I lead a Daisy-then Brownie-then Junior troop for 6 years with between 19 and 22 girls.
It was fabulous getting to know all the girls in my girls' class and great to work with many of the parents. At the same time, I found parts of the GS organization a pain in the arse!

If you decide to do it-
1) get a co-leader. It is nice to have parental help, but you really need someone who is going to be there for the planning, meetings, paperwork etc.
2) Get another parent (remember it doesn't have to be a mom) who will be the cookie parent.
3) Have meetings every other week. Weekly is just too much with busy lives.
4) Remember you are a volunteer. If anyone doesn't like the way you do it, quit!
5) Make sure you get a list of email addresses for easy communication. Maybe even set up a facebook page. You don't want to call all the members for reminders, changes, updates etc.

We kept our dues very low and our expectations even lower. Tho' we did some crafts, more often our meetings worked toward a badge but often took 2 meetings to earn it (esp. as juniors).

Our meetings were right after school so we provided snacks, but again, very simple. Fruit, pretzels, cheese and water to drink.

We must have made the girls happy, as I said, we had between 19-22 girls every year.

My beef with the GS organization is the training. I found it boring, mostly useless and very time consuming. I am a nurse and our post grad training is mostly "read a pamplet, do a post test" I couldn't believe they expected me to give up Saturdays to listen someone tell me how to run a bridging ceremony.

On the other hand, the monthly meetings were very helpful I received info on the many, many offerings from both GS and the comunity. We saw WICKED in Chicago for $8/ticket. We vixited museums, had special tours, learned about different cultures etc. I found hints from other leaders much more beneficial than the training sessions.

Good Luck. It is work but you will never regret the time spent with your daughters and their friends.
I even had one former girl ask me to be her confirmation sponsor because she felt she could always come to me for advice.


Judie and Victor
lucky parents to
Frankie 3/95
Maggie 7/96
Rose 7/96
Elizabeth 7/96