Tween Club - McKellar Park, Ottawa

Skating Update

2012-01-24T10:31:00.003-05:00

We planned for this event to be earlier this year so we wouldn't run into weather problems. That didn't quite work out. We are going to cancel our skating plans and focus on emotions this week. We will be doing some drama around emotions including some work with music and a little Yoga too.

No skates required tonight.

January 10th - We Start Up Again

2011-12-30T10:56:00.003-05:00

Reminder to all that we have moved the schedule ahead one week this month because of the school holidays, vacation, etc.

We will see the girls on January 10th.

Hope everyone had a great holiday season!

It's Time for Some Healthy Snacks

2011-11-13T19:22:00.003-05:00

Jen Brennen will lead us through a series of recipes and the preparation of a variety of healthy snacks. I can't let the secret out of the bag yet. We'll wait for the girls to share.

All About Me Boxes

2011-10-31T10:30:00.003-04:00

The girls have been asked to bring pictures, magazines, photos and anything else that represents their interests and passions.

Come Prepared to Play Outside

2011-10-18T12:40:00.001-04:00

We're playing games in the park tonight, as requested by our Tweens, and doing a few Halloween crafts, also requested by the gals.

Getting To Know Each Other

2011-10-09T09:12:00.003-04:00

We had a great evening of games and getting to know each other this past week. We played name games, move your butt (just for the fun of it), made posters about ourselves, and the girls made some recommendations for future activities. It looks like we had a few keys activities already planned that the girls wanted on the schedule including cooking, a party, games in the park and dance.

Our older group is smaller than usual this year so we are combining the groups and moving meetings to the first and third Tuesday of Oct, Nov, Jan, Feb, April and May. The schedule is outlined on the right of this site.

It looks like we have a great group. They were enthusiastic, involved and having fun last week.

Andrea, Kayla and I are looking forward to the coming year of Tween Club activities.

Welcome to Andrea!

2011-10-02T18:36:00.002-04:00

This year's tween club instructor is Andrea Dark, both an headgaurd and swim instructor at Dovercourt. She is a third year political science and religion student at Carleton University. Andrea has always been involved in her community, whether it has been through being class president at her highschool, to helping organize her local relay for life, completing an internship on parliament hill or facilitating English Conversation Groups at Carleton. Andrea loves being active, meeting new people and having a positive influence on others! She looks forward to meeting all of you and sharing incredible memories with you over the next few months!

Getting Ready for This Year

2011-09-01T23:54:00.004-04:00

It's been a busy summer and we are finally getting Tween Club ready for the upcoming year. More news on our leaders and our activities coming shortly. If the girls have any ideas or thoughts on what they would like to do this year, please leave them in the comments section of this blog post.

The Tween Bake Sale

2011-05-30T22:37:00.004-04:00

The weather was dull and grey and I have to say it was cold sitting out there for 3 hours. A hot cup of tea and regular breaks inside helped to keep us warm.

Thanks to all your baked goods and a few boxes of books from our house, we were able to raise $330 (which included a $100 donation from one family) for Harmony House.

It's unfortunate the weather wasn't on our side. I think next year we need to try the first weekend in June. We've never been very lucky with the last weekend in May. Time to switch things up next year.

Thanks again for your support and assistance. We will be in touch soon.

Bizarre Bazaar - CANCELLED - But Bake Sale On!

2011-05-27T16:55:00.009-04:00

We have canceled the Bizarre Bazaar due to weather. We can't set up the activities in the rain which changes the plan all together. We are scaling back the event to just a bake sale and me and my daughters can take care of manning the table.

If you have done your baking, please bring it by and we will gladly sell it to the Dovercourt swim lesson gang. The proceeds of the Bake Sale will got to Harmony House, our charity of choice this year. Feel free to drive up and we will grab your sweet treats from the window of you car. We will be set up under the awning on the parking lot side.

We will be in touch with a message for the girls next week and more news on next years program. I'm so sorry that the Bizarre Bazaar did not come together this year.

