help with girl scouts
Beth Fleming
Hello ,
I wondered if I could maybe get some advice about a situation that happened today with my daughter (10). She recently joined a new Girl Scout Troop and today was her fourth meeting. She has generally liked it, very happy with the trips, fundraisers, going through the badge book with me and planning to do lots at home. She was in tears after the meeting today....it had to do with a puzzle badge that the troop is working on at the meeting. The leader gave the girls a paper that explained a puzzle in which the girls had to give letters a certain money value and come up with words that equaled $1.00. Fran understood it perfectly, but invented her own puzzle with words, where she took a bigger word and broke it down into smaller words(she and I like to do this together at home!) and gave those words values. When I was picking her up, the leader called us aside and explained to "me" what the puzzle was all about and that Fran did not understand. Later at home, after
hearing the whole story, I understood that it wasn't her understanding that was lacking, but she explained to me that it wasn't a puzzle that she wanted to do,so she had made up her own. Why wasn't that acceptable? She further explained to me that the troop doesn't run the way things run at home....she likes the freedom she has here (her words!) The leader had told the girls that they all had to do this one puzzle to work towards the badge and that felt very stifling to her.
We talked for a bit about the way the troop was run vs. our way....and I told her that maybe what we need to talk about next is whether being in the troop and doing the fun stuff outweighs the not fun stuff. It would be her decision whether the troop was for her. After lots of processing, she said that maybe one bad meeting was too early to judge what to do. She also had the idea if there were snacks (!), the meetings might be better!
I guess my question is .....where do you think I should go with this next? I want to honor my daughter's feelings about the troop, but also want her to know that maybe the way it runs will never look like what we do and can she (and I??) accept that?
Thanks for reading......have a great Friday night!
Peace,
Beth
Unschooling Mom to Frances (9), Will (7), Catherine (2), and Grace (6 months)
www.6uvus.blogspot.com
---------------------------------
Yahoo! Messenger with Voice. Make PC-to-Phone Calls to the US (and 30+ countries) for 2¢/min or less.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
I wondered if I could maybe get some advice about a situation that happened today with my daughter (10). She recently joined a new Girl Scout Troop and today was her fourth meeting. She has generally liked it, very happy with the trips, fundraisers, going through the badge book with me and planning to do lots at home. She was in tears after the meeting today....it had to do with a puzzle badge that the troop is working on at the meeting. The leader gave the girls a paper that explained a puzzle in which the girls had to give letters a certain money value and come up with words that equaled $1.00. Fran understood it perfectly, but invented her own puzzle with words, where she took a bigger word and broke it down into smaller words(she and I like to do this together at home!) and gave those words values. When I was picking her up, the leader called us aside and explained to "me" what the puzzle was all about and that Fran did not understand. Later at home, after
hearing the whole story, I understood that it wasn't her understanding that was lacking, but she explained to me that it wasn't a puzzle that she wanted to do,so she had made up her own. Why wasn't that acceptable? She further explained to me that the troop doesn't run the way things run at home....she likes the freedom she has here (her words!) The leader had told the girls that they all had to do this one puzzle to work towards the badge and that felt very stifling to her.
We talked for a bit about the way the troop was run vs. our way....and I told her that maybe what we need to talk about next is whether being in the troop and doing the fun stuff outweighs the not fun stuff. It would be her decision whether the troop was for her. After lots of processing, she said that maybe one bad meeting was too early to judge what to do. She also had the idea if there were snacks (!), the meetings might be better!
I guess my question is .....where do you think I should go with this next? I want to honor my daughter's feelings about the troop, but also want her to know that maybe the way it runs will never look like what we do and can she (and I??) accept that?
Thanks for reading......have a great Friday night!
