Each year at our church, the third-grade Brownies work on their Family of God religious award.

The task can seem daunting: 18 activities about the Catholic faith. But it doesn’t have to be so.

Consider planning a morning retreat with your girls. Our co-leader organized this for our troop, and it was a terrific experience. We were able to allow the girls to meet most of their award requirements, give them some one-on-one time with their parents, and keep them from being annoyed that they were “still” working on this. (We had burnout with a journey experience, and I have heard other leaders say they nearly lost girls from their troop from dragging the award out too long.)

Here’s what we did for our retreat:

• We blocked out a three-hour morning session and announced it early in the year. Girls were to attend with a parent.
• We jumped around the requirements, switching quiet activities with interactive ones (table or troop discussion,  parent interviews etc.)
• Our goal for the retreat was to meet several award requirements, plan a community service project and culminate in a girl-led prayer service.

Activities we completed (listed in chapter order, not in order of the day):

• Chapter 1 (I am special to my family): Make a list of four activities you can do well.
• Chapter 2 (I am special to God’s family): Write your own prayer thanking God for someone special. (These were shared at the prayer service at the end of the retreat.)
• Chapter 3 (I belong to my family): List the members of your family and list two or three jobs they do in your family. (It is a wonderful eye-opener: even siblings make a difference!).
  Plan a prayer service with family members.
• Chapter 4 (I belong to God’s family): Learn the names of parish staff and others who work in the parish. Why is the priest called father? What do they do to serve the parish?
  Talk to your parent about your baptism and your name. Why was that name chosen or who is your patron saint?
  Write or draw how your parish family of God does things together. What activities are there especially for youth?
• Chapter 5 (I can help my family): Make a prayer bag with names of each member of your family. Pick a name each day to pray for them or send a special thinking of you note to them.
• Chapter 6 (I can help God’s family): Read John 6:1-15 (loaves and fishes). List ways you can share or draw a picture of what you can do for people to show how you love them.
  What does the word Christian mean? Talk about the special things that make us Christians. Plan a service for your parish. (Our girls voted to earn money for an Angel Tree gift at our church.)