PA Training is fun! Gee (Chris Grisey) has been delivering this training for many years along with a dedicated team of girl and adult volunteers. I am so happy to have a part in it this year!
We had our first session a couple weeks ago, and the 20 girls came ready to learn, make new friends, work together and have fun.
The training really works well and shakes up the day. There is some sitting at the table, taking notes and participating in a group discussion, but there's also a really strong interactive component that keeps the girls moving. Plenty of different group participation.
One of the things we talk about in Cadette Essentials training is how important it is to let the girls who are in a troop/group with their BFF have time with her at the meetings. But at the same time, for the working part of the meeting, it's best to shake it up and not always pair up the BFFs. That's something that Gee really takes to heart in the training: girls have a chance to work with every girl during the day. Sometimes with a simple count-off, and sometimes by type of name tag, or favorite color. All the girls worked cooperatively.
They also received their own binder of information to keep, along with handouts and notes that they could add. Personal expression was encouraged, and those crayola markers got a work out! Each girl was able to personalize her own experience.
The only part that felt a little flat to me, was the GSLE piece. It was my job to deliver that, and I didn't connect with the girls about it! At all! Very frustrating! We moved on, but it's been bugging me that this very key element of the Girl Scout program didn't resonate with the girls. I'm still working out how to address it better for next time.
These girls are a product of GSLE! And by taking PA training, they truly are stepping up to the leadership part of their journey, by leading younger girls in Day Camp. We're training these girls to be leaders, so key! But when I talked about it, and handed out the outcomes page, it just died.
If your girls are coming to the next PA Training sessions, rest assured, they will have a GREAT time, a wonderful experience, and they will learn somethings. They will also have a better connection to the GSLE Outcomes page, or my name isn't Sneetch!
