Five Simple Things Junior Girl Scouts Want

Exuberant and curious, 8- to 11-year-olds are eager to explore the world beyond themselves.

By Patricia J. Paddock

What keeps girls 8- to 11-years-old involved in Girl Scouts? According to their leaders, Junior Girl Scouts want five simple things—whether they live in a city, the suburbs, rural areas, or are stateside or overseas. Girls love:

Being Active

Junior Girl Scouts like doing things. The girls in Jackie's troop who are based in Slovenia through USA Girl Scouts Overseas are pretty typical 8- to 10-year-olds. "They like horseback riding, camping, hiking, and attending events throughout the city," she said. This trend toward action is shown by the fact that Fun and Fit, Camping, Swimming, and Theatre were among the most popular Junior Girl Scout badges in 2004.

Going Places

Junior Girl Scouts love to expand their horizons. Jill's troop in Marietta, Georgia looks for any excuse to take a trip. "If there's a badge workshop they can attend, they're really happy," she said. "It's a field trip for them; they get out, see new people, work with girls from other troops and groups, and have fun."

Charlotte, a leader of USA Girl Scouts Overseas in Singapore, agreed that trips are high on her girls' lists too. "They like any 'outing-based' activity," she said.

Making Decisions

Junior Girl Scouts want to choose what they do. Leaders need to guide the girls by providing them direction, not control. As Martha, a leader from Switzerland confesses, "It's a struggle for me. I'm basically a control freak and I have to suppress it. I realize that the girls need to make their own decisions—even if they aren't the ones I want them to make."

Jill thought that her troop would like the holiday tour at the governor's mansion. But the girls had other ideas: they decided on a badge workshop on architecture instead. "That's something we had no idea they were interested in," Jill said.

Another activity Jill's girls decided not to do was an extra money-earning activity. Once the girls found out about the details—booth fees, start-up costs, etc., they had second thoughts. Instead they put their energies into selling more Girl Scout Cookies®.

Monica has found that by giving the girls in her Marietta, Georgia, troop leadership opportunities, everyone benefits. "With only nine girls, the girls decided to forgo the patrol system, and to have two officers (president and secretary/treasurer) who serve a two-month term," Monica explained. Every two months the troop is voting for new leadership. "When it comes to choosing troop activities, she said, "we let the officers know about upcoming opportunities and they narrow the choices down to three or four which the rest of the troop votes on." Monica continued, "Sometimes, the officers have to make independent decisions. And as voted-on representatives of the troop, they can do that."

Running Things

Junior Girl Scouts want to be in charge, and great leaders find ways for that to happen.

"As Juniors, they think bigger—bigger than their families, bigger than their schools," said Sharon, a Girl Scout leader based in Geneva, Switzerland. "They don't just want to pretend to be "bigger"; they want to BE bigger. They're looking for challenges—and Girl Scouts can offer them that."

The 18 girls in Sharon's troop take advantage of the patrol system—a method that affords leadership opportunities to girls as they take on the roles of "patrol leaders." "They make the big decisions—which badges and what activities to do to earn those badges—as a group," Sharon explained. "Then I meet with the patrol leaders and give them tools to facilitate that activity with their group." These tools have included tips for the patrol leaders on how to get around potential stumbling blocks so every girl feels good about her participation.

This is especially important as Sharon's group is based at an international school where not everyone can read or write English. This method helps everyone follow the directions more easily.

Having Fun

"The girls want to do what they think is fun," according to Jill. "We thought a hay ride was fun. They informed us just how wrong we were!" The girls decided that hanging out with no scheduled activity would be more fun.

Leader Jackie agreed. "Having fun is the most important reason girls join, and stay, in Girl Scouts." It's also why leaders stay involved, too. "Junior Girl Scouts is fun for me," said Susan. "Because girls are older and I enjoy the activities more."

Tracy, a leader in Saudi Arabia, summed it up when she said, "Working with Juniors is what I've been waiting for since the girls were Daisies. They are so much more independent and able to do so many more things now. I love watching them grow."

Adapted from LEADER, Spring 2005. © Girl Scouts of the United States of America.