|
|
|
|
Is my daughter ready to spend the night at the campout?
These excerpts from a Leader FAQ should be helpful!
Preparing your Troop
How do I know if my troop is ready to spend one night or two nights? Or, one night at all?
Progression, progression, progression! Preparing your Troop for a camping experience, or any outdoor experience.
What is progression in Girl Scouting?
In Girl Scouting, program is built on the concept of progression. This involves acquiring the skills needed to progress to more difficult or highly skilled activities. Girl Scouting provides girls and adults with experiences that start with simple tasks to gain confidence and move towards those of more difficulty which require more complex skills. The Girl Scout program is designed to provide for progression in skill development and experiences.
Why is progression important?
Individuals vary in their emotional and physical abilities based on the experiences they have had with their family and friends. Progressive learning helps a girl build self-esteem and confidence. Progressive experiences help a girl to learn at her own comfort rate and skill level. This encourages a girl to feel accepted by the group. By having new adventures that are exciting, a girl can test the limits of her skill and feel a sense of accomplishment. Activities provided in a progressive manner often will increase the rate of a girl’s success around a given interest or activity.
What is progression in the outdoors?
For girls with little outdoor experience, progression starts with activities in a familiar outdoor environment such as a backyard or local park. Progression in the outdoors means that a girl learns simple camping skills and participates in introductory outdoor activities before going on an actual overnight camping trip. For instance, a girl would learn simple knots before starting a macrame project. Or, a Girl Scout troop would take a walk to a local park and backpack on trails at a Scout camp before progressing to the Appalachian Trail. There are easy, simple, and fun activities and experiences that a troop leader can provide to get the girls ready to go camping. Here are the suggested steps for progression in the outdoors:
Meet in – discuss types of activities that can be done outside.
Look out – talk about what things the girls see when looking outdoors.
Meet out – spend a portion of the troop meeting outdoors.
Walk out – take a short walk around the local neighborhood. Observe and discuss.
Hike out – take a planned hike at local site. Take a nosebag lunch.
Cook out – visit a local park or campsite and cook part or all of a meal outdoors.
Camp in – stay overnight in a cabin or other indoor facility.
Camp out – plan an overnight camping trip in a cabin, tent or other established shelter.
Tent out – plan on overnight camping trip in a primitive or backcountry site. Girls pitch their own tents.
Pack out – Hike on long trails. May include pitching own tents along the trail.
How do I know if each girl is ready to spend one night or two nights? Or, one night at all?
Girl readiness means that an individual girl is prepared for a particular activity, such as going troop camping. Readiness is based on her physical and social maturity plus her abilities, skills, and knowledge. Each girl’s initial level of readiness is determined by her previous experiences with her family, cultural group, neighborhood, or Girl Scout troop. Each girl is ready for a troop camp trip if she:
is not afraid to be away from home
The troop leader or troop camp trained adult must recognize the comfort level of each individual girl. The troop leader or troop camped trained adult should provide activities to help each girl attain the needed level of competence to have a comfortable and enjoyable camping experience.
Camping Downloads
Camping Readiness - are your girls ready to camp (Some material does not apply to our Neighborhood Campout - like dishwashing!)??