Hosting Your Parent Meeting
After you've completed your training, but before your first troop meeting, invite your troop families to their first parent meeting, where you'll set the tone for the year, recruit troop volunteers, collect safety forms (everyone needs an Annual Permission and Girl Health History to get started), and talk details about troop dues, Girl Scouts, and the awesome activities you'll do this year.
Psst—If you're not comfortable hosting your own parent meeting, our Membership Development staff can help!
Planning Your FIrst Troop Meeting
As you start to plan the year together, remember: Girl Scout troops can do anything, from camping and high adventure to arts and crafts, to science and engineering activities! It’s important to put your girls and their needs and interests first, but having a well-rounded Girl Scout experience will not only introduce your girls to a wide variety of skills and experiences, it will encourage healthy risk-taking, open minds, and strengthen sisterhood.
To get the full Girl Scout experience, we encourage all troops to:
- Meet at least once per month during the school year to form a tight-knit troop
- Choose badges or activities from a variety of skill-building areas
- Hone their entrepreneurial skills by starting a troop cookie biz through the Girl Scout Cookie Program
- Explore the great outdoors through an age-appropriate outdoor experience
- Attend or hold an end-of-year celebration or event to celebrate what they’ve accomplished
- Learn resilience, risk-taking, confidence, and other crucial life skills at summer camp
Not sure where to start? Check out our sample meeting ideas for each month.
