Girl Scout Records

I got a call today from a leader asking me how on earth kept track of who did what.  She was trying to do a spreadsheet and was getting lost in her own details.  My answer is that I use G-Scoutmate software. It allows me to track badges and other awards, service hours, and, perhaps most importantly, banking.  When it comes time for me to do my financial reports, I just print out reports from the software, fill in the Council's form with the numbers and voila... done.

As far as badges, you can input requirements done for multiple girls at one time.  I find it useful to flip through the girls' records periodically to see how far away they are from completing badges.  The software update also includes Journeys, although the software makers must have been as perplexed as everyone else where they are concerned.  The Journeys are listed but without requirements so all you can do is mark off if and when a girl completes a particular Journey.  There is no way to track what steps girls are taking along the way.  The bronze, silver, and gold awards likewise have not been updated.  They still have the old requirements contained in the software.

One thing that I like about the program is that you can print off reports that detail every accomplishment a girl has completed.  I do this every time a girl leaves my troop for whatever reason.  Eventually, I will be giving all my girls a copy for use in writing their college applications.  The software can be purchased at your local council office.  For more information, check here: http://www.kscgroup.com/products/gscoutmate.html

A quick search around the web suggests that only G-Scoutmate has even started to generate trackers for the new program.

If you aren't computer savvy, the old standby are paper trackers.  Pinterest has a lot of sources for page trackers.

Feel free to leave a comment and a link if you have a tracking resource.

Badge Areas of Concentration

What was once old is now new again. GSUSA revamped their badge books and one of the components is a set of badges that girls can work on continually as they advance through the years, creating a core set of skills. The core areas to be covered by badge work at each level include the following:

1. Artist
2. Athletics
3. Citizen
4. Cook
5. First Aid
6. Naturalist
7. Girl Scout Ways
8. Outdoors
9. STEM

These nine areas echo some of the old core programs, such as the "Worlds to Explore," which included the World of Arts and People, the World of Today and Tomorrow, the World of Well Being and the Out-of-Doors.

My immediate thought was "thank goodness, something to work on that is NOT a Journey." My second thought was that this list represents a fair representation of the kind of practical skills that all young people should learn. These two positive thoughts led to a third though, namely why do the new Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards require something as useless as the Journeys when they could include a solid foundation of skills in various areas as represented by this list?

The one area that was missing from what I would call the Girl Scout core when this program was rolled out was camping and/or the out of doors. The wide-scale sell off of Girl Scout camp properties when this program rolled out signaled to many leaders a departure from a focus on the out of doors. It took a few years, but not only did the outdoors make an appearance as a core program but so did STEM. 

To return to the idea of what was old is now new again, my one complaint on that score is that, unlike Boy Scouts, GSUSA seems to believe that the wheel must continually be reinvented. I would instead argue that the wheel may need polishing and/or updating but the continual upheaval of the core program does little but enrage volunteers and distance those who value the traditions as set down by Juliette Low. That concern aside, I am hopeful that these new core badge programs will form a true core that will allow leaders to all but abandon the Journeys.

FAQs about Girl Scouts

How old do you have to be to be a Girl Scout?

Girls can become Girl Scouts when they enter Kindergarten.

Daisy Girl Scouts (grades K-1 or ages 5-6)
Brownie Girl Scouts (grades 2-3 or ages 7-8)
Junior Girl Scouts (grades 3-5 or ages 9-10)
Cadette Girl Scouts (grades 6-8 or ages 11-13)
Senior Girl Scouts (grades 9-10 or ages 14-15)
Ambassador Girl Scouts (grades 11-12 or ages 16-18)

Independent Girl Scouts (those without a troop) are referred to as IGMS (Independent Girl Members).

College-aged girls may also continue with Scouting by becoming a Campus Scout. Contact your local council for more information.

Are uniforms mandatory?

Absolutely not. At each level, it is best to own a sash or vest, but other items are optional. The new Girl Scout uniform, however, is easily purchased in that it consists of khaki pants and a white polo shirt. For more information see: Buying Girl Scout Uniforms

How much does it cost to be a Girl Scout?

National dues are currently $25. Each troop can set their own troop dues as well, but if there is a hardship, arrangements can generally be made through your local Girl Scout council. No interested girl should feel as if she can't be a Scout because of a lack of money.

Can a boy be a Girl Scout?

Well, yes and no. Girl Scouts was founded and continues to exist to serve the unique and individual needs of girls. Thus boys cannot be Girl Scouts but boys who identify as girls are also welcome.

Adult males over the age of 18 can join Girl Scouts. All troops must have at least one female leader to serve as a role model for the girls in the troop, but men can serve as co-leaders.

Are the Boy and Girl Scouts related?

The two organizations are related only by accident of naming. They are completely separate entities.

What is the Girl Scouts' highest award?

Girl Scout's highest award is the Gold Award. To earn it, a girl must complete the Silver Award or two Journeys and then carry out a service project.

Have another question? Ask me.

