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The Bittersweet End of the Year….and a Freebie!

eventJune 3, 2014 By strawJenberry
comment 3 Comments on The Bittersweet End of the Year….and a Freebie!

The Bittersweet End of the Year….and a Freebie!


I’m always relieved when the last service unit leader meeting comes and goes in June.  Our service unit ends the year with awards, raffle prizes and a mother-daughter ice cream social.  Afterwards, I breathe a sigh of relief that there is one less obligation to contend with and one more Monday a month that I can enjoy summer!  I think back to February and March when I toyed with the idea of holding meetings during the summer.  I always come to my senses in May and realize that summers off are a good thing for our troop and a good thing for me!  Especially since the girls travel so much.

As always, I began planning our end of the year awards and party in late-April, early May.  I was so excited because this year I had arranged a great venue to do a glow-in-the-dark party and bonfire with all the troop families.  And then my bubble burst.  None of the families were available on the same dates and most weren’t available any weekend in June.  So we went back to the old mainstay of a pool party at one of the girl’s houses during our normal meeting time. I like to try to get my families together at the end of the year because it allows me to honor volunteer parents and to highlight what the girls have done during the year that parents may not be aware of.  But it’s not always possible.  Some parents will still come for pinning and awards and I’ll have nice gifts for the cookie moms and volunteers, but it’s not quite the same as a family party.  And definitely not what I had in mind to say goodbye to four girls (half our troop!) That brings me to another end of the year phenomena:  losing girls. This year 4 our of 8 of my girls are leaving, a couple who have been with me since Daisies.

Even though I was prepared for this possibility, I still felt sad with every call and e-mail I received.  I understand each girl’s reason(s) for leaving.  At our May meeting I showed inspirational Girl Scout videos to demonstrate the opportunities that are available to them when they bridge to Cadettes and to remind them what they love about Girl Scouts.  I also handed out “I can’t wait to” patches with Spring registration paperwork after showing them this video.  I tried to play it cool but I lobbied hard!  A couple of girls who were leaving turned into “maybes” and that was enough for me.


I thought long and hard about having a troop of 4-5, not adding any girls next year and perhaps doing more activities that are challenging logistically due to transportation issues and adult safety wise ratios.  But then I thought about the girls on the waitlist and those who will be recruited in the fall and decided I would add to the troop.  Up until now I’ve stuck with a formula of only adding girls from our school who all my girls (most who are plus five years) considered cordial and a good fit for the troop.  I have some apprehension about going outside their school for new girls, but I know that there are girls out there who need troops and who would make wonderful additions to 1949.

So I spent my usual time mourning, being sad, wondering what I could have done better to keep my girls in the troop until…a positive feeling came over me and I realized that Girl Scouts taught them to think for themselves, to be leaders and to forge ahead without fear.  I believe their decisions to move on were made with that spirit in mind.  Go forth my sweets with courage, confidence and character!

While preparing for the end of the year, I found some cute tumblers with straws at Michael’s and bought one for each girl (after asking them their three favorite colors).  I then filled the tumblers with their badges, patches and cookie puzzle patches (along with a guide as to how they fit together).  I added a chalkboard label on each tumbler and used a chalk pen to write each girl’s name on it.  I then created a tag to print and add to the straw poking out of the tumbler.

I’ve added the tags to the iamgirlscouts Teachers Pay Teachers store for free download!  You can find them here.

Happy Summer!

exploreCategories: Ambassadors Bridging Brownies Cadettes Ceremonies Daisies For print (high resolution) Gifts and Gift Tags Graphics Juniors Level Printables Seniors Troop Resources

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3 thoughts on “The Bittersweet End of the Year….and a Freebie!”

  • Rae
    Rae June 24, 2014 at 2:27 pm
    linkLink to comment replyReply

    I like you am losing 4 of my 13 Brownies…I of which is still a maybe. The other 3 I am ok with losing as I understand the reasons behind it. I love what you create and wish I could as well, and have shared your links with other new leaders in my Service Unit.

  • ScoutingMom
    ScoutingMom September 17, 2014 at 9:14 pm
    linkLink to comment replyReply

    Do you have an idea of what these cost you to out together, other than the badges? Where can you get the chalkboard labels?

  • straw/Jen/berry
    straw/Jen/berry September 17, 2014 at 10:34 pm
    linkLink to comment replyReply

    I got the cups (they came with the lids and straws) at Michael's on clearance for about $3 each (8 girls = $24). I found the chalkboard labels in the dollar days bins at Safeway. I got two packs for around $3. They were amazing quality and my daughter's cup has made it through several rounds in the dishwasher! I later found similar chalkboard labels at Michael's too. I made the 2014 labels myself and they are available as a freebie to download on my Teachers Pay Teachers site. I put all the badges, patches and cookie prizes they earned for the year into the cups. I had no idea what I was going to do for the girls until I saw the mugs on sale. This is how I normally get ideas, but shopping sales and such in spring. Hope that helps!

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© 2014-2020 Strawjenberry Designs. All content and opinions on this website are those of the author and are not affiliated with or endorsed by Girl Scouts of the USA or Girl Guides. Content is for use by any scout leader or organization. Please do not replicate, redistribute, give away or reproduce any products on this website without prior written consent from the author.

My name is Jen and I’m a Girl Scout alumna and former volunteer, leader mom, National Delegate and service unit representative. I create both free and for purchase resources. Strawjenberry Designs is a personal blog. The information provided in the posts is from my experience as a Girl Scout or as a Girl Scout leader. The materials and resources herein were developed by me. Those that were not I give credit to the website and/or author or artist.

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