Positive Body Image - Julia V. Taylor

1 MMyy SSaassssyy SSeellffPPoossiittiivvee BBooddyy IImmaaggeeCCoonnnneecctt!!MMyy SSaassssyy SSeellff:: PPoossiittiivvee BBooddyy IImmaaggeeTTiimmee10 minutesOObbjjeeccttiivveeFor each girl to say something Positive about her bodyMMaatteerriiaallssContainer or cupSlips of paper and pencilPPrreeppaarraattiioonnWrite a different body part (hair, eyes, legs, arms, hands, ears,etc.)on separate slips of paper. Fold the slips and place them in thecontainer or the girls stand or sit in a circle. As the container or cup ispassed around the circle, each girl picks out a slip of paper. Eachgirl then describes something Positive about the body part thatshe QQuueessttiioonnss`Did you think it was hard to think of something Positive about thebody part you picked?`Talk about why every part of our bodies and our appearance ttoo BBee MMeeOOBBJJEECCTTIIVVEEG irls will think about and learn to discuss the importance anduniqueness of their bodies and physical copy of the Heart Handout for each girlScissorsCrayons or colored markersTape or this activity by talking to the girls about the uniqueness ofevery person s body and appearance.

2 Talk about how uniquenessis not always respected or appreciated by ourselves or , it is often this uniqueness that makes us the special,talented people that we instance, someone may feel self-conscious about wearingglasses, but glasses help the person have great may be embarrassed about having big feet, but big feetmay help a person be a faster may be really tall and may wonder about how this canbe wonderful. Being tall can help the person see well in a Ask everyone to think about something that is unique about herbody or appearance. It may be something that makes her feel each girl a copy of the Heart Handout and distribute the the girls to cut out the heart and to complete the sentence I am proud of my _____ because _____ ! naming a body partand the reason. Encourage the girls to decorate their Have the girls tape or paperclip their hearts near the body part thatmakes them proud.

3 For example, someone who is now proud ofher braces can tape the heart next to her mouth!6. Have the girls stand in a circle, look at one another s hearts, andshare what makes them After sharing, instruct the girls to remove the hearts. Encouragethem to take the hearts home and tape them on a mirror orsomewhere else they will see them daily, as a reminder to beproud of their bodies and QQUUEESSTTIIOONNSS`How does it feel to say great things about your body and appear-ance?`What did you learn about yourself in today?`How will you use what you have learned today in the future?GGrraaddeess 33 55 AAlltteerrnnaattiivveeGive girls two or three hearts to complete and HHaannddoouutt3300 From Girls in Real-Life Situations: Group Counseling Activities for Enhancing Social and Emotional Development Grades K 5 2007 by and Taylor . Champaign, IL: Research Press.

4 (800 519 2707, )I am proud of my_____because_____!I am proud of my_____because_____!WWhhaatt YYoouu SSeeee IIssnn tt AAllwwaayyss WWhhaatt YYoouu GGeettOOBBJJEECCTTIIVVEEG irls will gain knowledge about how the media function toincrease their understanding of how advertising techniques including plenty of advertisements for toys, games,and clothing that are appealing to girlsScissorsGlueCrayons or colored markersDrawing to the girls about the meaning of the word commercials on television and in catalogs and maga-zines. Ask the girls to talk about things they have seen advertisedthat they would like to the girls the magazines and art materials. Instruct them togo through the magazines and cut out the advertising images When they have cut out a number of images, have them eachcreate a collage on a separate piece of paper. Encourage them todecorate the collages as well as glue the images to When they are finished, have each girl display her collage to thegroup and describe what she likes about it and why she pickedthe images she the girls the closing questions to help explore the critical andmixed messages that the media QQUUEESSTTIIOONNSS`What did the facial expressions look like on the people in theadvertisements?

5 Were they happy?`Have you ever wanted something because everyone else had oneor you thought you would be happy if you owned it?`Have you ever gotten something you wanted, only to be disap-pointed because it did not work or look the way you thought itwould?`What did you learn about yourself in today?`How will you use what you have learned today in the future?3322 FFeeeelliinngg FFiinneeOOBBJJEECCTTIIVVEEG irls will learn that everyone possesses beauty within and gainrespect for themselves and lunch -sized paper bag for each girlIndex cards and pencilDrawing paperCrayons or colored markersPrior to the meeting, write each girl s name on an index card andplace it inside a paper the group about girls (they may be famous or simply girls theyknow) who are popular or who they admire. Ask them to sharethe reasons they admire these girls. Often girls will talk about theattractiveness or coolness of these each girl the paper bag with her name in it.

