The Great Balancing Act

In our fourth session on Girls Life we worked on our balance, both literally and figuratively! We identified people in our lives, like friends and family, who are very important to us. We used their ideas to play a game which had girls running between two coaches on the field, one representing friends and the other representing family. Girls were soon tired after being pulled between the two. One girl shared, “I hang out with my friends at school and make time for them on the weekend. During the week I’m too busy with Girls Life and homework.” This helped girls understand that trying to do too much can be harmful to our bodies.

We also played a balancing game that required girls to stand one leg and reach down and touch one of several index cards labeled FAMILY, SCHOOL, SELF, FRIENDS, SPORTS, SLEEP. The girls started by trying to touch four cards without hoping or falling over. After each accomplished touching all four, we added a fifth card. By the sixth card girls needed help from their friends to support themselves or had to hop around to reach all the cards. The coaches took a moment to share an important message from this activity: the more stuff we try to do, the harder it is to stay balanced.

During our workout we asked the girls to count the steps it took to make it across the field. Our goal was to use the same amount of steps each time. It was challenging! Walking took more steps to get across but, if we ran too quickly our step count was too low.  This activity showed girls that it is possible to balance out everything in life, but it takes practice and patience.

After all this hard work it was time to get silly. We joined in on a game of baseball and had some chill time in the Teen Lounge! Can’t wait for Tuesday’s lesson on Energy!

No Stress Here!

Learning to deal- that’s a skill we would all love to master, right? Well our girls have got it down! Yesterday we identified various life stressors and discussed effective anxiety reduction strategies. We kicked off the day with some really fun relay races that had the girls running and skipping in all sorts of ways. In each race they had to get to the table, write down one thing that causes them stress, and get back to the finish line as fast as possible! Afterward,  we each shared one problem we are having and brainstormed ways to help resolve the issue. For example:

        -          Problem: My dog always wants attention while I’m trying to work.

             Solution: Take the dog for a walk before starting homework.

  -          Problem:  It hard to get my homework done.

             Solution: Work on it a little each night so it doesn’t seem overwhelming at the end of the week.

Our workout today was a race for missing pieces of a tool kit that the girls can use in stressful situations. For each lap they completed,  girls received one tool to put in their kits. The “tools” were different suggestions to help girls manage their time. Some of these tools were: taking breaks every 30 minutes while doing homework, writing down assignments in a planner, and asking for help when needed.  

After our workout,  we played a really fun game to get to know each other. We learned about what stresses us out, our favorite activities, the biggest adventure we have been on, our favorite subject in school, and more. For our  Girls Life lesson of the week I asked the girls to think about everything they do each week and create a calendar to reflect how they each spend their time. Hopefully now they can have a visual aid to help them manage their time and get their work done.

We finished the day by practicing some stress reducing activities in the Teen Lounge. Girls had a chance to play ping pong, make new friends, talk with coaches, and color. Tomorrow’s lesson will build on yesterday. We will discuss how to balance everything going on in our lives.

Keep Running! Look for another post on Friday!

The 'Girl Box'

Another great day for us! The weather was a little chilly but we didn’t let that get our spirits down. Yesterday we spent most of the lesson talking about the ‘Girl Box’. Coach Melissa shared her experience of being a young and vibrant girl who was always on the go, but when she hit middle school she changed to try to fit in. She began doing the activities that she thought were cool instead of what she really liked to do. The Girl Box is the ideal model each of try to fit in to even though it may not be authentic. We discussed what girls do to get in this box and came up with the following: changing our clothes, hanging out with different people, spending less time with our families, wearing make-up, etc.

We used all this information to play a game in which girls were given different scenarios and told to run to a sign that defined their sentiments on the issue (In the Girl Box, Out of the Girl Box and Unable to Tell).  Some of them were really easy to decide. However, some took a little more thought and discussion, for example we had a hard time deciding on hair dye and the reasons a girl might change her hair color.