February Fun

2011-02-24T22:13:00.002-05:00

We started off the month with separate sessions on emotions and a look into the mirror. Our mirrors allowed us to look at our natural beauty.

Just this week we enjoyed a beautiful evening of skating at the McKellar Park rink. We played tag and follow the leader and enjoyed a night together on the ice.

Jen Charbonneau Joins us Jan 25th

2011-01-11T21:29:00.004-05:00

We will have a guest speaker, Jen Charbonneau at the end of the month. Jen joined us a few years ago and we thought it was time to have her back for an encore. Jen will lead a session that will focus on the tough emotion of stress. At our first session the girls talked about the stress of school, dealing with yelling parents, getting out the door in the morning, and other day to day stresses they have experienced.

Jen will help them identify the emotion of stress, provide some words to better communicate it, look at coping mechanisms and more. She will do a craft with the girls, a relaxation visualization (she will have CD's to purchase if your girls are interested) and she even has a small gift for them.

Looking forward to the session at the end of January.

Happy, Confused, Excited and Sad

2011-01-11T21:17:00.006-05:00

These are just a few of the emotions we felt during our individual sessions this month. The younger girls looked at different emotions and described when they felt them, how their bodies reacted during these emotions and who they confide in to deal with emotions. We played games, drew strength from each other and our individualism and the rocks that Anne gave us will help remind us of the strength we draw from both.

The older girls put their emotions into motion by putting together artistic representations of their emotions. One group used a musical approach to tell the story of feeling an array of emotions, another put on a play with a narrator and background sounds and the last wrote a song and included guitar playing from one of the girls. At the end of the session, the girls shared their emotions. Most were happy and content and a few were excited and tired.

We are but a spectrum of emotions. We are emotional beings after all.

Tween's Are Back at McKellar Park

2010-10-05T22:23:00.003-04:00

Our first meeting was held in the McKellar Park Field House tonight. The youngers arrived looking eager but slightly apprehensive. Anne Walzak and myself lead the group tonight because we are having a bit of a problem finding a new instructor. We should have the problem resolved by the end of the month.

We played name games, picked figurines to play in the sand with and designed poster that were all about us. We then proudly put them up in the new field house and claimed our territory as the Tween Club.

On October 26th the youngers will join the olders to meet and greet, mix and mingle. It was a great start to this year. The girls asked us to add some music and singing to the plans for this year. I can see some karaoke in our future.

A New Year For Tween Club

2010-09-21T14:32:00.003-04:00

Ladies of All Ages!

We're getting ready to start Tween Club next month. We hear from our partners at Dovercourt that our younger group is full at 12 girls and the older group has a space or two left. So, we have a gang, now it's time for us to get the ball rolling. Our tentative schedule is posted and will be reviewed by us this week.

We will be confirming locations (we're planning on the field house at McKellar Park) and the instructor (looks like we will be introducing a new instructor to the gang) and I have a new partner in programming. Lots of change this year!

Updates will be coming next week.

You paddle like a girl. Good for you!

2010-06-23T21:01:00.010-04:00

Here in Ottawa we are blessed with a downtown whitewater course and many natural rivers close-by that are great for whitewater paddling.

We are also lucky enough to have a summer camp so that urban kids can learn how to kayak in the city.

Leanne (pictured above) is one of our Tween Club members, who has attended the Ottawa River Runners Summer Camp.

According to her dad Roger: "The children develop technique, fitness, confidence, and self-discipline and have fun too! Of course this is true for many sports but I think there is a special element of confidence-building as children conquer their initial fears of going in rapids. The specific competitive sport that our club is involved in is called "Whitewater Slalom Canoeing and Kayaking" and it is an Olympic sport."

Sounds awesome.

Spoke By Spoke

2010-06-16T20:18:00.003-04:00

Dominique Laroque is offering a new biking program called Spoke to Spoke at Creative Wheel Centre in Vals-des-mont. Dom joined us this year for a bike orientation and lesson this year and hosted a Bike Rodeo a few years ago.

