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MommyD
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I am thinking about starting a Little Flower Girls Club but I have so many questions. My daughter is surrounded by boys and I really want her to make some female friends. I've had trouble getting busy Moms to make "play dates" so I thought maybe if there was something more they would be willing to make the time  . LFGC starts at age 5, right? Is that a hard and fast rule? My daughter is 4 (but maybe I could set this up to start in the fall?). Are there any web-sites with information on how to start? If not, do any of you have any advice?
MommyD
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SharonO
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We have a Little Flowers Girls Club. Depending on how you structure it, I would say the age is totally dependent on how your child behaves in a group setting. Will you be the primary leader all the time? We have a small group of about 10 girls ages 4-9. The 4 year old is there is two of her sisters. We rotate houses with each mom taking 1 or 2 months each year to plan and lead. Ecce Homo Press has more information with leaders manuals, craft guides, etc. to purchase. There is also a yahoo group for leaders you can join and ask any questions you have about starting your own group.
Basically, it seems like there are some groups that are very structured and others (like ours) who are very laid back. We just meet once/month.
Hope this helps-
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Sharon in MO
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SuzanneG
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MommyD -
My almost-6-year-old started last spring. she is the youngest in a group with 2 other 6yo, a 7 yo and 8 yo. There are 4 moms....we all take turns leading a 'virtue" which means 2 meetings. we meet the 2nd and 4th week of the month at one person's house. sometimes we do a field trip instead of a meeting, whatever that mom has planned. we take turns bringing snacks too.
I'd say if you have other girls that are 4 or 5 years old, you can gear the activities, discussions toward that age group, and it would be fine. maybe you wouldn't want to do the sash/badges, etc. yet.....but just do some of the activities.
I struggle with such young children "earning" a badge when they actually haven't earned it.....the parent has taken most of the responsibility and initiated most of it. "Earning a badge" (working hard for something) sort of loses it's excitement/importance for the later years if it really isn't earned in early years. But, then i''m married to an Eagle scout who takes the "badge concept" VERY seriously!
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Suzanne in ID
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alicegunther
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MommyD, my second eldest daughter was barely 4 when we started our club, and it was just fine!
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Erica Sanchez
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When we began our club we had two age groups of girls - 6-10 year olds and 4 year olds (all the little sisters of the big girls).
We started the actual Little Flower Club with the big girls using the materials Sharon linked to above. We meet once a month. We sing (using the CD), pray, discuss the saint and virtue, and attempt a craft. Often, I use the actual flower for that lesson in the craft or just give it them at the end of the meeting. The girls complete the 'lesson' at home with their moms during the month or alone if they are able. It seems to be working. I know my girls LOVE it.
The younger girls meet at the same time, but separately, and we call them Rosebuds. Another mom leads them in an activity having something to do with a saint or feast day from that particular month. They don't have books. They do have a sash and they receive a little silk flower bud to pin on it simply for being at and participating in the meeting.
As the year went by, we realized we had many brothers of Blue Knights age. We began a club for them and they meet nearby at another mom's house. We 'hired' an amazing teenage boy to lead them and it has been fantastic! We're so happy with the whole thing.
It sounds formal, but it is really not. :)
I think the little lessons in both the Little Flower and Blue Knights books are a little much for a 4 or even 5 year old.
Alice, you do it a little differently, don't you? I didn't think you used the actual books. Is that why it works for the littles?
One last thought about the badges. You know, I believe there are 4 wreath now. I think if they do start earlier/younger, completing these wreaths could take at least four years, so they would be older and understand more and take more responsibility for them as they went through the program. Does that make sense? I worry a little that my 11 year old, who absolutely loves the program, will 'grow out' of it before she has a chance to complete the wreaths and wish we had started a bit earlier. We do really enjoy the way the programs are laid out and the beauty and innocence of it all.
Hope that helps!
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Have a beautiful and fun day!
Erica in San Diego
(dh)Cash, Emily, Grace, Nicholas, Isabella, Annie, Luke, Max, Peter, 2 little souls ++, and sweet Rose who is legally ours!
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JodieLyn
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I haven't been able to arrange it yet but another way I thought of to tweak the programs was using the little flowers and blue knights together and have it be a family group.. so families would get together for an intro, then break into boys with the dads and girls with the moms for activities and then join together again for the closing and snack/social time.
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All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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Theresa
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O.kay, I am clueless. What exactly is the Little Flower Girls club?
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Theresa
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Meredith
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Theresa, it's like "girls Scouts" but for Catholic girls aged 4 and up! It's such a lovely program. I started one with my one dd and 11 other little girls aged 4 to 10 in our area and it has been so fun and such a blessing for me and my dd! We meet once a month for about 2-3 hours and just do girly things, of course following the program as laid out by the link listed above.
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Meredith
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SuzanneG
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Erica Sanchez wrote:
The younger girls meet at the same time, but separately, and we call them Rosebuds. Another mom leads them in an activity having something to do with a saint or feast day from that particular month. They don't have books. They do have a sash and they receive a little silk flower bud to pin on it simply for being at and participating in the meeting.
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THIS is such a good idea!
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Suzanne in ID
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Mom of 7 (Girls - 14, 12, 11, 9, 7 and Boys - 4, 1)
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Theresa
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Thank you Meredith. Where were all you ladies when I was growing up!
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Theresa
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Erica Sanchez
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JodieLyn wrote:
| I haven't been able to arrange it yet but another way I thought of to tweak the programs was using the little flowers and blue knights together and have it be a family group.. so families would get together for an intro, then break into boys with the dads and girls with the moms for activities and then join together again for the closing and snack/social time. |
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I like this idea because the virtues match up. For example, the first virtue in the first books of L.F. and B.K. is 'faith'.
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Have a beautiful and fun day!
Erica in San Diego
(dh)Cash, Emily, Grace, Nicholas, Isabella, Annie, Luke, Max, Peter, 2 little souls ++, and sweet Rose who is legally ours!
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4Real Forums : Domestic Church
Topic: Little Flower Girls Club ?
