We started out by talking about the importance of communication in a group and how encouraging and supporting one another having good sportsmanship is important as well.  To start things off with a fun exercise the girls got into a circle facing each other, grabbed hands with a girl standing across from them, and then as a team had to work out  way for them all to untangle. This was no easy task! After a lot of twisting and turning and giggles and climbing, the girls did a great job and were able to untangle!

The workout for this lesson focused on teamwork as well and as a group the girls were able to cross off a whole statement about teamwork one at a time. Together they can accomplish great things!

Ask your daughter what good sportsmanship means to her.

Does she think that she is a good sport?

We asked the girls to think about a number things. How do they act around someone they have a crush on? What are the different types of love that they can have? What qualities do they look for in a friend? What qualities would they look for in someone they want to be in a relationship with? What qualities of their own would they want to be noticed for? So much to think about! 

For our warm-up we asked the girls to write down four qualities they look for in someone they’re interested in. The girls listed things such as funny, kind, caring, smart, athletic, trustworthy, etc. We then had them rank them from most important to least important. Guess which characteristic was a clear winner? FUNNY! Men of the world .. take note!

We also got into a bit of a heavier conversation with the girls and talked about the most common types of issues girls their age could run into with a relationship, and then played a game of tag where these issues took away their “Healthy and Happiness”, but it was given back by a friend who could hand them “Confidence”. The girls had a lot of fun playing these games and some just couldn’t stop talking about their personal crushes.

Ask your daughter what was the one characteristic she wants to be noticed for? Is this the same thing she notices in a crush?

An example of how this statement can be used is: “I feel sad when you don’t include me with your other friends because it hurts my feelings and I would like for you to respect my friends and me”. During the warmup and workout the girls practiced using these phrases over and over again until they became more natural.

In our next lesson we practiced skills to make healthy decisions when put into uncomfortable situations such as being  around friends who were doing bad things, being peer pressured into making decisions that they are uncomfortable with, or being around others that they think are a bad influence.

Ask your daughter if she thinks she has the tools she needs to assert herself and make healthy decisions.

Does she think the “I FEEL”, “WHEN YOU” … phrasing is effective?

In our lesson we went through a number of exercises to help the girls understand that gossiping and bullying can give someone little “p” power which is bad versus big “P” power which is what a Girl on the Run has.

This concept of big and little power led right into our next lesson which was about the internet and safety. The internet is an amazing thing and I’m sure most of us can’t even imagine living without it! The internet can be good and bad though, and its important that our girls recognize this and share information safely on the internet.

Some of the examples that the girls came up with for the different powers are:

Big Power

• learning news 
• showing off your dog or pet
• iTunes
• talking to friends on Face Time
• email
• homework
• projects
• skype
• pandora
• keeping connected with your grandma

Little power

• rumors
• bad words
• swearing
• stalking people
• bullying
• gossiping
• personal information is revealed
• bothering people
• sharing personal things on accident
• calling other names

For the workout the girls continued to focus on what made them beautiful inside, and for each lap they completed they wrote down an example of why their Girls on the Run team was beautiful on a large piece of poster paper. It was great to see so many ways that our girls are beautiful inside and out, and how they are beautiful as a team!

An important part of being a team is making an effort to cooperate. Our second session this week focused on cooperation. We started out by asking the girls what cooperation meant. Why was cooperating important? What were some situations in which they had to cooperate as a team for things to work out? 

The girls played several games which required cooperation, and at the end of our lesson we went around the circle and asked the girls to share one thing they would do to make sure we cooperated as a team.

Ask your daughter, what makes you beautiful on the inside?

Why is your Girls on the Run beautiful?

Do you think you cooperate well? How can you commit to cooperating better?

During our second session this week we talked about the importance of communicating with care. We explained what mixed messages were and how to avoid them, and then taught the girls the LEAPS method of communicating effectively to resolve conflict. LEAPS stands for: Listen, Express emotions, Appreciation and respect, Problem-solve, Speak Clearly. The girls role-played a few different scenarios to practice using this method to resolve a situation of conflict.

As you read through some of the examples of what the girls were grateful for, which of those do you think your daughter is grateful for? Which are you grateful for?