We love what Dom and Creative Wheel stand for..."The Creative Wheel Centre is founded on the belief that connecting with nature through physical, contemplative and artistic pursuits is the most potent medicine available to us all." As you can tell, her centre is about a lot more than just biking.

This year Dom is launching Spoke by Spoke. Please forward this info to girls that might be interested.

Bizarre Bazaar raise $430 for Project Tembo

2010-05-30T14:02:00.004-04:00

The 4th annual Bizarre Bazaar: What an incredible success!

Tween Club raised $330 through a variety of activities including: a fantastic bake sale, garage sale, bouncy castle, apple bobbing, bean toss and a how-many-jelly-beans-in-the-jar guessing contest!

One of our Tween Clubbers won jelly-bean guessing contest. Sadie guessed 783 and there were 782 beans in the jar. Enjoy those jelly beans, Sadie!

We also received a generous donation of $100 from one of our Tween Club parents, Bev Cleary, which pushed our total raised to $430.

Thanks to everyone for all their hard work on Saturday!

Bizarre Bazaar - May 29th

2010-05-24T11:14:00.003-04:00

Our Annual Bizarre Bazaar is schedule for this coming Saturday from 9-12PM at Dovercourt. The girls will be hosting a garage sale, bake sale and games for the kids. All proceeds for the event will be going to a charity of the girls choice.

An Evening With Dominique

2010-05-24T11:00:00.004-04:00

Come and join Dominique Larocque, founding director of Creative Wheel and LaRoccaXC Mountain Bike School for an educative evening about the health benefits of cycling. Dominique will tailor a program for participants and will cover the ABC to guarantee a fun and safe season on our bikes. Dominique will incorporate inspiration, art and some physical challenges into her session. We will not be leaving the property on our bikes and bikes can be shared in pairs.

To know more about Dominique, visit her vision at www.creativewheel.ca.

Dominique joined us two years ago for a Bike Rodeo. This session will not be as physical for the girls. We are limited by the park. I'm thrilled to have Dom back to spend time with the girls. She's an amazing influence for girls of all ages.

Meet Brittney - our new leader!

2010-05-13T23:10:00.003-04:00

Tween Club welcomes Brittney Black as our new leader!

Brittney loves working with children and youth, singing along to Carrie Underwood and the colour pink!

We're thrilled to have such an enthusiastic and energetic leader for our girls.

Brittney is anxiously waiting for the arrival of a new niece or nephew, so she may or may not be at our annual fundraiser, the Bizarre Bazaar on Saturday, May 29th (rain date: Sunday, May 30th).

Welcome Brittney!

Bollywood Dancig

2010-05-08T19:16:00.005-04:00

Erica McCulloch joined us to help with a Bollywood dancing lesson. She started by giving us some of the background of Bollywood then she let the girls try on saris and scarves which the girls loved.

We learned a variety of movements with our hands including lotus and deer. We then learned a few moves and finally Erica challenged us to put together our own routines. Then it was showtime.

All About Bullying

2010-04-26T23:08:00.003-04:00

Shauna joined us earlier this month to say hello to the girls and also to cover the topic of bullying for us. She did an amazing job. Shauna has a magical way with the girls and many of past members of Tween club were thrilled to see her.

The activity focused on a paper cut out girl. In each session, she was named and put up on the wall. Before we knew it, Shauna was targetting our cut out friend. She was leading the girls into a circle of bullying behaviour before they even realized it. The girls even physically lashed out at the cut out and in some cases projected bullying that had happened to them or they had seen in the past.

Shauna then turn the tables and showed the girls how easy it was to follow along. Join the gang and ignite bullying behaviour. Although it was good for the girls to get some of the angst out, they also realized how quickly a group can take on the wrong personality.

When the girls realized what had happened the discussions began. How do we stop and stand up for other? How do you diffuse a bully? How does it feel to do the right thing? They then as a group repaired the cut out. At one point, I even saw one of the younger girls holding the cut out 'Allison's' hand.

Cool News: Leading Women, Building Community award for Patti and Janis

2010-03-28T21:21:00.003-04:00

We invite all of our Tween Clubbers, past and present, to join us at an event hosted by our local MPP Yasir Naqvi.

