Love yourself CHALLENGE Body Image and Self-Esteem Activities GUIDES
Activities for Guides The GGC/NEDIC Love Yourself Challenge is designed to facilitate discussion and skillbuilding activities on the topics of positive body image, healthy eating and body-based prejudices and bullying. This document includes numerous activities which explore aspects of body image, selfesteem and health and nutrition. Each is adaptable through the use of appropriate props and language. You can modify or adjust the activities to suit your Unit s needs, size and abilities. It is strongly recommended that Guiders review the document Backgrounder on body image and self-esteem for Guide Guiders before beginning the activities with the girls. To complete this Challenge, Guides and their Guiders should work together to choose and complete one activity from each section: Body image Self-esteem Health and nutrition A number of activities which explore aspects of body image and self-concept follow. As the Unit plans the meeting, review the activities listed below and decide which ones are suitable and of most interest. Then, mix and match different activities to create your Unit meeting. Don t forget to look closely at the program book you may have achieved more than expected! Once you have completed the Challenge you can buy the Challenge crest at your Guiding store or online and present it to the Guides. 2 Guides Body Image & Self Esteem Activities
Body image activities 1. Celebrating our natural sizes: to discover that healthy bodies come in all shapes and sizes. A variety of newspapers and magazines that can be cut up Scissors Flip chart paper (one sheet for each patrol) Markers, crayons or pencil crayons Tape or glue Stickers or things to decorate with Post one piece of flip chart paper on the wall. Ask the Guides what they think a healthy body is, what a healthy body can do, what are all the fabulous things they can do with their body and what makes them unique from their friends. Write their responses on the flip chart paper. Explain to them that in a minute, you will be dividing them into patrols where they will have the opportunity to create a poster to celebrate all the diversity in body shapes and sizes that exists in the world. They can use their creativity and draw pictures of themselves and the things they like to do and add pictures of people from newspapers and magazines to show how diverse bodies can be. They should come up with a title for their poster, such as Beauty Comes in All Shapes and Sizes. Divide the Unit into patrols and give them 20-30 minutes to create their poster. Once they have completed their poster, have them tape it up on the wall. Then the patrols can take 5-10 minutes to walk around the room, looking at the posters. 2. Dove Evolution film: to prompt discussions about perceptions of beauty, and the influence of the media on our body image perceptions. A computer to watch the film on. This film can be downloaded onto your computer if you don t have an Internet connection at your meeting place. The Guiders should view the Dove Evolution film before the meeting: http://www.dove.ca/en/tips- Topics-And-Tools/Videos/Evolution.aspx. This film is about one minute long. Write down a list of questions you could ask the Guides before and after watching the film. Some examples are: What do you notice about the girls and women you see on TV? Do you want to look like them? What does beautiful mean? Is our thought of what is beautiful even possible in the real world? Do you think you are beautiful? Teacher tools, including questions to ask are available online at http://www.dove.ca/en/social-mission/self-esteem-resources/default.aspx. 3 Guides Body Image & Self Esteem Activities
Talk to the girls about beauty what they think it is, what it means to be beautiful, who tells us what beauty is. Ask them some of the questions you developed while previewing the film. Watch the film together as a Unit. Let the girls talk about what they have just seen and how it makes them feel. They may want to watch the film a couple of times to really understand it. 3. Fat and thin: to explore what assumptions we have about fat and thin people based on the messages we receive from society. Flip chart paper Markers Images of fat and thin people from newspapers and magazines (optional) Post it notes and pens (optional) Post one piece of flip chart paper on the wall with the word FAT on the top and one piece of flip chart paper with the word THIN on the top. On the top of each page, you can paste a picture of fat and thin people if you feel that a visual cue will help the Guides understand. Explain that for this exercise, you want the girls to put away their own thoughts and beliefs and think about how the world thinks about the words FAT and THIN. They may need some help understanding what this means. Explain that our society gives us messages in many ways from TV, movies and advertising but also from the messages that friends and family give us. Ask the Guides to call out, without censoring themselves, the adjectives (descriptive words) that come to mind when they think of the words FAT and THIN. If you believe that the girls might be too influenced by their peers, you can give each Guide a pen and some post it notes so she can write her own thoughts down without censorship. More than likely, the words on the FAT page will be negative words like lazy, unhealthy, unhappy, unpopular, stupid, sad, etc. and the words on the THIN page will be positive words like popular, beautiful, in control, wealthy, glamorous, sexy, etc. Draw the Guides attention to the fact that you have opposites in the two lists. Ask the girls if these assumptions are true. Lead a discussion on how negative perceptions lead to prejudice and can in fact create ill health both physical and mental. Emphasize the value of all people, regardless of physical appearance. 4. Buttons: to reinforce positive body messages. A button maker, shrink art materials or even plastic laminate sheets and safety pins for a more punk look! Paper, markers, pencil crayons, etc., for the creation of the design. 4 Guides Body Image & Self Esteem Activities
