Panera Bread Program: Bakers In Training

Lately, I've been trying to come up with new things for my troop to participate in. When I found out about the Bakers In Training program at Panera Bread, I jumped on it. You can check here to see if there's an offer in your area.

I originally set up a date that turned out not to be a good day, but it was easy for me to email someone in charge and change it around. It was a great experience!

When my troop arrived, there were place settings with a hat and apron. The girls were so excited! Set up in groups, they were able to go in the back of the kitchen. They rolled two pieces of dough and scored the top while the manager put each tray in the oven.

While the girls waiting for them to bake, they had an opportunity to decorate their own cookie. My girls didn't like the frosting much, so not many of them ate their cookie. They were also given a choice of white or chocolate milk.

The manager then brought out their trays and my troop picked out which one of the two baguettes they wanted to keep and which one they wanted to donate. Panera Bread donates their leftovers to a shelter! Each one was given a certificate and we ended out event with a huge thank you! A few ordered a bite to eat, but majority left for the night. It was great experience that I hope we can do again once the girls are older.


A fun patch was also included, but those come at a later date, given that we have to email someone to let them know we participated. 








Pros:

• A lesson on donation
• Hands on learning
• Huge participation skills
• Fun Patch included
• Well worth $20 each child

Cons:

• No privacy (We sat in open seating)

I did not see a problem with sitting in the open area, but it began to get a bit crowded, especially when others were trying to find a place to sit themselves. I even caught a few people put in headphones while trying to work (Sorry!).

Recruiting Girl Scouts

When finding girls to be in your troop, things could get hard. After all, you don't know what to expect or even what to do. It intimidating; it's definitely confusing. A lot of things can factor in when doing -  main one being where you live. I've known service units being as big as having 500 plus girls and I've heard of some having no more than 10. The bigger the city, the more girls. Don't let anything get you down though. Juliette Low started her troop with 18 girls and now look as us!

The first important step (if your service unit doesn't already have something set up) consist of finding girls for your troop; Recruitment. Now, the Girl Scout year is from October 1st to September 30th. So you'll want to factor that in when recruiting potential girls. You can speak to the principal in your district and ask if you could hand out flyers to each classroom or maybe set up a table with freebies and a sign up sheet during open house. You can also hang flyers around your neighborhood (with permission) or set up your own table around a popular spot. The point here is to get the Girl Scout name out there and get girls interested!

When recruiting, remember the very first level of Girl Scouts are Daisy's; Kindergarten and 1st grade. You'll want to make things easier on yourself, especially if your new to this, and only recruit Kindergartners for your troop. That way, they all bridge and move up at the same time. Just don't turn away others who are willing to join! Make sure you know where they can go and the troops information.

If you're feeling brave (like myself), you can recruit any girl no matter which level they would start at. It takes more planning and time - you might even have to do separate meetings, but if you put your mind to it, you can accomplish it. (Don't let anyone tell you that you can't. Isn't that the point of Girl Scouts? Showing them they can achieve anything they put their heart into?) I started with a troop of K and 1st, and since they all moved up in grade level, two of them became Brownies. So I went from an entire troop of Daisies to four Daisies and two Brownies (1st and 2nd graders).

There's also the power of Social Media! Create photos or google Girl Scout logos and post them everywhere. And I mean everywhere! Ask your friends to share the post. Trust me, the power of the media is real. I recruited two girls because of Facebook and all I did was message two old high school friends of mine and ask if their daughters were interested in joining (they were going into 2nd grade so it turned out perfect for me). 

Once you have girls that are interested, be sure to have forms and cards handy. These should always be with you. I keep some in my purse! Cards also hold my name, email and phone number so I can easily hand them over to anyone who asks. Don't be shy about it! You never know who's too shy to ask you either. Give those cards to everyone you're trying to recruit (I've recruited one girl this way). Trust your instincts and remember... "She believed she could, so she did." R.S. Grey

Good luck!! 

Have an idea for recruitment? Leave a commnet down below and you could be featured in a future post of mine!




Don't forget to subscribe and follow!

How To Get Started

So you decided to make the plunge and volunteer. Awesome! Now what, you ask?

First thing's first, you need to register.

When you visit the Girl Scout of USA website, there will be a "Join" and "Volunteer" option in your upper right hand corner. To begin, click on "Volunteer" and you'll be asked for your zip code. This is so you can be put in the correct council that you are closer to.

You should be taken to a page that tells you why you should volunteer. In the upper left hand corner, you'll notice a slight change. You are now on the council site of Girl Scouts that you will be volunteering in.

On this page, you'll find links on how to volunteer and the different ways you can work yourself into a troop, along with the kind of training you would need for certain types of volunteering. Make good use of these links; they'll help you out a ton.

Once you go over everything and have a clear decision on wanting to volunteer, go ahead and click the link and fill out the form.

 Next, you'll be asked to search for a specific troop or troops in your area. There will be plenty of spots available. If you're unsure of what you'd like to do, you can pick that option and describe why. You can then fill out another form and register as a member of Girl Scouts!

 All that's left is to pay the annual membership fee, which is $15. In 2017, price goes up to $25 in some councils for both adults and girls.

