Here are 15 tried and true ways to handle cliques in your Girl Scout troop from other leaders. This will help girls be a sister to every Girl Scout, not just their BFF.
As a teacher, it was my job to teach the 4 R’s-Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, and Respect. Starting on the first day of school, I told my class that they while they did not have to be friends with everyone in the room, they had to respect everyone in it. No nonsense would be allowed or I would call their parents after school.
As a Girl Scout leader, you will find that even the youngest girls will want to only hang out with their friends. This can be disastrous for your troop dynamics. If girls are feeling alienated by their peers, they may not find being a member of your troop a fun activity or a safe space.
This issue did not arise in our troop until we were 6th grade Cadettes. Most of this was due to the fact that our middle school divided the grades into teams, and half of the girls were on one team and half on the other. Everyone having a phone did not help, and we put an end to that right away (I shared what we did on this blog post).
By 7th grade, these girls left our troop and we became a very tight knit group of five who were very invested in scouting.
If you are having issues with cliques in your troop, here are suggestion from your fellow leaders that may help you out.
15 Ways to Handle Cliques in Your Girl Scout Troop
- Assign seats to the girls so they are sitting with different people at each meeting.
2. Put Pixie Sticks, colored craft sticks, or rubber bracelets in a brown bag. Each girl pulls out a color and that is the table/group she is assigned to for that meeting. The bracelets can be worn during the meeting and handed in as part of clean up time.
3. Put names on craft sticks and place in a paper bag. Pull out three names, that is Group One. Pull out three more names, that is Group Two, etc. You can also use this for carpools or taking turns with something.
4. Count off…Have the girls stand in a line and count off 1-2-3-4. Assign the numbers or groups of numbers to a group. Friends tend to stand next to each other. If the girls catch on and try to stand every other person, then mix up the numbers so that they
5. You assign the pairs or groups for each meeting. It makes it easy for you to separate girls who need it the most.
6. Break the badge work into stations and then assign girls to the station.
7. Tape a number at each spot at the table. As girls come in, they will place their hand in the back with a craft stick with that number. That is their seat for the meeting.
8. Draw cards from an Uno deck to make groups.
9. Girls can sit with their friends during snack time (if you have one), then assigned groups for scout work.
10. Do team building activities instead of badge work or as a part of your meeting.
11. If the girls are from different school, permit only two people from each school at one table.
12. Use the term “sister scouts” as part of your meeting language. Not all of your girls are going to be friends, but they are ALL sister scouts and need to treat each other accordingly when you are meeting.
13. Remind the girls that Girl Scout time is a time for everyone, not just time with their best friend. This is an opportunity to learn and grow with each other as a troop. They will be sharing communal memories (camping, selling cookies, field trips) with this group of girls, not just one or two people.
14. Be direct. Tell the girls it is fine to have a best friend. While we are in our meetings, we are friendly and respectful to everyone. We follow the Girl Scout Law.
15. If cliques persist, then it is time to speak to the parents individually. No one wants to hear that their daughter is not being kind to others.
What have you done to handle cliques in your Girl Scout troop?