Ask your daughter, what are you most grateful for? 

The next time you notice your daughter giving you mixed messages (stomping off and saying I’M NOT MAD with attitude for example) you can try stopping her and asking her to use the LEAPS method to explain how she is feeling to you. Test her and ask her if she remembers:

What does LEAPS stand for and how can she use it in a particular situation? 

In our first session last week we talked about gratitude and how being grateful could affect our attitude towards different situations and circumstances.  We started out by asking the girls to share things, people, and circumstances that they were grateful for. We then challenged the girls to respond to a difficult situation with a grateful attitude. Sometimes it was easy for the girls to see the silver lining on the cloud, and other times it was more challenging.

In our second session last week we switched gears and talked about the importance of slowing down. Between school, schoolwork, spending time with family and friends, and taking part in different activities, our girls are busy! Its important that the girls take time to slow down and relax so they don’t feel overwhelmed. We showed the girls different relaxation techniques they could try the next time they felt overwhelmed. We also challenged the girls to run or walk alone for most of their lap time this day to see if they enjoyed the quiet time for inner relaxation. Some of the girls enjoyed running and letting their mind wander, while others struggled with not being able to talk to their friends.

When it comes to gratitude, what do you think your daughter is grateful for? If you ask her what she is grateful for, are there any things you think she will or will not say?

Do you take time by yourself or with your daughter to ‘slow down’? Ask your daughter what her favorite way to relax and slow down is. Is it similar to yours?

We talked to the girls about the different feelings they felt during the day. Starting from the beginning of the day up until we met for Girls on Track, they were asked to think about every feeling they felt. It was amazing to hear about the variety of feelings that they could go through in just 10 or so hours! Some were good feelings which we called ‘comfortable’, and others were not good feelings which we called ‘uncomfortable’ instead of negative. Its important to acknowledge that each day is full of a wide variety of feelings – and that ‘s okay! Its important to acknowledge our feelings and experience the comfortable and uncomfortable. Although we don’t like the uncomfortable feelings as much, they are a part of life and its important to develop healthy ways to handle them.

In our second session last week we then talked about the importance of slowing down. Young girls these days are so busy! With schoolwork, family, friends, and activities, its important for the girls to take some time to slow down and relax so they don’t start to feel overwhelmed. The girls shared different ways they relaxed with our group and we also asked the girls to run alone during most of this lesson to just be by themselves and think.

What feelings do you think your daughter feels each day? Which do you think she classifies as comfortable versus uncomfortable?

Have you shown your daughter the importance of slowing down? What do you do together or apart to relax and slow down?

We discussed the basic food groups to the girls and explained the importance of each of them. Breads give us carbohydrates which gives us energy, meats have protein which makes us strong, milk has calcium which we need for strong bones, and fruits and vegetables have vitamins and nutrients to keep us healthy.

In our next lesson we talked about emotions and how being emotional is part of being healthy. There are many emotions that we feel each day, and instead of thinking about them as ‘good’ or ‘bad’, we can consider them as ‘comfortable’ and ‘uncomfortable’. There are times where we all experience these uncomfortable emotions, and learning how to express them in a healthy manner and avoiding negative coping methods is part of being a Girl on the Run.

Ask your daughter what her favorite foods are and see if she can identify which food group they belong to, and how that food helps keeps her healthy.

Ask your daughter what emotions she felt today. Which were comfortable? Which were uncomfortable? How did she deal with the uncomfortable ones?

Later in the week we talked about the importance of not only fueling your body for energy, but also for empowerment. We talked to the girls about the eating disorders anorexia and bulimia and explained why these two conditions were unhealthy and harmful. In addition to eating disorders we also talked about dieting, restricted eating, and emotional eating. The emphasis of this week’s lessons were to encourage the girls to eat healthy, balanced meals, to focus on eating for energy, and to be comfortable with their bodies. At Girls on Track we are energized and empowered!

Ask your daughter what are her favorite foods from each of the food groups and how she would make a balanced meal if she were responsible for cooking dinner.

Ask your daughter what situations make her feel healthy and empowered!