YOUTH CURRICULUM
Full of Ourselves
Curriculum
Full of Ourselves
Table of Contents
Unit 1: Full of Ourselves
Girls are introduced to the program, to one another and to adult leaders. After establishing ground rules, the group explores multiple meanings of the program title. Girls try the first of many body-centered activities and learn about the importance of putting ideas into action.
- Core Activities: Program Introduction, Personal Introductions, Ground Rules, Full of Ourselves: A Brainstorm, Freewrite, The Body Scan, Call to Action, Closing Circle
Unit 2: Claiming Our Strengths
After reporting on action steps, girls identify admirable qualities in themselves and others. They learn the practice of positive self-talk (affirmations) and try a guided relaxation to tap into an embodied sense of strength.
- Core Activities: Action Check-in, Learning to Walk: Power of the Positive, Tree of Strength, Measuring Up: A Positive Take, Body Appreciation Relaxation, Call to Action, Closing Circle
Unit 3: Body Politics
Girls talk candidly about ways their bodies are changing during adolescence. They identify "weightism" as a form of prejudice, dispel common myths about body fat, and learn ways to practice body-size tolerance.
- Core Activities: Action Check-In, Changing Bodies & Lives, Dear Body, Weightism: Imagine That Woman, Fat Myths, Group Pledge, Call to Action, Closing Circle
Unit 4: Standing Our Ground
Girls get a primer in assertiveness training. They put themselves in the shoes of the various players involved in weightist incidents-bullies, targets, bystanders-and gain an understanding of the courage required to intervene on someone else's behalf.
- Core Activities: Action Check-In, One-Minute Body Scan, Comeback Kid, Bullies and Bystanders, "The Party" and "The Wall": Two Role Plays, One-Minute Body Scan, Call to Action, Closing Circle
Unit 5: Countering the Culture: Media Literacy
Girls gain tools to identify and challenge unhealthy and unrealistic media messages and images. They clarify their own personal values and define "beauty" for themselves.
- Core Activities: Action Check-in, 10 Beautiful Things, Personal Values/Media Values, Magazines: What's Up?, "Hi Body" Guided Meditation, Call to Action, Closing Circle
Unit 6: Nourishing Our Bodies
Girls are equipped to make more nutritious choices. They learn how to replace the rigid notion of "good" vs. "bad" foods with the idea of more or less "powerful" foods. They dispel myths about dietary fat, understand the difference between "dieting" and having a healthy diet, and experience the pleasures of "conscious eating".
- Core Activities: Action Check-in, Eating Questionnaire, Power Foods/Junk Foods, Conscious Eating: A Sensational Experience, Mommy, May I?, Call to Action, Closing Circle
Unit 7: Feeding Our Many Appetites
Girls learn how to identify and respond to emotional and other "hungers" requiring nourishment other than food. They discuss effective stress relievers and learn a basic meditation technique to help calm body and mind.
- Core Activities: Action Check-in, Emotional Hunger: What's Eating You?, Meditation, Journal Freewrite, Menu of Hungers, Call to Action, Closing Circle
Unit 8: The Power of Healthy Relationships
Girls explore how "relational health" affects overall well-being. They discuss how popularity affects relationships, practice conflict resolution, and pledge to apply the Full of Ourselves principles in daily life.
- Core Activities: Action Check-in, The Human Mirror, Constellation of Connection, Conflict Case Studies, Popularity Talk, Keepsakes: Wrap-Up, Call to Action Contract, Closing Circle