Week 2

So this week was a lot of fun. I am starting to feel more comfortable with the girls and they are becoming more relaxed with me. Each day this week was a little different so I am going to start in the beginning.


Monday!

Last Wednesday some of the games I planned for the girls didn't quite workout. So to keep them interested in Girls' Club I knew I need to plan something great. However, all weekend nothing came to me. Then, as I was biking back from class on Monday it click... WATER BALLOONS! So I rushed to K-Mart to buy them and my roommate helped me fill them up just in time for Girls' Club.
This Monday the girls actually had homework to do, I have to admit I'm a little rusty on my 5th grade math skills. Next we played a name game. I had three sets of stick notes, one set with everyones name, another with famous people (like Justin Bieber), and a third with food. For each set everyone put a sticky note on there forehead so you could see what everyone elses' card said, but not your own. Each girl had to guess what thier card said by asking questions. The first round (with each others names) went really fast because the girls just used the process of elimination to guess, but the next too rounds were fun and the food round got a lot of laughs.
Next we headed outside and did relays with the water balloons along with a water balloon toss. It was a lot of fun and the girls really liked the water balloons, but they were all gone pretty fast. After the water balloons we played a game of chain tag. This was a big hit as well!
Overall Monday was a good day, everyone was involved and had fun. My highlight was when one girl said "I can't stop laughing."
( I forgot my camera, it would have been great day for pictures!) 

Wednesday!

Wednesday was fun as well. It was a little harder today to motivate the girls to participate. I think the water balloons really help brake the ice on Monday, I'll need to think of similar ideas for future days.
On Wednesday I remembered my camera and we took some fun pictures, I wanted to spell out Girls Club, but my camera stopped working so we only got to Girls. The G had to be cropped in, can you tell what it says?

 

Thursday!

On Thursday we went on our first field trip to the beach! Only about half of the girls were able to come. That gave me the opportunity to spend more one on one time with the girls who came. We flew kites, went in the water, and tried to play volleyball. The weather was more suited for kites than balls. It was really really windy-- sand got everywhere! Here are a few pictures from on top of the bluff, can you see the wind blowing in our hair?

 

                                                                                 Jazmin ^

                                                                          Amarayni  ^

                                                                           Norma ^

                                                                 Alexia

The girls really enjoyed the beach trip. Nelly cam along as the chaperon and it was relaxed and fun. My highlight of the trip was when Jazmin shared a lot about herself while I waited with her for her mom to pick her up.

-Kristina 

p.s. Next week there will be Yoga and Swimming!

First Week

So I was both excited and nervous about this first week. I didn't exactly know what to expect so I didn't know exactly what to prepare for. The first hour of the program is supposed to be spent doing home work, but apparently the girls have Star Testing for the next two weeks so they didn't have any homework. But its alright we just spent a little bit more time outside on Monday than I originally planed.

So Monday I first met the girls, a total of eleven girls decided to join the program so I think we are going to invite one more. Of the eleven, nine came on Monday. We met in the class room and I introduced my self to the girls and I tried to learn all there names. I talked to them about what the Girls' Sports and Leadership Club is all about and we discussed what it means to be a leader, how it is personal and not positional. Next we headed outside to play some games with my roommate's giant blue exercise ball. The giant blue ball was a big hit!

One Wednesday I tried to plan the classroom time a little bit more. Today's topic was body image so after we did some homework we watched this video: Dove Evolution
Next the girls made some awesome collages in an attempt to reinvent their own version of beauty.

Sage, Lisset, and Brenda

Ariana and Alexia hard at work!

 

                                                                                                               Jazmin's artwork!

              Alexia's masterpiece!

After the crafts we went outside and played some games. The first week was a little hectic but it was a good start!

Hopefully next week will be even better!

-Kristina

Flier!

This is the flier I presented to the girls to invite them to them to the program!
Check it out: Girls' Club Flier.

Getting Started

So this is my first blog entry ever, I've played with the idea of blogging before but I have never really had the guts. For some reason it intimidates me, the idea of writing my personal thoughts is tough enough, let alone writing them for everyone else to read. Anyways, I'm giving it a shot and we'll see how it goes.
Alright so now that I'm done with my little ramble it's time to introduce to you what this blog is actually about: The Isla Vista Elementary Girls' Sports and Leadership Club or as the girls and I call it, Girls' Club! This program is a part of the Kendra Chiota Payne Memorial Internship program. Information about the program can be found here: http://www.rickpayne.net/Kendra/Memorial_Fund.html. If this is all new to you and you don't know anything about the fund, take the time to read about Kendra and the amazing woman she was. I am inspired by her story and the passion she instilled in those around her. Through the Girls' Club program I hope that I can come close to properly honoring Kendra's memory.
This Spring I have been blessed with the opportunity to work with a group of 12 5th and 6th grade girls at the Isla Vista Elementary school. We meet on Monday's and Wednesdays from 3:00-5:30. We also go on field trips once a week. I'm excited to see where this program takes both me and the girls and I hope you come along for the ride.