Brainstorm as a group all of the messages girls receive from society (school, media, family, friends) that encourage body acceptance and build self-esteem. Ask them to think about a friend they have who feels badly about herself. What would they like to tell this friend? Tell the Guides they will have some time to create a button with a personalized, empowering message about body acceptance and self-esteem for their friend. Guides can take the button home and give it to a friend. 5. I think you re beautiful: to encourage Guides to rethink beauty. Flip chart paper Blank business cards Markers, crayons, pencil crayons Tell the Guides that girls as young as 9 express dissatisfaction with their bodies. And only 2 per cent of women in the world describe themselves as beautiful. ( Beyond Stereotypes, global study commissioned by Dove of 3,000 women and girls) Ask them why they think so many girls and women might think this way and what can be done to change this thinking. On the flip chart paper, write: I think you re beautiful. Give the girls blank business cards and ask them to write I think you re beautiful on each card and to decorate the cards. Once Guides have created their cards, they can distribute them to the girls and women in their lives. Self-esteem activities 1. Brag bag: to boost self-esteem in others by sharing positive statements. A paper lunch bag for each Guide Index cards (enough for each Guide to write a positive statement about every other Guide) Markers, stickers and other craft/decorating items As a group, talk about everyone s skills, interests, abilities and other things that make them unique and interesting. Give each Guide some index cards. Each Guide should write one positive statement about every other Guide in the Unit and they can write one about themselves too! Guides can then collect all the cards about themselves and read 5 Guides Body Image & Self Esteem Activities
through them to see all of the positive thoughts that the other Guides have about them. Ask the girls to use the paper lunch bag and the decorating items to create a special container for the cards. Whenever a Guide is feeling down, she can pull out a card, read it and remember what a special person she is! 2. Stop the put downs: to learn about put-downs, what they are, how they affect people and how we can all behave in a healthier and more positive way. Props for role playing Ask the girls to tell you what a put down is and how they are used. (NOTE: A put down is a negative comment intended to make the speaker feel more powerful than the person who is being put down.) You might want to use some of the following questions to get Guides thinking about put downs: o What is a put down? o How are put downs described in your family/peer group/class, etc. (e.g. a tease; bully-words; criticism; insults ) o Put up your hand if you ve ever been put down o Put up your hand if you ve ever put someone else down o What are different kinds of put downs, e.g. based on looks, mannerisms, etc. o Can you describe a time when you were put down? o How do you feel when you are put down? o How does it make you feel when you put someone else down? Be prepared to hear that it makes the perpetrator feel good; discuss why we might put others down to feel powerful; important; included; because she was mean to me etc. o How can we help ourselves feel these things without doing the put down? (collaborate, compliment, help all these enable us to feel virtuous or valued) o Why might we ignore it when we see/hear other people being put down? o What can you do if someone puts you down? What can you do if someone puts someone else down? o If you put someone else down, what can you do afterwards? 6 Guides Body Image & Self Esteem Activities
Ask patrols to create a role-play or skit showing someone being put down. Make sure that the skit shows how this impacts her and how the perpetrators, bystanders or the person being put down can stop the put down and behave in a healthier way. Tell the actors that they must embody the feelings of each character they should exaggerate the body gestures or expressions that show feelings. Let them perform the put down and then debrief and discuss the skit. Together the Unit can talk about how the put downs make them feel and what ways they can deal with put downs. 3. Super You Poster: to give Guides the chance to highlight the things they are good at. One piece of paper for each Guide (the size you use can depend on how much time you have for the activity it will take less time to create an 8 ½ x 11 poster than a poster on Bristol board) Markers, crayons, pencil crayons Magazines Scissors Glue Stickers and other decorations Brainstorm the different activities, qualities, skills and abilities of all the girls in the Unit. Some of the personal strengths could be things like being a good friend, being a good soccer player, making people laugh, etc. Give the girls time alone to reflect on their skills and create posters that highlight the things they are good at. For instance, they may put a picture of themselves in the middle of their poster and around their picture write or draw examples of the things they do well and the characteristics about themselves that make them great. 7 Guides Body Image & Self Esteem Activities
