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Camping and Girl Scouts go hand in hand. It was one of the goals of founder Juliette Gordon Low that girls learn outdoor skills-and camping with your troop encompasses the original mission statement of the movement.
As Juniors, your girls should have a lot of say in planning their camping trip. Use the Junior Girl Scout Camper badge guidelines so your troop can add another skill badge to their vest or sash.
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Step 1 Start Planning Your Adventure
If your local Service Unit has a Camporee, you will probably be able to fulfill the requirements quite easily. The date has already been selected so that part is done. If your troop is going it alone, then you will have to devote a meeting to discussing this new adventure.
Before the meeting, you will want to send out two dates that work for both you and your co-leaders for the parents to select for the trip. Majority has to win, because you will never find a date that works for your entire troop, and the most important schedule to be considered is yours!
At your meeting, ask the girls what they want to do while they are camping. When my troop went, they wanted to learn archery and earned their Cadette badge for learning this new skill (which fulfills the second requirement).
Plan your packing list and menu. To avoid drama, plan on meals that everyone will eat with a peanut butter and jelly alternative. The only thing you need to be conscious of are girls with food allergies and plan around that.
In an email, send the detailed list of items needed to be packed as well as meals being served to parents.
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Step 2 Gain a New Camping Skill
This is something that your troop and you need to decide. Will there be someone with you to teach you the skill or will your co-leader and you need to be the guides for it?
Step 3 Find Your Inner Camp Chef
It is not unreasonable to ask the girls to cook their own meals, after all, this is one of the reasons you go camping!
You can Google for hours or you can pick up one of these inexpensive cookbooks and have the girls help select the recipes according to their tastes and skills.
You can Google for hours or you can pick up one of these inexpensive cookbooks and have the girls help select the recipes according to their tastes and skills.
Girl Scout Camping Meal Planner for All Kinds of Eaters and All Scout Levels
I created this guide because there is a lot of debate on how to handle the different likes and dislikes that the girls in your troop have. The girls need to be fed in order to have the energy to camp. This meal planning guide can be done with your girls.
The third choice is to make a Meal on a Stick, which can be a hot dog or S'mores.
This cookbook covers all kind of cooking styles.
Step 4 Try a New Activity
Again, this is something to discuss and vote on during your meeting. Then arrange for it to happen!
Step 5 Head Out on Your trip and Have Some Nighttime Fun
You troop finished all of the activities. Dinner and snacks are done. Night has fallen. What's next?
Night activities!
Here are some items to have on hand.
Glow Sticks
Glow Sticks
Here are some glow stick and flashlight games for you to try:
Need bulk flashlights for your girls?
thank you so much! this is super helpful, i was wondering if you had a copy of the exact badge requirements? maybe we could communicate about that?
ReplyDeleteI am happy to have helped! The exact badge requirements can be found by doing a Google search. Many Councils put them online during the pandemic.
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