Stand up words, ready to race!

Our last lesson began with talking about what to expect during the race.  All of the girls have participated in races before, so I think they know for the most part how it will go.  We talked about eating good the night before, getting plenty of sleep, having good thoughts and imagining themselves doing their best on race morning.

Our second activity was to put our 'stand up words' down on cards that I will take to be displayed at the race.  These are the words that remind the girls how strong & amazing they are, and that they can do anything they set their minds too.  They are also positive words that they can share with others, and share their treasure chest tools that they've learned to use throughout our season.

These girls are pretty awesome!

After the fun with these cards we did our running, and did a last journal task.  They girls wrote down a goal, and the steps that they would take to accomplish their goal.  Some where running related, other's were about trying hard in school, or getting along with their siblings.

Thanks for a great season, I really enjoyed these girls!!

Week 6!

It's our last week of Mermaids!  However, it was the first time I got to have all 9 girls at a lesson at one time.  So of course, first things first, we needed a group picture!

This week is focused on getting ready for the big race.  We all shared stories of challenges, setting goals, and achieving them.  The girls had tons of great stories.

And then, they ran...

After the run we did a quick journal activity, then we prepped our shirts!  I should have taken a picture of the backs, they came out so cute!

I'm looking forward to a great race day with all these cuties!

Week 5!

Time is flying, only one week left of Mermaids this year!

Yesterday's lesson was a bit of review about things we've learned, and the tools we've used to handle situations.  We all shared some stories of bullies, talked about why people bully, and thought up good solutions for how to handle those situations.  Sadly, usually people bully because they've been bullied and that's what they learn, so we talked about showing them kindness, and teaching them how good it feels to be nice.

After our discussion, and sharing of many stories, the girls put together some skits.  They all came up with great ways to handle bullying situations, whether it be about mean words that hurt our feelings, mean actions, or even making fun of the food we eat.  They used their treasure chest tools to think about how they are feeling, and handle the situation the best they could.  They are all great actresses, and are experts on handling bullies!

The girls have been begging to play the telephone game again, so after our skits we did a couple rounds.  It's really a great lesson on how words get misinterpreted and messages change.

And then we ran!  Today the girls did 8 laps.

Week 4 - Practice Race!

Once again I am very impressed with these Mini Mermaids!  They are without a doubt ready for their official 5k race!  They all ran a full practice race yesterday, and didn't even seem tired.  

A few of them even did extra laps.  

We were happy to have a Mom and some siblings join us to run!

And happy & proud to be done!

Great job, girls!!  I'm looking forward to our big race, less than 2 weeks away!

Week Four!

Week four was all about the food that we eat to fuel our bodies.  We talked about how food affects our body when we eat too little or too much, and reviewed the US government nutritional guidelines.

The girls all talked about a role model in their lives, and we discussed what they probably eat before they play soccer, run, etc.  The girls had fun going over the MyPlate image and talking about how their favorite foods fit into the recommended guidelines.

We talked about positive affirmations and how they can remind us of how strong, smart, and beautiful we are.  Eating healthy makes our body and mind quick & strong, and can help us deal with situations or words that make us feel angry, sad, or helpless.  We may not be able to control some things that happen in our lives, but we can always control what kind of fuel we put into our bodies!

Our activity for today reinforced our positive affirmations.  The girls all thought of a positive statement about themselves, then they took turns running out and back shouting their affirmation.  We had some fearless, awesome, brave, strong girls!

The girls loved this activity, and asked to do it again.  I love it when they're so into such a positive activity.  The best part was that they came up with the idea themselves to do it again as a team.  They all huddled and whispered so I couldn't hear...

They ran off all together...

And came back shouting "WE ARE A TEAM!"  

It was pretty awesome :)

We finished our lesson with a couple journal activities.  The girls drew and wrote about their favorite activities and meals, and why they want to eat healthy.

Week 3, Lesson 1

This lesson was a great one with the girls.  We first talked about how the tools in our treasure chest can be used to help strengthen our community.  I had the girls collect sticks and then demonstrated how one stick alone can break pretty easily, but when we gathered a bunch of sticks to represent everyone working together in our community, it was much harder to break.  (The girls took the challenge and did manage to break the group of sticks, but it was nice to see that it at least took a lot more effort!)

We talked about how our community members have helped each and every one of us - from emergency situations, to returning dogs, to helping pick up something that we've dropped.  It was fun to see the girls really understand this concept and want to make efforts to be great community members.

Our next activity was a craft.  We made shell necklaces with powerful messages on them.  The girls were to think of who the necklace (or shell alone, they wanted to make more, so I let them use the extra shells) would be for, and then think of a word that represented them.  The goal is for the girls to give away these necklaces and shells, and then teach the recipient how to accept a compliment (Stop, look, and listen to really take the message in and allow it to empower them).

The girls loved this activity...

Hopefully each of you was a recipient of one of these lovely shells, and now knows how to accept a compliment!

After our craft it was time to get moving!  We talked a bit about other ways to exercise, should they not have a nice track to run around.  We demonstrated squats with the benches, and push-ups on the bench, as a few examples.  Then, they ran!  The girls did 5 laps today, and were working toward pushing themselves a little bit, and running complete laps without stopping.  They did great, as always.

Our last activity of the day was in our journal.  The girls wrote about three people that they were going to give their shells to, and why.  

See you all next time!

Week 2, Lesson 2

Today we reviewed our discussion of the power of words, how they can be positive, or hurtful.  We talked through examples, and some of the girls had real-world stories to share.  We also reviewed the concept of Mini Mermaid's treasure chest, which gives us tools to handle situations where someone may say hurtful things to us.

After the discussion the girls acted out some skits.  We gave each pair a scenario, and asked them to stop, look, listen and determine a good way to respond to hurtful comments.  The girls had many great solutions.

After discussion and warm-up, the girls did their stretches.

Then they ran!

It was another great day, looking forward to our next week!