Motivating older scouts to stay can be a challenge. Here are 10 fun meeting ideas for Cadettes, Seniors and Ambassadors that are fun and engaging.
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Leaders of older girls know that once they hit the Cadette level (middle school), meetings full of crafts, songs and even an outdoor hike are no longer going to cut it. Many girls drop out at this age because not only are they busy with other activities, but they also get bored. It is hard for leaders to make the meetings girl led when attendance is spotty and Girl Scouts is at the bottom of the activity list.
Badge work is boring when it is too similar to school work. When I see photos of graduating Ambassadors, I am often drawn to their vests. Oftentimes, it is not as full of badges as Daisy, Brownies and Juniors. For leaders who want alternatives to badge work, this blog post, 10 Ideas for Older Girl Scouts Who Do Not Want to Earn Badges, can help the girls decide what they want to do.
What is a leader to do to motivate older Girl Scouts and why not just throw in the towel? This blog post, 5 Reasons to Keep Your Older Girl Scout Troop Together, will give you reasons to keep on going.
Sometimes, motivation comes from doing something different than you already do. Here are 10 meeting ideas for Cadettes, Seniors and Ambassadors that are fun and promote sisterhood.
Potluck Dinner
Instead of you planning the meeting, have the girls sign up to bring their favorite dinner dish. Create a SignUp Genius, which will include an allergy list so the girls know what to avoid. You can provide the salad, dessert and beverages.
Sweets Buffet
Girls love to snack and graze. Why not have a sweets buffet? You can select one food category, such as cookies, bakery items, candy, chocolate or ice cream.
Make Your Own Pizza
This is was always a favorite when my kids invite kids over to eat. Buy premade pizza dough and provide various toppings. My troop did this one summer as they completed the Mission Sisterhood Journey.
Photo from Canva
Baking Together
In this blog post, I shared a community service baking project that my girls did every year until Covid hit. If you do not have an organization who will accept your donations, then the girls can bake and make sweets for their family and friends. Provide bakery boxes for them to decorate and distribute. They come in various sizes.
Movie Night
Find a childhood favorite and provide the snacks. If showing at night, have the girls come in their pajamas. Have them bring their favorite pillow, blanket, and stuffie.
Craft Night
What would the girls like to make? Take a poll and get the directions and supplies.
Photo from Canva
Game Night
Depending on how large your troop is, the girls can bring in their favorite games to play in groups. Larger troops will need to play in stations.
You can also play Minute to Win It games. You can find many ideas here. You can ask the girls to bring in the items for one game and you provide the items for a few others.
Another fun game for tweens and teens is “Would You Rather”. Here is a sampling of what you can find online.
For fun, you can play childhood party games like:
- Hot potato
- Freeze dance
- Pin the tail on the donkey
- Musical chairs
- Balloon relay races
Spa Night
The lives of our teens are far busier than ours were. Why not do a self-care spa meeting and have the girls relax!
The girls can make DIY face masks, lip gloss, essential oil rollers, and do mani-pedis.
Scrapbooking Night
If you take pictures during your meetings and outings, set aside a meeting to make a scrapbook of the year’s events. I did this for years and my daughter, who is 22 as of this writing, will still take out her scrapbook from time to time and look back at her scouting years.
Photo from Canva
Have a Tea Party
This is a fun idea where your girls will bake scone and cookies, tea sandwiches, and then sit down to tea. For a craft, the girls can make their own fascinator, like in this tutorial.
What kinds of fun meetings do you have with your older scouts?