6 Tell the girls thatinside their bag they will find the name of the coolest girl that thereis. Instruct them not to open the bag. Encourage the girls tobrainstorm names of people they believe will be the bags the girls have opened their bags and found their own namesinside, talk about how they felt seeing themselves described asthe coolest girl there Give each girl a sheet of paper and distribute the crayons Instruct the girls to draw themselves and decorate their drawingswith words, symbols, and other pictures showing all the greatthings about After the girls have finished drawing, have them share theirpictures with the QQUUEESSTTIIOONNSS`What can you do to remind yourself of all the great things aboutyou?`What did you learn about yourself in today?`How will you use what you have learned today in the future?

7 GGrraaddeess 33 55 AAlltteerrnnaattiivveeInstruct the girls to include a short paragraph on their sheet ofpaper describing the great things about MMee UUpp!!OOBBJJEECCTTIIVVEEG irls will learn to center their body thoughts positively and focuson all of the great things their bodies do for body -length sheet of paper for each girlMagazines and newspapersScissors, glueCrayons or colored by asking the girls what they like about their bodies askthem to refrain from saying anything the discussion, place the girls in each girl a long sheet of paper: One girl lies down while herpartner traces around her body , then the girls reverse the girls in tracing each other s bodies. (It may be difficultfor some.)4. When the girls have completed tracing around each other sbodies, instruct them to use the magazines, newspapers, and artsupplies to fill their bodies with Positive images, thoughts, colors,and Encourage the girls to discuss their body collages with their part-ners while they Upon completion, have the girls present their body collages to thegroup.

8 Focus on what an incredible machine the body is and howwe need it for everything we do: moving, thinking, breathing, andso QQUUEESSTTIIOONNSS`How do you see your body differently now?`What did you learn about yourself in today?`How will you use what you have learned today in the future?3366 GGiirrll TTaallkkMMyy SSaassssyy SSeellff:: PPoossiittiivvee BBooddyy IImmaaggee1. What are your thoughts and feelings about your body ?2. Has anyone ever made a negative remark about your body ? Howdid you respond? What were your thoughts and reactions?3. What do you think about when you see a beautiful, smiling girlwearing the latest fashion in a television commercial? Does itmake you want to buy those clothes?4. What are qualities you admire in others? are qualities you admire in yourself?6. Are you affected by other people s opinions about your appear-ance?

9 7. If someone laughed at the way you look, how would you feel?Would you want to change something, or would you acceptyourself as you are?8. Do you compliment others on the way they look or about some-thing they can do? Why or why not?9. Do you have an adult female role model that you admire? Whatmakes her so great? it difficult to talk about the great things about your appear-ance? Why or why not? Tell the group what you like!3377 From Girls in Real-Life Situations: Group Counseling Activities for Enhancing Social and Emotional Development Grades K 5 2007 by and Taylor . Champaign, IL: Research Press. (800 519 2707, )TTooddaayy iinn SSaassssyy SSeellff:: PPoossiittiivvee BBooddyy IImmaaggeeDear Parent or Guardian:Thank you for allowing your daughter to participate in the group. We have hada great time exploring our perceptions and beliefs about our bodies and physical appear-ance.

10 Girls often struggle with accepting themselves and embracing their Positive an early age, girls need to be reminded about how beautiful they are and what anincredible machine their body is! They need to learn to appreciate what their bodies do forthem and respect themselves, regardless of shape, size, color, and so are some fun ideas for you to try at home:`Over dinner or in the car, have the whole family share something great about themselvesand one great thing about everyone else in the family. Encourage your family to continueto compliment themselves as well as one another.`Help your family focus on health, rather than body size or shape. Together, you can takean after-dinner walk or visit the park on the weekends. Swimming, running, eventhrowing the Frisbee are fun ways to promote health and RReessoouurrcceessStand Tall, Molly Lou Melon,by Patty Lovell, illustrated by David Catrow (New York:Putnam Juvenile, 2001)It s Okay to Be Different,by Todd Parr (New York: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers,2004)Incredible You!