(no subject)

[semperfiona]

Is Rosa's Girl Scout leader unusually incompetent, or do Brownie meetings normally consist mostly of a horde of little girls running around screaming?

Comments

[a2macgeek.livejournal.com]

My niece's meetings don't. They have planned activities.

[boubabe.livejournal.com]

Could have been a bad meeting. Try attending another one to see if it is a pattern.

[gasslight.livejournal.com]

Eh, those leaders are just one of those screaming little girl's mother. When I ran cub scout meetings, we had a planned activity ('cause i HATE that screaming nonsense!) but usually at least part of the meeting was given over to the screaming and the running.

[jilly-bear.livejournal.com]

Yes, yes they do - usually. My mother was a brownie leader and she could only stand so much of it and then would settle us all down to do something but you know girls - eventually it all started again (usually at the end of said activity) and then the other mothers would come to pick them all up.

Part of the reason Aubri is NOT a girl scout - she's not prone to that behaviour and I didn't want to expose her to it. I like my quiet tom-boy! :) (Well,ok, she's not so quiet when she's yelling at her brothers but for the most part, she's not all giggly and screamy and most of her friends are not either.)

[sashajwolf.livejournal.com]

Not in the UK - all the Brown Owls I've met have been expert at controlling small children, usually in ways the children find fun. They have various tricks that they use; the most common is the rule that when Brown Owl raises her hand, everyone has to stand still, stop talking and raise their own hand. They teach this through games. It works amazingly well, and stays with them - I've used it myself in groups where I knew a significant number had Scouting exposure. There are always lots of planned activities - Brownies here are usually working towards some badge or certificate or other. On Sunday, our local unit cooked and served a three-course lunch to about 50 adults after church, with proceeds going to a homelessness charity, which I'm told earned them both a badge and a certificate. It was a great job they did, too.

[lapis-lazuli615.livejournal.com]

My vote would be unusually imcompitent.
I'll let you know after The Girl starts Daisies this fall. (oooh, I'm sooo steamed that they're changing it so you're a daisy for K AND 1st now...)

[krasota.livejournal.com]

I was a co-leader of a Daisy/Brownie troop as a teenager (other co-leader was also a teenager, her mother was our mentor, but we were totally in charge).

While we encouraged running and screaming for certain play activities/games, most meetings were quiet and flowed well. The meetings certainly didn't consist of a screaming melée and nothing else.

Seeing as how we could keep control of a dozen+ five-six year olds at the tender age of 15 . . . I vote incompetent. ;)

[lightning-rose.livejournal.com]

Are you sure it wasn't the Goth Dungeon where you held the meetings that scared the kids into compliance. ;)

[krasota.livejournal.com]

By "goth dungeon", I assume you refer to "elementary school cafeteria".

In the Daisy year (kindergarten), they were SO excited to be in the cafeteria (only big kids got to go there) that they behaved. ;)

I mean, I was incredibly scary at 15. So . . . terrifyingly wholesome.

[reannon.livejournal.com]

Cub Scout den leader here... Cubs put a bigger emphasis on the formalities - we start with the pledge and the oath and all that march-around stuff. And we have a planned activity. But we also schedule in some running around screaming time, because the boys need to burn off that energy. A good mix between learning something and blowing off steam is a good meeting.

The real question is, does R have fun? Because Scouts is a terrific way for her to make friends and connect with other girls, and Girl Scouts beats the heck out of Boy Scouts for being connected with the real world and giving girls real, useful skills and fun times with the sisterhood as they grow up. I'm a HUGE fan of the Girl Scouts, and not just for the Thin Mints.

[beckyzoole.livejournal.com]

Heh, my Mom was my Brownie Leader, and continued to be the Brownie Leader for our elementary school until my youngest sister was out of Brownies, so that was for... ten years in a row.

I can tell you there was absolutely no screaming at any of her meetings!

She structured her meetings very strictly. We always started with the Pledge, then a planned activity, then a snack, then a second planned activity, then a friendship circle.

The first planned activity would usually be something fairly active, because we had just gotten out of school and needed to blow off steam. But not wild running around! We learned folk dances and school-yard games from around the world, like Dutch jump-rope rhymes and an Australian variation of Red Rover. We learned some basic camping and hiking skills, and went on nature walks.


The second planned activity would usually be something sedentary, like learning how to crochet and crocheting pot holders for a homeless shelter, or making a leaf book.

My troop was very large, about 40 girls. My Mom did have a succession of assistant leaders, Moms who would help out for a few meetings or even a year at a time, but she basically ran the meetings on her own. If anyone ever was wild or screaming, I'm sure Mom would have transfixed the girl with a glare guaranteed to freeze milk and told her that if she was incapable of behaving herself she should go call her parents and ask to be taken home immediately. But I don't remember anyone ever being so.