Patti and I are honoured to receive a Leading Women, Building Communities Award, presented by Yasir Naqvi, on April 10th.

All Tween Clubbers your family are welcome to attend. Here are the details:

When: April 10, 2010

Where: Carleton Heights Community Centre, 1665 Apeldoorn Avenue

Time: 2 pm to 4 pm

We'd love to see you there!

Real girl power: Saluting Canada's Olympic and ParaOlympic athletes!

2010-03-28T20:10:00.003-04:00

>Congratulations to the Canadian women on both the Olympic and Paralympic teams for their outstanding performances!

From hockey, curling, speed-skating, bobsleigh and snowboarding, to name just a few, you wowed us all.

You inspired us, delighted us and entertained us. We couldn't ask for better role models.

Thanks for making us proud.

Girl Power Movie Night -- Kick Like a Girl

2010-03-15T22:18:00.000-04:00

One of our most popular activities is Movie Night for the girls. We always on the lookout for great films about great girls. This year we found a gem of a short documentary; it's called "Kick Like a Girl" and it had our Tween Clubbers cheering, laughing and wanting more.

"Kick Like a Girl" is the real-life story of the Cheetahs, a girls' soccer team who are undefeated in their division. After two seasons of winning every game, their coach decided to enter them in a boys' division so they could test their mettle.

The DVD blurb sums it up perfectly: With humor and honesty this documentary reveals the reality of the boy-girl issues and what "Kick Like A Girl" really means on and off the playing field.

The film is narrated by 8 year old Lizzie, a self described soccer girl, who doesn't let juvenile diabetes, elbow blocks or grass stains interfere with her desire to compete.

In just 23 minutes, this film gets you thinking about fair play, good sportsmanship, and why sports are important for raising self-esteem of both boys and girls.

What keeps this film light and charming are the candid comments from the girls who play on the Cheetahs and the boys they play against. One of the film's best line comes from a boy: "If someone told me that I kick like a girl, I'd say 'thank you.' "

Now that's progress. Check out the trailer. Enjoy!

Healthy Skin with Magdalena

2010-01-31T21:05:00.000-05:00

Eat well, sleep well, wash your face daily and make funny faces!

That's the secret to healthy, natural skin, according to holistic skin care specialist Magdalena Tomczak.

Magdalena encouraged the girls to eat well. That means lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and fish (for their Omega 3 oils, which are great for your skin and hair).

She also recommended getting a good night's sleep. Skin needs to regenerate (rebuild itself) overnight, so getting enough sleep is key to having healthy skin.

Magdalena stressed that most young girls do not need to use special skin care products. However, it is important to wash your face in the evening before going to bed and in the morning when you wake up.

So why is making funny faces important? Well, first of all, it's fun. Second of all, it helps get blood flowing to your face and releases tension. But save your funny faces for a home activity. Teachers may frown on classroom practice!!

For more information on Magdalena, visit her website at: www.womandivine.ca

For information on what's in personal care products, visit: www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/index.php

Healthy Skin Naturally

2010-01-24T21:07:00.000-05:00

In the workshop this week, Magdalena from Woman Divine will cover the following:

-the skin and why it is important to take care of it

-what to do if your skin breaks out

-skin care products and advertising - what to watch out for

-how to care for the skin in simple ways and how to choose a healthy product when necessary.

The girls will be offered the chance to experience mini organic facials as she talks. Magdalena's goal is to support the girls by providing information about healthy ways to care for oneself and introducing them to organic aspect of skin care. Her hope is that it will make their future choices a little bit more informed and easier.

Finding beauty in imperfection

2009-12-09T15:04:00.000-05:00

The needles were flying in our last Tween Club meeting of 2009!

The girls were hard at work creating their own tiny "ugly" dolls. Okay, they weren't truly ugly, they were fantastic fleecy beasts that were made out of fabric, buttons and lots of imagination.

The goal of the workshop was for the girls to create something using their own hands. Something that they would find beautiful, despite the creatures' imperfections.

