kid sports and all families can be involved. You can set up a sign-up genius for 2-4 helpers per meeting. We do 2 events a month. Sometimes it is 2 meetings, other times it is 1 meeting and 1 trip to apple picking, a council event, or something affiliated with earning a petal. Once a month is not enough. Every week is too much with other activities.

Once the kids are Brownies, each girl picks a TRY-IT they want to earn and the girl and their parent run the meeting. This is a great way to show leadership. Also, do not do snacks at meetings. Messy, time consuming, and takes away more time in a meeting than necessary. Another reason late Sunday afternoon works.

Whatever you do PLEASE realize this is a girl-led organization. There will be chaos, you will get off topic sometimes but girls rarely get to lead anything, decide things, earn things. This is a great outlet for that. Do STEM things, do art things, do outdoor things, do old-school things. Our kids rarely get to play anymore so make sure there is always time for play or at least 10 minutes of free time.

It is very rewarding. It will seem overwhelming at first. If any other parents have older scouts, utilize their help and advice.

Involve Dads!!! Camping, Dad/Daughter dances, Dad/Daughter Meeting Time, etc... Don't make it only moms.

Utilize the internet and other Girl Scout councils. I personally do not like GSCNC website. I look at many other councils for ideas too.

Do NOT do any Journeys as Daisys. Stick to petals and day trips/fun patches only. Don't overwhelm them or yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We skipped the cookies completely. They are not required AT ALL.

Huge mistake. Your girls never got the joy of knowing they earned their adventures. Mom and dad just wrote a check.

LOL. They "earned" plenty of adventures. Just not one based on crappy cookies and commercialization.

how did they "earn"...?

A variety of ways. This was a helpful tool for planning petals/activities:
https://www.girlscoutsrv.org/volunteers/troop-leaders/daisy-leaders/daisy-planning-guide/

Plenty of activities beyond hocking cookies. Some are actually meaningful.

But you the parents PAID for everything. That is the point the PP is trying to make. You don't have to do door to door sale, you don't have to do cookie booths, you don't have to sell to family. You pick and choose. But giving the kids a goal that they choose (a camping trip, a day trip, etc..) figuring out the expenses and saving it up for it themselves is very important in letting kids know money doesn't grow on trees and they need to earn things in life. We also donate 20% of our proceeds to a different non-profit every year. The girls choose and we spend a day bringing the cookies, money, and cards we have made.

Huh? We didn't pay for much. Snacks, uniform, ?

Newsflash: you don't need to pay to go to the nature center. Collect recyclables. Visit the animal rescue center. Talk about what it means to be a good friend. Etc.

ANYWAY, my whole point is if you don't want to do cookies you don't need to do cookies. There are plenty of great Daisy activities to fill the meetings.

[Anonymous]

And to be honest we never did 1/2 of the paperwork or even set up a bank account. Keep it low-key if you want. Plenty of people go nuts (see above) and that's fine if that's what they prefer, but that's not the only option.

[Anonymous]

Girl Scouting, I'm sorry to say, has devolved largely into clubs that are chosen and maintained by social cliques of moms. Boy Scouts are chartered mostly by churches or schools and required take all comers, which is why they are vastly more successful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And to be honest we never did 1/2 of the paperwork or even set up a bank account. Keep it low-key if you want. Plenty of people go nuts (see above) and that's fine if that's what they prefer, but that's not the only option.

For our service unit, you can not be a troop without a bank account - Not sure where you are located.


For troop size - I would shoot for 10-12. It is too hard at 15 for Daisies (I have been the leader of Daisies, Brownies and now Juniors)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And to be honest we never did 1/2 of the paperwork or even set up a bank account. Keep it low-key if you want. Plenty of people go nuts (see above) and that's fine if that's what they prefer, but that's not the only option.

For our service unit, you can not be a troop without a bank account - Not sure where you are located.


For troop size - I would shoot for 10-12. It is too hard at 15 for Daisies (I have been the leader of Daisies, Brownies and now Juniors)

GSCNC - maybe it's "required" but we never did it. They never kicked us out. Maybe required more if you do cookies.

[Anonymous]

NONE of the cookie money goes to troops, or at least it didn't in my many years as a GS assistant leader. Our most meaningful activities were the ones that cost very little, like hikes, campouts, nature walks, first aid, visits to fire hall, bakery, etc. My daughter earned her Gold Award (Eagle Scout equivalent) as is lifelong friends with several scouting buddies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NONE of the cookie money goes to troops, or at least it didn't in my many years as a GS assistant leader. Our most meaningful activities were the ones that cost very little, like hikes, campouts, nature walks, first aid, visits to fire hall, bakery, etc. My daughter earned her Gold Award (Eagle Scout equivalent) as is lifelong friends with several scouting buddies.

how long have you been out of GS????

Dang. Are you the person who mentioned "TRY-ITS" too? Those have been out for a good 10 years. troops get about 75 cents per box of cookies sold (depends if they take the incentive trinkets or not). I think some of your other advice (if you are the "Try Its" PP) is good. But, your comments are showing that it's been a long time since you were involved with girl scouts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And to be honest we never did 1/2 of the paperwork or even set up a bank account. Keep it low-key if you want. Plenty of people go nuts (see above) and that's fine if that's what they prefer, but that's not the only option.

