life skills journey 11-14 facilitator quick guide

Quick Guide

Ages 11-14

03

Métis Settlements

Life Skills JourneyAges 11-14

Facilitator Quick Guide

Principal Author: Fay Fletcher June Cardinal-Howse

Shelly Handel

Alicia HibbertDebbie Ladouceur Susan Ladouceur

Mandy MacRae Therese Salenieks

LIFE SKILLS JOURNEY - AGE 11-14 - FACILITATOR QUICK GUIDE This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 Canada License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ca/. Printed in Canada.

0404 Table of Contents

Day 1: Fun & Research & Communication 5

Day 2: Community & Kinship 10

Day 3: Bullying & Gang Awareness 15

Day 4: Photo-Voice Day 18

Day 5: Grief & Loss and Hopes & Dreams / Spirituality 20

Day 6: Addictions and Substance Abuse 23

Day 7: Anger Management and Conflict Resolution 26

& Respectful Relationships

Day 8: Respectful Relationships & Self-Esteem 29

Day 9: Stress and Anxiety & Wellness Fair 32

Day 10: Camp Wrap-Up 34

0504

Day 1: Fun & Research & Communication

Time Activity

10:00-11:00 Facilitator Camp Set-Up and Morning Meeting

11:00-11:20 Campers Arrive, Snacks Handed Out, Attendance, Free-Time

11:20-11:50 Icebreakers

11:50-12:00 Team Stuff

12:00-1:00 Warm Fuzzies and Full Value Contract

1:00- 1:45 Lunch and Free-Time

1:45-2:00 Mindfulness Practice

2:00-2:30 Tie-Dye T-Shirts

2:30-2:55 Wellness Fair Introduction

2:55-3:45 Communication Series & Discussion

3:45-4:00 Snack Time, Camper Clean-Up and Exit

4:00-5:00 Facilitator Camp Clean-Up, Daily Debrief

Note: On day one of camp, campers should be organized into equal groups. Groups will be comprised of people with whom facilitator pairs will consistently do small group discussions, sit and eat with. Group size will be based on the number of campers and facilitators present. Groups should make camp rules and each group member should make a warm fuzzy envelope. Pre-camp surveys will be administered throughout the day.

06

Life Skills Content

1. Icebreakers

2. Team Stuff

3. Full Value Contract

4. Warm Fuzzies

5. Tie Dye T-Shirts

6. Wellness Fair Introduction

7. Communication Series & Discussion

Icebreakers

Name-Tag

• Have the group sit or stand in a circle. Go around the circle and have each person say his or her name once; time how long it takes. Tell the group their time and challenge them to go faster, but in the opposite direction.

• Now, tell everyone that starting from person one, once they say their name, the people on either side must say their name and so forth around the circle; names will cross in the middle somewhere and get back to person one on both sides.

Neighbours

• Have the group sit in a circle with one person in the middle. The person in the middle makes a statement that is true about them.

• Any player sitting in the circle for whom the statement is also true must get up and switch spots with someone, while the person in the middle tries to steal a spot on the outside. The last one standing who has not found a new spot must become the new person in the middle.

Find a Friend BINGO

• Give each person a bingo card and a line of stickers (~10).

• Instruct campers that they must go around the room and meet new people. Each time they meet a person they can ask them questions in order to fill in criteria in the BINGO card. If the person they meet matches any criteria in the BINGO card then that person gives them a sticker. Each camper may not receive more than one sticker from any other player.

07

Team Stuff

• Create three equal groups of campers. Within each group come up with a team name, a team colour and a team cheer.

• Explain that these teams will be competing for points during camp.

Full Value Contract

• As a team create a set of rules or guiding ideas (~10) for the perfect camp environment.

• Think of the things that might make it difficult to stick to the rules.

• Have each individual set a goal for their behaviour at camp.

• Was there agreement on the ideas you used for your ‘fantasy camp’?

• What did you decide to exclude and why?

• Which ideas will take the most work for us to achieve?

