I love Cadette Essentials Training

It's true, I love the Older Girl age group!  So I have a BIG thank you to all of you leaders who survived Daisys, Brownies and Juniors with your girls. You have worked with them, loved them, coddled them and brought them to where they are now:  ready to be a Cadette.

I had a really great training the other night with only 5 leaders.  It didn't feel much like teaching. It felt more like a good chat for 2 hours in uncomfortable chairs at the Program Center.  4 of the leaders are current Junior leaders, so they're looking forward to the next level, getting ready.  And one leader who just jumped back into Cadettes after a long hiatus, to help a troop that lost a leader. She doesn't even have a daughter or granddaughter in the troop. But she does have a big heart, and she's ready to be the no-nonsense leader/advisor that those girls sorely lack.

So it was the 6 of us.  Chatting.  And I have to say, we all learned some things from each other.  And we all walked away with new things to try, new ideas on how to give more to the girls to do, and more courage that it was going to work out well.  

How to handle cell phones at meetings?  Trainer Barb has my favorite answer:  cell phones get switched off and put in a basket as the girls walk in the door.  If one rings out loud, Barb will go over, and text back, "so sorry, at a GS meeting."  She won't read the incoming message, but she'll send an outgoing one. I love it!  So, a leader asked last night, "so, has she ever had to do that?" I don't really know!  And I was at a fundraising luncheon today with 499 other women. The chair of the event said that if she heard a cell phone go off, the cell phone owner would have to pay $100 to get her phone back!!!  I loved it!  Each was a good solution, age appropriate and direct!!

How to do even handed ledger accounting?  How much goes to the troop's general operating fund? Should we collect dues?  Sashes or vests for the new Cadettes? Should we buy handbooks for each girl?  How will we know when our girls are ready for their Silver Award Projects?  Can the girls raise extra funds?  Can the troop help fund the project? Can we really do a different troop government?


Great discussion and solutions.  Yes, I love Cadette training!!!  Hats off to all of you Cadette Advisors who are making a difference in middle-schooler's lives.  You are giving those girls the opportunity to grow, learn, make mistakes and discover who they are in the safe GS environment.  


Thank you!  We couldn't do it without you!!!

Cadette Leaders

Thank you for being Cadette leaders!  These girls are a challenge, that’s for sure!!!  And I mean that in a good way….

Most of you leaders have been working with these same girls for years now.  You’ve seen them grow from enthusiastic little Daisys into happy Juniors, and now you’re going to go to go through an even tougher transition.  To Cadettes and Middle School!

As you make the transition from Juniors to Cadettes, remember that this is when you turn ‘em loose!  You’ve led them through badges and Bronze Awards, and now YOU get to let them take their next big steps in taking control of their Girl Scout experience.  Not all at once, but piece by piece.  THEY get to plan the menus, timeline, activities, etc. for your next overnight. THEY get to check the Safety Checkpoints….even more so than in Juniors. By the time they’re 8^th graders, they’ll be champs!

So, enjoy it!  You survived letting them plan in Juniors, a slow, painful process at the beginning.  Now reap the benefits!  Model new behaviors, but sit back and let them do it! This is also when it’s great to have a new troop government structure, so that the girls can work with their BFFs and also apart from them.  Where the girls have structured some social time as well as work time to get it all done!

It’s a time for them to try new ideas, to fail, to succeed and above all, to have fun and LEARN. To Discover, Connect and Take Action.