
C-O-O-K-I-E-S, What does that stand for? The C stands for Courage, Confidence and Character; the O stands for Opportunity and Optimistic or Observant; the K stands for Kindness; the I is for Intelligence, Ideas and Imagination; the E is for Effort, Excellence, Engaging, Exuberant and Entrepreneurial; and the S stands for Sensational, Skillful, Self-confident and Successful.
The Cookie program can be such an important part of Girl Scouting. Through our younger years, we are taught many things, some of which we will never use but some lessons, we use for the rest of our lives. The life skills that the Cookie Program is designed to teach the girls are the following, but are definitely not limited to:
- Communication skills - we all know that even though the internet can be an excellent resource, relationships are best developed face to face. This is a great opportunity to learn introduction skills, "Hi, my name is...I am with the Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland, Troop," etc.
- How about the simple task of counting money and making change? Has anyone else experienced purchasing something from a retail store, the computer system goes down, and the person behind the counter has no idea how to make change?
- Another important lesson is goal setting. Learning what is a bit out of reach, but coming up with a game plan on how to get there, and having the stick-to-itness to achieve it.
- As we reach adulthood we begin to realize how important the life skill of "selling" really becomes. For instance, if there is a particular job that we want or the promotion at work, a person needs to know how to sell their abilities to that company. Or, lets say a person has more of the entrepreneurial spirit, unless we are independently wealthy (which unfortunately, most of us are not), we need to be able to sell our idea to the banker.
With a little bit of guidance and encouragement, rather than too much help, we are empowering our girls and young women to do great things and by doing this, these young women develop, one of the most important pieces to their character - SELF-CONFIDENCE. When a young woman is self-confident, she makes good decisions, finds her passion and when that happens, SUCCESS always follows- And that, is a beautiful thing.
Click here to see pictures of the Cookie Kick Off in Hays, KS, where girls are learning
C-O-O-K-I-E-S.