Activities for 10 year olds

[Glenn]

My daughter's troop does mostly crafts each and every meeting. Is this typical for a Girl Scout Troop for 10 year olds (sorry, not sure what she is called - Cadet, Junior, ?). Also, at what age do they begin camping?

 

Thanks in advance.

[rlculver415]

I began camping as a GS when I was in third grade (I was a Junior Scout). It was weekend camping at established scout camps, not wilderness stuff. I heard Brownies also camped out some, but I couldn't join them due to a lack of B troop in my area.

 

While we did crafty stuff at meetings that was certainly not all we did, nor even the bulk of it. Each month we had a theme and did activities that went along with that theme. Usually we had earned a new badge by the end of the month.

 

Now, I can't say what things are like in girl scouting nowadays (this was almost 40 years ago), but I don't believe GS would regress to only crafts in meetings. I am wondering if your daughter's leaders have been trained? Would they welcome suggestions for meetings from the girls or their parents?

 

In my 10 years as a Girl Scout, I changed troops every year. I say this so you realize that I just didn't have exceptional leaders in one locality. I did belong to one troop that did an awful lot of crafts, but they made up for the sameness of the meetings by selling these crafts to fund a trip to Our Chalet to ski.

[Glenn]

Thanks for the reply. I also received a private message detailing what the GS program should be like.

 

I will most likely ask the leaders if there is anything I can do at the meetings to encourage a bigger variety. My daughter likes to camp and would enjoy this type of activity also.

 

Thanks for the information.

[ScoutNut]

Like just about everything in Scouts there should be a progression involved. They should start out in Kindergarten doing day trips only, go on to overniters in a GS lodge or cabin, move up to adarondacks then platform tents, and finally end up tent camping and backpacking. A group of 10 year olds (5th/6th grade?) should be doing at least some kind of cabin camping by now. Of course these things all depend on the interests of the group. If the majority of the girls hate the thought of camping this could put a damper on things!

 

Also - the biggest question that comes to mind - has anyone in the troop taken camping training or first aid training? Your Council probably requires both a camping and first aid person (sometimes more than 1 depending on the # of girls) in order to be able to go camping, even at a GS lodge. If the problem is no trained people, then maybe you could volunteer to take the camping and/or first aid training!

 

Good luck! My girls (11th grade) LOVE camping!!

[SagerScout]

At 10, they are Junior scouts, and yes, lots of Junior scouts camp. The suggestion to get some training and volunteer to go is a really good one. In my council, you must have both a Troop Camp Leadership trained person and a trained first aid person to get a camp permit, and they cannot be the same person. If the leader doesn't have that second person lined up, with signed training card in her possession, her hands are tied. She CAN'T take them camping.

 

The most worrisome thing in your post to me is that it sounds as if the leaders are planning the meetings. At Junior level, the girls should have at least half of the "say" on what the troop is doing.

 

Do you sit in on the meetings? Do the girls decide what they're going to work on next, at least in general outline? Have you any chance to go to the service unit meetings to see what the service unit is up to?

 

[yarrow]

I have had Webelos dens and Girl Scout troops of various ages. If you have a Junior Girl Scout 9,10,11 and sometimes a little on either side.......think Webelo. That is about the age level and activity expectation. My troop of 8-10 year olds does some crafts. They like them. Some community service, not quite as fun. A little bit of leadership. About 10 -15 badges a year......think Webelo pins. They also camp. We camp in lodges, platform tents and pitch our own depending on the site. I recently took about 1/2 the troop to a state park with a wonderful trail system (at about 9000 ft elevation) and pitched tents. They cooked and slept out (no pads) for two nights. We had an all day hike with minimal whining, orienteering, crafts, cooking, ecology work, future planning and fishing. The troops are what ever the girls want and what the troop leader....think Den leader because that's the size, wants to do. Because of the size of a Girl Scout troop there is a problem of variety. With a bigger group you can have those that want to do leadership and community service, those interested in camping and those who are badge collectors. Ideally you can do it all in a small troop but only if the Troop leader is interested and willing.

[MomScouter]

I have a troop of 9 year old (just bridged) Juniors. We camped at a council camp this summer. For September we have planned: Work on Girl Scouting in the USA badge. Go to a 'grape stomp' and visit a vinyard. Make grape jam (all part of our councils 'grapes' patch). Go to a nature preserve for a Wildlife badge workshop and then hike the trails. Plan the next few months and brainstorm ideas for the year. Do a service project recording childrens books on tape to donate to a hospital or day care. Pick a country and begin learning about it for our 'Tasting Tea'. Hey we left out crafts!!! I guess we have no time for that this month!

[SagerScout]

Oh, and I don't know if my council is special this way, but we have tons of really cool council-arranged events that we can choose to attend. Usually they're pretty cheap, and generally pretty fun. From the lazy leader standpoint it's fabulous - most of the hard work is arranged. Be sure to actually READ the program guide, if one comes home. I send them home with my girls who apparently promptly trash them, so we read it in meetings now.