Lesson 3: What is change?

It was all about change this fine Tuesday morning. Coach Jenn started the lesson by re-capping last Friday's lesson. Since Coach Tanya wasn't at Friday's lesson, the girls told her about the GOTR promises and listed some that we went over together. It was nice to see that the girls could remember quite a few of our GOTR promises.

Coach Jenn then asked the girls if they knew what "changing our behavior" meant. The girls discussed changing behaviors that may be negative or may hurt other people. Coach Jenn then passed out some index cards for the girls to write down some of their negative behaviors, here are few

• I am mean to my sister (or my brother)
• I am impatient with others
• I am pushy
• I don't go to sleep on time
• I don't eat all my vegetables

After discussing some of the negative behaviors, the girls then discussed positive behaviors. There were lots of those too! Here are a few:

• I walk the dog
• I run at Girls on the Run
• I help my parents with my siblings
• I recycle
• I do my homework
• I brush my teeth :)

To warm up, Coach Connie had all the girls line up in two lines with the girls facing each other. They joined hands and formed a tunnel. Then, each girl ran through the tunnel to Coach Connie. When they got to Coach Connie, they tossed those negative behavior cards, one by one, into the "Munch Monster," a specially made box with the ugliest face.

Coach Tanya then had the girls do a bit more of a warm up (it was cold outside!). The girls then did their workout, while discussing the positive behaviors they wrote down earlier. The girls were so encouraging of each other and really tried hard during this workout. They were all so happy and had a good time doing their laps.

We finished the lesson discussing how we all can make positive changes in what we do everyday. How we can "throw away" our negative behaviors and do more positive things each day. Coach Tanya gave the girls their bananas or apples and everyone was on their way to a great Tuesday!

This Friday we'll be talking about being physically healthy. Speaking of healthy, parents if you could please have the girls return their health form this Friday, we would appreciate it. The health forms will let the coaches know if there are any issues they should be aware of and who to get in touch with should something happen. If they don't have these forms by the 4th lesson, the girls will have to sit out from practice. We don't want anyone to miss the GOTR fun!

Lesson 2: Keeping Our Promises

Rain, rain, go away!

That’s what we felt like signing on Friday afternoon. The wet stuff failing from the sky kept us inside in classroom #5. But that didn’t detour us. We still went through with our Girls on the Run lesson where we talked about promises and what they meant to us. Coach Connie started by reviewing a list of Girls on the Run promises, which many of the girls knew by heart since they are past GOTR participants! Hearing them say which promise was their favorite was music to our ears. We heard “always be honest” from many of the girls as well as “always do my schoolwork” (which we know makes parents happy too!)

Coach Jenn lead us through some warm ups inside (lots of fun movements to get our blood flowing). Funny thing is that the girls didn’t realize they were even exercising. As Coach Jenn was talking to them about the promises, she was asking them to mimic her movements. She had the girls doing knee lifts and back kicks and all sorts of stuff. It was almost like watching a Simon Says game…but without the trick commands!

Coach Connie took the girls into the hall way (and after chasing Mr. Newman and Mr. Barger out of the way ), we did a fun activity that included running laps. Each time Coach Jenn or Coach Connie yelled “Go,” the girls would run to the nearest station to complete a list of activities. Some were physical, and some required them to think about the Promises we had just covered.
Before we knew it, our hour was up, and it was time to say good bye. Fun sure does fly when you’re moving and grooving in Girls on the Run!

See you on Tuesday.

Lesson I: Getting to Know Each Other

Wow! Wonderful weather greeted us for our first lesson of the Spring Session of GOTR. After 2 snowstorms, what a treat to spend time getting to know each other in the sunshine. Many of the girls already knew each other, but we found out that there were still things that they didn't know.

The girls creatively introduced themselves with dramatic flourish (ask them to show you). On to the running, with a warm up, where the girls ran and found out more about each other. It was fun to watch the girls take turns leading us into some stretching exercises. They demonstrated these stretches during the Kick-Off Party. Now it was time for some running, Coach Jenn led the girls in a running game that really had the girls moving.

We finished the lesson with our Tuesday morning healthy snack:Bananas! Of course, that always leads to the Go Bananas cheer, followed by our new GOTR cheer, led by the dynamic M&M's (Molly and Marissa).

A big thank you to our GOTR parents. The girls came prepared with water bottles, proper foot attire and positive attitudes. We are off to a great start-see you on Friday!