Juniors and Brownies: A Blended Troop, Part One

During the 2013-2014 school year, I was a leader for two different troops.  There were eight Brownies in one troop and five Daisies in another troop.  The older troop generally met on the first and third Wednesdays of the month while the younger girls usually met on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month.  We combined the troops for service projects and special events.  Unfortunately, due to various circumstances, we decided to disband the Daisy troop at the end of the year.  

Three of the girls in that Daisy troop are the younger sisters of girls in the older troop.  After being apart for one school year, these three girls have gotten back together and joined the older girls' troop.  We now have a blended troop of five Juniors and three Brownies.  

The Juniors started this year by meeting every Wednesday in September to work on the aMUSE Journey.  We invited the younger girls to the first meeting in October.  This was the official start to our year. 

Though the girls are all familiar with each other, we began the meeting with a variation of this M&M icebreaker.  I gave each girl about a dozen M&Ms.  They were allowed to eat all but one.  They each answered a question that corresponded to the color of the M&M they had left in their hand.  Here are the questions that were asked:

• Red:  If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?  Why?
• Orange:  If you were going to eat one last meal, what would it be?
• Yellow:  If you were an animal, what kind of animal would you be?  Why?
• Green:  What do you want to be when you grow up?
• Blue:  What is your favorite subject in school?  Why?
• Brown:  What is the best gift you've ever given someone?

We then asked the older girls to take turns reading The Brownie Story to the younger girls.  I provided the version included in the Brownie Girl's Guide to Girl Scouts, but there are several creative skits and ceremonies that revolve around this story that can be found online.  Then the girls lined up in two lines facing each other, and the younger girls walked through the tunnel.  They each had the opportunity to "twist and turn" and "look in the water."  

We spent the next several minutes watching the Girl Scout Law Song on YouTube.  After running through the video two or three times, the girls knew the song...and the Girl Scout Law!  

At this point in the meeting, the Juniors were given time to finish painting the scenery for the puppet show they had written during the aMUSE Journey.  The younger girls made a new kaper chart for the troop, making sure to include kapers the troop decided upon together.  This concluded our first meeting together as a blended troop.  Thanks for reading!