It's nearing the end of the school year and a lot of troops are thinking about Court of Awards and end-of-the-year activities. I am thinking about my Daisies' first year as Brownies. I have an advantage in that this is my third go-around on Brownies. Each troop requires a different approach, though, and I thought I'd share the one we've put together for my youngest daughter's troop.

I have had some preliminary discussions with several of the leaders in my Daisy troop as to how to organize our first year of Brownies. A group of troop organizers has volunteered to put together a troop calendar. We already know we will retain our current days and meeting times. The troop will meet twice a month with one meeting devoted to a Try It (Brownie Badge) and the second meeting being a field trip or other activity that will be connected to the Try It.

Here are some examples:

* Manners Try It and a Mother/Daughter Tea
* Eco-Explorer and the Botanical Gardens
* Healthy Habits Try It and a trip to a dentist
* Puppets, Dolls, and Plays and a field trip to see a play
* Science in Action and Science Wonders and the Science Museum
* Watching Wildlife and a hike
* Space Explorer and a trip to our local space center
* Animals and a trip to a pet store or a vetrinarian
* Friends are Fun and a pizza party
* Dancercize and a dance studio to try out a dance class
* Careers and a trip to a mother's place of employment
* Eat Right/Stay Healthy and/or Make It/Eat It and a trip to a seafood restaurant featuring lobsters, a supermarket, or a fast food restaurant (not healthy!)
* GirlSports and any local gymnastics class or sports center or sports event
* My Body and a trip to a Pediatrician's office
* Penny Power and a bank field trip
* Safety Sense and a trip to a police station or hospital ER
* Sports and Games and a bike trek or ice skating
* Write Away and a trip to a newspaper office
* Caring and Sharing and a community service project
* Stitch it Together and a local craft store to complete a Sit Upon or other craft project
* Travel Right and a train trip
* Ready, Set, Go Camping and Outdoor Adventurer and a backyard camp out
* Around the World/People of the World/Playing Around the World and Thinking Day
* Creative Composing and Making Music and a concert

A full year's schedule will be planned by the troop organizers, and we will ask each parent/leader to volunteer to organize and lead one month of activities (one at-school meeting and one field trip combination). The co-leaders can choose from the pre-picked activities or if the choices do not seem to match their interests, they may choose another Try It/Field Trip combination. The committee will meet sometime in August to finalize the choices and the calendar, and we will confer throughout the year if changes need to be made.

In the Fall, I will provide "helps" for the planned Try-It activities for anyone who needs/wants them. There are many many resources on the web for this purpose.

Our new Brownie has a bonus too. The Junior troop will be working on their Junior Aide patch and will assist with 3 to 4 troop Try Its. Since my older daughter is a Junior, this plan works particularly well for both troops.

Brownies are also be eligible to sell cookies dependent on a volunteer to be cookie mom. In our set up, if a parent volunteers to be cookie parent, s/he will not be asked to volunteer to lead a month's worth of meetings.

Often forgotten, Brownies can also participate in the fall product sale (nuts, candy, other yummy things, and/or calendar). Last year, girls in our Council received a patch simply for selling one item and the troop received $1 per item sold. I actually highly recommend selling fall product because it's so easy. My older troop took a laid-back approach to that sale with each girl selling just a few things, and we made several hundred dollars.

Finally, on the "what to buy" score. I recommended to my Brownie parents that they purchase a Brownie vest that is at least a size medium (the small vest fills up quickly). I also recommend a brownie shirt and skort and a Brownie t-shirt or two. None of that is required however. Each girl needs a handbook and Try It book,

These items can be purchased at your local Council Shop, online from JC Penney's (you can usually get coupons for free shipping), or from a number of online Scout shops (I've found uniform items for as low as $5 and handbooks for as low as $1 online).

All of this sounds very organized, but if I can guarantee anything it's that things won't go as planned. I never fret about that only that if I ask the girls if they are having a good time that the answer is "yes."