Introduction

Welcome! My name is Seanna and I'm a Senior Girl Scout with the Princeton Service Unit, Troop 70675. I've recently completed my Take Action Project for the Girltopia Journey. My Take Action Project was to create a weekend for Cadette and Senior Girl Scouts to complete their Girltopia Journey and  for the scouts to develop ideas for their own Take Action Project. This guide can be incorporated towards any of the girl scout journeys.  

Throughout my Journey I learned about the struggles and obstacles that women face in the world and how it limits women's abilities and power. I hosted a Girltopia Workshop Weekend, where we discussed many of the topics outlined in the Journey. The Girltopia Journey is all about creating our own utopia for women and learning about the obstacles women face daily. Our final day of the weekend we spent working in groups creating and developing various options for potential Take Action Projects.

We had a budget of approximately two hundred dollars, this was for supplies and anything else the girls would need throughout the weekend. Many of the activities required basic arts supplies for the flag activity and mask activity. Supply list included: Poster papers, googly eyes, feathers, ribbon, markers, glitter glue, sparkles and rainbow cotton balls.   

Finally, I could not have completed my Take Action Project without certain people. My mother, my new troop leader, Karen Freundlich, huge supporter in providing guidance, encouragement and completed the paperwork to book the troop house. Without Mrs. Freundlich, I would not have been able able to host this weekend. I would like to thank all the girls that attended the weekend, hope they had good time and will host their own weekend! Also a big thanks to all the Moms that helped cook, kept order and supported us during the weekend.

Please see the photo's below of our Girltopia Weekend at Camp Inawendiwin.

How To Get Started

First and foremost, there are certain steps to starting a take action project.

Step 1: Pick a venue. I chose a girl scout campsite with heated cabins and a kitchen.

Step 2: Pick a date. I decided on an early date in November.

Step 3: Figure/determine how many scouts will be participating in the event.

Step 4: Find or search for a site to host the event.

Step 5: Plan budget to include food and supplies.

Step 6: Create a list of supplies and determine the cost per quantity of an item.

Step 7: Daily meals: Consider healthy choices and work with other scouts to determine the menu.

Step 8: Brainstorm activities corresponding with the Journey.

Step 9: Construct a schedule based on the activities and time needed for the project.

Step 10: Create your own weekend.

Required forms to book a girl scout camp site

All the forms below can be found on the Girl Scout Council website.

1. The Troop Trip Application/Service Unit Event Form
2. If hosted at a campsite: Camp Rental Agreement
3. Roster for Camping on Council Properties
4. Green Light Form (Troop Camping)

Other papers would be, the Instructions for your Green Light Form, a map of the campsite and a information packet from the campsite. Additional papers for the participants of the weekend (Agenda, Attendance sheet, Supplies list, Directions to the campsite, etc.).

Ice Breakers

Ice Breakers:

This weekend was open to many other troops within the Princeton Service Unit and some of the girls were meeting for the first time.   Once everyone settled in on Friday night, I decided to have the girls do some ice breakers. One of the ice breakers involved the girls getting into a giant circle with one person to stand in the middle. The girl in the middle would say something about themselves, (EX: I love Soccer) and every girl who shared the same interest or characteristic had to stand up and run to another spot. The last girl standing or the last girl to sit down had to go into the middle of the circle and say something different about themselves.   If most girls didn't share the same characteristics as others, then someone may say something along the lines of, "I breathe air." Therefore everyone must stand up and go to another spot. This gets everyone participating and moving around so no one is stuck sitting. 

Another ice breaker we played involved the game Fire and Water where the girls created two lines. The instructions provided to the girls were: Fire could mean that I am feisty, hotheaded, etc.) and Water, you are calm or could swim, the girls could interpret the meaning anyway they wanted.  As the host, I started by stating, "If you're more like fire, then go to the left. If you're more like water then go to the right." Each girl would go to the side of the room that they are the most similar to and two or three girls from each side would share why.  Some examples I used were:

• Coffee or Tea
• Fire or Water
• Moon or Sun
• Ocean or Lake/Pond
• Tiger or Lion
• Cat or Dog
• Night or Day
• Introvert or Extrovert 
• Ketchup or Mustard
• Action/Comedy or Drama/Romance
• Pencil or Pen
• Reality or Fantasy

An ice breaker can also be just going around the room and saying your name and something about yourself. One last idea was providing the girls name tags. 

Evening Activities

It's always good to give the girls down time throughout the day and at night time. During down time throughout the weekend, some girls would read, paint nails, go on their cell phones, or talk with each other. The girls should not spend too much time on their cell phones, the point of the weekend is to participate in activities and sharing ideas and feelings.