Peace,
Beth
Unschooling Mom to Frances (9), Will (7), Catherine (2), and Grace (6 months)
www.6uvus.blogspot.com
---------------------------------
Yahoo! Messenger with Voice. Make PC-to-Phone Calls to the US (and 30+ countries) for 2¢/min or less.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Joanne
Hi Beth...,,
It's ironic you posted that today because I had a really big
(adoption related) issue with both my daughter's Girls Scout troop
yesterday. :-(
My two girls sometimes don't like certain aspects of Scouts, but for
them, the positive side of it far outweighs any negative, so they
continue going. I think your daughter made a good choice to give it
another try. :-)
~ Joanne ~
Mom to Jacqueline (8), Shawna (11) & Cimion (13)
Adopted into our hearts October 2003
************************************
Unschooling Voices ~ Add Your Voice
www.foreverparents.com/UnschoolingVoices.html
--- In [email protected], Beth Fleming <momofwc@...>
wrote:
new Girl Scout Troop and today was her fourth meeting. She has
generally liked it, very happy with the trips, fundraisers, going
through the badge book with me and planning to do lots at home. She
was in tears after the meeting today....it had to do with a puzzle
badge that the troop is working on at the meeting. The leader gave
the girls a paper that explained a puzzle in which the girls had to
give letters a certain money value and come up with words that
equaled $1.00. Fran understood it perfectly, but invented her own
puzzle with words, where she took a bigger word and broke it down
into smaller words(she and I like to do this together at home!) and
gave those words values. When I was picking her up, the leader
called us aside and explained to "me" what the puzzle was all about
and that Fran did not understand. Later at home, after
wasn't a puzzle that she wanted to do,so she had made up her own.
Why wasn't that acceptable? She further explained to me that the
troop doesn't run the way things run at home....she likes the
freedom she has here (her words!) The leader had told the girls that
they all had to do this one puzzle to work towards the badge and
that felt very stifling to her.
whether being in the troop and doing the fun stuff outweighs the not
fun stuff. It would be her decision whether the troop was for
her. After lots of processing, she said that maybe one bad meeting
was too early to judge what to do. She also had the idea if there
were snacks (!), the meetings might be better!
but also want her to know that maybe the way it runs will never look
like what we do and can she (and I??) accept that?
It's ironic you posted that today because I had a really big
(adoption related) issue with both my daughter's Girls Scout troop
yesterday. :-(
My two girls sometimes don't like certain aspects of Scouts, but for
them, the positive side of it far outweighs any negative, so they
continue going. I think your daughter made a good choice to give it
another try. :-)
~ Joanne ~
Mom to Jacqueline (8), Shawna (11) & Cimion (13)
Adopted into our hearts October 2003
************************************
Unschooling Voices ~ Add Your Voice
www.foreverparents.com/UnschoolingVoices.html
--- In [email protected], Beth Fleming <momofwc@...>
wrote:
>that happened today with my daughter (10). She recently joined a
> Hello ,
> I wondered if I could maybe get some advice about a situation
new Girl Scout Troop and today was her fourth meeting. She has
generally liked it, very happy with the trips, fundraisers, going
through the badge book with me and planning to do lots at home. She
was in tears after the meeting today....it had to do with a puzzle
badge that the troop is working on at the meeting. The leader gave
the girls a paper that explained a puzzle in which the girls had to
give letters a certain money value and come up with words that
equaled $1.00. Fran understood it perfectly, but invented her own
puzzle with words, where she took a bigger word and broke it down
into smaller words(she and I like to do this together at home!) and
gave those words values. When I was picking her up, the leader
called us aside and explained to "me" what the puzzle was all about
and that Fran did not understand. Later at home, after
> hearing the whole story, I understood that it wasn't herunderstanding that was lacking, but she explained to me that it
wasn't a puzzle that she wanted to do,so she had made up her own.
Why wasn't that acceptable? She further explained to me that the
troop doesn't run the way things run at home....she likes the
freedom she has here (her words!) The leader had told the girls that
they all had to do this one puzzle to work towards the badge and
that felt very stifling to her.
> We talked for a bit about the way the troop was run vs. ourway....and I told her that maybe what we need to talk about next is
whether being in the troop and doing the fun stuff outweighs the not
fun stuff. It would be her decision whether the troop was for
her. After lots of processing, she said that maybe one bad meeting
was too early to judge what to do. She also had the idea if there
were snacks (!), the meetings might be better!
> I guess my question is .....where do you think I should go withthis next? I want to honor my daughter's feelings about the troop,
but also want her to know that maybe the way it runs will never look
like what we do and can she (and I??) accept that?
> Thanks for reading......have a great Friday night!(6 months)
> Peace,
> Beth
>
>
> Unschooling Mom to Frances (9), Will (7), Catherine (2), and Grace
> www.6uvus.blogspot.com30+ countries) for 2¢/min or less.
>
> ---------------------------------
> Yahoo! Messenger with Voice. Make PC-to-Phone Calls to the US (and
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
Vickisue Gray
Sounds to me like you already answered your question.
You listened, discussed reasons and options, then left it to her to decide if she can accept their way or not.
Sounds like how I did it with my now 16 yo. Just be forewarned (coming from recent conversation with same 16yo)
You can allow them freedom of choice but that won't stop them from later saying,"You should have....". Funny thing about that. They can say it any way things go. LOL, Go figure. But they love you more for trusting them and helping them learn their personal limits while they learn to deal with others.
----- Original Message ----
From: Beth Fleming <momofwc@...>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Friday, October 13, 2006 10:08:45 PM
Subject: [unschoolingbasics] help with girl scouts
Hello ,
I wondered if I could maybe get some advice about a situation that happened today with my daughter (10). She recently joined a new Girl Scout Troop and today was her fourth meeting. She has generally liked it, very happy with the trips, fundraisers, going through the badge book with me and planning to do lots at home. She was in tears after the meeting today....it had to do with a puzzle badge that the troop is working on at the meeting. The leader gave the girls a paper that explained a puzzle in which the girls had to give letters a certain money value and come up with words that equaled $1.00. Fran understood it perfectly, but invented her own puzzle with words, where she took a bigger word and broke it down into smaller words(she and I like to do this together at home!) and gave those words values. When I was picking her up, the leader called us aside and explained to "me" what the puzzle was all about and that Fran did not understand. Later at home, after
hearing the whole story, I understood that it wasn't her understanding that was lacking, but she explained to me that it wasn't a puzzle that she wanted to do,so she had made up her own. Why wasn't that acceptable? She further explained to me that the troop doesn't run the way things run at home....she likes the freedom she has here (her words!) The leader had told the girls that they all had to do this one puzzle to work towards the badge and that felt very stifling to her.
We talked for a bit about the way the troop was run vs. our way....and I told her that maybe what we need to talk about next is whether being in the troop and doing the fun stuff outweighs the not fun stuff. It would be her decision whether the troop was for her. After lots of processing, she said that maybe one bad meeting was too early to judge what to do. She also had the idea if there were snacks (!), the meetings might be better!
I guess my question is .....where do you think I should go with this next? I want to honor my daughter's feelings about the troop, but also want her to know that maybe the way it runs will never look like what we do and can she (and I??) accept that?
Thanks for reading..... .have a great Friday night!
Peace,
Beth
Unschooling Mom to Frances (9), Will (7), Catherine (2), and Grace (6 months)
www.6uvus.blogspot. com
------------ --------- --------- ---
Yahoo! Messenger with Voice. Make PC-to-Phone Calls to the US (and 30+ countries) for 2¢/min or less.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
You listened, discussed reasons and options, then left it to her to decide if she can accept their way or not.
Sounds like how I did it with my now 16 yo. Just be forewarned (coming from recent conversation with same 16yo)
You can allow them freedom of choice but that won't stop them from later saying,"You should have....". Funny thing about that. They can say it any way things go. LOL, Go figure. But they love you more for trusting them and helping them learn their personal limits while they learn to deal with others.