The Girl Scout Promise and Law

The beginning of the Girl Scout year is an excellent time to review the foundations of the organization, namely the Promise and the Law. New Daisy troops automatically do this because they are learning them for the first time and their petal project focus on the parts of the law.

After that first year, however, we don't necessarily dwell on the words and their meaning. If you've read some of my previous articles, you'll know that I believe that if you know the Promise and the Law, you know everything you need to know to be a Girl Scout. How you fulfill the promise and follow the law is an individual matter. For now, take a moment to reflect on the words as they were and as they are today.

The 1972 version is the "real" promise and law to me in that those were the decades in which I was a girl Girl Scout. The essence of what is said hasn't changed from the 1972 version, but my tongue still trips over the new words.

The Girl Scout Promise in 1912

On my honor, I will try:
To do my duty to God and my country,
To help other people at all times,
To obey the Girl Scout Laws.

The Girl Scout Laws in 1912

1. A Girl Scout's Honor Is to be Trusted
2. A Girl Scout Is Loyal
3. A Girl Scout's Duty Is to be Useful and to Help Others
4. A Girl Scout is a Friend to All, and a Sister to every other Girl Scout no matter to what Social Class she May Belong
5. A Girl Scout Is Courteous
6. A Girl Scout Keeps Herself Pure
7. A Girl Scout Is a Friend to Animals
8. A Girl Scout Obeys Orders
9. A Girl Scout is Cheerful
10. A Girl Scout is Thrifty

The Girl Scout Laws in 1920
I have found no evidence that the Promise changed in 1920

The Girl Scout Laws
1. A Girl Scout's Honor Is to be Trusted
2. A Girl Scout Is Loyal
3. A Girl Scout's Duty Is to be Useful and to Help Others
4. A Girl Scout is a Friend to All, and a Sister to every other Girl Scout
5. A Girl Scout Is Courteous
6. A Girl Scout Is a Friend to Animals
7. A Girl Scout Obeys Orders
8. A Girl Scout is Cheerful
9. A Girl Scout is Thrifty
10. A Girl Scout is Clean in Thought, Word and Deed.

The Girl Scout Promise in 1972

On my honor, I will try:
To serve God,
My country and mankind,
and to live by the Girl Scout Law

The Girl Scout Law in 1972

I will do my best:
to be honest
to be fair
to help where I am needed
to be cheerful
to be friendly and considerate
to be a sister to every Girl Scout
to respect authority
to use resources wisely
to protect and improve the world around me
to show respect for myself and others through my words and actions

The Current Girl Scout Promise

On my honor, I will try:
To serve God* and my country,
To help people at all times,
And to live by the Girl Scout Law.

The Current Girl Scout Law
Adopted in 1996

I will do my best to be
honest and fair,
friendly and helpful,
considerate and caring,
courageous and strong, and
responsible for what I say and do,
and to
respect myself and others,
respect authority,
use resources wisely,
make the world a better place,
and be a sister to every Girl Scout.

* The word "God" can be interpreted in a number of ways, depending on one's spiritual beliefs. When reciting the Girl Scout Promise, it is okay to replace the word "God" with whatever word your spiritual beliefs dictate.

The History of Girl Scouting

Girl Scouting began in the United States with Juliette Gordon Low, who was born on Oct 31, 1860. After meeting the founder of the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides, Lord Robert Baden-Powell, while on a trip to England, Juliette felt that girls in the United States deserved the same group structure.

Girl Scout historians recount the tale of a phone call made by Low in which she is believed to have said, ""I've got something for the girls of Savannah, and all of America, and all the world, and we're going to start it tonight!"

That night, March 12, 1912, Juliette's niece and namesake, Margaret Daisy Gordon, was the "first" member of the first troop in America, which began under Low's leadership in Savannah, Georgia.

Growth in the girl scouts grew at an astounding rate. In 1912, Low's troop had 18 members. By 1920 there were 70,000 girl scouts across the US. By 1930 this had grown to 200,000. The organization--Girl Scouts of the USA-- was chartered by the U.S. Congress on March 16, 1950, and by 1957, there were 3 million Girl Scouts. Today there almost 4 million Girl Scouts, and the organization remains strong.

The American Girl Scout organization belongs to a worldwide association of Girl Scouts and Guides. Over 80 countries worldwide have some sort of Girl Scout or Girl Guide organization. The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) owns and operates four world centers that are open to anyone who is a WAGGGS member.

Ding Dong! Girl Scout .... Nuts?

Did you know that Girl Scouts have a fall product sale? Cookies are generally sold around the country in the spring months. In the fall, however, girls hit the streets to sell things like calendars, Hot Cajun Crunch, Honey Roasted Peanuts, Peanut Squares, Chocolate Covered Almonds and Mint Melt-Aways, which are nothing like Thin Mints, so don't get your hopes up. Some of the items are usually packaged in holiday tins so that you can purchase items for gifts (delivery is before the holiday season begins, for that purpose.

