MomWhoCamps

shortridge, Yes! Definitely. We will talk to the girls about it. I'm sure they'll have a dozen creative and interesting ideas that I can't fathom. :-)

qwasze, My thoughts exactly. Asking for a policy is inviting someone to invent one. No thank you. As far as making flags, I'm thinking that, at the Tenderheart level, it might be sufficient just to let the girls go at it with some home craft materials. In my view, the more that the girls can do for themselves, the better, and the more pride that they'll have in the finished product.

Second Class, Tampa, and Cito: Thanks for your feedback!!! Many of the AHG squad designators that I've seen in the past revolve around the Red, White, and Blue theme, so you could have, for example, The Blue Belles, The Red Riding Hoods, and the White Diamonds, or something like that. I can see the argument for keeping them consistent, but also think that the girls should have some say.

Wow. Not copying...many AHG troops are doing this already, just not in our area. The precise reason that I'm asking is because if you ask 10 different people, I'll get 10 different answers, which, in my mind is the benefit of a discussion forum. In fact, logic would dictate that the very fact that you're saying that everyone does it differently would indicate that it would be very difficult to "copy" BSA practices in this area.

BDT00, I doubt most Boy Scout troops rock pink rain ponchos while camping, like my Tenderhearts, but appreciate your concern!!! :-) ,

Hi all! I am a leader for my daughter's American Heritage Girl Tenderheart (1st-3rd grades) unit. With a boom in interest in AHG in our area, the unit grew to 30 girls this program year, so we've broken the girls up into squads (the AHG lingo for patrols, or maybe dens given the age range.) In any event, we'd like to have the girls come up with squad names and make squad flags for them. I was wondering how the BSA folks do this. Do the boys pick their own names and make their own flags? Do the names change each year, or do the patrol names get handed down within the troop? Thanks!

I agree. I could start to answer some of these, but am much more interested in the answers that national hopefully will provide. Thanks for asking them!

BadenP, Totally get this. If the troops in your area were being run poorly, and likely not in concert with the intention of the national organization, then that's unfortunate. There are bad seeds in every organization, and, unfortunately, they reflect on the organization as a whole. Like I have maintained from the beginning, since AHG troops are sponsored by charter organizations, the "feel" of the troop can vary significantly, as can the theology. I'm not expecting you to go out and find another troop to try out, but I hope you can understand that one bad experience doesn't necessarily

While I don't agree that AHG is exclusive with regard to its Girl membership requirement, nor do I agree with the assessment that AHG's brand of Christianity looks down on non-Christians, I can definitely understand how someone does make that assessment would be uncomfortable with that. What I find fascinating about the conversation thus far on the issue of AHG and "exclusion" based on religion is the similarity between the arguments being used on both sides of the issue on this thread and the arguments being tossed around about BSA's "exclusionary" membership policies on this thread in I&

There have been some great questions posed here. Sorry I've been away from the computer all day and haven't really had a chance to address them. I'll try to provide answers as well as I can. Are the skill-in-subject awards specifically called "Merit Badges", or what terminology is used? You got me here. I just checked my Handbook, and they are referred to simply as "badges." I think informally we sometimes refer to them as "merit badges" because, as many have said along the way, a lot of AHG folks have scouting experience from both BSA and/or GSUSA. Officially, though, AHGers earn "

I'm going to try to start an open, frank, and civil discussion of the program that AHG makes available for girls. The American Heritage Girl badges are arranged into six frontiers to make them even easier to find and use: Heritage Ancestor Detector, Caring for My Environment, Citizenship and Government, Native American, Our Flag, Our Heritage, World Heritage Family Living Cake Decorating, Cooking, Family Helper, Gardening, Home Care & Repair, Home Decorating, Memory Maker, Money Management, Pet Care, Sewing, Toys & Games Arts Cinematography, Creative Craft

Seattle, Sorry I missed your question earlier. We don't have many tag alongs. Some of the leaders have younger children, and the troop provides a playgroup/nursery setting for them during meetings, but few if any families bring additional program-aged children to meetings.

BadenP, Not sure where you got the quote from me, since I can't find it. Not saying that I didn't write it somewhere at some point, but I am saying I can't find it. What I can find is this: "Now, I'm going to start a new thread on AHG's Program in Open Discussion, for anyone who's interested." ...and this: "I've been having some issues with starting a new thread, but really think it's worthwhile to talk about the scouting program offered by AHG, so here you go: This is a new thread for discussing AHG and its merits as a scouting program." I'm still waiting for answers on

Basmentdweller, YMMV. It's important to assess all aspects of a program in determining whether or not it's a good fit for you. Clearly, you've done your homework and passed along your thoughts to other members of your congregation. Best of luck with your BPSA group! Seattle, Our troop is chartered by a United Methodist church. For some reason, the Cub Scout pack that is chartered by the same church meets at a different location, a local elementary school, while the Boy Scout and AHG troops meet at the church. This location difference might make deter some joint activities. At th

I've been having some issues with starting a new thread, but really think it's worthwhile to talk about the scouting program offered by AHG, so here you go: This is a new thread for discussing AHG and its merits as a scouting program. As I said in the other thread, my daughter and I stumbled upon AHG when we were on a local camping trip with a few families from our church. A large group of AHGers were camping not far from us, and appeared to be having a great time. I had heard that the program emphasis of GSUSA had swung away from classic scouting activities such as camping, cano

Hi everyone! I'm a mom to three. My older daughter is in the first grade and is a Tenderheart in the American Heritage Girls. My other two, a five year-old boy and a four year-old girl, can't wait to join scouting as soon as they're old enough. I'm a leader for my daughter's Tenderheart unit, and I'm married to an Eagle Scout and Brotherhood member of OA. We're very excited to be joining the scouting community!

