Kids everywhere are excitedly celebrating summer vacation! But there’s one part of summer break that can be a bit of a downer: your girl no longer gets to see her awesome troop every day. Womp womp.

So, how can you help her stay connected to her troop-mates when she’s away from school? We’ve got 5 ideas for you!

1. Sign up for TAC Camp!

What better way to connect with your troop than spending 2 or 3 nights at Girl Scout Camp together? Girls will work with their troop leaders to design a custom camp adventure with all the super fun activities they’d like to do as a troop! GSWO provides food, lifeguards, a naturalist, an arts consultant, and other camp staff to make the adventure a reality.

The best part? Adults needed for ratio attend for free! No additional training is required. Plus, adults can also rotate in and out with other adults, so camp can fit within everyone’s schedules.

We’ve still got a few TAC sessions available this summer! Check out the GSWO website for details, and email Debbie Santel at debbiesantel@gswo.org to make sure your desired session is still available!

2. Suggest a field trip your troop can take this summer.

If TAC isn’t your troop’s thing, or you’re looking for smaller, one-day event, suggest a field trip your girl’s troop can take together!

Depending on their interests, your girl and her friends may be interested in a trip to a theme park, a museum, or even just the local pool! Whatever the scenario, have the girls plan it as much as possible — after all, Girl Scouts is girl-led!

3. Ask other troop parents / caregivers for their contact information.

Sometimes big troop events just don’t work out over the summer; families are traveling at different times, girls are participating in different programs throughout the summer, etc.

When that’s the case, see if your girl can connect in smaller groups over the summer — even one-on-one with a fellow troop member!

As your troop’s final meetings wrap up, make sure to gather contact information from as many parents / caregivers from your girl’s troop as you can, if you don’t already have it. That way, when your girl is asking if she can hang out with a particular girl in her troop, you have the resources to make it happen! No awkward Facebook searching required.

4. Set up a summer troop pen pal program.

In today’s day and age, technology is everything. Sometimes it can be fun and exciting to slow down for a bit! Have your girl’s troop set up a summer troop pen pal program. They all pair up and write letters to each other. Yes, real letters. By hand. (It’s okay if a parent has to write and read it for them!)

This is a really fun way for the girls to try something new while continuing to engage with their Girl Scout sisters!

5. Plan ahead!

And finally, get the troop together a few times throughout the summer to begin planning for next year’s activities! What events do they want to go to? What badges are they excited to work on? Have the girls plan it out all summer, so they’re ready to hit the ground running once school starts again!

Just because school is out doesn’t mean your girl can’t hang out with her Girl Scout troop this summer! Which of these ideas is your girl going to try first?