After another occurrence of senseless violence in the USA, everyone is talking about safety at school... including kids. We're all having strong emotional responses from this horrific event... including kids. Should we address this at Girl Scouts? And if so, how can we do it with the kids' best interests at heart?   Resources: https://www.girlscouts.org/en/raising-girls/happy-and-healthy/happy/extreme-violence-and-children-parenting-advice.html https://www.girlscouts.org/en/raising-girls/happy-and-healthy/happy/kids-worried-about-war.html https://www.nctsn.org/sites/default/files/resources/fact-sheet/talking-to-children-about-war.pdf https://www.schoolcrisiscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Guidelines-Talking-to-Kids-About-Attacks-Two-Sided-Onesheet-Format.pdf https://www.nctsn.org/resources/coping-after-mass-violence    Fake News Activity from Girl Scouts: https://www.girlscouts.org/en/raising-girls/leadership/life-skills/kids-and-fake-news-critical-thinking-skills.html Support Uvalde: https://www.girlscouts-swtx.org/en/our-council/girl-scout-strong-for-uvalde.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, I am speed talking through 10 ideas for activities you can do at your back-to-school season troop meetings. I didn't mean to speed talk, but here we are. Don't listen to this one on 2x speed. I say this for your own safety. LOL Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Primary election years are a big deal in the US! But they can also be exhausting, and frankly, divisive. In this episode, I'm sharing 3 of my best tips for how to engage your girls in discussion and action around the fact that it's an election year... without actually getting involved in divisive politics that will alienate troop families. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, my guest is Sheri Bowman-Gazitt. We are talking all about managing DRAMA - girl drama, mama drama, and more. Connect with Sheri here: http://teen-wise.com http://facebook.com/groups/theparentinglab Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, I wanted to share some tips for running a multi-level troop, including some insights into my own story and how my own multi-level troop started and grew. ALSO I'm so excited to announce that I'm nominated for a Women in Podcasting award! You can support me (it's totally free) by voting for the show here: https://womeninpodcasting.net/awards Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're back for SEASON 7 of this podcast! And it's back to school season, which around here is also known as Back to Troop! Here are three things you can (and should) do to prepare for back to troop season! ALSO I'm so excited to announce that I'm nominated for a Women in Podcasting award! You can support me (it's totally free) by voting for the show here: https://womeninpodcasting.net/awards Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I know y'all love the easy-to-implement episodes, and this one is packed full of ideas you are going to love. My guest today is Laura Haver, and her book Play Together is going to be an incredible resource for your troop. She's sharing some of her favorite ways to play (while still learning and building skills and emotional resilience) and I can't wait for you to start getting some ideas from this episode to put on your troop calendar for this upcoming year. Get the book (this is an affiliate link): https://amzn.to/463QHpi Connect with Laura: https://laurahaver.com/ https://www.instagram.com/lauramhaver Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I first heard about executive function a few years ago and to be honest, it helped me understand neurodiversity on a level that is so much more helpful and useful. I was so excited to connect with this week's guest, Carrie Bonnett, because she specializes in helping kids (and adults) with executive function. I hope you're ready to learn something this episode - it's a good one! Connect with Carrie: https://www.carriebonnett.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest today is Amy from Spark Joy with Amy. We're talking about the benefits of play-based learning for children's engagement and resilience. Connect with Amy www.sparkjoywithamy.com www.instagram.com/sparkjoywithamy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It seems like these days everyone is always talking about STEM. Also, in an effort to close the gender gap in STEM careers, it seems like Girl Scouts has maybe 'overcorrected' with STEM activities ALL THE TIME. Do you feel this way? If so, this episode is for you. My guest this week is Alyse Johnson-Chilla, full time high school science teacher and a parent of a new Daisy. We're talking about why STEM programming is important and how we can make it fun and accessible for girls (and for us!) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sometimes, we need a reminder about why we want to do this in the first place, and why this work matters. Today I'm reflecting on 6 years of this podcast and 112+ years of creating meaningful, safe spaces for girls. