The Wizard of O2

Yes, we completed our BREATHE Journey that we started in June.  Our Celebration! was a fun time.  The girls had a chance to reconnect with each other, make thank you cards, yes, the attitude of gratitude was prevalent and in general, just have a good time.

We also did some work!  We finished the AFFIRM and each girl had a chance to write a personal "I am an Heir Apparent" statement (from the guide) to tuck into their Journey book.  And each of the girls had a chance to randomly choose another girl, and think about what flair this girl brought to the Journey.  Each girl made their award at our closing ceremony.

One group wrote a play, "The Wizard of O2", and acted out the scenes, complete with costumes to talk about the importance of NOT polluting.  The costumes were a hoot!  And the girls worked really well together, helping each other and prompting lines.  Even Rizzy got into the spirit of the play! She was the gatekeeper to the Wizard, and she had the line, "Well, whaddaya want?" Which she and the girls practiced many, many times!  Their presentation talked about how to get the video "out there" and into multiple hands.  Posting on FaceBook pages (every adult's!) and on the GSOC page are first up.  And then sending it to their friends and family members, etc.  It will be fun to see how many "likes" they get, and from where.  Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liC9z--R6qY&feature=channel&list=UL

Our second group chose smoking and air pollution as their topic.  Two girls wrote a coloring book story, and the other girls drew pictures to support the story.  We got it in order (quite an ordeal for me!) and we printed up several hundred. The girls then chose where to make their presentations about how harmful smoking is to classrooms of younger kids, church groups, Girls Inc.  And they were able to go back and see if they had made a difference.  

One of the tough challenges for the girls in doing these TAPs, is not seeing direct changes of behavior in those they served. But they can at least see indicators that their message is reaching a wider group. I think that this is one thing that I'd like to work on for the next series I help in:  how to make the Action more robust?  Extend the timeline of the series? Space out the meeting days more, so that there's time to see success? I hate dumping it back on the parents or leaders, especially in the fall, when everyone gets soooo busy.

Happy with how it went, but sure think we could help make it better!  And for all of you thinking about doing a series, don't forget to have a GREAT co-chair!  I worked with Anne Rizzacasa and she is FABULOUS!  She just completed her Masters in Biology, and she's now working on her secondary school credential for MIDDLE SCHOOLERS! Not only is she learning all sorts of new things, but she is MORE than happy to try these new ideas out on the girls.  Hats off to you, Science Girl!

Group Agreement

I missed the meeting where our Breathe Series girls came up with this list of how to treat each other, but I LOVE what they came up with.  A girl-led experience for 2 girls to be up front and write it all down. Then they all voted to abide by it!

Anne Rizzacasa (Rizzy) was sure to post it the next session, and when it looked like things were going a little off track, she pointed to the Agreement and said, "doesn't it say to have fun?  And do your best?"  The girls agreed, and it got them right back on track.

I love it when it works like that! I'm pretty sure it's posted on our Breathe website, but not sure if we gave each girl a copy to put in her lab book?  If we didn't, I think I will! 

Breathing along the Journey Pathway....

Pretty excited about this afternoon!

First day of our Cadette Journey Breathe Series.  Anne Rizzacasa and I have been talking about, planning for, and readying pieces for this Journey since January....and NOW it's here!

We had our first planning meeting with the girls last Sunday.  Not quite the input I'd hoped for, but a start!  This meeting will really get us started and focused on what the girls want to do.

I hope!  And I hope that their non-posting on our Breathe website is NOT an indicator of apathy or lack of interest!  (You can see what we have started, here:

https://sites.google.com/site/breathejourney/home)

I hope that it's just the start of something new, and the girls will just need some encouragement to get themselves motivated to do some work for the Journey.  I hope they don't expect us to deliver it all to them, by the spoonful.  I hope we really do get the girl leadership to deveop so that the girls will lead their Journey.

It seems a lot to hope for!  But I know they can do it!!!  And we can all do it together. Yes, I'm the optimist!  We'll be doing many of the things I talk about in training:  ice breakers, people bingo (thank you Chris Grisey from PA Training), kooshball name games, breaking into work groups, then changing the work groups, snack and craft, name badges, girl reports back about the women leaders featured in the Journey book, planning the overnight and field trip out to Palm Springs. 

Yes we have PLENTY to do!  I'll keep you posted on how it all goes.  

Why is Girl Planning sometimes SO HARD?

It sure seems easy, when I say in training, "let the girl lead" or "let the girl decide".  In actuality, I bet many of you want to throw tomatoes at me, since it's not always easy to let the girl do it.

I think about how easy it is for me to make an agenda, create a list, organize my thoughts and then do the follow thru.  Well, it had better be! Partly because I've had many, many years of practice, but also because I do it for a living!!!

I know, middle school girls CAN plan, and they CAN make good choices, and they CAN take the lead.  We adults just have to let them, and facilitate their learning how to do it. In the meantime, make sure we maintain a safe environment for the girl, in case she fails.  Support her, even when "we know" it's not a good plan/decision, and reward her for her successes.

I think that's why I'm liking the Breathe Journey that Rizzy and I are, okay I"ll say it, planning for the summer.  We are working to create a Breathe Journey series, and we are doing our best to have girl-planned pieces.  To that end, we have a pre-Journey meeting for girls to attend if they want to help plan. Not required, not a cost, just an opportunity to come in ahead of time and help plan their Journey.

We have also put together some opportunities for the girls to choose from, so that they can pick a topic from the Journey book, prepare at home with some parental help, and then come back and lead on their date.  We are providing a framework, and we're truly hoping that these girls step up and take their leadership piece seriously.

Guess we'll find out.... we're going to let them lead, even if it kills me!  
A facilitator I will be! A leader, the girl will be! (Sounds like a song....)

Breathe Journey

We invite Cadettes to join us on our Breathe Journey this summer!  We've had fun getting it started, and now we're looking for girl input on June 17th, to fill in the days. There's already a field trip planned out to the Wind Turbine Farm in Palm Springs, and we'll have one meeting at Cal State Fullerton in a classroom and at the Arboretum.  We've done other long terms planning to get all our approvals and adults lined up, but we're truly hoping for girl input, too.

If you are interested in helping, we welcome the help!  Just let us know what you want to do, and when you can do it, and we'll see how we can make it work. 

You can reply on this blog OR to my aacrane96@gmail.com account.  We'll also be checking the website for comments as well.  It's still under construction, but you should be able to get to the pages we have posted.