4. Books: builds vocabulary and strengthens use of language while introducing a new concept. A selection of books A healthy snack Several books appropriate for Guides are listed in the Backgrounder on body image and self-esteem for Guide Guiders. You could break the girls up into small groups and have one Guide read the story and another Guide provoke discussion around the topic of healthy body image. Alternatively, some of these books could be recommended to parents to share with their daughters. 5. Scrapbook: To celebrate who we are. Guides will need to bring in pictures of themselves at different ages, writings they enjoy, mementos of things they have done and places they have been, cards they have received, etc. Gather scrapbooking tools such as papers, photo corners, stickers, special scissors, etc. If possible, invite someone in to teach scrapbooking, or go to your local craft store to learn about it. Have a short lesson on scrap booking, pointing out to Guides how certain tools are used and how to create a good composition. Give Guides time to turn their treasures into a beautiful page that celebrates the wonderful person they are! You can then either create a Unit scrapbook or the girls can take their pages home to share with their families. 8 Guides Body Image & Self Esteem Activities
Health and nutrition activities 1. Guest speaker: to increase Guides knowledge and confidence in the topic by bringing in an expert. Contact your local health unit and ask for someone to come and talk to the Guides about positive body image, self-esteem and healthy living. Get the Guides prepared for the presentation by explaining who will be coming in and why. Ask them to think up some questions they can ask. Have someone bring in a healthy snack, and be sure to arrange for a thank you gift! 2. Body talks: to think about body image, self-esteem and healthy living from your body s point of view! Stationery and envelopes Pens or pencils Ask the Guides, What would your body say if it had a chance to talk? Take some time to discuss what it is your body would like you to be doing. For example, your body might say, If you want me to have energy to do all my homework, dance, play soccer and hang out with friends, then I need more sleep! Give each Guide some writing paper and an envelope. Offer Guides some time to quietly reflect on their own and write themselves a letter as if it was their body doing the talking. Guides can then address the envelope to themselves and put the letter in it. They can take their letter home and put it where they can look at it whenever they want, like their journal. 9 Guides Body Image & Self Esteem Activities
3. Healthy habits: to share your knowledge of positive body image, self-esteem and healthy habits with others. Flip chart paper and markers Props and costumes for a skit Talk to the girls about what they have learned about positive body image, selfesteem and healthy habits. Ask them what they think would be good messages to share with Sparks, Brownies or other Guides. Write these messages on the flip chart paper. Ask each patrol to choose one message that they would like to create a skit about. Give each patrol 20-30 minutes to create the skit. Each patrol can present the skit to the Unit. If possible, find a Sparks, Brownies or Guides Unit to present these skits to. If that s not possible, invite the parents to come early to pick up the girls and have them present their skits at the end of the meeting. 4. Sports fun: to introduce Guides to the idea of adapting sports, games and physical activities to make them more creative and fun. Paper and pencils for each patrol to plan their game, sport or activity. Divide the Unit into small groups of three or four girls. Have the girls close their eyes and think of their favourite physical game, sport or activity. Think of the purpose, time frame, age appropriateness, equipment, rules. It can a be a circle game, outdoor game, sport, etc. Tell the girls to open their eyes and then each girl should tell her group which physical game, sport or activity she chose. Then, they have 10 minutes to take at least one aspect from each girl s game, sport or activity and combine them all into one brand-new, original game. They need to remember to come up with a great name for their game! Each group can then present their new game to the Unit. 10 Guides Body Image & Self Esteem Activities
Ask each patrol to write down the essentials of their new game, so that the Unit can try playing it at an appropriate time. You can put all these game instructions into a binder for the Unit. If you have time, play one of the newly created games. Or, arrange to play the games at another meeting, or even at camp. 5. Stress-busters: to find ways to stress less by doing things you enjoy. A bag or box for each Guide Things to decorate the bag or box Each Guide needs to bring in at least six items that help her relax, laugh, dream or be at ease such as books, cartoons, photographs, music, a card or letter from a friend or relative, etc. Have each Guide decorate her bag or box. As she fills her bag or box with her items, she can tell the Unit what it is she is putting in and why this will help her relieve stress and feel better about herself. When she takes it home, she can pull it out whenever she is stressed to make her feel better. havefun! Developed by the National Eating Disorder Information Centre (NEDIC) The Dove Self-Esteem Fund is a proud sponsor of NEDIC 11 Guides Body Image & Self Esteem Activities