Seattle, I'm one of six leaders for my 1st grade daughter's Tenderheart unit, comprising 30 girls. The unit is nominally broken into three squads of 10, with two leaders for each squad. As far as BSA goes, my screen name is hedging my bets. :-) My son is starting kindergarten in the fall, so he's not in scouts yet, but is literally counting the days until he can join Cub Scouts. I've heard that there is a kindergarten Cubs program being piloted in some councils, and I sure wish it was being added nationally for the fall! As far as some of the things I've heard being done are joint fami

That's ok, OldGreyEagle, BadenP never answered any of my direct questions, either: about the Statement of Faith, about the inconsistencies in his arguments, or about the Creed. Since he made a final allegation of inclusivity, I will again pull from the AHG website, Who can be an American Heritage Girl? Any girl, age 5 and in Kindergarten through age 18 can be an American Heritage Girl. Girls of all different backgrounds are welcome in AHG. Who can be an AHG Volunteer? An AHG volunteer must be at least 21 years of age and a citizen or legal resident of the United States. This

So, now I'm really confused. In the early pages of this discussion, the anti-AHG (for lack of a better term) crowd was arguing that the AHG MMS was not unique, and simply one of hundreds that BSA has. They said that AHG was being deceptive in claiming a special partnership with BSA that they did not, in fact, have any claim to. Now, I'm understanding that the main objection appears to be with the closeness and unique partnership that BSA has entered into with AHG and the fact that the MMS might lend some credibility in the scouting world. Which one is it? Do they have a unique relationshi

"Riddle me this: Legal permanent residents can serve in the military and die for our country, but they're not American enough to be treasurer of their daughter's AHG unit. How much sense does that make?" Probably about as much as 18 year-olds having to register for selective service but not being able to drink alcohol. Really...some things are red herrings and have been for years. As for being anti-immigrant, the last time I checked, a lot of U.S. citizens are immigrants to this country. I think that you can say that you don't like the citizenship requirement, nor do you approve of

"If a group goes against your family's religious values, you'd still be OK with her joining?" This one seems a double-edged sword to me. Actually, this is the reason that AHG was invented, right? People weren't comfortable with the way in which GSUSA was headed, so they decided to make something different? As for me, my parents allowed me to attend Young Women's camp with an LDS friend for three summers in high school and weren't afraid that I would come home asking to convert, so yes, it does happen. I'm very curious in BadenP's continued statements about the theology of AHG, cla

BadenP, Thanks for your explanation. I am interested in learning which doctrines allegedly supported by AHG are not Christian, in your opinion. I'm including the AHG Statement of Faith below for your reference: "We believe that there is One Triune God Father, Jesus Christ His one and only Son, and the Holy Spirit Creator of the universe and eternally existent. We believe the Holy Scriptures (Old/New Testament) to be the inspired and authoritative Word of God. We believe each person is created in His image for the purpose of communing with and worshipping God. We believe in the minis

Seattle, I think it's great that you're looking into AHG for your CO. If our troop is any indication (and I hope it is), you'll find that AHG is offers a traditional scouting experience, including all the great outdoor stuff, coupled with Christian values and a strong emphasis on family and girl leadership. I hope you find it to be everything you're looking for. One more link that I wanted to pass on... I think it says a lot about the vision/intent of the organization, i.e. what AHG is trying to do for girls. Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GSNyhkUdYs

For what it's worth, and fully knowing that I'm about to be led down the garden path, I understand where BadenP is coming from. Christianity should not be exclusionary. I mean, Jesus spent a good deal of time with prostitutes, tax collectors, lepers, and other societal "undesirables." This is one of the things that drove the religious leaders of his time to distraction. So, Jesus certainly wasn't a model of exclusion on any level. The interesting part of BadenP's argument, however, is that he claims that AHG's primary purpose is to evangelize or proselytise Christianity to young girls, bu

"I do not have a problem with the BSA and AHG having a MMS as the BSA has MMS's with other organizations; however, what I object to is the extreme lengths the BSA has gone to assist the AHG (such as the use of our YPT; a week long conference at Philmont; allowing Wood Badge attendance, etc.) when many of our highly dedicated Scouting families who are non-Christian will see no benefit. I bet there are many non-Christian Scouters who want a similar program for the daughters to join so that they get a great Scouting experience just like the sons. The AHG says that all are welcome, but does anyone