I have so much I want to say about
this activity I don't even know where to start!
So I have been struggling with anxiety recently - you know, that thing that my brother said he has and I've always believed him and tried to give him the space he needed, but it wasn't until recently (as an adult) that I've dealt with it myself. Conference talks and inspiring messages have a whole new meaning to me! Then when I had a friend share with me that her child has anxiety, I about lost it and still can't quite handle the idea of children dealing such hard feelings!
I honestly hope everyone does an activity like this. Since I did this with my daughters and a couple of her friends, we have already used these words multiple times to inspire and teach. I really hope these words and their definitions were impressed into their minds and when faced with a situation (like going off a diving board) they can remember just who they CAN be.
So I did
this activity with a group of girls, but this would be great for boys too!
I made two different "Qualities Worksheets" with slightly different words.
Everyone will have their own worksheet in from of them. As each person takes a turn choosing which quality to learn more about, everyone fills out their own worksheet - either "I am doing great" OR "I could be better" as the leader reads the definition. Then the person who chose which quality to learn about shares a time when they or someone they know has shown that quality - allowing everyone to get to know each other a bit better and share positive stories about themselves and others (this was my favorite part of the activity) Then, have each person chooses 3 words that resonate with them - whether is a quality they are already good at or one they want to work on. They can use these three words to make t-shirts or if you're not planning on making shirts maybe they can use the words for a different craft.
FOR THE SHIRTS-
If you are budget conscious, think you can make these shirts for about $6 each. I got our stuff at Walmart and they had shirts for cheaper but my daughter came to the store and picked these. If you can catch the shirts on sale a Michaels, I'm pretty sure you can get them for $3.50 each, or the girls plain shirts at Target recently were $4.
For the iron-on vinyl - we got the pack that was $3.12 from Walmart. The pack came with "86 pieces" and the letters are .75 inches. I think you can get very similar pack on Amazon and pretty much any craft store. Walmart only had 2 packs left so I bought them both and got three shirts out of it, with lots of extra (what's hard is the common letters!). I think you can definitely let 2 girls share 1 pack and should have plenty!
ALTERNATE IDEA - if you aren't up for making shirts, another idea is to let them make a "YOU ARE AMAZING" card for someone in their life... anyone they consider to be their role model. Whether it's a friend whose at the same activity or someone at home. Or they can make an "I am amazing" craft for themselves to remind them how awesome they are!
MOTHER'S DAY IDEA- After learning about the 28 qualities, have the girls make their mom a "You are amazing" card.
This flower pot craft has petals for every quality in the lesson, plus a bunch extra.
It was SO much fun seeing what words these girls chose. What's crazy to me is not one quality repeated and they all suited these cute girls so well.
At the end of the activity, I also handed out these bookmarks so
hopefully these girls can remember these qualities after the activity!
You can the files for this activity
HERE.
***If you would like to do this activity and teach kids about empowering/inspiring qualities but don't have it in your budget, please e-mail me. I would love to work something out with you!
