Yesterday, we started off reading a few different articles about healthy snacking and eating. Each girl got her own article to read and present to the group. We heard about why we should pack our own lunches, what caffeine does to our bodies, and the importance of healthy snacking after school.
Lesson 9 of Girls Life was centered on gratitude. We had some great discussions on what we were grateful for: clothes, phone, friends, family, homes, school, etc. The main point of our discussion was that being grateful is a choice, and there is a way to be grateful for everything. We took a series of negative situations, and the girls were able to find something to be grateful for in each one:
- “Wow, these shoes are so old and stinky. My parents never buy me anything new!”
o “Wow, I’m so lucky to have shoes especially for running. There are kids in the world that don’t have any shoes.”
- “It really stinks that my parents are divorced. My life has been pretty messed up because of it.”
o “Ever since my parents got divorced, they fight a lot less.
- “I hate my big legs. They are bigger than half the guy at school.”
o “Wow, my legs are so muscular! They make me a powerful runner.”
As a group we realized that there is a way to be grateful for everything, as long as we have the right attitude!
The second part of our gratitude lesson was a workshop on the Holocaust. The girls learned the story of two little girls who were forced to give up everything they knew to hide from Nazi persecution. We watched short film that depicted the identity crisis the girls faced, being separated from their parents, learning a new religion, and being raised by complete strangers. It gave our girls a completely new perspective about gratitude, at first they mostly thought of material items they were thankful for. However, after the film they had a deeper understanding and were able to articulate their gratitude for more meaningful things like friends and family.
Women in concentration camps often had no way of practicing their Jewish heritage. They were unable to light candles, pray, or even cook for their families on Jewish Holidays. They were able to stay connected with their Judaism by sharing their recipes for their favorite family dishes. They wrote them down whenever possible, but also just verbalized their ingredients and directions helped them to remember so they would not lose their families history. We are going to make our own Girls Life cook book so we can all share in each other’s traditions, as well as starting our own. If you have any family or healthy recipe you want to add please sent it to me at carlye@lfjcc.com.
Reminder: The JCC will be closed tomorrow so we will not meet. Girls Life will resume next Tuesday at 4pm.
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