----- Original Message ----
From: Beth Fleming <momofwc@...>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Friday, October 13, 2006 10:08:45 PM
Subject: [unschoolingbasics] help with girl scouts
Hello ,
I wondered if I could maybe get some advice about a situation that happened today with my daughter (10). She recently joined a new Girl Scout Troop and today was her fourth meeting. She has generally liked it, very happy with the trips, fundraisers, going through the badge book with me and planning to do lots at home. She was in tears after the meeting today....it had to do with a puzzle badge that the troop is working on at the meeting. The leader gave the girls a paper that explained a puzzle in which the girls had to give letters a certain money value and come up with words that equaled $1.00. Fran understood it perfectly, but invented her own puzzle with words, where she took a bigger word and broke it down into smaller words(she and I like to do this together at home!) and gave those words values. When I was picking her up, the leader called us aside and explained to "me" what the puzzle was all about and that Fran did not understand. Later at home, after
hearing the whole story, I understood that it wasn't her understanding that was lacking, but she explained to me that it wasn't a puzzle that she wanted to do,so she had made up her own. Why wasn't that acceptable? She further explained to me that the troop doesn't run the way things run at home....she likes the freedom she has here (her words!) The leader had told the girls that they all had to do this one puzzle to work towards the badge and that felt very stifling to her.
We talked for a bit about the way the troop was run vs. our way....and I told her that maybe what we need to talk about next is whether being in the troop and doing the fun stuff outweighs the not fun stuff. It would be her decision whether the troop was for her. After lots of processing, she said that maybe one bad meeting was too early to judge what to do. She also had the idea if there were snacks (!), the meetings might be better!
I guess my question is .....where do you think I should go with this next? I want to honor my daughter's feelings about the troop, but also want her to know that maybe the way it runs will never look like what we do and can she (and I??) accept that?
Thanks for reading..... .have a great Friday night!
Peace,
Beth
Unschooling Mom to Frances (9), Will (7), Catherine (2), and Grace (6 months)
www.6uvus.blogspot. com
------------ --------- --------- ---
Yahoo! Messenger with Voice. Make PC-to-Phone Calls to the US (and 30+ countries) for 2¢/min or less.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Melissa Camoirano
We do Girl Scouts and Spiral Scouts(http://www.spiralscouts.org/
metadot/index.pl). I find Spiral Scouts to be much more unschooler
friendly and open, but we also do GS because they have opportunities
we would not have otherwise since they are so established and
recognized in the community.
Another thought is, you can switch troops, it's amazing how different
the GS experience can be from troop to troop, or even start your own
troop. If you have an unschooling/homeschoolong community, you can
have a troop just for them. Or if you don't, if you can get the word
out, you may be able to help create a community that way =). You can
contact your local council to find out how.
�..� '��)) -:�:-
�.�' .�'��))
((��.�' ...�' -:�:-
-:�:- ((��..�'*
Blessed Be,
Mel
�A person�s freedom of learning is part of his freedom of thought,
even more basic than his freedom of speech.� ~John Holt
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
metadot/index.pl). I find Spiral Scouts to be much more unschooler
friendly and open, but we also do GS because they have opportunities
we would not have otherwise since they are so established and
recognized in the community.
Another thought is, you can switch troops, it's amazing how different
the GS experience can be from troop to troop, or even start your own
troop. If you have an unschooling/homeschoolong community, you can
have a troop just for them. Or if you don't, if you can get the word
out, you may be able to help create a community that way =). You can
contact your local council to find out how.
�..� '��)) -:�:-
�.�' .�'��))
((��.�' ...�' -:�:-
-:�:- ((��..�'*
Blessed Be,
Mel
�A person�s freedom of learning is part of his freedom of thought,
even more basic than his freedom of speech.� ~John Holt
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Beth Fleming
Thanks, Joanne. I think giving it a bit more time is the way to go.
Peace,
Beth
Joanne <billyandjoanne@...> wrote:
Hi Beth...,,
It's ironic you posted that today because I had a really big
(adoption related) issue with both my daughter's Girls Scout troop
yesterday. :-(
My two girls sometimes don't like certain aspects of Scouts, but for
them, the positive side of it far outweighs any negative, so they
continue going. I think your daughter made a good choice to give it
another try. :-)
~ Joanne ~
Mom to Jacqueline (8), Shawna (11) & Cimion (13)
Adopted into our hearts October 2003
************************************
Unschooling Voices ~ Add Your Voice
www.foreverparents.com/UnschoolingVoices.html
--- In [email protected], Beth Fleming <momofwc@...>
wrote:
new Girl Scout Troop and today was her fourth meeting. She has
generally liked it, very happy with the trips, fundraisers, going
through the badge book with me and planning to do lots at home. She
was in tears after the meeting today....it had to do with a puzzle
badge that the troop is working on at the meeting. The leader gave
the girls a paper that explained a puzzle in which the girls had to
give letters a certain money value and come up with words that
equaled $1.00. Fran understood it perfectly, but invented her own
puzzle with words, where she took a bigger word and broke it down
into smaller words(she and I like to do this together at home!) and
gave those words values. When I was picking her up, the leader
called us aside and explained to "me" what the puzzle was all about
and that Fran did not understand. Later at home, after
wasn't a puzzle that she wanted to do,so she had made up her own.
Why wasn't that acceptable? She further explained to me that the
troop doesn't run the way things run at home....she likes the
freedom she has here (her words!) The leader had told the girls that
they all had to do this one puzzle to work towards the badge and
that felt very stifling to her.
whether being in the troop and doing the fun stuff outweighs the not
fun stuff. It would be her decision whether the troop was for
her. After lots of processing, she said that maybe one bad meeting
was too early to judge what to do. She also had the idea if there
were snacks (!), the meetings might be better!
but also want her to know that maybe the way it runs will never look
like what we do and can she (and I??) accept that?
www.6uvus.blogspot.com
---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Peace,
Beth
Joanne <billyandjoanne@...> wrote:
Hi Beth...,,
It's ironic you posted that today because I had a really big
(adoption related) issue with both my daughter's Girls Scout troop
yesterday. :-(
My two girls sometimes don't like certain aspects of Scouts, but for
them, the positive side of it far outweighs any negative, so they
continue going. I think your daughter made a good choice to give it
another try. :-)
~ Joanne ~
Mom to Jacqueline (8), Shawna (11) & Cimion (13)
Adopted into our hearts October 2003
************************************
Unschooling Voices ~ Add Your Voice
www.foreverparents.com/UnschoolingVoices.html
--- In [email protected], Beth Fleming <momofwc@...>
wrote:
>that happened today with my daughter (10). She recently joined a
> Hello ,
> I wondered if I could maybe get some advice about a situation
new Girl Scout Troop and today was her fourth meeting. She has
generally liked it, very happy with the trips, fundraisers, going
through the badge book with me and planning to do lots at home. She
was in tears after the meeting today....it had to do with a puzzle
badge that the troop is working on at the meeting. The leader gave
the girls a paper that explained a puzzle in which the girls had to
give letters a certain money value and come up with words that
equaled $1.00. Fran understood it perfectly, but invented her own
puzzle with words, where she took a bigger word and broke it down
into smaller words(she and I like to do this together at home!) and
gave those words values. When I was picking her up, the leader
called us aside and explained to "me" what the puzzle was all about
and that Fran did not understand. Later at home, after
> hearing the whole story, I understood that it wasn't herunderstanding that was lacking, but she explained to me that it
wasn't a puzzle that she wanted to do,so she had made up her own.
Why wasn't that acceptable? She further explained to me that the
troop doesn't run the way things run at home....she likes the
freedom she has here (her words!) The leader had told the girls that
they all had to do this one puzzle to work towards the badge and
that felt very stifling to her.
> We talked for a bit about the way the troop was run vs. ourway....and I told her that maybe what we need to talk about next is
whether being in the troop and doing the fun stuff outweighs the not
fun stuff. It would be her decision whether the troop was for
her. After lots of processing, she said that maybe one bad meeting
was too early to judge what to do. She also had the idea if there
were snacks (!), the meetings might be better!
> I guess my question is .....where do you think I should go withthis next? I want to honor my daughter's feelings about the troop,
but also want her to know that maybe the way it runs will never look
like what we do and can she (and I??) accept that?
> Thanks for reading......have a great Friday night!(6 months)
> Peace,
> Beth
>
>
> Unschooling Mom to Frances (9), Will (7), Catherine (2), and Grace
> www.6uvus.blogspot.com30+ countries) for 2¢/min or less.
>
> ---------------------------------
> Yahoo! Messenger with Voice. Make PC-to-Phone Calls to the US (and
>Unschooling Mom to Frances (9), Will (7), Catherine (2), and Grace (6 months)
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
www.6uvus.blogspot.com
---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Beth Fleming
Thanks, Melissa. I'll check out spiral scouts.....I've never heard of them before now. I think one of the problems is that I did have my own troop (or group...it was multi-age, all homeschool families, very family friendly)...and Fran loved it. I had to give it up b/c of bedrest with number 4 baby, and didn't feel like I could give it the attention it needed after she was born. Anyway, that was a year ago (!) and so we decided that she could try this new troop. She is the only homeschooler.....and I think is feeling the BIG difference between our lives, the life of our old beloved troop, and this new troop. ....we'll see how it goes...
Thanks for the ideas!
Peace,
Beth
Melissa Camoirano <veggiemommie@...> wrote:
We do Girl Scouts and Spiral Scouts(http://www.spiralscouts.org/
metadot/index.pl). I find Spiral Scouts to be much more unschooler
friendly and open, but we also do GS because they have opportunities
we would not have otherwise since they are so established and
recognized in the community.
Another thought is, you can switch troops, it's amazing how different
the GS experience can be from troop to troop, or even start your own
troop. If you have an unschooling/homeschoolong community, you can
have a troop just for them. Or if you don't, if you can get the word
out, you may be able to help create a community that way =). You can
contact your local council to find out how.
¸..· '¨¨)) -:¦:-
¸.·' .·'¨¨))
((¸¸.·' ...·' -:¦:-
-:¦:- ((¸¸..·'*
Blessed Be,
Mel
A persons freedom of learning is part of his freedom of thought,
even more basic than his freedom of speech. ~John Holt
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Yahoo! Groups Links
Unschooling Mom to Frances (9), Will (7), Catherine (2), and Grace (6 months)
www.6uvus.blogspot.com
---------------------------------
Yahoo! Messenger with Voice. Make PC-to-Phone Calls to the US (and 30+ countries) for 2¢/min or less.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Thanks for the ideas!
Peace,
Beth
Melissa Camoirano <veggiemommie@...> wrote:
We do Girl Scouts and Spiral Scouts(http://www.spiralscouts.org/
metadot/index.pl). I find Spiral Scouts to be much more unschooler
friendly and open, but we also do GS because they have opportunities
we would not have otherwise since they are so established and
recognized in the community.
Another thought is, you can switch troops, it's amazing how different
the GS experience can be from troop to troop, or even start your own
troop. If you have an unschooling/homeschoolong community, you can
have a troop just for them. Or if you don't, if you can get the word
out, you may be able to help create a community that way =). You can
contact your local council to find out how.
