Girl Scout camp is a magical experience. But whether it’s distance, time, money, or even a global pandemic, not everyone can access the summer camp experience. That’s why we created Tajar’s Treehouse, a virtual summer program for all girls (whether she’s a Girl Scout or not) in Kindergarten through fifth grade.
Save it for later!
Girls get the chance to try new things, meet new friends, and discover more about who they are with the support of trained counselors and near-peer mentorship. If you didn’t get to go to camp as a kid, imagine the adventure of a lifetime with all your best friends, while your big sisters cheer you on. We’d love all those Daisies, Brownies, and Juniors to join us! Here are five wonderful reasons to sign up for our virtual summer program:
Add structure and variety to her summer with fun, meaningful activities
Summer is a time of freedom for girls, but structure can create support for exploration and fun! Along with regularly scheduled all-camp activities, each level of Tajar’s Treehouse meets at the same time daily every week. During that time, girls spend time with age-level peers and youth development professionals (including former camp staff!) who get trained to give girls maximum support and fun virtually.
Girls have structured fun through different virtual activities.
For one flat rate, you girl gets access to a whole week of activities: peer group time, virtual campfires, multi-day projects, and themed lunches. To accommodate varied schedules, Zoom fatigue, and embrace that free summer feeling, all activities are optional. Girls can join in for what they want or have space for, whether that’s all sessions, just their peer group time, or even only lunch.
Connect with camp sisters new and old
Sisterhood is at the core of the Girl Scout experience, and it’s no different at Tajar’s Treehouse! With opportunities to see the same group of girls every day, as well as time with larger groups at campfires singing silly songs and telling stories, girls are bound to make a new friend or two, and spend time with their old ones! In their own words, here are what girls loved the most about Tajar’s Treehouse:
“That we could all talk to each other and see each other.”
“Playing games!”
“Being able to share the things I made. I really liked when we got in small groups.”
“I really liked that every morning meeting we sang songs and that I felt safe around the other people.”
Just like at in-person summer camp, girls can request to be placed with one same-age-level buddy so they go in knowing a friend already.
Pro Tip—Know some girls or families who are interested in Girl Scouts? Tajar’s Treehouse is a relaxing way to give the Girl Scout experience a test-drive from the comfort of their own homes. Meet new friends, have a blast, come back for another week (or a whole year of membership) if they like it!
Find amazing near-peer mentors to show girls they’re heard and valued
Near-peer mentorship is when younger girls get support and guidance from older girls and young women. The closeness in age allows the mentor to act as a big sister, guiding and supporting in a way that encourages independence and growth differently than the support girls get from parents and family. Our trained youth development staff are there to support your girls and be role models as they learn and grow. Having familiar and supportive staff makes all the difference—our Tajar’s Treehouse campers agreed in their own words:
“Seeing different people while also seeing girls from my troop. I also liked seeing counselors that I already knew from being at camp in person.”
“The community. All the staff and CITs were super nice and amazing, and I really felt like I belonged, like that was where I was meant to be.”
“The thing I liked most about Tajar’s Treehouse was that both the staff and the girls are always very kind and including.”
Add some laughter, joy, and silliness to her life
They say laughter is the best medicine, and they’re right! Not only does laughter and silliness help us have healthy brains by producing endorphins, but it’s good for the soul. Having fun and feeling joy is a vital part of growing up and being a kid. From musical-themed lunch Girl Scout singalongs to silly stories and skits around a virtual campfire, Tajar’s Treehouse is dedicated to making sure your girl has a good time. During the first year of Tajar’s Treehouse, the 2020 pandemic drained the fun out of so much of life. Parents spoke up about how much joy the Treehouse brought into their girl’s life:
“She learned new things…and songs. She got to express herself, play games and dance.”
“My daughter has been isolated for far too long, and it was good for her to be in an active group with some structure, fun, and connection with other girls her age.”
“I love that you guys were patient and had relevant activities for the girls to do. My daughter really enjoyed her time.”
“She felt she was part of something outside her small world right now and still felt a connection.”
Keep active and explore
Girl Scouts are risk-takers and go-getters, and Tajar’s Treehouse is all about creating opportunities to explore and get active! Each week of the Treehouse has a unique theme, such as health and wellness or adventure and looking ahead, that girls get to explore together in their peer groups, and each day of the week cycles through a specific program area as well, such as STEM, dance, art, music, and nature! This makes sure that girls get to try a little bit of everything to find new passions and learn new skills.
All the curriculum is designed to be as accessible as possible, using minimal materials or items you probably already have at home. Our staff will provide you with a list of possible materials just in case, but the goal is to keep costs low and fun at an all-time high!
Campers and staff alike had a blast in the Treehouse this past year, and we hope to see many more girls join us on our virtual summer adventure.
Join us at the Treehouse!
What to do next:
- Sign your Daisy, Brownie, and Junior up for Tajar’s Treehouse.
- Sending girls to her first camp, virtual or in-person, can be hard for parents. Angela Borchert shares her own experience of letting her Girl Scout explore at camp.
- Want to know what’s up with Girl Scout camp? You can join our Camp ROCKS! Facebook group to get the latest updates on all things Girl Scout camp.
- Don’t forget to purchase Tajar’s Treehouse swag for her summer comradery.
Katie Mock—Katie is the Marketing Copywriter for the Girl Scouts of Northern California, where she writes everything from tweets to Trailhead articles, and makes sure everyone dots their ‘i’s and crosses their ‘t’s. Although she was a Girl Scout for only a few years, her experiences with Girl Scouts, combined with attending a single-sex high school, gave her a profound appreciation for the power all-girl spaces have to change girls’ lives for the better. Katie moved to the Bay Area after graduating from the University of Chicago with a B.A. in Linguistics; when she’s not diving into writing with a red pen, you can find her geeking out about the latest sci-fi novel, cooking anything from traditional Japanese Cuisine to pizza, or cuddling her two cats.
