How to Create a Troop Environment that will Foster Friendships
Thankfully, most of us manage to find our own route to making friends. We strike up conversations, we join groups where we expect we will meet people and we inherit siblings and cousins who become our "starter" friends. For adults there are lots of articles and blogs on how to make friends. But for kids, it can sometimes be a minefield. I have met thousands of girls and adults who credit Girl Scouting for the friends that they have now, for the friends that came into their lives through Girl Scouts, and in many cases, for friendships that have lasted a lifetime*. The Girl Scout Promise and Law entreat us to "be a sister to every Girl Scout." We often speak of the FUN and FRIENDSHIP of Girl Scouting, but what do we need to do to help foster a friendly environment for our girls? In many instances girls will come into a Troop knowing at least one girl from their class, and sometimes Troops are formed with a number of girls who are already...