The troop met last night to start the process of deciding on a project for their Girl Scout Silver Award.  Keeping the girls on a track of creativity, while keeping them grounded in reality, was a fine line. 

Like most people, they are comfortable doing what they are familiar with.   When I informed them that organizing a service unit campout was not feasible because they hadn't gotten their prerequisites done on time and they had left it too late to get started, they switched gears in fits and starts. 

Every year they conduct a First Timer's Camp, which is an overnight indoor campout for new Girl Scouts who have never gone camping before.  So they jumped on that theme and came up with the idea of a health fair, but with an overnight component.  I did my best to discourage this due to practical reasons.  They discussed it over and over and finally started to come up with a reason that would justify an overnight.  I am still not convinced, but we'll see how it ends up.

The girls still have no clue what they need to do, since they are so used to my doing many of the background tasks.  They'll finally get a chance to do EVERYTHING.  Of course, I'll have to guide them, to let them know they have stuff to do that they never even thought of before.  But this will be a good stepping stone for when they do their Girl Scout Gold Award.

The girls still just like to chat.  So keeping them on task is a challenge.  Last night's meeting was quite a loud experience, with everyone trying to talk at once.  Even when they raise their hands to talk, they can't keep themselves from blurting out their comments.  Once I get them broken down into committees, and get with them in a smaller group, things should move forward more smoothly.