¸..· '¨¨)) -:¦:-
¸.·' .·'¨¨))
((¸¸.·' ...·' -:¦:-
-:¦:- ((¸¸..·'*
Blessed Be,
Mel
A persons freedom of learning is part of his freedom of thought,
even more basic than his freedom of speech. ~John Holt
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Yahoo! Groups Links
Unschooling Mom to Frances (9), Will (7), Catherine (2), and Grace (6 months)
www.6uvus.blogspot.com
---------------------------------
Yahoo! Messenger with Voice. Make PC-to-Phone Calls to the US (and 30+ countries) for 2¢/min or less.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
ccs2374
Beth, As a girl scout leader and a mother of 2 homeschooled girls (
not a total unschool family but would like to be) it is hard to
change between the two rolls. when I plan troop activities I always
start with the girls and asking what they want to work on which
badge followed by what elements should be done as a troop at
meetings. majority rules. if an element is asked to be done in a
certain way it should be , but if a girl would like to take it a
step ahead and do her own thing afterward I love the initiave. and
do like to see the end results. I would have listen to her more and
probably asked her to explain it to the rest of the troop. I wish
you and your daughter luck. I hope that she stick with the troop.
through the good times and bad alot can be learned.
Carolyn
--- In [email protected], Beth Fleming <momofwc@...>
wrote:
new Girl Scout Troop and today was her fourth meeting. She has
generally liked it, very happy with the trips, fundraisers, going
through the badge book with me and planning to do lots at home. She
was in tears after the meeting today....it had to do with a puzzle
badge that the troop is working on at the meeting. The leader gave
the girls a paper that explained a puzzle in which the girls had to
give letters a certain money value and come up with words that
equaled $1.00. Fran understood it perfectly, but invented her own
puzzle with words, where she took a bigger word and broke it down
into smaller words(she and I like to do this together at home!) and
gave those words values. When I was picking her up, the leader
called us aside and explained to "me" what the puzzle was all about
and that Fran did not understand. Later at home, after
wasn't a puzzle that she wanted to do,so she had made up her own.
Why wasn't that acceptable? She further explained to me that the
troop doesn't run the way things run at home....she likes the
freedom she has here (her words!) The leader had told the girls that
they all had to do this one puzzle to work towards the badge and
that felt very stifling to her.
whether being in the troop and doing the fun stuff outweighs the not
fun stuff. It would be her decision whether the troop was for
her. After lots of processing, she said that maybe one bad meeting
was too early to judge what to do. She also had the idea if there
were snacks (!), the meetings might be better!
but also want her to know that maybe the way it runs will never look
like what we do and can she (and I??) accept that?
not a total unschool family but would like to be) it is hard to
change between the two rolls. when I plan troop activities I always
start with the girls and asking what they want to work on which
badge followed by what elements should be done as a troop at
meetings. majority rules. if an element is asked to be done in a
certain way it should be , but if a girl would like to take it a
step ahead and do her own thing afterward I love the initiave. and
do like to see the end results. I would have listen to her more and
probably asked her to explain it to the rest of the troop. I wish
you and your daughter luck. I hope that she stick with the troop.
through the good times and bad alot can be learned.
Carolyn
--- In [email protected], Beth Fleming <momofwc@...>
wrote:
>that happened today with my daughter (10). She recently joined a
> Hello ,
> I wondered if I could maybe get some advice about a situation
new Girl Scout Troop and today was her fourth meeting. She has
generally liked it, very happy with the trips, fundraisers, going
through the badge book with me and planning to do lots at home. She
was in tears after the meeting today....it had to do with a puzzle
badge that the troop is working on at the meeting. The leader gave
the girls a paper that explained a puzzle in which the girls had to
give letters a certain money value and come up with words that
equaled $1.00. Fran understood it perfectly, but invented her own
puzzle with words, where she took a bigger word and broke it down
into smaller words(she and I like to do this together at home!) and
gave those words values. When I was picking her up, the leader
called us aside and explained to "me" what the puzzle was all about
and that Fran did not understand. Later at home, after
> hearing the whole story, I understood that it wasn't herunderstanding that was lacking, but she explained to me that it
wasn't a puzzle that she wanted to do,so she had made up her own.
Why wasn't that acceptable? She further explained to me that the
troop doesn't run the way things run at home....she likes the
freedom she has here (her words!) The leader had told the girls that
they all had to do this one puzzle to work towards the badge and
that felt very stifling to her.