For our service unit, you can not be a troop without a bank account - Not sure where you are located.


For troop size - I would shoot for 10-12. It is too hard at 15 for Daisies (I have been the leader of Daisies, Brownies and now Juniors)

Agree with the bolded.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Girl Scouting, I'm sorry to say, has devolved largely into clubs that are chosen and maintained by social cliques of moms. Boy Scouts are chartered mostly by churches or schools and required take all comers, which is why they are vastly more successful.

That is odd to say boy scouts "take all comers" given their issues around LGBTQ access. GS really has a requirement to include all girls regardless of ability, gender identity, etc. Agree though that GS does have the potential to become cliquish. I am one of the PPs who advocated for keeping troops larger for this reason.

[Anonymous]

I think 10 is actually too small. I had 13 in my troop, but never more than 10 at any given meeting due to illnesses, family conflict, etc. For field trips, we were usually more like 5-9 attendees. Also, they won't let you "close" the troop unless you have at least 12. I agree that if you get over 15, that starts to get crazy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NONE of the cookie money goes to troops, or at least it didn't in my many years as a GS assistant leader. Our most meaningful activities were the ones that cost very little, like hikes, campouts, nature walks, first aid, visits to fire hall, bakery, etc. My daughter earned her Gold Award (Eagle Scout equivalent) as is lifelong friends with several scouting buddies.

how long have you been out of GS????

Dang. Are you the person who mentioned "TRY-ITS" too? Those have been out for a good 10 years. troops get about 75 cents per box of cookies sold (depends if they take the incentive trinkets or not). I think some of your other advice (if you are the "Try Its" PP) is good. But, your comments are showing that it's been a long time since you were involved with girl scouts.

I am the one that said Try It's but not the PP posts. Every Brownie troop in our SU calls the triangle ones Try-It badges. I guess you call them something else. Congrats on your perfection. But wait you aren't perfect. You lack reading comprehension. Why would I post about needing a cookie parent and a booth coordinator and talk about what to do with the proceeds if I believed a troop doesn't earn any money selling??? Did I not Journeys as well? I spent a lot of time with my post to the OP.

Stop being a rude close-minded B with your replies. If you can't be helpful just STFU. You are what is wrong with Girl Scouts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NONE of the cookie money goes to troops, or at least it didn't in my many years as a GS assistant leader. Our most meaningful activities were the ones that cost very little, like hikes, campouts, nature walks, first aid, visits to fire hall, bakery, etc. My daughter earned her Gold Award (Eagle Scout equivalent) as is lifelong friends with several scouting buddies.

how long have you been out of GS????

Dang. Are you the person who mentioned "TRY-ITS" too? Those have been out for a good 10 years. troops get about 75 cents per box of cookies sold (depends if they take the incentive trinkets or not). I think some of your other advice (if you are the "Try Its" PP) is good. But, your comments are showing that it's been a long time since you were involved with girl scouts.

I am the one that said Try It's but not the PP posts. Every Brownie troop in our SU calls the triangle ones Try-It badges. I guess you call them something else. Congrats on your perfection. But wait you aren't perfect. You lack reading comprehension. Why would I post about needing a cookie parent and a booth coordinator and talk about what to do with the proceeds if I believed a troop doesn't earn any money selling??? Did I not Journeys as well? I spent a lot of time with my post to the OP.

Stop being a rude close-minded B with your replies. If you can't be helpful just STFU. You are what is wrong with Girl Scouts.

Not much of a role model are you? You said "NONE of the money goes to the troops..." So, we were just taking you at your word. You are not making sense.

[Anonymous]

Back to fees - I didn't read all responses, but $25 per scout has to go to the National Organization so right off the bat, your fees need to be at least $25. Then you need to have Troop Fees to cover things like vests, patches, room rentals, etc.

When my DD1 was a Daisy, they had blue t-shirts instead of the vests. Kept the costs down.

If you want to do any extra activities, I recommend doing a pay as you go for those. We do plenty of other activities for our Cadette troop and it's always pay as you go.

Big yes to cookie sales - just do a booth. So much easier and more enjoyable than door to door sales. Especially at that age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For cookie sales as Daises start out with the policy that you are not doing a booth sale. The girls can sell to family and friends and orders are due by xx date. This will keep things much easier. Also, the leader should NOT be in charge of cookie sales. Stand firm on that. If the troop is going to sell cookies than another parent needs to step up, get registered and go through the training. BEFORE you sell cookies the troop needs to figure out what they will do with the profit. Something fun for the girls? help someone else? either is fine and you won't have a ton of $$ the first year but the girls should be part of the decision.

Every parent must sign up to help at a meeting and bring the snack.

Find the leaders of the older troops at you school (grades 5-8). Ask the leaders about having 3 helpers at every meeting. The older girls need the leadership hours and the little girls love the older girls. These older girls can:
run the opening flag ceremony (do this at every meeting)
sing songs with the girls
help with crafts and games
take girls to the bathroom

Look up how to do a KAPER CHART. This is basically a job list. Daisy girls want to all have a job at the meeting. There are tons of ways to rotate the jobs so everyone gets a turn.

To each their own. Our troop ONLY did booth sales. Personally I would rather spend 3 hours at a booth and be done with it, rather than badger my friends and family about cookies, collect money, etc.