Troop Leader Experience: A Podcast about Girl Scouts for Troop Leaders and other Girl Scout Volunteers

We're taking a little break here on the Troop Leader Experience podcast, but make sure to binge the 6.5 years of content we've already got here for ya in the meantime! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

ESPECIALLY if you hang out on Pinterest or in Troop Leader facebook groups, it can start to feel like there is just way too much to realistically do as a Girl Scout troop. And as a troop leader who really wants to make this experience as high impact as possible, that can sometimes feel overwhelming. How do those super troops on Facebook (or sometimes even the guests on this podcast) seem to do EVERYTHING there is to do? If you have ever felt this overwhelm and pressure to do all the things, this episode is for you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Giving back to our communities and making them better places is a fundamental part of the Girl Scout experience. Sometimes this looks like Take Action projects, or high awards, but just volunteering in general is something most troop leaders say is important to them when envisioning running a troop. But, especially when you have younger girls, what the heck kind of service projects can you even do with kids in K-12? Here's a great big episode full of ideas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When recording last week's episode, I came up with the idea to do some activity suggestions - both indoor and outdoor, for all age levels - to build problem solving skills and conflict resolution skills. I hope you can use some of these ideas with your troop! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's episode, I'm sharing some tips for what to pack when you take an outdoor adventure with your troop. Now listen, this is not an exhaustive list, especially because that largely depends on what the heck you are doing. But in general, I learned from experience that there are some essentials you should just bring with you for any field trip or outdoor adventure with your troop no matter what you're doing or how old they are. Here are my essential items that you must have! + Some bonus items that will really pay off... trust me. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After another occurrence of senseless violence in the USA, everyone is talking about safety at school... including kids. We're all having strong emotional responses from this horrific event... including kids. Should we address this at Girl Scouts? And if so, how can we do it with the kids' best interests at heart? Resources: https://www.girlscouts.org/en/raising-girls/happy-and-healthy/happy/extreme-violence-and-children-parenting-advice.html https://www.girlscouts.org/en/raising-girls/happy-and-healthy/happy/kids-worried-about-war.html https://www.nctsn.org/sites/default/files/resources/fact-sheet/talking-to-children-about-war.pdf https://www.schoolcrisiscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Guidelines-Talking-to-Kids-About-Attacks-Two-Sided-Onesheet-Format.pdf https://www.nctsn.org/resources/coping-after-mass-violence Fake News Activity from Girl Scouts: https://www.girlscouts.org/en/raising-girls/leadership/life-skills/kids-and-fake-news-critical-thinking-skills.html Support Uvalde: https://www.girlscouts-swtx.org/en/our-council/girl-scout-strong-for-uvalde.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Primary election years are a big deal in the US! But they can also be exhausting, and frankly, divisive. In this episode, I'm sharing 3 of my best tips for how to engage your girls in discussion and action around the fact that it's an election year... without actually getting involved in divisive politics that will alienate troop families. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, I wanted to share some tips for running a multi-level troop, including some insights into my own story and how my own multi-level troop started and grew. ALSO I'm so excited to announce that I'm nominated for a Women in Podcasting award! You can support me (it's totally free) by voting for the show here: https://womeninpodcasting.net/awards Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I know y'all love the easy-to-implement episodes, and this one is packed full of ideas you are going to love. My guest today is Laura Haver, and her book Play Together is going to be an incredible resource for your troop. She's sharing some of her favorite ways to play (while still learning and building skills and emotional resilience) and I can't wait for you to start getting some ideas from this episode to put on your troop calendar for this upcoming year. Get the book (this is an affiliate link): https://amzn.to/463QHpi Connect with Laura: https://laurahaver.com/ https://www.instagram.com/lauramhaver Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest today is Amy from Spark Joy with Amy. We're talking about the benefits of play-based learning for children's engagement and resilience. Connect with Amy www.sparkjoywithamy.com www.instagram.com/sparkjoywithamy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sometimes, we need a reminder about why we want to do this in the first place, and why this work matters. Today I'm reflecting on 6 years of this podcast and 112+ years of creating meaningful, safe spaces for girls. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Connect with Talia Bombola/Talia's resources: Www.therapywithtalia.com and www.taliabombola.com @taliabombola on IG and tiktok https://centerforadolescentstudies.com/how-to-validate-teens-even-when-you-dont-agree/ https://imperfectfamilies.com/50-ways-to-say-good-job-without-saying-good-job/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A few weeks ago we talked about digital marketing, and you all told me you really wanted to hear more about how to run Facebook/Meta ads. I brought in an expert for this one ;) Connect with Helena: https://www.chicago42.com/ https://www.instagram.com/chicago42digital/ https://www.facebook.com/Chicago42Digital/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices