Have you ever just known that something would happen? That it was meant to be and it would eventually come to be? Well that’s how I feel about my daughter starting Girl Scouts and my being her leader. Although, for all intents and purposes, she’s not in a troop, so I think they call me her guide instead of leader. My daughter is a brand-new Juliette Daisy!
What is a “Juliette” Daisy?
Although I’m not sure of the specific term (“Juliette Daisy”, “Daisy Juliette”, “a Girl Scout Daisy who is a Juliette”?), the idea is that my kindergarten-aged daughter (who is therefore a Girl Scout Daisy) joined without a troop. Independent Girls Scouts are called Juliettes, named after the GS founder, Juliette Gordon Low. And I am completely jealous of my 5-year old.
My Girl Scout Journey
Growing up, my parents were troop leaders for each of us kids. They were Boy Scouts for my brother, then Girl Scouts for my sister and then me. According to mom, back then, girls were Daisies for one year, then would bridge to Brownies. Since my sister was two years older, that meant they led her Daisy troop, then her Brownie troop AND a Daisy troop, then her Brownie troop AND my Daisy troop. So that meant that they had a troop one year that didn’t have any of their kids so it would be easier to continue with my troop the following year.
I remember being in several troops over the years. I think I was with my parents for Daisies and my first year or two of Brownies, but I remember going somewhere else for scout meetings for a year or two. I also remember going to a council event and meeting my Junior troop there despite having barely seen them that year because they met during my dance classes. I think that was my last year in Girl Scouts. They may have had independent scouts at the time (I basically was one that last year), but we weren’t aware that it was allowed or even possible. I had always wanted to continue up through the years. I looked up to the cadettes and seniors. My fifth grade class photo shows my dedication to Girl Scouts. I was wearing everything Girl Scouts, even my scrunchie!
Despite leaving scouts, I pretty much always knew I’d have a little Girl Scout of my own. But my little Girl Scout has a little brother that makes bringing her to events difficult. Plus, when I looked it up, each of the local troops met at inconvenient times. Instead of dedicating myself to leading a troop of girls when we’re often busy and unavailable (and that little brother is still here!), it just made more sense for her to be independent now and we’ll decide about the future when it comes.
Getting Started
I have to say, getting started was both harder and easier than expected. I discovered the idea of Juliettes sometime last year. When I found out that my little one was old enough to join, Juliettes was obviously the way to go for her. But I couldn’t, for the life of me, figure out how to sign her up. It just didn’t work!
Luckily I had signed up to get a workbook of some sort from the local Girl Scout Council. They had required my phone number in addition to my name and email, and I received a call. Usually I wouldn’t answer unknown numbers, but I was expecting a call from someone in that city, so I answered. A lovely woman named Ashley had called from the Council to answer any questions I had about Scouting. She was able to tell me that you can’t sign up to be a Juliette on your phone or tablet – you need to be on an actual computer.
Once I knew that, I signed us both up! My daughter as a Girl Scout Daisy and me as a Girl Scout Adult with access to all the things.
But What about Badges?
With our Girl Scout excitement in full force, I checked out the requirements and saw that she could easily earn her first badge! Although there are many badges available, Daisies generally start by earning the center and 10 petals of a colorful flower. The center is called the Promise Center, representing learning about a promise and reciting the Girl Scout Promise. The 10 petals each represent a line of the Girl Scout Law. The day we got started, my hubby was working, so after he was home, we discussed each requirement, then she earned her first badge, the Promise Center!
Since Juliette (that’s what I’m planning to call her in this blog) is homeschooled and required to learn about Patriotism and Citizenship, we decided her next badge would be the Democracy for Daisies badge. We again followed those requirements, and took her Girl Scouting and Homeschooling to the next level when she went to vote with me. We had discussed some of the local, state, and national candidates and what different positions are responsible for, but someone at the Community Center took it even further when she explained to her why we hold elections and took her to get a Voting for Kids activity book they had available at the site.
Since she’s already homeschooled, Juliette also earned a Home School fun patch upon becoming a Girl Scout. And she earned a 2024 Election fun patch by coming to vote with me.
Girl Scout Store
We also took a fun (and expensive) trip to the Girl Scout Store last week. Juliette chose a Daisy smock and skirt, we got her required badges and pins (that they had in stock), several badges and journey books that we plan to work on, and an adult vest, required badges, and pins for me. Luckily the Shop was near my parents’ house so they were able to meet us there (as former Girl Scouts, they were definitely interested in coming). And they went back later in the week, after the store got a shipment in, to grab anything we missed. They also were able to speak with the woman at the shop who mentioned that Girl Scouts can sign up to sell cookies in a booth in front of the shop when the time comes. We definitely want to do that!
Badge Number 1 & 2
- Promise Center (and Home School patch)
- Democracy for Daisies (and 2024 Election patch)
Curious about Our Journey?
I plan to update regularly to let you know what we’re up to and see what badges we can earn. You can subscribe below 👇🏻