Membership Information for Parents

Girl Scouting is always an amazing adventure, whether girls travel to Europe, save the environment, learn to shoot a bow and arrow, or meet lifelong best friends.

Girls thrive when they have opportunities to explore their interests, goals, and dreams in a safe environment with their peers and adult mentors. Daily life does not always supply this setting, but Girl Scouts does and have been for nearly 100 years.

Girl Scouts works to help girls become tomorrow's leaders.

For girls to become leaders, they need to:

• Understand their values, and use their knowledge and skills to explore their world (Discover).
• Care about, inspire, and team with others locally and globally (Connect).
• Act to make the world a better place (Take Action).

Discover, Connect, and Take Action are the three Girl Scout keys to leadership.

Girl Scout program is:

Girl Led

• Designed by girls
• Focused on girl/adult partnerships

Experiential Learning

• Cycles of action and reflection

Cooperative Learning

• All girl teams
• Working towards shared goals

Girl Membership

The Girl Scout program is based on the needs and interests of girls. All members:

• Accept The Girl Scout Promise and Law
• Pay annual national dues of $12*
• Follow safety guidelines

*Girl Scouts - Arizona Cactus-Pine Council offers financial assistance for membership dues and special activities.

What are the levels of Girl Scouting?

Girl Scouts are dedicated to solely to girls in grades K-12. Six level comprise the Girl Scout program. Each level offers appropriate and relevant programming and activities for girls that is based on the Girl Scout Leadership Experience and The Girl Scout Promise and Law.

Girl Scout Daisy, Grades K - 1

Girl Scout Daisies might...

• finger paint murals, or make colorful barrettes and paper-bag puppets
• take trips to pick pumpkins and apples
• camp and hike with their family
• plan a picnic and make snacks
• plant a community garden
• earn patches for activities like reading fun books or helping their community
• visit and explore a fire station, an animal shelter, or a local park
• make a book about you and your family
• adopt a grandparent at a senior center

Girl Scout Brownie, Grades 2-3

Girl Scout Brownies might...

• visit a veterinarian and learn how to care for animals
• march in a community parade
• work on Girl Scout Brownie Try-Its: decorating a T-shirt, learning a magic trick, exploring life on the prairie
• plan an overnight to celebrate their birthdays
• decide how many cookies to sell to earn money for trips
• camping and make s'mores over a campfire
• learn to swim at summer camp
• sing new songs, play new games, and make new friends
• ride bikes in the park with your troop
• visit a local zoo
• learn about the stars, the moon, and space

Girl Scout Junior, Grades 4-5

Girl Scout Juniors might...

• stay at a Girl Scout camp and learning outdoor skills
• sleep over in a science museum
• perfect soccer moves with a professional women's soccer player
• work on the "Horse Rider" badge by learning to ride a horse
• sell cookies to earn money for a trip to a theme park
• go on a scavenger hunt for neighborhood litter
• write to a Girl Scout who lives overseas
• go to a play and visit behind the scenes
• help a local animal shelter

Girl Scout Cadette, Grades 6-8, Girl Scout Senior, Grades 9-10, and Girl Scout Ambassador, Grades 11-12

Girl Scout Cadettes, Seniors and Ambassadors might...

• learn how to be a first responder in an emergency
• explore their future career options with a mentor
• spend a summer as a counselor-in-training at camp
• raft down Class III (moderately difficult) rapids with a river guide
• publish their stories online on the Girl Scout website
• attend a Broadway play on a trip to New York City
• invest "play dough" in a stock-market game and beat the experts
• earn the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest honor in Girl Scouting, for working on a project that benefits their community
• travel across the country or around the world to explore culture, science, the outdoors
• take a ropes course or scale a mountain
• volunteer in a literacy program

Girl Scout Pathways

Girl Scouts is not just about being part of a troop. Girls can be a Girl Scout in the following ways:

• Events- Different girls each event
• Special Interest- Same girls, all sessions relating to a specific theme or purpose
• Travel- Regional, national, and international trips
• Troops- Same girls, all sessions; typically spans the length of the school year
• Virtual- High-quality, interactive program; safe, secure, online environment
• Camp- Day and resident camps, focus on outdoors and/or environmental, outdoor education

*Juliettes - Individual girl members, often called Juliettes or IGMs, can participate in any of the pathways above, although they are usually unaffiliated with a troop.