Like the cookies, different areas of the country are supplied by different companies (Trophy Nut and Dayton Nuts are two suppliers used around the country; see the links). If Hot Cajun Crunch isn't on an order form in your area, then you're likely to see things like Deluxe Pecan Clusters, Peanut Butter Dreams, Island Fruit Mix, Peanut Brittle, Mint Trefoils (also not like Thin Mints), Honey Roasted Peanuts,  Peanut Squares, Trail Mix, Mixed Nuts, Gummi Bears, Chocolate-Covered Raisins, Chocolate-Covered Almonds, and Chocolate-Covered Pretzels. Some councils also offer QSP magazine subscriptions.

Unlike the cookie sale where there is a flat-rate for each box, the items in the fall product sale vary in price from $3 to $10. Like cookie sales, the nut/calendar/melt away sales teach the girls responsibility, goal setting, and people skills. Girls also receive incentive awards including things like participation patches, t-shirts, stuffed animals, and books.

Money earned through this sale is used by the troops to fund troop activities and by your local Girl Scout Council to fund large-scale activities and projects such as facility maintenance, equipment purchase and maintenance, financial scholarships for needy girls who want to be in Girl Scouts but can't afford dues, event fees, and/or uniform and insignia costs.

I know, I know. Girl Scout Nuts, doesn't have the same ring as Girl Scout Cookies. When that little Brownie knocks on your door, however, give her a break; it's not her fault the cookies aren't available until the spring!

The Cookie ManagerJob

Cookie sales are THE Girl Scout tradition. It's a major event that requires enormous volunteer efforts to pull off each year. At the troop level, it also requires a great deal of time and effort. An adult must attend training and coordinate all aspects of ordering and delivering for what can be hundreds of cases of cookies. Traditional troops (those with just two or three co-leaders) tend to tackle the challenge by recruiting a cookie manager/mom.
In practice, most cookie managers are moms, but grandparent and dads often serve as well.

In my troops, which are cooperative, one or two moms take on that role and do not do any other events throughout the year. Even at that, I am not sure it is a fair swap. Our cookie moms attend training and then teach or re-teach the girls cookie sale etiquette in December. In the process, it's often a good idea to focus on one of the cookie try its or badges, since they tend to focus on the exact things that need to be covered or reviewed. They also collect permission slips to sell at this point (very important to ensure financial liability is assumed by each girl's parent).

The girls sell with the help of their parents and then the cookie moms have to count and order for the troop. Their next job as cookie gurus is to pick up the troop's order and then divide it up so that each girl can collect her share. Collecting and depositing the money may seem to ensure that the cookie moms have done enough, but somewhere in the middle of delivery, the cookie moms also coordinate up to four cookie booths.

Cookie booths are when the girls, properly chaperoned, set up a table and sell cookies to the general public. The best places to do this tend to be outside grocery stores and movie rental spots. Our troop does just one cookie booth a year, and the girls seem to enjoy it a great deal. Our neighborhood cookie manager originally provided us with the right combination of cases to order to stock our cookie booth but over the years, we've come up with out own list of big sellers and order accordingly.

Not enough? Cookie moms also have to order, pick up, and distribute incentives (patches and prizes) after all the monies are turned into Council. Incentives are the easiest and most enjoyable part of the job, although it can be hard to look at the faces of those who did not sell enough to earn the treasured incentive.

Being cookie mom, in other words, is a big commitment that requires good organizational skills. It is an essential job though. Without a cookie mom, a troop cannot participate in the cookie sale.

The Basic Organizational Structure of Girl Scouts

When you're submersed in a topic, you sometimes forget that the basics as you know them are a mystery to outsiders or newcomers. Recently, I've outlined the basic structure of Girl Scouts several times. I thought it would be worthwhile to do that here as well.

The basic unit in Girl Scouts is the individual. Girls can and do join Girl Scouts independently and participate in activities and earn awards without any further organization imposed upon them. Girls who join independently are referred to as Juliettes or Independent Girl Members (IGMs).

At the next level is the organizational unit most are familiar with, which is the Girl Scout troops. Troops must have a minimum of five girls and two leaders. The maximum size of a troop is not set, but realistically once you go beyond 15 girls, the numbers become unmanageable. The number of leaders must increase as the number of girls increases; the exact ratios differ by age level as outlined in the Girl Scout Safety Points.

Troops are identified by troop numbers and can adopt a troop crest. There is no rule that states that girls must be the same age or grade level nor is there any rule that says girls in different levels of Girl Scouts cannot belong to one troop. For practical reasons though, troops are generally broken down along age lines.

Beyond the troop, most people are unaware of the organizational structure of Girl Scouts. At the next level up, there can be a fairly informal organization within your school led by a school organizer. Troops are then organized into neighborhoods. There is not set number of girls and/or troops that can be in a neighborhood. At this level, leaders tend to meet to exchange information and support large-scale programs. The neighborhood is generally led by an all-volunteer neighborhood service team. Neighborhoods have names to identify them, such as the Hilltop neighborhood in Minn-Ia-Kota Council.

