Daisy Scouts

Kara put Viva in a Daisy Scout troop. Kara did it because she thought it would be good for Viva to meet some other little girls since she has only brothers. I urged Kara to do it because Girl Scouts in a family tradition. I and Kara were both Girl Scouts. We hadn't planned on putting Viva in a troop at age 5, but then I realized that troops form in kindergarten and stay together for years, so it'd be better for Viva to start with the other girls and not have to join an already bonded troop. (Bentley and Jake won't start Cub Scouts until their 8th birthday because our church sponsors Boy Scout troops, but only for boys 8 and older.)

Last Monday was the first official troop meeting. I took Viva and stayed for the meeting. Here is Viva's report to Jake and Bentley on the meeting when she returned home:

"It's not a meeting. It's my first day of Daisy Scouts."

"I got to name an animal."

"I got to color a picture."

"I got to use big, big scissors."

"I got a snack."

When the leader asked the girls to introduce themselves, Viva surprised me because she introduced herself as "Genevieve." In the past Viva has told me emphatically that her name is not Genevieve. Amrita, Kara's friend, tells me that Viva's ballet teacher is named Genevieve and Amrita heard her daughter Cassidy and Viva discussing this topic when she was taking them to ballet last Thursday. Viva said she likes her name Genevieve, but she can't spell it.

As for the big, big scissors, they certainly were a lot bigger scissors than she is ever allowed to use at home! They were on the tables in the schoolroom we were in. The schoolroom is used by K-6, so I'm not sure why such large scissors are out on the tables.

The name an animal game was interesting. The girls got to choose a small stuffed animal (most of which were teddy bears) and give it a name and say one thing about it. There were 8 girls. 3 of them named their bear Heart, 1 Heartbreaker, 1 Amanda, and then there was Viva who named hers Alaska Flag. Most of them told us that their animal was shy or that it liked snow or it liked to play. Half the girls just copied what a girl before them said. Again Viva surprised me--and all the adults in the room. She said "My bear kills." I had to point out to the other adults that killing is what real bears do. (Kara attributed Viva's statement to living with brothers.)

I was amazed at how much pink there was at the meeting. Only one girl had no pink on. Girl Scouts is definitely girlie which was our goal for The Princess.

Viva liked her first Daisy meeting. They will be meeting every other Monday, so there wasn't a meeting today and Viva will miss the next one because she will be in Mexico with her dad and older brothers. We'll let you know how it goes next time she meets with the troop.