Next year I will finally be taking the plunge with my Junior troop and doing a Journey with them. Readers already know that I have not been a fan of the new program, but if we want to earn the Bronze Award, then we must do one.
My question is for all levels of leaders, which Girl Scout Journey did you do and did you enjoy it? Any tips or tricks to help out other leaders?
I would love to hear from Junior leaders who have been there/done that. I want to make this short and sweet so we can focus on the big goal of earning the Bronze Award.
My only recommendation is that you don’t start with the Agent of Change, or at any level with the “It’s your world” ones. The other theme’s seem to be better written and easier to work with. Once you’ve done one of the other two, then look at the “It’s your world” one. You’ll have a better grasp of how to improvise and personalize it, and what the Journey idea is about, and the fact that that series isn’t as easy to follow won’t matter as much.
Thank you so much for that important information! I am at a crossroads right now, as I have not done a Journey at any level.
In the same boat… Going with aMUSE I think as it appears to be the easiest to “pull out” the information for personalizing….
That is one that I bought the book to last summer. I am going to see what information I can find about it.
I am a leader of a junior troop and a daisy troop. I am not a fan of the new program either. I notice that the girls get a kind of glazed over look whenever we have to do some of the things. We did the Get Moving journey book. I started following what they lined out but it felt too much like work, so I tailored it to our interests and it went a little bit better. I only did one journey so we could work on our bronze award next year.
I am going to spend my summer looking for the shortest and most painless way to get through a Journey. All suggestions are welcomed!
Every journey has 3 parts: Discover, Connect, Take Action.
Every Journey has a key theme:
Its your world – change it! = community issues
Its your planet – love it! = environmental issues
Its your story – tell it! = self esteem issues relating to social media
IMO: avoid the books! Let the GIRLS guide your take action project… Ask them what is important to them and find a way to mold it into one of the journey key themes and then follow the 3 steps to a journey… Viola they’ve earned the journey
Let me break down the Juniors Agent of Change Journey… (This is all you really need to know as a leader, be creative and let the girls guide the journey, not the book)
This journey is about improving their community.
The power of one award is earned when they DISCOVER a woman in their world who has mobilized others to make a difference and how her story relates to the Girl Scout law.
The power of team award is earned when they CONNECT with an issue in their community and plan to do something about it.
The power of community award is the award for completing their TAKE ACTION project (doing something to change their community for the better).
Journey earned 🙂 Really you can earn the entire thing in one project, if you teach your girls that journeys mean they DISCOVER, CONNECT & TAKE ACTION… My daughter enjoys the books, there are activities and work pages and stories in them so they are not a waste to purchase just don’t let the book tell your girls what to care about and what to change, they will learn more if its something that THEY FEEL STRONGLY ABOUT 🙂
Thanks for the helpful information!
Let me go further and give you the themes for each journey at each level:
Its your world – change it!
— community issues (complete a take action project that:…)
Daisies: discovers themselves and their values)
Brownies: discovers the meaning of taking action and explores leadership.
Juniors: discovers the power of working as a team
Cadettes: discovers true friendship
Its your planet – love it!
–environmental issues (complete a take action project that:…)
Daisies: protects a local treasure
Brownies: protects water
Juniors: protects energy
Cadettes: protects air
Its your story – tell it!
–self esteem issues (complete a take action project that:…)
Daisies: shows how good it feels to take care of animals and yourself
Brownies: helps girls understand they are not alone there is a large world of girls who feel the same way
Juniors: teaches how to avoid stereotypes, try new things and that girls can do anything.
Cadettes: gives an understanding of media and its good and bad influences in our lives.
Good Luck! I hope this is helpful in some of you trying those journeys with your girls after all 🙂 as always I recommend you “teach the theme and only use the book as a leader guide!”
Wonderful and helpful hints! Many thanks!