Neighborhoods are organized at the next level into Councils. Your council is the first level of Girl Scouting that employs paid individuals whose job it is to support girls, leaders, troops, and neighborhoods within the Council. The Councils generally have offices for the service personnel and council shops where you can buy Girl Scout supplies. As noted previously, like neighborhoods, Councils are identified by names.

The level above Council is the national organization. The national GSUSA offices are located here:

Girl Scouts of the USA
420 Fifth Avenue
New York, New York 10018-2798

At the national level, a CEO is in charge of operations. There is also board of directors led by a president whose job it is to guide the movement. The board of directors is composed of 40 men and women from all over the country.

On a final note, Girl Scouts in the USA are also members of the larger World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS). There are international centers located around the world that are open to all Scouts and Guides.

Round Two of the Journeys

The first round of journeys had the tag line "It's your World: Change It" and received a mixed and often-cool reaction from experienced Girl Scout leaders. The second round has the tag line "It's your Planet: Love It." The focus of these journeys is the environment. For the Daisies, the program is described as follows:

Between Earth and Sky
The flower friends take a cross-country road trip that invites Daisies to explore what sprouts up across the country as they learn how to protect what needs protecting. As Lupe and her flower friends zip along in Lupe's petal-powered car the Daisies witness some wonders and woes of nature and are on their way to earning their Clover (Use Resources Wisely), Blue Bucket, and Firefly awards.

Uh, yeah. Your guess is as good as mine as to what that's all about, particularly the "clover, blue bucket, and firefly" awards. I suspect the girls will not be building flower cars, although that's what I envision when I read this description.

The second Brownie Journey has this description:

WOW!
The Brownie friends explore the Wonders of Water and Ways of Working as a team. Brownie ELF is back for the Very Wet Elf Adventure. In real life, the Brownies might just hold their own "Green-Tea" for the Blue Planet as they earn their Love, Save, Share and Wow awards.

This reads like a white water raft trip for the girls, ending with a tea party to earn something called a "Wow award." (And, yes, I know this is more likely to be about water conservation and water cleanliness, but that's not what it says, is it?) Unfortunately, there is nothing that even approaches the level of a run through the sprinkler for the Brownies within this journey, which is unfortunate, since the major complaint I have heard about the journeys is that they require too much sitting and reading and that girls don't like the "school-like" feel of them.

The awards associated with this journey are even worse than those outlined in the Daisy description. I can just imagine pitching a "Wow award" to potential Girl Scout parents versus the "Ready, Set, Go Camping" or the "Science Wonders" try its. At least with the latter, you have a vague notion of the topic.

The Junior Journey is described as follows:

Get Moving!
Girls explore the energy inside them, the energy used in their places and spaces and the energy of getting themselves from here to there. A new comic story "Vamos Ya!" will inspire the action (walking school bus, anyone?) and Dez, the fashionista spider, is back with some wit as she tries to figure out life "off the grid." Along the way Juniors can earn Energize, Investigate, and Innovate awards!

Dez, the fashionista spider, apparently is a new Girl Scout role model. Juliette Low is rolling over in her grave as the organization appears to have been trolling the Bravo channel on television for its ideas. The award names aren't getting any better as the girls age. The idea of earning something called an "Energize" award sounds like a ridiculous waste of time.

Breathe!
Cadettes engage all five senses as they clear the air—-their own and Earth's. While measuring air quality, and acting to improve it, girls also find their flair, think about "Hair," and perhaps try an eclair. From cigarette smoking to deforestation, they get an aerial view of many issues. As girls become more Aware, they Alert others, and then Affirm their impact as they add these three uplifting awards to their collection.

The majority of my girls are Cadettes and my stomach rolled over as I read this description. Try as I might (and I did), I couldn't get the girls interested in the first journey, and I actually thought its central theme of relational aggression was well worth discussing. I can only imagine pitching "find your flair, think about hair, and perhaps try an eclair" to them and offering up an Aware award. No way, no how are they going to go for this when they have camping, archery, climbing, canoeing, and community service as alternatives.

For Senior Girl Scouts the second journey offers this program:

Sow What?
Girls investigate the food network (No, not cable--the real one that gets each piece of food to the table). As they ponder the dirt on land use around the world (corn's a big issue) girls think about who and what they can cultivate en route to earning the Harvest Award.

If any leader is lucky enough to survive to the Senior level, this is one of the best journeys available. However, unless girls are working on higher level awards, I can guarantee you that the girls are not going to waste their time earning a Harvest award. They are focused on putting things on their college applications that have meaning. It's bad enough that the Girl Scout Gold Award, which at least has a respectable name, doesn't have the respect of the Boy Scout Eagle Award, but now we want our girls to go out and earn something called a Harvest award in lieu of something more substantial sounding, like the Gold Leadership Award? No, I do not think this is progress nor do I see this as an improvement over the old program.