Afterwards, you wait for the email about completing a background check. This is pretty self explanatory. You'll need a social security number. Asurint is the name of my councils provider. They will check "names, aliases and address history affiliated with a SSN as it relates to established credit items such as property records, utilities, etc. Asurint also checks the SSN number against the Death Master Index to determine if that it is an active SSN and does not belong to someone deceased etc." It's pretty serious stuff. After all, you're being put in charge of the safety of other children. In my council, a background check is required every two (2) years and doesn't cost a cent. Every council is different. Keep in mind, it usually takes 3-5 business days to process and you can not hold meetings until then.

But that's it! That's everything. Once you get processed and approved, it's time to start getting to meetings and helping those little girls become strong women!

I wish nothing but greatness to come to your troop and may the odds be ever in your favor!

First Meeting Jitters

Without a doubt, there will be some kind of nerves or fear when it comes to your first meeting; especially if you're like me and get really bad anxiety just thinking about it. Speaking in front of a group? Nope. Not my thing. I'm pretty sure I barely passed my Speech class back in high school. That is, before I became a troop leader.

I held my first meeting ever on January 19, 2016. The girls colored while I spoke to the moms about the girls' uniforms and the upcoming cookie season. That was it.

Horrible, right?

Give me a break! It was my first meeting and I didn't know how to make the whole thing my own. I did what I was told to do. That's usually how the entire rest of the school year went. There were tours and special speakers but all in all, it was probably more boring than anything. To me, anyway.

The girls loved coming to meetings though. I would hear stories from their moms on how excited they were to come back and that alone put me in a better mood! The moms even told me how happy there were to learn I was taking over. I realized that it doesn't take much effort to make these little girls happy and, immediately, I started to change the way I held a meeting.

So here are my top 3 personal tips for getting over that social anxiety.

Here's a quick tip: If you're a parent following your daughter to meetings, a quick compliment will always keep your troop leader going. The long nights planning and stress of getting everything together makes her WANT to do it instead of feeling like she HAS to do it. So if you ever have a chance, let them know how great of a job they're doing.

Back to topic...


One: You can not make everyone happy.
When you plan something, have it in the back of your mind that everyone will participate. Don't assume one girl (or all) won't be interested and change your plans. After all, YOU are the teacher. Remind your Daisy that if she doesn't want to do the work, she won't be able to earn the patch they're working so hard to get (that will boost her up real quick). Scouts love their patches!


Two: Don't panic.
My first three meetings were disastrous. I wasn't prepared. Sometimes I was missing something or it didn't work out the way it was suppose to. But do you think the girls noticed? Of course they did! BUT make a joke out of it. These little girls are looking up to you and if they see you panic or get frustrated, they will get in the habit, too. Instead, we want them to learn that things don't always go as planned and it's okay. Another option is to meet the parents before you meet their daughters. This way, you can get an idea on what to expect and also have a chance to get to know your parents and let them know what your expectations are as well.


Three: Remember, you're new and still learning.
I went a little crazy thinking about how my first meeting was going to be. My anxiety was so far out the roof, I'm pretty sure others thought it was a shooting star. After a couple of months, I got the hang of things and realized what my girls were into, what they hated and what they really wanted to do as scouts. Don't compare yourself to others who have been in the game a lot longer than you have. Learn from YOUR troop and be the best you can be to them.


If I can give you any other type of advice? HAVE FUN! This is the most important part about Girl Scouts. This is the one reason why girls join in the first place. They want to go camping, take trips, sell cookies and even wear that uniform! Fun is the first thought that comes to mind if you ask any of my girls how their year went. "It was so much fun!"

And because of that, I can't wait to start planning the next year.



Next week's post: Registering as a Troop Leader!

Join Today!

Before I Begin...

Let me just say, I had no clue what I was getting myself into when I decided to become a Girl Scout Volunteer for my daughter's troop. The service unit had no one able to fill the role in the first place and when a mom in our troop decided to try it out, she had stepped down only three months in. (In her defense, she had a lot going on.) So what happened when I told my daughter we wouldn't be doing Girl Scouts anymore? She suggested I take on the role after the service unit manager asked if I would like to fill in. What did I say?

"Suuuuuuuree.... I did two years of scouts back in the day. How hard can it be?"

Some of you are laughing at me. What would I know? But my daughter really wanted to do it. Being that I have Bipolar Disorder, I was worried that I do a few weeks of leading and step down myself. It's a habit of mine. My husband and I decided this would probably go very well for me though since I would deal with different things along the way. So I agreed to be my daughter's Troop Leader.

It hasn't been easy, especially when I have my days when I want nothing to do with anyone and stay in bed all day - even more now that I work full time. But let me tell you something, the look on those little girls faces when they accomplish a goal of theirs or earn a patch? Worth it. Completly, totally, 100% worth all the stress and chaos that has to do with being a Troop Leader.

I started with 5 Daisy's in January 2016. In September, I'll have 4 Daisy's and 2 Brownies. It's going to be tricky. It's going to be hard. I might pull out a lump of hair at times. But I'd do for many more years (as long as the girls will register) to see those smiles and get those hugs.

Tag along with me as I discover news things and ways to make things easier on you and your troop. Let's figure this out together.