The Joy of "Songing"

Friday night was Girls' Night Out - Daisy Girl Scouts, that is! We intrepidly struck out for our first activity as a troop, and it was an unqualified success. Well, except for the fact that I forgot to bring a camera and one girl left her Daisy tunic behind. Not bad for an outing that kept my girls up later than their regular bedtimes.

We were invited to an area Daisy-Brownie Singalong hosted by a Junior GS troop. These girls did a fantastic job of picking the songs, organizing the event, and bringing the snacks. They had a wide assortment of goodies, from fruit to cupcakes to a chocolate fountain. The girls dipped marshmallows and strawberries for a gourmet treat.

So here's how it went: when we first got there, it was very chaotic. They had asked to limit the number of adults there so parents were asked not to attend. That meant, my co-leader Cynthia and I were the only ones representing our troop, and she is the Brownie troop leader, so she had other concerns. I had a parent drive, but she dropped them off so that it was a GS event. (Thanks, Marianne!) We managed to stay together as a troop while about a 150 other girls were all cramming themselves into the door of the school cafeteria.

Our girls sat down as a troop, and the organizing girls came over and told them to sit in the front since they were the littlest. It turns out, we were the only Daisy troop there! I have since found out that we are the only Daisy troop in Redwood City.

A young adult led the songs, which were of the "repeat after me" variety - you know, the leader sings one line and the girls repeat it back. It was the perfect setup for anyone new to the songs. Most of the songs required the girls to stand up and act them out. My girls were right in the front where all the action was, and I could see from where I was in the back they were all participating enthusiastically.

After an hour of singing (!), they announced it was snack time and that they would call the girls up by troop to help themselves to the buffet o' sweets. The first troop to be called was troop 16. Unfortunately, none of my girls knew that was us. We only got our troop number recently and we hadn't had a meeting since the number was assigned. The older girls quickly figured out that meant the Daisy troop since Brownie troops have more digits, and they trotted over to the treats happily. Everyone likes to go first, no matter how little you are.

It took a half hour for all the troops to get their snacks, so my girls were getting restless from an intense ten minutes of ingesting sugar and 20 minutes of waiting. We got together, made a Daisy circle with our hands, and played some games while we were waiting. I asked Annie and Wini to help me clean up the plates and cups, and soon all the Daisies were circulating through the Brownies looking for plates to clean up. They did an excellent job, and had so much fun helping out the older girls. In fact, when asked what her favorite part of the night was, Wini said, "Cleaning up the garbage!"

The girls got back to singing for the last half hour, and there were some signs of weariness. Clare relaxed in the lap of her older sister Bridget, and Chloe was bracing her head on her hand, looking sleepy. Some of the Brownies sitting near the back gave up paying attention and just stretched out on the linoleum floor. It's not just my kid that has a bed time of 8:00!

As we broke up for the night, one of the girls pointed out that some of the Brownies had spilled lemonade and tracked it all over, but had left without cleaning up. Like jackrabbits, they jumped up to clean it with napkins from the snack table. I'll never forget the mental image of all my Daisies on their hands and knees, wiping up the mess without being asked - a mess they hadn't even made. Great job, troop 16!

The girls were required to fill out an evaluation in order to get their activity patch, but most of them are too young to read and write quickly. Bridget McElligott jumped in to help Cynthia and I quiz the Daisies and fill out the form for them. The most popular response to the question, "What was your favorite part of the singalong?" was predictable: the FOOD!

Claire Z. had my favorite response. She told me her favorite part was the "songing." "The singing?" I asked, thinking she had just mispronounced it. She shook her head. "No," she said in an adults sure are slow voice. "The songing. You know, when you sing and do the moving at the same time."

That's not a bad way to describe it.