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Reinforcing Home Education Vision
About 3 years
ago, I heard an announcement made at church about a
new group starting up – “American Heritage Girls” –
a Christ-centered scouting ministry for girls ages
5-18. Because my daughter had recently showed an
interest in scouting, I eagerly attended the parent
informational meeting. I learned the American
Heritage Girl oath, which states, “I promise to love
God, cherish my family, honor my country, and serve
in my community.” I was thrilled to learn about a
program that would offer opportunities to learn life
skills and serve the community, while reinforcing
our family’s Christian values. The following month,
24 girls and their families embarked on this
scouting adventure together, and the group has grown
to over 150 girls today. Quite a few of the families
involved are homeschoolers. As a home educator,
American Heritage Girls appealed to me for several
reasons. I felt it was a great way for my daughters
to meet like-minded friends. Because it’s a uniquely
Christian program, I knew that the majority of
participants would come from families who shared
many of our family’s values. Both of my girls have
made Christian friends through American Heritage
Girls.
Also, I believed the girls would be influenced by a
variety of godly women. Titus 2:3-5 says that the
older women should mentor the younger women to
fulfill God’s purpose. While I understand that I’m
the most important female influence for my
daughters, I also value having other women mentors
in their lives. Both of the girls have formed
relationships with their squad leaders, and they
look forward to seeing them at each meeting. The
leaders have consistently modeled virtue and have
poured lots of time and energy into each meeting and
event. |
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Heather Goodale and
her daughters
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Sharing fun times at AHG’s
“International Festival”
Learning flag
etiquette from an AHG dad in the Army.
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AHG has provided a way for my daughters to
experience a variety of educational and life-skills
opportunities that I wouldn’t have necessarily been able to
offer them. For example, my 10-year-old is learning how to
cross-stitch. At camp, she learned how to do archery and to
shoot a BB gun, as well as outdoor camping skills, such as fire
safety and fire building.
They’ve also learned in a hands-on way about things we’ve
studied at home. The girls attended a day camp, run by a
high-school age American Heritage Girl, where they learned about
zoology.
They’ve studied flag etiquette, Native Americans, and our
national heritage. To earn this badge, AHG leaders prepared an
interactive presentation for the whole troop, in which the girls
got to taste early American food, see a weaving demonstration
and learn what kinds of tools and toys early settlers used.
They’ve learned about social skills, emergency preparedness,
physical fitness, textile arts and cooking, just to name a few.
As we look to the future, the program promises opportunities for
them to exercise leadership skills as well.
One of the main things that appealed to me about the AHG program
was the service opportunities it provides. I’ve always wanted to
serve the community with my children, but I didn’t know where to
start. For example, I love the idea of visiting elderly people
in nursing homes, but just showing up with my children is out of
my comfort zone. However, since becoming involved in American
Heritage Girls, we’ve had opportunities to visit nursing homes
at Christmas and Veterans’ Day as a group. We’ve sung to the
residents, given them cards and gifts, and just taken the time
to talk with them.
We’ve also served in many other ways. Our troop has pulled weeds
at a popular downtown gathering area. The girls have handed out
bulletins at church, filled shoeboxes for Operation Christmas
Child, organized an Easter egg hunt for children of
single-parent families, made no-sew blankets for foster
children, collected canned goods for our church food pantry and
made cards for military personnel stationed in Iraq. In all of
our service, the focus has been on bringing glory to God, rather
than to ourselves. This is something I try to instill into my
children every day. In fact, our faith values are more important
to my children’s education even than academics, so I appreciate
a scouting program that glorifies God and encourages them to
reach out to others.
Parental involvement is highly encouraged in the American
Heritage Girls. Every family is expected to contribute time and
talents to the troop, which goes well with my family’s
homeschool philosophy. Homeschooling allows me to be there for
my children when they need me. I want to instill my beliefs and
values into them, and help them figure out what to think about
the world. So, I’m glad to be involved in my girls’ troop. I can
help shape the direction of the troop and I can offer assistance
in my areas of expertise. I’ve helped out in various ways during
troop meetings, and my husband, a state trooper, helped my
daughter’s squad earn their Emergency Preparedness badge.
Many of the troop’s events involve the girls’ families. Through
American Heritage Girls we’ve experienced family campouts with
hiking, fishing and cooking. We’ve had Mother-Daughter Teas and
Daddy-Daughter Date nights. My husband and girls look forward to
this event each year. They consistently come home telling me
what a great time they had together. As home educators, family
time is important to us. It’s one of the reasons we homeschool.
So we appreciate the troop’s philosophy of bringing families
together, rather than creating one more opportunity for us to
spend time apart.
I believe my girls will be involved in American Heritage Girls
until they graduate high school. They’re excited about every
troop meeting and they’re learning valuable skills that they’ll
use throughout their lives. They have devoted squad leaders who
want the best for them and who donate lots of time, energy and
love to guide the next generation of Christian women in the way
they should go. They have opportunities to serve that they
otherwise wouldn’t have. And they have so much fun. So, I’ll
continue to be supportive of this program that provides the kind
of support Christian parents need.
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