girls - are you ready?

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9 n o s s e L

COACHES - ARE YOU READY? > Learning Goals: • To explore a new definition of beauty • To learn the benefit of thinking positively about ourselves >

Target Life Skills: • Competence • Confidence • Connection

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Think About It: • How do you define beauty? • How can you encourage your girls to focus on the beauty inside of them (instead of just external characteristics)?

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Materials: • Identity Cards/Goal Sheets • Place marker for each girl (e.g., paper plates, chalk or tape) • Copies of the Real Beauty Card handout (1 for each girl) • Washable markers (1 for each girl) • Optional: Index cards or poster board • Optional: Camera

GIRLS - ARE YOU READY? > Informal Conversation: Twelve Week Program • “Did you do the activities listed on your My Happy Pace handout? Tell me about it.” • “How did it feel to use running and/or quiet time to slow down?” Ten Week Program • “Did you meet the goal you set for yourself last time?” • “What are some things you are grateful for?”

Lesson 9: Real Beauty

GETTING ON BOARD (15 MINUTES) >

Setting the Stage: TWELVE WEEK PROGRAM: “Last time we practiced being quiet and choosing it for ourselves to help us relax. Our brains can get very busy and they need rest, just like our physical bodies do. Choosing to quiet our minds for a while everyday actually helps us to pay better attention when we really need to. Today we are going to play a game called “Have You Ever.” It will help us learn more about each other and about ourselves and what we think.” Be sure to keep the idea that you will be expanding the concept of beauty hidden for now.

TEN WEEK PROGRAM: “Last time we did some activities to stretch our ideas about our abilities and learned more about our STAR POWER. We stretched our bodies physically with that long run. How did you feel later that day or even the next day? Physically? (were you sore, feel strong) Emotionally? (proud, motivated) We also did some thinking about things we are grateful for and how we can express our gratitude and make a difference in our community and world. In today’s activities we will be sharing more about things we appreciate and ways our stars shine.” Be sure to keep the idea that you will be expanding the concept of beauty hidden for now. > Set-Up: • Materials: “Have You Ever” Lists (on the next page), place marker for each girl • Give each girl a place marker. Ask them to spread out around the room/area and stand on their marker. Tell them to stay close enough that they can hear each other.

TIME MANAGEMENT

Be sure to only ask one or two girls to share about their experience after reading each “have you ever” question. Call on different girls throughout the activity to ensure every girl has an opportunity to contribute to the conversation at some point.

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How it’s done: 1. Tell the girls that you will say the phrase “have you ever” and add something to the end. For example: “have you ever been to a park?” 2. If a girl’s answer to the question is yes, she will leave her place marker and find another empty one to stand on. If a girl’s answer is no, she will stay where she is. 3. Ask one or two girl to share about their experience before you ask another question. 4. Play several rounds using the practice “Have You Ever” List. 5. Once the girls understand how to play, tell them the questions are going to change slightly to help you all get some ideas about beauty. Continue the game using the real beauty “Have You Ever” List.

Lesson 9: Real Beauty

Have You Ever Lists Practice “Have You Ever” List: • Have you ever had a pizza? (what kind do you like?) • Have you ever been to a pool? (what’s your favorite pool game?) • Have you ever watched a movie? (what’s your favorite?)



Real Beauty “Have You Ever” List: • Have you ever seen a beautiful sunset? (what made it beautiful?) • Have you ever seen a beautiful animal? (what kind of animal?) • Have you ever seen something you thought was beautiful while in a park? (what?) • Have you ever heard a beautiful song? (what was it?) • Have you ever heard beautiful words? (what were they?) • Have you ever smelled a beautiful smell? (what was it?) • Have you ever seen a beautiful moment between two people? (what/ who?)

> Processing: Gather the girls back together in a circle. • “What did you learn about beauty from this game?” (all kinds of beauty, people have different ideas about what is beautiful, etc.) • “Where do we get our idea about what beauty is?” (family, friends, media) “Sometimes we forget that there all kinds of beauty and that people have different ideas about what is beautiful, especially when we see and hear beauty defined as a certain body size, weight, hair or type of clothes. That seems like a very limited way to think about beauty. Maybe it’s smart for us to think about beauty differently like we did in our “Have You Ever” game!”

Stretch and Strengthening Exercises Exercises

3

(3-4 MINUTES)

Cold Warm-Up Exercises followed by Format Three Exercises (Bounding, Plié Squat Leaps, Dynamic Arm Circles)

WARM-UP

You could also let one of the girls lead the Cold Warm-Up Exercises and choose exercises from Format One, Two, or Three.

> Setting the Stage: “This warm-up game will help us think about and identify the things on the inside of people that make them uniquely them and uniquely beautiful.”

(15-20 MINUTES)

Lesson 9: Real Beauty

Keep the Real Beauty Cards for processing.

If it is a windy day the girls can carry the Real Beauty Cards with them or put a weighted object on their sheet to keep it from blowing away.

You may want to have a camera available to capture the real beauty poses!

Challenge the girls to think of someone different for each square. They can be people on the team, friends, family or anyone else they know.

> Set-Up: • Materials: Copies of the Real Beauty Card handout (1 for each girl), markers/pens • Stand with the girls at a starting point. Ask another coach to stand about 20 yards away from the starting point. • Give each girl a copy of the Real Beauty Card handout and a marker. Tell the girls that they should leave their Real Beauty Cards and marker at the starting point throughout the activity. > How it’s done: 1. Tell the girls that you are going to call out one of the things on the Real Beauty Card (e.g., kind, honest, or respectful). 2. The girls will run to the coach 20 yards away and strike a pose that represents the real beauty characteristic (e.g., kind, honest, or respectful). Demonstrate or have the girls demonstrate. 3. After all of the girls strike a pose, the coach will signal for them to run back to the starting point. Once they return to the starting point, they will write the name of someone they know that has that particular characteristic in the designated square on their Real Beauty Cards. 4. The coach at the starting point should wait until all of the girls are ready before reading another characteristic from the Real Beauty Card and continuing the activity. 5. This will continue until all the boxes are full or as long as time permits. The girls can take home the Real Beauty Cards to fill in the rest of the boxes and/or share them with their family. “Take a look at all of the real beauty characteristics and names on your card. Can you think of one more real beauty characteristic that you would like to add to the blank square on your Real Beauty Card?” Instruct the girls to add the characteristic to their card.

WORKOUT (30 MINUTES) >

Setting the Stage: “Wow! We know lots of beautiful people, including each one of you! I have a secret message about beauty I want to share with you during our workout today.”

> Set-Up: • Materials: 2-3 washable markers, index cards/poster board (optional) • Before explaining the workout, tell the girls how many minutes they will run and ask them to choose a lap goal. Encourage them to share it with a teammate or coach.

Lesson 9: Real Beauty

VARIATION

In addition to writing the letters on the girls’ arms, ask them “What makes you beautiful?” after each lap. They will shout out one thing as they start on the next lap. Tell them they can use the characteristics from the Real Beauty Cards or come up with different ideas.

VARIATION

Select one or two sentences from the following quote. Share the rest at the end of practice. “The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman is seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides. True beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul.” Audrey Hepburn

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How it’s done: • Tell the girls that you will write a letter (or a few letters) of the secret message on each girl’s arm after each lap. (If you do not want to write on their arms, give each girl an index card or fill in the quote on a poster board.) • Note: The secret message is 29 letters. If you have a large running space – you may need to write two or three letters after each lap. • As the girls finish their last lap, complete the secret message on their arms if necessary.

Secret Message: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

PROCESSING AND WRAP-UP (10-15 MINUTES)

> Processing Gather the girls in a circle when they are done to stretch and discuss the workout. Give each girl her Identity Card/Goal Sheet, Real Beauty Card and a marker. Ask the girls to complete an entry on their Goal Sheets. • “Let’s look at our Real Beauty Cards. What beauty quality can you add to your Identity Card? Prompt the girls to add one picture, word or phrase to their Identity Cards. • “What secret message did I give you? What does that mean?” • “How does it feel when you think about beauty differently? How does it change our attitudes and actions towards ourselves and other?” > Wrap-up: “You are all beautiful on the inside and out! I hope that you will continue to think about all the things that make you, and others, beautiful. After all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder! That means you get to CHOOSE how you want to define beauty.” GOAL: “Ask someone (a friend, family member, etc.) how they define beauty. Then share the different real beauty characteristics we talked about today!” “Next time we will play some fun games that give us a chance to work together. We will also keep thinking about our Community Impact Project.” Use the remaining time to give energy awards, assemble for a closing cheer and/or enjoy a healthy snack.