Last but not least, the Ambassadors second journey description is as follows:

Justice
Through the ages and across the world, people have yearned for justice. And yet justice-for Earth and all its inhabitants—continues to elude us. As Ambassadors do the math and create their own unique equation for justice, they will find that they are also networking and gathering ideas for college and careers. Ultimately they can add the Sage Award to their list of accomplishments.

This top-level journey description is so vague as to be useless. Perhaps the point is to be vague so that to truly understand the journey, troops have to purchase the books. We did that as a troop for the first journey, though, and it was an expensive waste of hard-earned dollars. My fear is that girls are going to be forced to use these new materials either as pre-requisites to the Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards, but until that day, my troop won't even be glancing at these new materials anymore.

Girl Scout Cookies

Girl Scout Cookies, one of the group's biggest fundraisers, began in 1936. It only took 2 years before the group had sold a million cookies. Cookies were originally baked and "packaged" in the kitchens of the girls.

The official Girl Scout website offers this "early Girl Scout Cookie Recipe."
(recipe taken from: http://www.girlscouts.org/program/gs_cookies/cookie_history/early_years.asp)

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AN EARLY GIRL SCOUT COOKIE® RECIPE

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar plus additional amount for topping (optional)
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder

Cream butter and the cup of sugar; add well-beaten eggs, then milk, vanilla, flour, salt, and baking powder. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Roll dough, cut into trefoil shapes, and sprinkle sugar on top, if desired. Bake in a quick oven (375°) for approximately 8 to 10 minutes or until the edges begin to brown. Makes six- to seven-dozen cookies.

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Two baking companies currently produce the cookies - ABC/Interbake Foods and Little Brownie Bakers. There are always Thin Mints, Do-si-dos (the peanut butter cookie formerly known as the Savannah) and Trefoils (the "original" Girl Scout cookie). Thin mints are the most popular, taking at least 40% of the sales. The other cookie types vary, depending on what is of interest at the time. Thin Mints are the third-most popular cookie in America.


Current prices range between $4.00 and $6.00 a box. All profits from cookie sales go directly to the council in which the cookies were sold. A portion go directly to the troop that was responsible for that sale.

In addition to serving as a fundraiser, Girl Scout cookie sales teach young girls about responsibility, pride, setting and meeting goals, money-management, and communication.

If you don't want the calories but still want to help out that little girl at your door, ask her about donating some cookies; if you buy and donate, your purchase becomes tax-deductible.

On the other hand, if you can't resist eating them yourselves but are watching your waist, the Trefoils generally have the lowest calorie count per cookie. The chocolate-covered shortbread varieties have the highest. The chocolate peanut-butter patties, big surprise, have the highest fat content, and the lemon cookies have the lowest. Who are we kidding though? Just order the Thin Mints like everyone else!

Cookie Booths

Cookie booths are the fast and safe way to sell cookies in a time when many parents no longer feel comfortable sending their kids door to door.

When I was a kid, there was one way to sell cookies and that was to take my cookie sheet and go door to door, knocking on them all and asking whomever opened the door if they wanted to buy some Girl Scout cookies. I knew many of the occupants of the homes I visited. Customers often would buy a few boxes, saving some of their choices for the next Girl Scout to knock on their door. When I got older, a fellow Scout and I, frustrated with the low yield of these door-to-door sales, decided to maximize our sales in the minimum of square footage by hitting the local college dorm.

I lived in a small town in the middle of America, so I did this without so much as a chaperone. It wasn't until I hit the college dorm that I even went out to sell with a buddy. In fact, selling with a buddy was something I avoided at all costs, since having a buddy by my side or even on the same street would only reduce my sales!

My sales were pretty good with these methods. I seem to recall selling enough to earn the incentives of my choice, but for every ten boxes I sold as a kid, I may have had to approach 5-10 customer houses. These days, my two Girl Scouts can get a 20-box sale from one customer. Honestly, as the parent helping to deliver hundreds of boxes, I am relieved when a case or more goes to one address. Going back and forth to the same house six or seven times to deliver one box rapidly becomes tiresome because I no longer live in the middle of America and we no longer live in an age when our Girl Scouts can canvas the local neighborhood in search of sales without a parent or other adult chaperone in tow.

Many parents take the Girl Scout order forms to work, which is understandable since working parents have even less time than I do to go back and forth to homes to deliver with their Scouts. The problem that I have always had with this form of parental help is that it undermines one of the benefits of cookie sales, namely that the GIRL learns sales techniques and the GIRL earns money for her Scouting activities.

And, ok, as a child who did not have a parent in an office setting, I admit it... I always felt like those who sent their sheets to work with parents were somehow cheating. Fast forward to the present and I am relieved that office sales provide an avenue for selling that does not send my girls into the world to strange houses. However, despite my repeated offers, I could not convince my husband to wear a Brownie beanie as he peddled Girl Scout cookies at work.

