The Girl Scout Adulting 101 Patch Program for older scouts from the GS Nor Cal Alumnae is just what the girls need to get ready for the post high school part of their lives. Here is how they can earn it.
The past two years have really been a challenge to everyone. Our children, especially the older ones who remember their lives pre-pandemic, have not had the chance to learn things they would have had life not been turned upside down.
Add into this the fact that so many teenagers spend their lives studying or trying to be the best in whatever sport or activity in which they participate, their parents fail to teach them life basics. And if you do not thing that is true, join the “Grown and Flown Parents” Facebook group. There is frequently a thread on “parenting fails”, such as not knowing how to address an envelope to mail, not knowing how to open a can that does not have a pull-tab, and not knowing how to pick up a prescription.
What is the Girl Scout Adulting 101 Patch Program?
The GS Nor Cal Alumnae have put together a patch program that is meant to be done over the course of time. It is not a “one meeting and done” kind of program (which make sense because life is not “one and one”).
The purpose of this patch program is to engage older Girl Scouts (Cadettes/Seniors/Ambassadors) in preparing to be on their own – in short, how to “Adult”. Once girls have completed steps to earn all the rockers, they should have the basic knowledge needed to live a successful life, whether the are going onto higher education, trade school, the military, taking a gap year or heading out into the workforce.
These activities can be done as a whole troop or as an individual activity.
What the Girl Scout Adulting 101 Patch Program Teaches
There are 4 key areas to becoming successful adults:
Life Skills
Public Life
Financial Life
Personal Life
Each section has 4 rockers, so there are 16 activities in total. The girls can do four small tasks or one large task to earn the rocker. There are official Girl Scout badge tie-ins to many of these rockers.
There is a free printable version of the requirements. You can find it here.
The full patch set is 5.5″ in diameter and contains 17 patches. Click here to see a photograph of the actual patch set.
To find out more information about his wonderful program, check out the program here.
Ordering information can be found here.
What do you do with your girls to prepare them for the future?
I have been looking for something like this for a few years now. This is just about everything my girls want/need to learn (with some adaptations – public transportation isn’t really a thing here in rural Florida).
Aimee, I am so glad that I could help! I wish this was around when my troop were Cadettes and up. And it is so simple to implement and teaches so much. Let me know how it goes!
I love these lesson plans. But since I don’t live in your counsel, the center circle badge would be a problem for us. Would it be possible to get a Centre Circle without your counsel name on it?
I do not make these patches, I am just sharing a great program available to older scouts. The name cannot change because an organization created this program. Personally, a different Council name does not bother me because patches come from all over. Girls visit places out of state and will wear a patch from that adventure. You could always order one and try to pick out the stitching.
Hi
Love this idea! I told my daughter about it a couple of days ago, and she’s now helping with several “adulting” activities and is very motivated to get the patch. For example, she replaced a fuse in my car to fix the tail lights, and she stained a door an unfinished door. These aren’t on the list, but I’m wondering if there’s a way to expand the list or if there’s an “other” for some of the tasks. Or perhaps, there’s a way to just use the 4 categories for the badge and self-monitor the activities and count them based on the overall category? Appreciate the feedback. Lynn
Lynn, I appreciate your comment! I have always believed in the “spirit of the badge”, since not all activities are possible, nor are the girls necessarily interested in the offerings. Since there is a segment for the car, in my opinion,she qualified for that rocker. You can do it your way based on the interests of your daughter. Enjoy doing it!