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Girl Scouts need to be prepared emotionally and physically, have proven competency in skills involved, and want to go troop camping. Use these readiness indicators as a checklist to determine if each girl in your troop is ready to go camping overnight:
Emotional Readiness
- Is not afraid to be away from home and parents overnight
- Wants to go
- Is willing to sleep, eat, play with all girls, not just with best friends
- Can cope with strange place, darkness, woods and night noises, spiders, bugs, and worms
- Can manage with little or no privacy
- Doesn't always have to have own way
- Can function as a member of a group
Physical Readiness (Accommodate girls with special needs)
- Does not tire quickly
- Is strong enough to carry own gear, bucket of water, pot of food, armload of wood.
- Has strength and coordination needed for planned activities
Has Necessary Skills and Knowledge
- Can plan a simple trip
- Can use a hand operated can opener, grater, peeler, paring knife
- Can read and follow a recipe and a kaper chart
- Can wash dishes, clean up, and store food properly
- Can build a fire and/or operate camp stove to be used
- Can dress properly for the weather
- Can sweep the floor and clean a toilet
- Knows how to operate a flashlight
- Demonstrates a concern for safety
- Can follow directions satisfactorily
- Has been on a series of day trips, cookouts, and sleep outs
- Can pack and keep up with gear and roll and tie or stuff a sleeping bag
Behavioral Expectations
Knowing what is expected ahead of time will help the girls to behave in an appropriate way. As a troop and with adult guidance, the girls should make their own behavior plan. This plan may include the following:
- Stay with the group, don't wander from camping area
- Use the buddy system
- If lost, stay where you are, and blow a whistle
- Avoid contact with strangers
- Report suspicious sounds, activities, or people to an adult
- Follow safety rules
- Do kapers on time
- Respect other campers' property
- Leave a place better than you found it
- Make no unkind remarks
- Be a friend to all
Handling Girls' Fears
You have used a progression of experiences to enhance the troop's readiness, prepared them with skills, and practiced those skills in your meeting. Some ways to deal with challenges for which the girls may not be ready:
- Create a safe, non-threatening environment
- Recognize that girls come from different backgrounds
- Set behavioral expectations (safety rules, no unkind remarks, all help)
- Let girls know what to expect (night noises, kapers, caring for own belongings, bathroom facilities)
- Plan activities to help girls get over their fears and build excitement for camping (for example: stargazing, night hikes, or a bug experience)
- Take troop to visit camp area prior to the trip, if possible
- Your girls will enjoy the two activities to help them prepare for overnights described in the course handout.
Let's Review:
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