To return to my main point, and the topic of this article, there is an option that does not require parents to don beanies and knee socks, that allows me to chaperone my girls as THEY sell, and that allows the girls to do the selling. That option is cookie boothing.

Cookie booths were not something we did in my town when I was a kid, but they are easily my favorite method of sales now. Where we live, we have a cookie booth goddess who coordinates booth dates and times throughout our metro area. General targets are grocery and video stores on weekends, particularly Friday and Saturday nights.

Once assigned a spot, we take some pre-ordered cookies and a card table and proceed to sell as many as 500 boxes of cookies in an evening. In finding some links for this article, I stumbled across a statistic that 85% of people will buy Girl Scout cookies if approached. That statistic goes a long way in explaining why we do so well with a card table of cookies set up outside a local grocery store and a small group of cherubic Brownies asking people to buy their Thin Mints!

The parents watch, encourage, and provide hints, but the girls do the selling, and the best part is that they wear the beanies (ok, I lie, few girls will wear beanies without a good solid bribe, but at least they do wear their vests!) Thus from my perspective cookie booths meet all the goals of cookie selling: the girls learn sales techniques, practice social and selling skills, and make the actual sales themselves.

Cookies through the Years

Girl Scout cookie offerings change every year and one of the most persistent questions I get is about what kinds of cookies were offered and when. This is going to be an ongoing article that I will update whenever I find new info on cookies through the years.

1930-1950
Commercial bakers were licensed to bake Girl Scout cookies beginning in 1936 and by 1948, 29 bakers were baking for the organization. By 1961, that number had dropped to 16 bakers and to four by 1978. Today, two bakers, ABC and Little Brownie Bakers, bake for the Girl Scouts. ABC has been baking Girl Scout cookies since 1939.

1951
Sandwich
Shortbread (ancestor to the Trefoil)
Chocolate Mint (ancestor to the Thin Mint)

1956
Shortbread
Chocolate Mint
Vanilla Sandwich
Chocolate Sandwich

1966
Shortbread
Chocolate Mint
Peanut Butter Patties

1974-1976 (Little Brownie Bakers)
Van'chos
Thin Mints
Samoas (chocolate, caramel, and coconut-covered cookie)
*Trefoils (shortbread)
*Do Si Dos (peanut butter patties)

1976-1977 (Little Brownie Bakers)
Van'chos
Thin Mints
Samoas
Trefoils
Do Si Dos
*Tagalongs (chocolate-covered peanut butter patties)

1977-1978 (Little Brownie Bakers)
Van'chos
Thin Mints
Samoas
Trefoils
Do Si Dos
Tagalongs
*Granola

1978-1979 (Little Brownie Bakers)
Van'chos
Thin Mints
Samoas
Trefoils
Do Si Dos
Tagalongs

1979-1981 (Little Brownie Bakers)
Van'chos
Thin Mints
Samoas
Trefoils
Do Si Dos
Tagalongs
*Forget-Me-Nots

1981-1983 (Little Brownie Bakers)
Van'chos
Thin Mints
Samoas
Trefoils
Do Si Dos
Tagalongs
*Chocolate Chunk

1983-1984 (Little Brownie Bakers)
Thin Mints
Samoas
Trefoils
Do Si Dos
Tagalongs
*Medallions
*Chocolate Chunk

1984-1985 (Little Brownie Bakers)
Thin Mints
Samoas
Trefoils
Do Si Dos
Tagalongs
*Juliettes
Chocolate Chunk

1985-1987 (Little Brownie Bakers)
Thin Mints
Samoas
Trefoils
Do Si Dos
Tagalongs
*Pecan Shortee
Chocolate Chunk

1987-1988 (Little Brownie Bakers)
Thin Mints
Samoas
Trefoils
Do Si Dos
Tagalongs
*Echo
Chocolate Chunk

1988-1990 (Little Brownie Bakers)
Thin Mints
Samoas
Trefoils
Do Si Dos
Tagalongs
Echo
*Country Hearth Chocolate Chip

1990-1991 (Little Brownie Bakers)
Thin Mints
Samoas
Trefoils
Do Si Dos
Tagalongs
*Chalet Cremes (vanilla and chocolate sandwich cookies)
*Trail Mix

1991-1993 (Little Brownie Bakers)
Thin Mints
Samoas
Trefoils
Do Si Dos
Tagalongs
Chalet Cremes
*Golden Nut Clusters

1993-1995 (Little Brownie Bakers)
Thin Mints
Samoas
Trefoils
Do Si Dos
Tagalongs
Chalet Cremes
Juliettes
*Snaps (iced oatmeal-raisin cookies)

1995-1996 (Little Brownie Bakers)
Thin Mints
Samoas
Trefoils
Do Si Dos
Tagalongs
*Reduced-Fat Chalet Cremes
Juliettes
Snaps

1996-1997 (Little Brownie Bakers)
Thin Mints
Samoas
Trefoils
Do Si Dos
Tagalongs
*Sugar Free Chalet Cremes
*Striped Chocolate Chip
Snaps

1997-2000 (Little Brownie Bakers)
Thin Mints
Samoas
Trefoils
Do Si Dos
Tagalongs
*Apple Cinnamon (apple-shaped sugar cookies, topped with cinnamon sugar)
Striped Chocolate Chip
Lemon Drops

2000-2001 (Little Brownie Bakers)
Thin Mints
Samoas
Trefoils
Do Si Dos
Tagalongs
Apple Cinnamon
*Aloha Chips (Macadamia, white chocolate chip)
Lemon Drops

2001-2003 (Little Brownie Bakers)
Thin Mints
Samoas
Trefoils
Do Si Dos
Tagalongs
*Ole Ole (powdered sugar-covered cookies with vanilla, pecans, and coconut)
Aloha Chips
All Abouts (chocolate-covered shortbread)

2003-2005 (Little Brownie Bakers)
Thin Mints
Samoas
Trefoils
Do Si Dos
Tagalongs
*Double Dutch (chocolate chocolate-chip cookies)
All Abouts
*Lemon Coolers (tangy lemon cookies covered in powdered sugar)

2004-2005 ABC Bakers Thin Mints
Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies (same as Do Si Dos)
Shortbread (same as Trefoils)
Carmel Delites (same as Samoas: vanilla cookies drenched in caramel and sprinkled with coconut)
Iced Berry Pinatas (fruit-filled oatmeal cookie)
Peanut Butter Patties (same as Tagalongs: chocolate covered patties)
Lemon Pastry Creams (reduced-fat lemon-creme cookie)
Amimal Treasures (same as All Abouts: chocolate-dipped shortbread)

2005-2006 (Little Brownie Bakers)
Thin Mints
Samoas
Trefoils
Do Si Dos
Tagalongs
*Cafe Cookies (crispy cinnamon cookie caramelized with brown sugar)
All Abouts
Lemon Coolers

2006-2007 (Little Brownie Bakers)
Thin Mints
Samoas
Trefoils
Do Si Dos
Tagalongs
Cafe Cookies
All Abouts
*Sugar Free Browines (hard little brownie bites)

2007-2008 (Little Brownie Bakers)
Thin Mints
Samoas
Trefoils
Do Si Dos
Tagalongs
All Abouts
*Lemon Chalet (lemon sandwich)
Sugar Free Chocolate Chip

2008-2009 (Little Brownie Bakers)
Thin Mints
Samoas
Trefoils
Do Si Dos
Tagalongs
*Dulce de Leche (Caramel cookie)
Lemon Chalet
Sugar Free Chocolate Chip
*Cinna-Spins (crispy cinnamon snack swirls)

2008-2009 (ABC Bakers)
Thin Mints
Caramel Delites
Shortbread (same as Trefoils)
Peanut Butter Sandwich
Peanut Butter Patties
Lemonades (same as Lemon Chalet))
Thanks a Lot (Same as All Abouts/Animal Treasures)
Reduced Fat Daisy Go Rounds (crispy cinnamon cookies)

2010-2012 (Little Brownie Bakers)
Thin Mints
Samoas
Trefoils
Do Si Dos
Tagalongs
Savannah Smiles (Same as Lemon Coolers)
*Dulce de Leche (Caramel cookie)
Thank You Berry Munch

2010-2012 (ABC Baker)
Thin Mints
Caramel Delites
Shortbread (same as Trefoils)
Peanut Butter Sandwich
Peanut Butter Patties
Lemonades (same as Lemon Chalet))
Thanks a Lot (Same as All Abouts/Animal Treasures)
Shout Outs (Belgian style carmelized cookies)

2017 saw the introduction of two different kinds of S'mores cookies.  The Little Brownie Baker S'more is a sandwich cookie with chocolate and marshmallow-inspired filling.  The ABC version is more like a Fudge Graham.

Other known varieties of Girl Scout cookies include the following:

Cabana Cremes (vanilla and chocolate sandwich cookies)
Cartwheels (a reduced fat cinnamon-oatmeal cookie)
1980s: Golden Yangles (cheese crackers)

Buying Girl Scout Uniforms

The one question I always get from parents is "What parts of the uniform must my daughter have?" The answer varies by age-level.

Daisies need the blue smock or vest. Everything else is optional, but chances are your five year old will wear whatever cute thing you buy.

Brownies need either a vest or a sash. My advice is to go with the vest. The sashes tend to fall of their shoulders approximately every third second. If you absolutely have to buy a sash, I suggest buying a shirt to go with it and sew a snap on the underside of the sash and the shoulder of the shirt. Everything else is optional, except in my house. I know that by fourth grade, my daughter won't wear any Girl Scout anything, so we have a skort, a shirt, a tie, and some tights. She's worn the tie once, to an investiture, but I can generally get her to wear the uniform on meeting days.

