Except for maybe piano lessons, of course. Those cost too much, so Girl Scouts was what I did.
I stepped back in time last week and talked to a Brownie troop about the 3 generations of Girl Scouts in my family!
I had a lot of fun with these energetic young girls, and showed them my mother's handbook and sash from the 1950's (dues was $.03 per meeting back then!) It was "show and tell" with lots of other memorabilia, including my Junior Girl Scout uniform, and items from my daughter's days as a Girl Scout as well.
I shared my 3 FAVORITE THINGS from scouting:
1. SONGS - silly and serious! I remember singing while doing crafts, riding on the bus to camp, and around campfires. Songs with hand motions, songs with harmony - I loved them all!
2. CAMPING - Day camps were great, but as I got older and got to spend the night, it was even better! I remember a time in 6th grade as a Junior Girl Scout when we got to make our own tents out of a tarp and a rope. It rained of course, and our sleeping bags got soaked! We had to dry them out on the grass the next day. That was one campout I'll never forget!
3. EARNING BADGES - My absolute favorite badge to earn was the CYCLIST badge. I had to plan and carry out a bicycle trip. My Dad went with me and spent the entire day riding around Edmond with me. We stopped at my elementary school to play on the playground. We ate a picnic lunch on the grounds of UCO, we went to Braum's for ice cream, and stopped at a bookstore, where he bought me a comic book. I loved that day!
Something occurred to me after reflecting on all of this: How much Girl Scouts contributed to my spiritual life! Singing PRAISE songs, seeing God in NATURE, and nurturing RELATIONSHIPS with each other. So, just a thought about the extracurricular activities our children are doing: Will this contribute to their spiritual life? Are they learning skills that will help them later in life? Are they working with others or just developing themselves? Are they being encouraged to do good deeds? I don't think ALL the activities my children have been involved with have been beneficial to them spiritually. And I just have to wonder, are most activities today SELF-SERVING? Just something to think about...
5 comments:
Love it! They enjoyed your visit so much! Kayla has been working up plans for a bike trip with Cory ever since! I agree about how the values they'll learn in GS will intersect with their Christian walk! It's been a wonderful experience so far! Thanks for sharing yours!
very good point. I loved Girl Scouts when I was a child.
I think it is really cool that you still have a lot of GS stuff.
Thanks for affirming what I am doing as a GS leader. I did 4-H growing up which is similar, but some days as GS leader, I don't have a clue.
Robin, thanks again for coming and sharing with our girls! They enjoyed it, as did the moms. The girls really liked the grandfather's chest song! I agree with Amy, thanks for affirming why we do this -- it takes time and effort, but is well-worth it. The GS promise still has "God" in it -- "On my honor I will try to serve God and my country, to help people at all times and to live by the Girl Scout law". Service to God, helping others, living by the law which is full of quality character traits. This is all my girls are doing for extracurriculars at the moment. It is worth it. Marcus' scout troop is collecting food this weekend for the Hope Center. They were picking up trash on 15th street a couple of weeks ago. Our GS troop is going to be doing some service projects and team building in the future as well. You are right -- it's not "all about me", and we have to help our kids demonstrate that in their lives as well. Thanks again for coming! You are welcome any time!
Great thoughts! How neat to get to share your past experiences with the girls. I'm sure they enjoyed it!
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