The "ugly" doll project borrows from the Japanese concept of wabi sabi -- finding beauty of things imperfect, modest and humble and unconventional.

Although most of the girls didn't finish their dolls by the end of the workshop, we packed them up with materials to finish them off at home. We hope to see their completed creatures at our first meetings in 2010.

Happy holidays to our Tween Club friends. See you in 2010!

The Art of Joy

2009-11-03T09:22:00.001-05:00

November is always our art project month. This year we are focusing on decorating different objects (boxes, frames, and mirrors) with images, textures and words that bring the girls joy. The younger girls brought along plenty of decorating materials that displayed hobbies, interests, and words and pictures that bring them joy. By the end of the night, there were many dazzling picture frames, boxes, and mirrors, all plastered in bits and pieces of the girls personalities! A reminder to the older girls, be sure to bring an avalanche of pictures, words, memoirs, funky papers, maybe even fabric, to personalize your own art project!

Our Joy Workshop

2009-11-03T08:47:00.000-05:00

This was our agenda for the evening. The girls talked about their essence, what brings them joy, the role of their bodies when they are joyful. They had a good time and Debra was so positive and a great influence on the girls.

Joy Workshop with Debra Isabel Huron - Oct 27th

2009-10-14T17:25:00.000-04:00

Joy in your heart, joy every day

How often do you ask yourself: What’s my level of joy today?

When is the last time you spent an hour wondering how you could feel more joy, spread more joy, enjoy more joy? What makes you feel joyful, deep down in your soul?

Our first guest speaker for the fall session is Debra Huron. She is a JOY workshop leader and certified costume therapy fairy.

She has told us that the workshop goals and agenda will only be revealed to those who attend. She has promised to deliver two guarantees, but she won’t say what they are. She has promised to show up. And she has told us we should be grateful she is giving us something new and interesting to do on Tuesday, October 27 from 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

We All Know Each Other Now!

2009-10-14T17:22:00.000-04:00

Our first two meetings are under our belts and the girls are already starting to feel like part of group. The first meeting was all about introducing Valerie, the idea of Tween Club and the girls to each other and us.

Our younger group is about 10 girls and our older is 6. We're definitely a smaller group this year but everyone seems to feel good about the small size for different reasons (new leader, new location, new girls, more time to talk, etc.).

On to the group meeting....

LOCATION CHANGE - Again

2009-10-06T14:55:00.000-04:00

Looks like Dovercourt has had some problems securing a location at the Churchill Seniors Centre for us. We will be meeting in the Boardroom at Dovercourt on the upper level for the time being.

Sorry for the confusion!

Introducing our New Leader - Valerie Trenholm

2009-09-29T08:07:00.000-04:00

I am extremely excited to be a part of Tween Club this year. I feel it is important for tweens to have a safe, non-judgemental space in which they can feel comfortable expressing themselves. I hope I can encourage positive self-talk, positive self-esteem and create opportunities for the girls to empower themselves.

A little about me:

~ my family and friends mean the world to me

~ I love the outdoors, animals, music, dancing and bowling

~ my greatest achievement was graduating college

~ my goal professionally is to work in a hospital

~ I am still scared of the dark and snakes

I strongly believe that everyone has a purpose and that everyone you meet will teach you something. That includes children and youth. I know that children and youth are our future but they should also be our present. They can be major contributors to our community if we give them the opportunity.

- Valerie Trenholm

Valerie graduated from the child and youth worker program at Algonquin in May 2007. She has also worked in community health organizations, facilitated after school programs for youth, drop in programs, homework clubs and taught babysitting courses.

Janis and I are looking forward to working with Valerie and Dovercourt Recreation Centre on this year's Tween Club.

NOTE:

The McKellar field house is being replaced over the next year. Our new home for the 2009-2010 year is the Churchill Senior Centre, 345 Richmond Road, parking is available just off of Churchill Ave, north of Richmond Road.

Getting Ready for October 2009

2009-08-20T23:21:00.000-04:00

We are finishing up the schedule, looking for a new instructor and waiting to see where we will be meeting this year. Our old stompin grounds, the McKellar Park Field House, is being taken down and rebuilt over the fall and into the spring so we will have a new home this year.

