June/July 2005 Volume 31 Issue 6  

Leaders' TIPS

With Beth Watkins

Fun in the Sun

Now that summer is here, and you are taking a break from the regular routines, please don’t take a complete break from Girl Scouts. Summer is the perfect time to do some of those activities that you didn’t have time for in the school year.
Summer is a great time to take the girls to Galveston for a stroll on the Strand, and a free ride on the ferry boat. Watching the dolphins off the bow of the ferry is a really great experience. Let the girls dress up in fun Victorian outfits, complete with sun hats and parasols and have ice cream on the Strand. You could take a picnic and utilize one of the many public spaces in Galveston. Maybe a mother/daughter activity would make it a really fun day.
If Galveston is not your thing, then take in a few nights at Summer Carousel or time at Whispering Pines. Camping in the summer is a whole different experience, and a great time to introduce your girls to homemade, hand cranked ice cream.
Don’t have an ice cream freezer? Well, how about an ice cream sundae party for the girls and their moms? Have the girls wear their favorite outfit and put on a fashion show for the moms. Or, better yet, have the girls conspire with dad to get one of mom’s outfits and model it!
Have your girls ridden the Houston Metro Rail, yet? It’s a fun, inexpensive activity that the girls will remember for a long time. You can start out at the Fannin Street stop (where the train originates) and ride it all the way up to the UHD campus. Have a nice lunch at one of the fun restaurants at the Preston Street stop, or a picnic lunch in Tranquility Park, plus a walking tour of downtown and then a train ride back to the start.
Maybe you just want to have the girls over for a plain old gabfest. Teenage girls really like to kick back and just talk, fix each other’s hair, and paint toenails. Give them the time to just be themselves. Follow up with a late night bowling tournament.
Whatever you do over the summer, make sure you keep in touch with your girls with at least one fun activity so that they really want to get going full speed when school starts in August.

Take Those Trainings Now

GSSJC offers all levels of training in the summer so that you can have a jump start on your girls’ new program level. Taking that required Brownie Girl Scout training in June will sure make the first Brownie meeting of the fall go much smoother.
Do you know what a learning petal is? If you have just returned to the Daisy level after several years in other levels, you will want to take Daisy Girl Scout training to catch up on the new things for our youngest girls.

New Junior Girl Scout leaders will want to get the newest program plans for our 4-6th graders. Keys on how to deal with the pre-teen will be invaluable as your girls grow up. And, with all the changes going on for the teenage girls, you will certainly want to take “teen advisor” training to keep up.
You can’t be a truly fantastic leader if you do not keep up with the program for your girls through the great trainings offered through GSSJC.

Coming Soon for a Junior Girl Scout Near You

With the great success of the “Take Note” GSSJC Choir, we have decided to begin a chorus for Junior Girl Scouts. “Quarter Notes” will begin in the fall with rehearsals planned quarterly. This chorus will be for all 4th-6th grade girls in GSSJC. Unlike “Take Note” which is an audition only choir for 7th-12th graders, “Quarter Notes” will have no auditions, but there will be a $10 annual program fee to cover costs for music, mailings and a chorus t-shirt. Girls must pre-register to attend “Quarter Notes,” which will be a performing chorus for activities throughout the Council.
The rehearsal site is yet to be determined, but all information about “Quarter Notes” is in the Program section of this issue and will be available at MDC in July. Watch for it!

Have a wonderful and relaxing summer. You
certainly deserve it!