During the workout, girls had to think of activities that put them outside the girl box and write one down after each lap they completed. They came up with a lot of good ones such as:

-          Hug friends when they are having a bad day

-          Talk to our parents

-          Love who we are

-          Be positive

-          Feeling good about who I am rather than what people want me to be

-          Try to think of others before myself

-          Talking to friends and adults when I’m having a bad day

We had a great meeting! Can’t wait for Tuesday when we will be learning how to deal with stress.

Day One!

Wow! We had so much fun yesterday (once everyone found us!) We started the day by talking a little bit about the Girls on the Run/ Girls on Track history and mission.  During our warm up we played a game in which girls had to decide which of two things they were more like: for example, were they more like a jalapeno or a cucumber; mountains or the beach; high heels or running shoes. We had a lot of fun, especially with the silly ones such as one girl who stated “I’m more like a jalapeno because my personality is SPICY!”  After our warm up game, we talked about the game and why it was hard to decide which we were more like because sometimes the things we like more are different then what fits our personalities. We are so lucky to have this beautiful complex to use. The field in the park gave us plenty of room to play our game and run around. Our workout was a fun get to know you game. As the girls ran around the field, they had interview questions to ask every person they passed. We learned a lot about ear piercings during this one!

After all this exercise we were ready to go cool off in the Teen Lounge. We stretched, played some fun games and did our first set of ENERGY AWARDS, awards we give out to a girl who did something extra special that day!  For our first Girls Life activity the girls outlined their bodies on butcher paper and decorated themselves with words and pictures that described them. The best was when the girls wrote on each other’s pictures- saying things like I love you!  Then we had some time to hang out and play Dance Central on the Kinect- I saw some great moves!

Can’t wait for tomorrow and learning about the Girl Box! TOMORROW’S LESSON IS OPEN TO THE COMMUNITY. Come check it out, bring friends with no obligation to join!!!!

Girls on the Run/ Girls on Track was started in 1996 in North Carolina by one woman who felt that girls needed an outlet, and one that would make them feel good about themselves. The first season had 13 girls and has now grown across the country and had thousands of girls participate. In San Diego alone there are 20 sites and hundreds of girls participating. We have amazing coaches who are volunteering their time to help girls break out of the Girl Box and understand the beauty comes from within. Girls Life only enhances the wonderful this wonderful program. We have a fun season full of guest speakers, art projects, community service, and so much more!   I feel truly blessed to be a part of the program and want to make this an important part of our community for years to come.

TOMORROW!

We are so excited that Girls Life is starting tomorrow! I was just looking at the pictures from our Tea Party over the summer and got a rush just thinking about all the fun we are going to have! If you haven’t already turned in your registration forms please make sure you (or daughter) bring them.  That includes: the JCC Teen Registration Form (which includes a credit card payment method) and The Girls on the Run Health and Consent Form. If your daughter will be taking the JCC transportation from Standley, The San Diego Jewish Academy or Ocean Air, we must have your Transportation Registration Forms in BEFORE she can be picked up.

We will be meeting in the back lot of the JCC in front of the trailers by the Friedenberg Pool. We will spend the first part of the day getting to know each other and playing games out in the park, and then we will come inside (to the newly remodeled Wax Family Teen Lounge) to make life-sized portraits of ourselves!

Wear comfortable clothes because we will be playing a lot of games!

Check back soon for an update and pictures from our first meeting!

7 DAYS!!!!

Hey Guys!

We are so excited to for Girls Life to kick off here at the Lawrence Family JCC Jacobs Family Campus! There are a few spots left in the program so sign up today! We are excited to announce that we will be providing transportation from the following schools:  Doyle, Curie, Spreckles, Ocean Air, Standley, San Diego Jewish Academy, Soille Hebrew Day School.  This season we are going to meet Tuesday 4:00- 6:30pm and Thursday 4:00- 5:30pm. Our 5K is scheduled for December 11^th.

The cost of this program is only 110$ thanks to the grant we recieved from the San Diego Jewish Women's Foundation! That includes Girls on the Run Registration fee, 5K registration, snacks, guest speakers, and all supplies!

To register contact Carly Ezell, JCC Teen Coordinator, at carlye@lfjcc.com or (858)362-1351!