The Ultimate New Daisy Girl Scout Leader Checklist

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Congratulations! You have signed up to be a new Daisy Girl Scout leader and you are excited and nervous to get started.  While the first year is a learning curve, you can avoid some newbie mistakes by talking to your co-leader about the following topics.  Be sure to put everything in writing and send it to all of the parents in your troop so you have a paper trail and no misunderstandings.

Sibling Policy 

There is a very strong likelihood that some of the girls in your troop will have siblings both younger and/or older. What should you do with them?  In this blog post, I go into a lot of detail about this issue.  What you permit now lays the groundwork for the future, and once you start with one way, it is hard to undo later down the road.

Dues

In the beginning, your need for items is small.  There are so many things that you can do for practically nothing! Crafts from recycled materials, free field trips to the police station or to the firehouse, you can definitely get by with little during your first year.

Dues should pay for petals and fun patches, and any craft materials you will be using.

How much in dues you collect depends on the makeup of your group.  One check at the beginning of the year should cover your expenses.  I always asked for $25 during the Daisy years, and increased the amount to $30 for Brownies.

Whatever you do, do not ask for weekly dues. This creates more work for you. What happens if a girl misses a week because her parents forgot?  What is the policy if she is sick and misses a meeting? 

One check for dues, one trip to the bank and you are done.  You can budget better knowing how much you have to spend at the beginning of the year.

Uniforms

What kind of uniform do you want the girls to have?  It does not matter if the girls wear a vest or a tunic-let them choose what they want to wear.  That is all that is required. My girls wore a white shirt and jeans as well, just because they all had these things in their closet already and they looked so darn cute!

I have always been a firm believer in parents buying the uniforms for the girls. Why?  Because if a girl decides not to return for your troop or to Girl Scouts, you are out the money you give them for the uniform.  If a parent buys it, they are out the money. 

Snacks at Meetings

Should you serve snacks at meetings?  I wrote about this in detail on my main Girl Scout blog.  You can read about it here.

Drop Off and Pick Up Times

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Having parents come on time so you can get the meeting started is imperative.  It is not fair to make the girl who arrived on time wait for the others.  Having a “sponge activity” (something easy to do that relates to what the meeting is about) for the early arrivals keeps the girls engaged and out of trouble.

If a meeting is supposed to begin at 6:30, that is when you start it!  Do not wait because you are teaching the parents that it is okay to be late and that your time is not valuable.

Prompt pick up times are also a must. You have a life as well, and you need to leave and get home to your family.

You need to have a written policy that is signed by the parents so that they know you mean business.  I am not talking about the parent who was late only once, but someone who is habitually late. You need to have an action plan for this parent.

I hope this checklist gets you on the road to fun and productive meetings!