> We talked for a bit about the way the troop was run vs. ourway....and I told her that maybe what we need to talk about next is
whether being in the troop and doing the fun stuff outweighs the not
fun stuff. It would be her decision whether the troop was for
her. After lots of processing, she said that maybe one bad meeting
was too early to judge what to do. She also had the idea if there
were snacks (!), the meetings might be better!
> I guess my question is .....where do you think I should go withthis next? I want to honor my daughter's feelings about the troop,
but also want her to know that maybe the way it runs will never look
like what we do and can she (and I??) accept that?
> Thanks for reading......have a great Friday night!(6 months)
> Peace,
> Beth
>
>
> Unschooling Mom to Frances (9), Will (7), Catherine (2), and Grace
> www.6uvus.blogspot.com30+ countries) for 2¢/min or less.
>
> ---------------------------------
> Yahoo! Messenger with Voice. Make PC-to-Phone Calls to the US (and
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
Michelle Leifur Reid
On 10/13/06, Beth Fleming <momofwc@...> wrote:
been perfectly acceptable. One of the things that was taught to us
when we went through leadership training is that variation of the
given requirements of the badges is COMPLETELY acceptable. It's not
about exaclty duplicating the badge requirements, it's about
understanding the subject!!
Someone else suggested finding a new troop and if coming to some
agreement with this leader is not working I would say find a new
leader. My girls decided a few years ago to quit GS when we started
unschooling. They felt out of place, different and thought too much
outside the box for GS. They still respect and remember fondly their
GS years, but we never found the same connection that we had with our
former troops.
Another person suggested Juliettes. If she still wants to do the GS
work but not do troop functions this is another option. If she is
wanting GS for the socialization then go for that reason and don't
sweat the badge work. If it were me and I would probably ask to speak
to the leader on neutral ground (maybe over a cuppa at Starbuck's some
day) and ask why your daughter's work was unacceptable as she expanded
upon the exercise that was presented. I would explain a bit about
unschooling and what it is that your daughter (and you for your
daughter) want out of it. I wouldn't completely give up on this
troop. You might be able to shed a bit of light for this Leader.
BTW, our troop did that badge once and we did NONE of the requirements
from the book. I had a wonderful co-leader and we came up with our
very own ideas!
Michelle
> Fran understood it perfectly, but invented her own puzzle with words, where she took a bigger word and broke it down into smaller words(she and I like to do this together at home!) and gave those words values. When I was picking her up, the leader called us aside and explained to "me" what the puzzle was all about and that Fran did not understand. Later at home, afterAs a former Girl Scout AND GS Leader I would say that it SHOULD have
> hearing the whole story, I understood that it wasn't her understanding that was lacking, but she explained to me that it wasn't a puzzle that she wanted to do,so she had made up her own. Why wasn't that acceptable?
been perfectly acceptable. One of the things that was taught to us
when we went through leadership training is that variation of the
given requirements of the badges is COMPLETELY acceptable. It's not
about exaclty duplicating the badge requirements, it's about
understanding the subject!!
Someone else suggested finding a new troop and if coming to some
agreement with this leader is not working I would say find a new
leader. My girls decided a few years ago to quit GS when we started
unschooling. They felt out of place, different and thought too much
outside the box for GS. They still respect and remember fondly their
GS years, but we never found the same connection that we had with our
former troops.
Another person suggested Juliettes. If she still wants to do the GS
work but not do troop functions this is another option. If she is
wanting GS for the socialization then go for that reason and don't
sweat the badge work. If it were me and I would probably ask to speak
to the leader on neutral ground (maybe over a cuppa at Starbuck's some
day) and ask why your daughter's work was unacceptable as she expanded
upon the exercise that was presented. I would explain a bit about
unschooling and what it is that your daughter (and you for your
daughter) want out of it. I wouldn't completely give up on this
troop. You might be able to shed a bit of light for this Leader.
BTW, our troop did that badge once and we did NONE of the requirements
from the book. I had a wonderful co-leader and we came up with our
very own ideas!
Michelle