If you missed Part 1, please check it out here: Be You Virtual Meeting–Part 1.

This is my virtual adaption for the Be You Challenge activities on the Girls First Platform.

About this Meeting

How does it feel when you’re “just being yourself”? What does that mean? Being yourself can be tough when there are so many messages and images out there telling girls what they should look like and act like.

The Be You Challenge helps you explore who YOU are and what makes you so special. In this challenge, you’ll build your confidence in your own abilities and explore what it looks and feels like to have a healthy balance in your life. (Here’s a hint: this looks different for everyone!)

Remember, this challenge isn’t about trying to be “right” or “normal” – it’s about understanding the things that make you feel your best, so you can look in the mirror and give yourself a high-five! The goal is to be YOU!

–The Be You Challenge

Objective

To develop self-acceptance and embrace your uniqueness while finding balance in your life.

Outcomes

• Express self-acceptance and confidence.
• Understand what healthy balance can look like in your life.

The Meeting

Meeting Itinerary

This is my personal Meeting Itinerary (no I don’t make these up every time!), please feel free to use it, or arrange it however you like!

Opening	Opening Songs and Promises, Recap last meeting and talk about what we will do today	RO			3 min
Activity 1	Body Cues	RO	Being You		10-15 min
Activity 2	Finding the Balance	RO	Being You, Science Lab	Zoom Whiteboard, materials for making a scale (see details below)	15 min-30 min
Activity 3	Being You-nique	RO	Being You	Your Brownie Portrait from last week	15-30
Closing	Closing Songs	RO			2 min

The Opener

Activity 1: Body Cues

Listening to our bodies can help us to make healthy choices and get to know ourselves better. Get active and practice listening to what your body is telling you so you know when to push yourself and when not to!

1. As a unit, talk about how your body gives you messages.

• How do you know when you’re thirsty?
• How do you know when you’ve stretched far enough?
• How do you know when you’re tired?
• How do you know when you need to move around and be active?

2. Try some of the activities listed below (and any others you can think of), and practice listening to your bodies to choose when to stop pushing yourself. Here are some things you can try:

• How high can you reach? How does your body tell you that you’ve reached as far as possible?
• Can you lick your elbow? How does your body tell you that you’ve reached far enough?
• How long can you jump up and down? How do you know your body needs you to stop and rest?
• Have a staring contest. Stare into the camera for as long as you can without blinking! How did you body tell you when it was time to blink?

3. Some things to talk about:
   • What did you notice about your body during these activities?
   • What kinds of things do you need to listen for to make sure your body is feeling at its best?   

Activity 2: Finding the Balance

Our bodies can do amazing things and keep us going all day long. But it takes some rest to keep them running smoothly. What do you do in your life to be active and what do you do to rest? Are these activities balanced?

1. Use your zoom whiteboard to help the girls think of a list of activities they enjoy. Help them place the activity in either the “Active” or the “Restful” categories.
   • Some activity suggestions to get them going:
     • Reading a book (restful)
     • Playing tag (active)
     • Watching a movie (restful)
     • Hopping on one foot (active)

ALTERNATIVELY: If your Brownies enjoy Kahoots!, head over to this link: Finding the Balance–Brownies Being You

2. Have the girls make a scale at home (Hello, Science Lab badgework…almost didn’t see you there!). The simpler the scale the better.
   • Materials for building a scale can include:
     • A ruler with a little cup taped to each side with a base in the centre made of paper folded into a triangle.
     • Two little boxes or baskets attached with a piece of string and hung over a pencil.
     • A Popsicle stick balanced on an upside-down Dixie cup.
   • Materials to represent the active/restful things in their lives can be any uniform object that can fit on their scales:
     • Marbles
     • Lego
     • Little rocks or pebbles
     • Beans

3. Together, add weight to one side to represent the things in your lives that are active and add weight to the other side to represent the things that you do for rest or relaxation.
4. Talking points:
   • Why do you think it’s important to do both things that are active and things that are restful?
   • What would you like more of in your life?
   • What kinds of activities might you add to your life so you can be more balanced?

Activity 3: Being You-nique

1. Grab your Brownie Portrait from the very first activity we did. After doing the activities in this challenge, do you want to change something about it or add anything new? Let’s finish those portraits to show how you’re you-nique.
   • Is there something in your picture that shows you trying something new?
   • Is there something in your picture that makes you feel happy?
   • Does your picture include the people in your life that makes you feel happy?
   • Is there something that makes you feel strong?
   • Is there something in your picture that makes you feel special?
   • What is your favourite thing about you? Is it on there?
2. Add anything you learned about yourself from these meetings to your Brownie Portrait.

Tips for Success

• Send out the requests for this week’s materials ahead of time. The scales are a little tricky since everyone will have something a little different at their house. This is what my letter says:

…This week we will be making a simple scale. The girls will need materials to create a simple balancing scale. Some ideas are: a ruler with a little cup taped to each side with a base in the centre made of paper folded into a triangle; Two little boxes or baskets attached with a piece of string and hung over a pencil; a Popsicle stick balanced on an upside-down Dixie cup; Two cups suspended with string on either side of a hanger. The girls do not need to construct these scales before the meeting, we will make them at the meeting.

• I always put the printable we are working on up on the share screen. It helps me and the girls stay focused, as well as help them know what we are working on (I find a lot of direction gets a little lost in the zoom).
• Epic Books works really well for online Brownie Meetings. It’s a lot less expensive than buying several different books, individually.
• Be prepared to go at the girls’ pace. These are sensitive issues, watch your girls’ reactions’ carefully. Remember, Brownies is a Safe Space, where the girls are free to share their emotions and feelings without judgement or fear of “looking stupid”. If they want to cry or feel angry, let them! Validate their feelings, share in their experiences, use your empathy and compassion skills! Conversely, if they fly through the activities without much discussion, know that they are processing it in their own way–don’t push. Keep inviting them to answer open-ended questions, and know that they are thinking about it in their own way. Don’t worry about your meeting going over or under, there’s always an opportunity to sing a song, or play skribbl.io; or you can continue your meeting next week! The important thing is the girls feel heard and respected.
• Don’t feel weird if at any moment you need to stop and give the girls a virtual hug. Self-hugging is a great tool kids and adults can use to help themselves feel better anytime, anywhere.

Book Recommendations

Who Cares is a delightful story that dares you to fearlessly forgo the opinions of others and invites you to experience the freedom of accepting yourself as you are.

Positively Purple explores the power of empathy and friendship in building a child’s self-esteem. Self acceptance is a strong theme running through the story, with a clear message that change in your appearance does not change how your friends feel about you.