Have trouble getting the girls to remember Scout meetings, let alone everything they need for the meetings? At first I thought wow, my meetings must really be dull but since I╒ve had my girls for 4 years now it seemed that it couldn╒t be all that bad. I finally hit on this idea - actually I borrowed the framework from my daughter╒s 4th grade teacher - she uses a similar award program for her students and when I saw how well it worked for my daughter she and I decided to adapt it for our troop. Give it a go, it just might work!
╥Scout Bucks╙ Incentive
╥Scout Bucks╙ are a troop╒s special currency (in the form of ╥dollar bills╙ that can be earned or taken away. At the end of the year girls will be able to use the ╥Scout Bucks╙ they have accumulated to ╥buy╙ items from a special ╥Scout Bucks Bag╙. We designed the ╥Scout Bucks╙ together on the computer - I have not included that with this file because it is a great creative troop activity to design their own personal ╥Scout Bucks╙.
How To Earn ╥Scout Bucks╙
Items that gain you $1 each
1. Attendance at meeting
2. Wearing uniform/pins at events or meetings
3. Bringing Badge book to meetings
4. Bringing all materials/badge work required at the meeting (per instructions previous meeting)
Items that gain you $2 each
1. Giving a badge report on a badge you are doing on your own
2. Completing a badge at home
3. Earning a Council patch
4. Other bonus items as agreed upon by the troop in advance
Ways To Lose ╥Scout Bucks╙
Items that cost $1 each
1. Missing a meeting without calling one of the leaders first Reason must be illness or another commitment approved by parents
2. Forgetting uniform/pins at a meeting or event
3. Forgetting Badge Book at a meeting
4. Not bringing materials asked for at last meeting
Items that cost $2 each
1. Forgetting to attend an event the troop has registered for without calling one of the leaders first
2. Not returning a permission slip as requested
3. Failing to turn in money from product sales on time
4. Other circumstances as agreed upon by the troop in advance
Each girl will have an envelope with her name on it in which ╥Scout Bucks╙ are kept. To start the program out each envelope will have 2 free ╥Scout Bucks╙ in it. At the beginning of each meeting we will pass out the envelopes and award the ╥Scout Bucks╙ as they are earned, or take them away as they are forfeited. The envelope will remain with the troop leader between meetings.
The ╥Scout Bucks Bag╙ is filled with small trinkets, gift certificates, miscellaneous that pre-teen girls like. What you would choose to put in would be dictated by troop finances; I have also found that McDonalds and Burger King in my area are very forthcoming with donations of certificates for things like free French fries, a soft drink, etc. My local Ben Franklin store has lots of novelty items such as pens shaped like lipsticks, colorful pencils, erasers in weird shapes, small notebooks. To make it cost effective I usually attach a fairly high price tag to things - for example a lipstick shaped pen with an actual cost of 89 cents would cost 5 ╥Scout Bucks╙. I purchased a few things with dues money so they could have something to shoot for and will purchase the rest as cookie money comes in. My girls are 4th and 5th graders and this has worked very well for our troop - an unintended consequence has been to wake a few parents up as well.
