Why Girl Scouting?
The Girl Scout program is an informal educational program designed to help girls put into practice the fundamental principles of the Girl Scout Movement as set forth in the preamble. It is carried out in small groups with adult leadership and provides a wide range of activities developed around the interests and needs of girls.
- Constitution of Girl Scouts of the United States of America, Article III
The Girl Scout program is founded on the Girl Scout Promise and the Girl Scout Law. Any girl willing to make the Girl Scout Promise can become a member. Through the Girl Scout program, girls discover, lead, and take action, building skills that yield the desired outcomes of courage, confidence and character. Ultimately, through the Girl Scout experience, girls aspire to make the world a better place.
The motivating force in Girl Scouts is spiritual. Each girl is encouraged to become a better member of her own religious group and respect the varying religious beliefs and practices of others.
The Girl Scout program is carried out through many different structures. Girls may participate in a troop or group, as individuals, or as members of an interest group. The program is adapted to meet the developmental, educational and social needs and interests of girls at five age levels:
| Daisy Girl Scouts | K–1st grade or 5–6 years old |
| Brownie Girl Scouts | 1st – 3rd grades or 6–8 years old |
| Junior Girl Scouts | 3rd–6th grades or 8–11 years old |
| Cadette Girl Scouts | 6th–9th grades or 11–14 years old |
| Senior Girl Scouts | 9th–12th grades or 14–17 years old |
Generally trooops are set up so that they are large enough to provide experience in self-government, but small enough to allow for the development of the individual girl. A troop or group consists of at least five girls from more than one family. Ratios for girls to adults provide appropriate adult leadership.
The Girl Scout program is for all girls. Activities for each age level are designed to encourage pluralism and to promote racial and ethnic understanding and respect.
Girl Scouting is part of a world-wide movement, and program activities emphasize this international dimension. The Girl Scout program supports the international sisterhood of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) through activities that encourage cross-cultural understanding. Check out www.wagggsworld.org.
Service is inherent in the Girl Scout Promise and Law and is given to better the quality of life for others, without expectation of payment or reward. All girls take part in service projects or activities. Our program builds skills through progressive learning experiences, both at the current age level and in preparation for the next one.
Care is taken at all times to provide for the health, safety and security of the girls.