Girl Scouts–Arizona Cactus-Pine Council and Girl Scouts of the USA are hosting free “Make New Friends” virtual events to help young girls start kindergarten with confidence.
Each four-part series is open to all girls entering kindergarten this fall. September sessions begin Tuesday, Sept. 8.
During each session, girls will:
- practice interacting with other girls, exploring new ideas, and gaining the courage to ask questions about what they see;
- explore emotions and learn how being persistent can help them achieve their dreams;
- use their senses to process the world around them while practicing reasoning and problem-solving skills; and
- learn how to listen to a story, identify key characters, follow a plot line, and share what they learned.
Participants will be connect with the same new friends each week. Girl Scouts staff and volunteers will lead sessions around language & literacy, cognition, approaches to learning, and social and emotional learning.
Each GSACPC session accommodates attention spans at about 30 minutes long and will be held over Zoom. Upcoming dates include:
- Mondays at 6:30 p.m. – Sept. 14, 21, 28 and Oct. 5
- Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. – Sept. 8, 15, 22, 29
- Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. – Sept. 10, 17, 24 and Oct. 1
- Saturdays at 10 a.m. – Sept. 12, 19, 26 and Oct. 3
Many in-person kindergarten readiness and pre-K programs have been cancelled or modified due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including opportunities to meet teachers and classmates and to try out a classroom activity. Knowing that social and emotional learning and development are some of the strongest predictors of academic success and healthy relationships, Girl Scouts
designed these activities for girls to meet those critical milestones.
“Girl Scouts is filling the critical need of preparing girls to learn, lead, and thrive in their kindergarten classrooms,” said GSUSA CEO Sylvia Acevedo. “Girl Scouts’ national reach gives girls in rural, urban, and suburban communities the opportunity to learn important pre-K readiness skills, especially social emotional learning. Our Make New Friends virtual event series helps girls create friendships, develop independence, and practice social awareness skills so they are poised for success.”
Enter your zip code at girlscouts.org/ready to sign up for a Make New Friends event series.
RELATED:
- Eight Steps to a Confident Kindergartner (from girlscouts.org)
- Is Your Girl Feeling Anxious About Kindergarten, Or Are You? (from girlscouts.org)
- Kindergarten Bootcamp helps kids/parents with school readiness (from RAK archives)