In the evening we built a camp fire and made smores. This activity can work in a couple of ways: The girls can learn how to start a fire, they can talk to each other without the distraction of their electronics and they can eat sweets. Scouts should be the ones starting the fire, an adult must be present but they should leave the girls to make the fire, it can be a learning experience this way. The girls had a lot of fun setting the fire up, making smores and talking to one another around the fire, it was a success.

Movies at night. Another activity can be watching a movie, obviously this can only occur with the correct equipment. If a TV, projector or DVD player are present then the movie night is a good choice for the girls. Another option could be a couple of the girls watching a movie on a laptop or other electronic devices. Some of the girls, during the weekend watched a movie on a laptop. The movie can be connected to the Girltopia Journey, it can be whatever the girls want to watch. Unfortunately, during the weekend, we had a mini projector but it was incompatible with all electronics.

One last activity would be a spa night. The girls should bring nail polish, cotton balls and nail polish remover. Each girl can do their nails or someone else's. Additional supplies needed would be:

• Towels or newspaper to protect the floor from the nail polish
• Q-tips
• Pictures of designs
• Hair dryer

The girls can create designs and dry them faster than waiting around for the nail polish to dry. Many of the girls decorating their nails had a blast and loved their nails and the designs along with it. Not all of the scouts painted their nails but the ones who did had a great time.

  

  

Girltopia Activities

The plan was to create a fun and inspiring weekend, so I created some activities for each section we read and discussed throughout the journey.

Creating a Mask: This activity corresponded with the Create It! section of the Journey.

The supplies needed for the activity were:

• Scissors
• Glue
• Ribbon
• Googly Eyes
• Markers
• Plain Masks
• Feathers
• Colorful Cotton Balls

The scouts objectives were to create a mask that described themselves and how they think others see them.  The inside section of the mast was supposed to be how you view yourself and the outside section of the mask was how others viewed you (perceptions). The girls decorate the mask however they wanted, using all the art supplies listed above. Some girls wrote characteristics and some drew and glued items on the mask about themselves. When everyone was finished, they discussed and shared their masks in small groups and then proceeded to hang the masks around the cabin. In the end, the activity was a success.

***

Flag Activity:

Another activity that the group did during the weekend was the Flag Activity. This activity corresponded with the Change It! section of the journey. The girls were to take what they learned from the section and create a flag/poster of their ideal world for women. We formed groups of three or more girls and created and decorated their flags with markers and cut outs from magazines.

Supplies Needed:

• Glue
• Makers
• Scissors
• Magazines
• Poster Board
• Ribbon
• Glitter
• Feathers

***

The Walk of Solitude:

This activity took place after lunch. The objective of the activity was for the girls to reflect on what they learned throughout the morning.  We scoped out the trails earlier and chose a trail that was short and not too far from the cabin. We sent the girls out on the trail as they walked one by ones so that  they had time to reflect on the journey. We had great weather this weekend and it was a beautiful afternoon for the walk of solitude.

***

Take Action Planning Chart:

On the last day of the weekend, the girls spent the morning working together on their Take Action Planning Chart in the back of their journey. The chart helped with brainstorming for their own Take Action Project. In groups of no more than four, the scouts worked together and brainstormed ideas for their projects. Each group created a poster that outlined their Take Action Project and shared their ideas with everyone in the room.

***

Some activities took longer than others and some shorter than what had been planned. All of the girls had fun during these activities, they completed their journey and left with ideas to create their own Girltopia Take Action Project. 

Journey Conclusion

Overall the weekend was a success, all the girls completed the Journey and left with ideas to create their own take action project.

Before the weekend I went through the journey to see what I should go over with the girls. There are some confusing pages and opinionated ones, I left those out but added that they could review and complete various sections on their own. The reasoning for this is that everyone has separate opinions that were discussed and we agreed it could reviewed individually. Therefore, I selected certain pages and sections of the book to go through and discuss during the weekend.

In order to gain participation, I requested volunteers to share their answer and would go around the room for everyone to share their comments. That way everyone would be expressing themselves and no one would be sitting their silent for the entire time. Only constructive commentary was encouraged during these discussions.

I know that the journey could be boring at times,  so I connected an activity for each section of work. The girls reacted positively to the work and everyone had fun during the activities. Connecting the activities also broke up the work so we wouldn't be sitting in a circle for an hour going through the book. During the activities the girls could meet new people and possibly make new friends.

Please see the Girltopia Weekend Schedule and list of activities below: