Happy Holidays to All!

We will start back with Tween Club on Tuesday, January 6th for the younger girls. The older girls will follow on January 13th. The topic is media awareness. It's time to help educate the girls on the messages that are coming at them at lightening speed. With information comes power and Tween Club is all about empowerment.

At the end of the January (the 27th) we will be having a PJ movie night.

Hope you all enjoyed the holidays!!

Patti

Words of Wisdom from Our Mandalas

- My mandala for me represents the mother of all things -

- "For someone who is no longer with us - I wish you were here -

- Peace in the world! -

- My Mandala is a bright, colourful, unique painting.  It represents ME! -

- Shows peace, love and creativity. Just believe and inner peace will come -

- My mandala reminders me of Christmas ornament and it makes me happy because I like Christmas.  It gives me a warm nice feeling -

- Shine bright among the others -

- We Remember -

- Shows silence, comfort and love.  Trust yourself -

- The magical flower -

- Look over the hill and see the lights -

- The Kaleidascope of dreams - Follow Your Dreams -

- I find I'm able to let out my feelings, letting me fianlly live, letting me shout, letting me yell, letting me cry, letting me laugh -

- Happiness has many colours - Be Your Favorite - 

- My mandala painting reminds me of the land becuase ther's blue for ocean and green for land -

From the older girls, November 11th, 2008

The Art of Mandalas

Barbara Brown joined us this week to help the girls create mandalas. Mandalas come from ancient Tibetan and Indian cultures.  These beautiful pieces of artwork focus on the circles. Circles being a shape that is represented in life and many forms. Mandalas are also considered a form of meditation.  Barbara explain the beauty of circles throughout our everyday lives.  The girls expressed their favorite circles in their lives and we talked about the art and form of a circle.  Using compasses and water colours the girls created circular works of art that reflect their interests and lives.  Barbara will be laminating the mandalas and which will include a affirmation the girls wrote that was relected in their artwork.

Boy these girls love to chat and share what's going on in their minds and lives.  At two different times we took time during the session to be silent and focus on the process of creating the art in front of them.  Afterwards they reflected on this quiet time and what came to light during this time.

As always the girls wanted to play at the end of the session.  I'm anxious to see their final creations at the end of the month and the girls will be happy to have Shauna back.  Jenna and Shauna are in Florida visiting family this week.

A special thanks to Barbara Brown for sharing her time and talents with her.  Barbara was also kind enough to bring her daughter Willow, a Tween Club graduate, along to assist with the project.  Thanks ladies!

The Gang is All Here!

This week was our first meeting together, younger and older girls. We are 30 in total with Shauna, Jenna, Janis and myself.  Our young leaders spent a large chunk of the time mixing the girls up so we could all get to know each other better.  The theme of the evening was getting to know each other but we also spent considerable time talking about rumours and how they get started plus how they make people feel.  Later on, we broke into small groups and discussed the girls mentors in life.  Everyone had a chance to explain who their mentor was and what quality in that person they admired the most.  In my group, friends, mothers and grandmothers were mentioned.  Redeeming qualities included kindness, thoughtfulness, and having the confidence to be true to themselves.  They also really wanted to talk about boys and the rumours that fly around school.  These girls really enjoy having the time to talk about 'their' issues.  

Next week month (which is next week for the youngers), Barbara Brown will be coming in to help the girls design and produce mandalas.  

Patti

New Teen Program Starts

When your girls are ready to graduate from Tween Club, they now have another alternative. Together with Dovercourt, I am starting 4 new month long programs that cover the areas of dance, drama, cooking and self-defence. We're starting with dance - Girls Gotta Dance (for 12-14yr olds). The progam starts this Saturday. Click the link to see the details.

Patti

Younger Girls: Welcome to a new year of Tween Club!

The Younger girls group had a wonderful meeting this evening.  It was great to get to know our new Tweens.  It was especially exciting to see new members who have been watching their older sisters take part in past years and are now Tweens themselves.

Welcome to all our new Tween families, we are so happy that you are joining us in our third year of operations!  We look forward to an exciting year.

The Younger girls met with Patti and I and a lovely alumnus, Kayla, this evening.  We started off with some quick get to know you activities and then quickly turned our attention to more serious matters.  We read a kids' book.  We enjoyed seeing what aspects of our personalities we share with Ian Falconer's Olivia.  She's not afraid to be herself and dream big.  Neither are we.

Journals were distributed and we discussed the Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How of journalling and self-reflecting.

We talked about goals and each started making three for this year's club.  I shared some of mine with the girls:  I want to learn and use each of their names every single meeting; I aim to use the blog more often as a communication tool with them and their families; and I want to use our journals more regularly this year, both in and out of our meetings.  The Tweens who did not finish their goals are encouraged to do so at home.

Tigger from Winnie the Pooh was our example of someone with a good self-image.  Sara sang his song for us:

"The wonderful thing about Tiggers,

Is Tiggers are wonderful things!

Their tops are made out of rubber,

Their bottoms are made out of springs,

They're bouncy, bouncy, bouncy, bouncy,

Fun, fun, fun, fun, fun!

But the most wonderful thing about Tiggers is...

I'm....

The only one!"

We charted out some wonderful things about ourselves.  These were placed in the front of our journals so we can remember these things every time we open them up.  Each girl was encouraged to start with at least four items, and is strongly urged to add to this as she wishes.

As some work at home (not homework) before the next time we meet (Tuesday, October 28th 6:30-8 p.m.), Tweens have been asked to answer the big questions about a role model.  They must choose someone who is a human and a female, someone who they look up to, a personal hero.  They can do some research and reflection to answer Who, What, Where, When, Why and How about their role models.  We will discuss role models more next time we meet.

The girls gave some amazing flying, slipping and leaping high fives before they headed home.

It was a great start to what I'm certain will be an outstanding year.

Youngers, we'll see you on the 28th of October for an activity where we'll gather with the Older Tweens as well.

Older Tweens, see you next week (the 14th of October at 6:30-8 p.m.)

Shauna

The Labyrith Set UP

Thanks to the girls for coming out to help and to their parents for loaning them to us.  Together we filled 1000 bags of sand and placed them in the Labyrinth.  Many hands make light work!  

Labyrth Assistance - Sat. September 27th

We'd like to extend an invitation to all former, present and prospective Tween Club members to get together to help create a very special neighbourhood event. 

For the past three years, Barbara Brown, a local artist and former Tween Club parent, creates a beautiful candlelight labyrinth in the park. 

Barbara needs help Saturday afternoon setting up the labyrinth. This entails filling paper bags with sand, adding a tealight and setting them in the pattern that Barbara has laid out on the baseball diamond.

We thought it would be great if we could get all the Tween Club girls together to help out Barbara. It's a great way to meet new girls, rekindle old friendships and help create a beautiful piece of art together.

If your daughter is interested in helping out, please meet us at the baseball diamond at McKellar Park on Saturday, Sept. 27th at 1:45 p.m.

You are also invited to join us later that day for the lighting of the candles. That will start at 7:00 p.m.  The Labyrinth will be opened by the children of Dragonfly Dance Alternative, who will lead us into the labyrinth.

Looking forward to seeing you at the park!

Janis, Patti, Shauna and Jenna

Tween Club 

Registration Time

Just a reminder that registration for Tween Club starts August 12th through the Dovercourt Recreation Centre in Westboro.  On the 12th, you can register on-line or in person.  Telephone registration starts on the 13th.  Space is limited to 12 girls per age group (9/10 yrs and 11/12 yrs). Look forward to seeing all the girls in October.  See calendars for all the details.

Tween Camp at Dovercourt

Tween Camp was held last week at Dovercourt. Fifteen girls joined our summer leader, Katie Laird a full-time staff member at Dovercourt, for a variety of activities and fun. Katie first focused on the importance of friendship and connecting the girls together as a group. They started journalling, making friendship bracelets and played games together. Other activitites throughout the week included group yoga, swimming in the quarry in Gatineau, shopping and making a nutritious lunch, and holding the Tween Canteen at the wading pool on the Friday.

A special thanks to Katie for coming in to help and to the parents for giving her the opportunity to spend time with your girls.

Bizarre Bazaar -- A Bonanza!

Our final event was an incredibly successful fundraiser for Roger's House, a pediatric hospice in Ottawa. The girls raised $525! Congratulations!

Many thanks to everyone who baked goodies and contributed items to our garage sales. You set the bar very high for next year!

To the girls who are "graduating" from Tween Club, we hope you'll have great success in your teen adventures. To the girls who are returning in the fall, we've got some great activities planned and we're looking forward to seeing you soon.

BTW, Shauna Pollock will be getting married this July. But don't fear, she will be returning to Tween Club for the next session.

Best of luck to our other fearless leader Jenna, who is expecting her first baby this summer!

Have a great summer everyone! 

Bizarre Bazaar - JUNE 1st

We are using our rain date because of all the rain this weekend. Join us at McKellar Park on Sunday for the Bizarre Bazaar. If it's raining a little we will set most things up in the field house and under a few tents outside.

