Photo credit: Seemann from morguefile.com
I have been teaching for 27 years, so for me, my internal clock says “vacation” once the month of June rolls around. Before I had kids I worked in an office and tutored during the summer, but once they arrived, summer became a time just for us.
My troop has always met twice a month from October to May, except for April, when Spring Break cancels one of our meetings. To be honest, the extra time off really recharges my batteries for the last two meetings we have. Combine spring fever, the impending close of the school year and the joys and freedom that summer bring, I get the itch to see the end of the scouting calendar.
I invest a lot of personal time in each meeting, just as those of you who are reading this do. With June to September off, I have more time to work and play. My life does not revolve around the first and third Fridays of the month.
My children attend day camp, so meeting over the summer does not personally work for me. Several other girls in my troop also attend day camp, while others travel, compete on swim teams, and go on frequent family outings to pass the summer days away. Having a meeting in July or August would mean that most of my girls could not attend.
If we are not bridging, then one of our last meetings is a party. We have had pool parties at my co-leaders home and this year we are going to Pump It Up as our end of the year treat.
I am wondering if any of you meet over the summer and if you do:
1. Do you have your meetings during your regular time?
2. How often do you meet?
3. Are you earning petals and badges or just meeting for fun and continuity?
We meet over the summer, typically twice a month. I do fun activities and last year we just worked on a pedal too.
Do you have a full troop for these meetings or just a handful of girls? Do you make plans according to how many girls you have…if a girl misses a petal meeting, how can she make it up if her family is on their summer vacation?
Hi, i’m a Leader in Australia so we don’t have quite the same situation as you do in the States with our seasons and holidays. From Feb to December we meet once a week during the school term, which is approximately 40 meetings a year, not including any weekend events.
We don’t meet over our summer either (I completely understand your need for a break!!), but that is only a 5 – 6 week break depending on the Leader. I was wondering, do your girls often not return after such a long summer break? We often have one or two not return after our summer, so I can’t imagine what would happen with such a long break! I’d be worried about starting back without any girls!
Thanks for sharing. I find the different ways units/troops run their programs in different countries really interesting.
Wow! A reader from Australia!
I have had the same group of girls since kindergarten. I do not lose them over the summer…the ones who have left told me in the spring by our last meeting. I actually added two more girls this year. Of the other 9, five started with me in kindergarten, 3 in first grade and one in second. Since we meet directly after school, the girls stay with me as this makes it easier on the parents. And Fridays are not typically a busy lessons/sports day in my area until the girls are in middle school.
Thank you for commenting!
We meet once a month – sometimes to do a badge or journey in day OR for summer campout/BBQs. Last summer we did a backyard campout in June, pool party in July and parade in August.
That sounds like a very doable plan and a lot of fun for everyone!
Junior troop of 5 girls: We do not meet in the summer. The other leader is gone about every other week during the summer and our community library host daytime activities that the girls are very involved in.
I love the unstructured time summer offers. Although it had crossed my mind in the past to have the girls just get together for the fun of it, I really do enjoy not having to be in charge of anything over the summer. If a place like the library has activities,then an email can go out saying that this would be a fun activity to do so everyone can see each other.