Juniors need either a vest or a sash (see notes above). I suspect the only other items your Junior scout will wear are any number of Girl Scout t-shirts, but they have some other cute items, so ask your daughter.

Cadettes, Seniors, and Ambassadors need a sash or vest (see notes above). At this age, you're better off just asking your Scout what, if anything, she wants and will wear. T-shirts or polos may be your best bet.

Official Girl Scout uniforms and clothing can be bought from your Council shop, from the national Girl Scout website, or through Basic Clothing (http://www.basicsclothing.com). The new uniform for older girls (white polo shirt and khaki shorts, skort, or pants) can be bought at any store but are particularly easy to find in stores that carry school uniforms.

If you choose to order through Basic Clothing, they offer a sewing service, which means the basics on the sash/vest will arrive sewn on and in the right place!

Troop Crest History

Like so much of US Girl Scout history, the story of troop crests begins in Great Britain. When Juliette Low brought the idea of Girl Scouting to Savannah, she brought along the tradition of patrol crests. Instead of numbers, each patrol chose the name of a flower, tree, shrug, or bird as its symbol. The first four crests used were the white rose, the carnation, the red rose, and the poppy.

The first crests were designed by a Miss Farmer, the art teacher at Pape School in Savannah. In 1913, Juliette brought back some Girl Guiding crests to be used in Georgia. These original crests were round and black, with edges embroidered in red. These original crests were worn on the sleeve but placement soon switched to the area over the left breast pocket.

These crests were replaced by 1914 with an oval design and the color was changed from black to khaki with a black border in 1918 and blank crests were made available for troops wishing to choose their own design. This option was popular in the early years of scouting, even though mass-manufactured crests were available. The color of the crests changed to a gray-green in 1928, and since 1930 the color is generally changed to match the choices in colors for the official uniforms. Check out this link to view some of these older versions. http://www.vintagegirlscout.com/trpcrests.html

At one point in the 1920s, there were over 40 troop crests. Some of the earlier troop crests used included the cornflower, the nasturtium, the fuschia, and the thistle (all discontinued in 1952), the pink carnation, the cardinal flower, the clover, the goldenrod, the holly, the jonquil, the iris, the meadowlark, the oak, the sunflower, the scarlet pimpernel, and the crocus, (all discontinued in 1984), and the blue bell, the brown pansy, the blue bonnet, the buttercup, the mountain laurel, the pine cone, the poppy, the robin, and the daisy (all discontinued in 1989). In 2010, the set of 23 that had been in use were discontinued in their entirety and a new set of 16 was issued. The new set of crests have been changed from an oval to a shield shape. There are 16 choices, and, if none of these seems to fit, troop also may design their own.

Troop crests were generally selected at the end of Brownies, but the new crests indicate that they are for Daisies through Ambassadors. Troops should select a crest that represents their identity, and I think that identity cannot possible emerge as early as first grade. There is no harm in waiting until Juniors to make this selection. Troop crests should be chosen carefully because traditionally, once chosen, the crest never changes for a troop. Crests are worn on the right-hand side of the vest or the upper part of the sash centered just above the troop numbers.

The Importance of Uniforms

I recently received a call from a mother who said "my daughter wants to be a Brownie. Well that's an understatement." She went on to say that her daughter primarily was interested in two things, wearing a uniform and doing good deeds.

For a six year old, this child easily figured out two of the important aspects of Girl Scouting. Although "doing good deeds" is easily one of the most important things we do as Girl Scouts, for the moment, I'd like to focus on her other desire.

Let me first make it clear that a Girl Scout is considered in full uniform if she is wearing her Girl Scout USA pin. Beyond that, however, there are a wide variety of options for girls and adults to wear. See the link on Buying Girl Scout Uniforms for advice on that score.

The question at hand though is why wear a uniform at all. My six-year-old recruit provides the first important reason and that is identity. This child saw others in her school wearing their uniforms and wanted to be a part of the group that so proudly wears the uniform. She recognized that owning and wearing the uniform is a privilege.

Girl Scout Uniforms in 1986

Uniforms were part of the original "package" of Girl Scouts. Juliette Low viewed them as equalizers, which was a point she viewed as important enough that it was enshrined in the original law as point four, " A Girl Scout is a Friend to All, and a Sister to every other Girl Scout no matter to what Social Class she May Belong."

This idea hearkens back to Lord Baden-Powell, the founder of the Boy Scouts and friend to Juliette Low who said, "The uniform was an important item, not merely as an attraction, as it undoubtedly was to the girls, but because under it all differences of social standing were hidden and forgotten." Girls of all shapes and sizes and all socioeconomic levels are simply "Girl Scouts"-- part of the larger organization when they don the uniform.

One final note concerns the changing look of uniforms over time. Juliette Low designed the first uniforms to allow girls freedom of movement in a time when women's dress did anything but that. Those long brown uniforms have changed and evolved many times since then. All variations of Girl Scout uniforms, no matter how old, are considered "official" when worn, or you can always just put on your GSUSA pin.