A few things are up in the air but rest assured that Tween Club will be pulled together with a new leader, a new location, and a new schedule of activities starting in October.

Janis and I would like to thank Shauna Pollock for being our Tween Club leader for the past 3 years. Shauna has been an incredible roll model for the girls. She has inspired them with her strength of character and confidence and has been a wonderful friend and mentor to the girls. Although she will not be our regular leader this year, we are planning on having Shauna in as a guest speaker.

More soon, Patti

Another Fabulous Bizarre Bazaar!

2009-06-16T12:54:00.000-04:00

The girls did a wonderful job! They took control of setting up, pricing and selling all our marvelous things. The bake table was filled with cookies and treats and everyone walked away with incredible deals.

In the end, the girls raised $500 for Help Lesotho!!!!! We're very proud of their efforts and had a great time with them this year.

Pictures will be posted shortly and a schedule for next year will be posted by July 15th.

Enjoy the summer!!

It's That Time Again!

2009-05-21T23:26:00.000-04:00

Parenting Seminar

2009-04-28T10:10:00.000-04:00

We have often talked about setting up some parenting sessions for the parents of our Tween girls but we just haven't gotten around to it, yet.

Someone in the neighborhood forwarded this on to me and I wanted to share it with you all. I can't make it but I wish I could.

Patti

The Kitchissippi Times

2009-04-18T21:13:00.000-04:00

The picture on the right will be the photo used in our upcoming Kitchissippi Times article. Lisa Wallace from the Times has been chasing Janis, Shauna, me, and a few of the girls for a few weeks now. It looks like Lisa has all the information she was looking for and we will be in print this week.

Aren't they beautiful!!

Asking Questions and Filling Buckets

2009-04-18T20:56:00.000-04:00

The focus of April's meetings was all about questions, goals and doing your part to make others feel good. Shauna posed several questions to the girls and just let them run with things. In the younger meeting, the girls were in prime form to chat.

I want to be ________ because _______.

For the purposes of this blog I will just outline some of the things they want to be without the because;
an olympic diver, equestrian rider, World Wildlife Federation worker, help animas. professional soccer trainer, a teacher, marine specialist, published writer, a TV host, a dance teacher, a pinao player, a synchro teacher, to make a move, etc.

As we discussed our upcoming event, the Bizarre Bazaar, the girls talked about the charities they were interested in supporting. The ranged from water issues, animals, disease and finally girls in third world cultures. The last was the topic of most interest to our girls. They are hoping to sponsor a young girls education. We are presently doing some research to find the right charity.

Shauna also read the girls a pictures book called, "Have you filled Your Bucket Today?" It was a simple but wonderful story about how everyone has an invisible bucket filled with good feels and how important it is to fill others buckets. By doing so, we will out own. I have used the analogy at last 6 times with Erin since our meeting. I would recommend it even if you think they are too young for pictures books.

Patti

April Showers Brings Back Tween Club

2009-03-29T23:26:00.001-04:00

We missed you all during March but we're ready to get back into the Tween Swing of things.

Our youngers will be meeting Tuesday, April 7th and the olders will be together on the 14th. The group meeting this month is on April 28th and will include a Tye Die Workshop. More news on that shortly.

PJ Party and Movie Night - This Tuesday, Feb 24th

2009-02-20T16:35:00.001-05:00

The movie has not been decided yet. Remind your girls to come in their jammies, bring stuffies if they want and we will provide snacks, entertainment and girl bounding opportunities.

Patti

Drama Workshop With Paula from the Ottawa School of Speech and Drama

2009-02-04T10:19:00.000-05:00

Change of Plans for January 27th

2009-01-14T19:38:00.000-05:00

Instead of a PJ party we will be having our Skating night on January 27th. Please make sure your girls are dressed warmly and bring their skates along.

Let's hope the weather changes in the next two weeks.

Patti

Happy Holidays to All!

2008-12-24T12:26:00.001-05:00

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

2008-11-24T20:30:00.001-05:00

- 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

2008-11-05T09:31:00.001-05:00

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!

2008-10-30T13:15:00.001-04:00

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

2008-10-27T13:36:00.000-04:00

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!

2008-10-07T20:43:00.000-04:00

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

2008-10-02T09:11:00.000-04:00

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

2008-09-25T14:17:00.000-04:00

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

2008-07-31T16:46:00.000-04:00

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

2008-07-14T08:40:00.000-04:00

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!

2008-06-01T21:36:00.000-04:00

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

2008-05-30T16:09:00.000-04:00

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!

2008-05-28T11:43:00.001-04:00

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

2008-05-15T13:37:00.000-04:00

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

2008-05-10T17:48:00.001-04:00

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

2008-05-05T11:51:00.000-04:00

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

2008-04-10T20:37:00.001-04:00

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

2008-03-20T13:16:00.001-04:00

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"

2008-03-20T13:05:00.000-04:00

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

2008-02-29T17:28:00.000-05:00

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

2008-02-27T20:27:00.000-05:00

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

2008-02-13T14:17:00.000-05:00

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

2008-02-03T19:45:00.000-05:00

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

2008-01-11T13:07:00.000-05:00

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

A Great Magazine for the Older Girls

2007-12-16T17:21:00.001-05:00

Girls Can Do Anything - Canada's Empowerment Magazine for Teens. I have picked it up twice at Chapters and have been very impressed with its content, so has Kayla. The magazine is written for 11-17 year olds. It's touches on tough issues (bullying & dealing with death), body and boy issues, managing time and mess, and profiles girls that are doing great things, and lots more. You can find them at http://www.gcdamagazine.com/. I just signed Kayla up for a subscription, $24 for 6 issues which cover 12 months.

Enjoy the holidays, Patti

November - Ugly = Beautiful

2007-12-16T17:05:00.000-05:00

Our November meetings were spent designing and producing our very own 'ugly' dolls. Although we did borrow the name of the dolls from a well known brand of toys (http://www.uglydolls.com/), our designs were truly original and uglier by far.

The girls designed their quirky dolls on paper to make patterns, cut them out and transferred them to felt, added buttons, hair, pockets and knick-knacks, then worked with their sewers to bring their creations together. At the end of the production process, quite a few of the girls brought special rocks or buttons or keep sakes to put inside their dolls to be the heart. Many of these objects were kissed by all the girls and finally stuffed inside their creations.

Our objective was to reset the expectations of perfection. Perfection is far too overrated. Anyone and everything can be viewed as beautiful in it's own way. These dolls provided the girls with a new perspective on what is 'ugly' or 'beautiful' and they also walked way with a wonderful sense of accomplishment.

We hope the girls have shared their dolls with you. The girls were also given diaries to start writing in. Their first assignment was to outline 5 things they love about themselves. Could be there feet for allowing them to run fast or the colour of their eyes which is just like their Grandmother's. We want them to start looking at the beauty they have inside and out.

Patti

Our Start In October

2007-11-26T14:18:00.000-05:00

We start Tween club in October because September is crazy busy for all of us. By early October children and parents alike are back into a routine and ready that's when we invite our girls to join us at Tween Club.

The individual meetings in October were all about meeting each other and getting to know our leader Shauna Pollock, plus parent leader Patti and Janis, and of course an opportunity for the girls to start to mix and mingle. Although many of them knew each other from school, the neighborhood and last year's Tween Club, there were many new faces and names to get to know.

The mixing took it's natural shape of a girl frenzy at first but in time Shauna settled both groups into a series of games that allowed the girls to get to know each other a little better.

These two meetings were started in a circle format where the girls could talk about why they were in the club and what they were expecting from Tween Club this year. There are always many giggles and laughs throughout their excited conversations. What we have observed above all, is that the girls want to share (talk). The games allowed them to share their names and their personalities with the others.

During the second half of the meeting Shauna shared her experiences of being a young girl (Shauna is only 25 yrs old and a teacher in a middle school during the day).