Patti

The Bike Rodeo was great!

Dominique Larocque of LaRocca XC Biking School took our Tween girls for a great ride. Danielle Cardinal of fitfleet fitness and our unicycler Eric came along with Dom to help get the girls going. Our 22 bikers were given a little orientation to their bikes, some safety tips, and taught some mountain biking skills. We also played some games and were inspired by Dominique's love of the outdoors, leadership and zest for biking. I especially enjoyed how she spoke of enjoying the outdoors and taking safe risks on our bikes. Risk taking isn't something we often inspire in our children especial when it comes to the outdoors and our girls.

Dominque offers a variety of mountain biking classes through LaRocca (www.mountainbikingschool.ca). We are hoping to arrange a 1/2day on her land in Vals-des-mont in the fall. This would be a mother and daughter event outside of the Tween Club regular schedule. More on that later in the summer.

Tween Club's Bizarre Bazaar - May 31st

The big day is fast approaching. Join the Tween Club at McKellar Park on Saturday May 31st from 9:30 to 12:00 for the BIZARRE BAZAAR. The girls will be hosting a garage sale, bake sale, and mini carnival for younger kids. All proceeds will be be donated to Roger's House in Anna MacDonald's name.

The girls are responsible for bringing in 12-20 items for the sale, baked goods package in $.50 sizes and they will all be given carnival duties. They must also wear a costume or purple to indicate they are working the event.

Please tell all your friends and neighbors about the Tween Club Bizarre Bazaar.

Our Trip to Rogers House

Last week during the 9/10 meeting, a few of the older girls came along to an open house at Roger's House. It was a great experience for all of us. The volunteers at Roger's House were great. We were walked through each room and told about the lives of the children and parents that have used the incredible facilities. It's a beautiful facility designed to bring joy and happiness to children going through very difficult times. We have chosen Roger's House as our charity for our May 31st fundraising event, The Tween Club Bizarre Bazaar.

Next week, the older girls will continue their planning efforts for the big event. All the girls are expected to bring 12-20 items to donate to the garage sale, they are also asked to bring something for the bake sale, and finally, they will assist with carnival games. More next week.

Patti

Girls Playing Games

It was wonderful to see the girls laughing, playing, getting dirty and having fun. Shauna and Jenna had the girls playing a whole bunch of group games - some old and some new. It's important for the girls to remember to play and get dirty. As they get older they start to shy away from these types of activities.

At the end of the session, we sat together and discussed our fundraising event scheduled for Saturday May 31st. Shauna talked about Rogers House, our charity of choice this year. We also talked about Anna McDonald whom many of the girls knew and recently passed away this winter after battling cancer on and off for years. Anna was 8 years old when she died and spend some time at Rogers House which she very much enjoyed.

For our event, The Tween Club Bizarre Bazaar, we are asking the girls to bring 12-20 items to sell in a garage sale (books, toys, etc.), something for the bake sale in small individual servings, and they will be running activities for little ones (bean bag toss, trike races, etc.). The girls will finish the planning for the event in their individual meetings this month.

Our Changing Bodies

The last two Tuesdays have been very exciting, informative (and at times, a little embarrasing) for our Tween groups.


We were lucky to have an amazing guest speaker join us both weeks, Melanie Burston-Brown, who shared with us all kinds of important information about our changing bodies.


We started out by telling each other what our favourite body parts are, and Melanie noted that we love the parts of our bodies that everyone can see, but we get a little nervous when we think about the parts that we don't.

That led to a rousing discussion, often accompanied by our protective sunglasses, about puberty!

Even that word, puberty, made some of us nervous.

After a very open, frank, and often funny chat, it is safe to say that we all learned a lot. We feel much more comfortable with the things that are happening to our bodies and our minds in these Tween and upcoming teen years.

Just, please, do not call your future partner a "lamb chop"!

Thanks so much to Melanie and to all the girls for being so open to everything!

Ukrainian Egg Decorating

Thanks to Linda Brown and Jen Brennan for coming out and showing Moms and Tween Club members how to produce Ukrainian Easter Eggs.  This was not a scheduled Tween Club event just an opportunity for us to socialize.

Thanks to all that came out and our leaders for the evening,  Patti

Coming Up in April - "Growing Up - Inside and Out"

Melanie Burston-Brown will be our leader for the early April meetings.  This note from Melanie,

"This is a critical and very important time in our children's lives.  Getting the correct information about puberty, anatomy and reporoductive health is the foundation of sexual responsibility and self-care.  This workshop will emphasize what is happening to our young girl's bodies in an age appropriate manner.  our children will be participation in small group activities that will help to normalize the changes associate with puberty, as well as exploring the human reproductive systems and the miracle of birth.  We will be talking about puberty and the impact it has on their daily lives, coping strategies as well as preparing for the "big day".  While the workshop offers the same content the delivery is different for the two age groups.  With the 9-10 group we will talk more about the body, its changes and the system.  The 11-12 grop will get more into the physiology and emotions attached to their changing bodies as well as open group and hands on discussions geared towards their menstrual cycles."

We just wanted you parents to have an idea of what is going to be covered in the April meetings.

Patti   

March & April

Just a reminder that our Tweens do not have any meetings in the month of March.  We will see the girls again on Tuesday, April 1st for the 9/10 yrs and April 9th for 11/12 yrs.  These two meetings will be hosted by Melanie Burston-Brown who will be covering 'Growing Up - Changes inside and out.  We will post an outline for those session in the next couple of weeks.  

Our group meeting in April is scheduled for April 22nd.  Please mark your calendars for Saturday, May 31st.  The girls will be holding a community fundraising event at McKellar Park. More info to follow in late April.

Patti

Skating Party

A few photos from our Skating Party last Tuesday Night.  We played some games, we placed snow angels on the rink in Memory of Anna MacDonald (a churchill student that recently passed away from Cancer), and started planning our May event.  Mark your calendars for Saturday, May 31st.  The girls will be putting on an event to raise money for a charity of their choosing.

Patti

Wrapped in Nutrition

Our small group meetings this month focused on nutrition.  Both leaders reviewed the Canadian Food Guide but also had the girls look at food from a different perspective.  The girls divided up a pile of healthy food into proteins, fats and carbohydrates.  We then discussed the importance of all and their impact on healthy bodies.  The girls then tasted foods they have never tired and finally, made a tortilla wrap that included all food groups.  Some girls brought home their lunches for the next day and some had a tasty snack.  The girls played games and chatted lots. Two of their favorite activities.

We will be having a skating party on Feb 26th for both groups.  Let's cross our fingers for good weather.

We'll be in touch, Patti  

(Sorry no pics this time)

Meditation with Jen Charbonneau

Hello everyone,

We had a great combined session at the end of January with both groups of girls. Our guest speaker was Jen Charbonneau, who talked to the girls about how to deal with stress in a positive way. Jen is a great communicator and really had the girls opening up as to what causes stress in their lives.

Near the end of the meeting, Jen led the girls through a candle-lit meditation to show them how to "quiet their mind." 

As Jen puts it: "Meditation provides you with a really quiet, private place inside of you where you can go to anytime you want. If you feel stressed or sad or worried or scared, meditating can help you feel safe, uplift your spirits and give you the energy to get on with your day."

Jen has a great website for girls and parents. If you're interested, you can sign up for Jen's free monthly newsletter for parents. If you'd like a copy of Jen's "Follow the River, Follow Your Dreams" guided meditation, you can buy a CD from Jen or download it onto your MP3 player. For more information, visit: www.soglad2beme.com.

See you at the fieldhouse in February, when we'll have cooking and nutrition sessions with Shauna and Jenna. The last meeting of the month on February 26th when we'll have a combined skating party (ice conditions permitting).

Janis

Relaxing Yoga

We had a wonderful guest Yoga instructor, Tamera Dion, come and join the younger girls on Tuesday, January 8th in the Field House. Many of our Tweens came prepared, dressed in Yoga gear and carrying comfy, colourful Yoga mats.

To start out our session, we burned off some energy by playing games with a huge, bouncy ball, and then told stories of nice things we did for others over the holidays. It was great to hear the girls talking about babysitting cousins and younger friends, helping with Christmas dinner, making gifts for friends and family members, shovelling sidewalks and generally being the wonderful young ladies we get to spend time with each week.

By the time we'd heard a multitude of exciting stories, our guest arrived and set us up. Many of the Tweens had done Yoga before, but we did have some newbies.

Janis and Shauna happily watched the girls stretch, move and pose. There were a lot of funny facial expressions as each girl tried her best!

At the end of our session, we had a great time to relax, and even learned a small meditation in which we watched the glow of a candle flame until our eyes began to water.

It was wonderful to end the session calm, relaxed and refreshed. Maybe we'll meditate more in the future! That would save our parents from the bouncy girls they usually meet at the end of Tween Club.

I look forward to seeing all the Tweens at the end of the month!

Shauna