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, my guest is Susan Day. Susan is an art therapist practitioner and a published author living in East Gippsland, Victoria. Susan hosts her own podcast, facilitates creative art sessions, and has over six mindful art therapy books published. Susan is enthralled with the power of art and the written word to change people’s lives. Connect with Susan: Website: https://mindfulartstherapy.com.au/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mindfulartstherapy Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindfulartstherapy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Connect with Talia Bombola/Talia's resources: Www.therapywithtalia.com and www.taliabombola.com @taliabombola on IG and tiktok https://centerforadolescentstudies.com/how-to-validate-teens-even-when-you-dont-agree/ https://imperfectfamilies.com/50-ways-to-say-good-job-without-saying-good-job/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Girls are taught from the time they are literally babies not to trust themselves and they lose the ability to listen to their intuition. This is reinforced throughout childhood and adolescence, and even adulthood, and it gets more and more difficult to relearn in adulthood. Eventually, it seems like many of us have a definitive experience in adulthood that pushes us back to the importance of listening to our intuition and relearning how to tap back into that. One of the things that is so special about Girl Scouts is that we can help counteract society's bad teachings and help girls build self awareness and practice trusting themselves and listening to their intuition. This carries into their teenage and adult years to help them make better decisions for themselves. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A few weeks ago we talked about digital marketing, and you all told me you really wanted to hear more about how to run Facebook/Meta ads. I brought in an expert for this one ;) Connect with Helena: https://www.chicago42.com/ https://www.instagram.com/chicago42digital/ https://www.facebook.com/Chicago42Digital/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A couple of weeks ago I answered the question "What are some of your best tips for a new Brownie leader?" Buuuuut I confess that my answer is probably not what the person who asked the question expected to get. So, in part 1 a few weeks ago I answered honestly about where I would start as a brand new leader. And in this episode, part 2, I focused more on some tips about how to get started planning your meetings and activities for girls of different levels. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest in this episode is Roya Dedeaux, a licensed therapist who specializes ins creative teen therapy, art groups, parenting courses, and more for better mental health. We are specifically talking about how to connect with teens in our troops, but if you have littles in your troop, I know there is a lot of value in this conversation for you, too. Connect with Roya: https://www.royadedeaux.com/ Recreate Parenting podcast: https://www.royadedeaux.com/podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you're new to Girl Scouts like April, this is my best checklist of items to take care of to get started. RSVP for our upcoming New Leaders Circle: https://subscribepage.io/NfeamT Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, my go-to returning guest Sheryl Robinson is back and we are talking about Adult Recognitions and Appreciation. Breezing through some of the awards that are available both nationwide and council-specific, we’re talking about the formal methods of adult appreciation in Girl Scouts as well as the other ways we can recognize each other.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TRIGGER WARNING: This week’s episode is about the sensitive topic and themes around youth suicide awareness & prevention.  The number one cause of death of youth today is suicide. And although boys may have a higher death rate from suicide attempts, girls have a higher attempt rate. As adults who work closely with girls in K-12, we have a special role in recognizing warning signs and helping girls see another way out when it feels like there isn’t one. Our guest today, Suzi Freeman, works with both teens and their adults to build resilience, healthy coping mechanisms, and suicide prevention. Suzi offers suicide prevention certification classes for parents and adults working with kids, and she’s offered us two great NO-COST options to get as many of us certified as possible:  For a self-paced course (100% free): https://www.suzifreeman.com/suicide-prevention  Use code SCOUTS to waive the registration fee OR Join us live (**I’ll be there!!!**) for a Troop Leader Experience certification course + Q&A (100% free): https://www.suzifreeman.com/service-page/live-qpr-certification-virtual Use code ScoutsLive to access and book that for free. About Suzi: https://www.suzifreeman.com/about-suzi  Connect with Suzi: Instagram | LinkedIn | Facebook https://www.suzifreeman.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices