Girl Power Therapeutic Camp
Girl Power Therapeutic Camp
The Girl Power Therapeutic Camp focuses on developing self esteem and resilience among the girls through story time, circle discussion and sharing, arts and crafts and team games.
This summer’s Girl Power Camp began with a welcome ceremony opening circle offered by Melissa who is an Annishinabe Woman. During her opening, Melissa shared with us her experiences of reclaiming culture and re-establishing meaningful roots of identity.
Self Confidence & Positive Affirmations
The girls created superhero t-shirts of themselves to represent how their inner strengths make them their own superhero. This introduced the concept of self-esteem. We frame self-esteem as our “inner critic” and our “inner coach” to discuss how self-esteem can be both positive and negative.
The concept of affirmations was also introduced, and the girls were encouraged to think of affirmations that best suit them.
Understanding Emotions & Empathy
Together we explored the different emotions we feel and where we feel them in our body. The girls are then given an art activity to reflect on their inner spirit and what makes them uniquely themselves.
We conclude the day by focusing on self-care so that we’re mindful to take care of and be kind to our minds, bodies, and spirits.
Mindfulness & Relaxation Skills
Walking Stick Decoration – a craft to show our spirits.
Sensory Bottles – Creation of sensory bottles to help our minds to relax and focus when we’re feeling overwhelmed. During this activity, we discussed the different feelings we might have- such as anger, fear, or nervousness. We learned our calming jars can help distract our minds and calm our thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations.
Kindness & Gratitude
The girls are asked to reflect on what it means to be kind as well as to practice noticing kindness both within the camp and in their daily lives. The girls are also asked to reflect on what gratitude means to them and to list all of the things in their life they are grateful for.
Campers created gratitude trees to show the things they’re grateful for.
They also made thank you cards for acts of kindness and the group created a list of 50 Acts of Kindness for all the kind acts we notice each other do.
Positive plates were created to leave positive messages for one another.
These are just some of the activities that happen throughout the Girl Power camp week! There is lots of fun and learning to be had by all campers and we can’t wait to do it again next year!
Follow this link for more information about how Qualia can help with Children’s Mental Health.