• How do you think we can work as a group to achieve these goals?

• Should there be a penalty for not following one of these ideas? What should it be? (example- sing a verse of a song for everyone, write a warm fuzzy for everyone).

Warm Fuzzies

• Have each camper design an envelope with their name on it, throughout camp compliments and notes can be left in the envelopes.

Tie-Dye T-shirts

• Soak white t-shirts to prepare them for being dyed.

• Follow die packet instructions to make dye.

• Have campers use elastics to tie their t-shirts in various patterns, place the t-shirts in plastic bags for 24 hours before taking out to dry.

08

Wellness Fair Work Session

From within the camp teams, smaller groups of 2-5 (or they can work individually if preferred) will choose a topic and then come up with a booth and/or an activity that relates to that topic; if an activity is chosen, it must be informative as well as fun! Daily work sessions will provide groups with an opportunity to package their booth or activity so that it creates an excellent experience for the guests. Groups may choose to work on two topics or be given an extra topic if the facilitators deem it necessary. (Inform campers of the above information, make groups and choose topics).

Each camp team will be given specific organizational duties (each team will be a different planning committee). Committees will be chosen based on points; where the first choice goes to the team with the most points.

Communication Series

Blindfolded Forest Walk

• Have campers find a partner. One camper puts on a blindfold, the other camper guides the blindfolded partner on a walk.

• Partners should not switch roles for this activity until the end of the communication series.

Broken Telephone

• Send a message around a circle (whispered from one person to the next). When the message reaches the last person in the circle have them say the message out loud.

• What is making it hard to pass the message along?

• Is there anything that is easy to hear?

• Is there anything that your fellow campers can do to improve the way that they send the message to you?

Blind Art

• Have one person draw a picture and describe the picture to others in their group (2-5 people) while the others attempt to draw the picture based on the description that they are given.

• Was this task difficult?

• What did it teach you about communication and the way that we hear messages?

• What did the leader learn? What about the people who were listening?

09

Shoe Retriever

• In partners, campers stand in a circle. One partner is blindfolded. One person from each pair throws a shoe in the circle and instructs the blindfolded to the shoe, has them get the shoe and bring it back.

• Do the blindfolded forest walk again but with partners switched.

• How did it feel to let someone else be in control of where you were going?

• Did you trust your partner? What was it that made you trust/not trust your partner?

• How did your partner give you directions? Was their method effective? What might have worked better?

• Did you notice any improvements throughout the course of the walk?

• How did it compare to switch roles?

• What one word would you use to describe effective communication?

Communication Discussion

• Discuss the different ways we communicate (words, tone, facial expressions, body language, written, etc) and how to actively listen.

10

Day 2: Community & Kinship

Time Activity



11:20-11:30 Communication Review and Question Box Review

11:30-12:00 Active Game

12:00-1:00Life Skills Content: Kinship Spider Web, Guest to Discuss Kinship and Community History



2:00-3:50 Life Skills Content: Community Building Series

3:50-3:25 Wellness Fair Work Session

3:25-3:45 Giant Stick Figure Drawing



Life Skills Content

1. Kinship Spider Web

2. Guest to Discuss Kinship & Community History

3. Community Building Series

4. Wellness Fair Work Session

5. Giant Stick Figure Drawing

11

Kinship Spider Web

• Have campers sit in a circle. One camper holds the end of a ball of yarn and begins a process of passing the yarn around the circle: from one person, to another with whom they have a connection. At the end, the circle should look like a spider web, showing the complexity of connections.

• What did you learn about this group?

• How does it feel to see all of the connections you have to people at camp?

• How did this web compare to what would be created if the whole community (Buffalo Lake, Kikino, Fishing Lake, Elizabeth) made a web?

Guest to Discuss Kinship & Community History

• Invite a guest to discuss kinship and community history. Alternatively facilitators can present their community history to the campers.

• Allow camper to ask any questions that they might have for the guest.

Community Building Series

Carrot Race

• Have campers stand in a circle. One camper has a carrot between their knees, pass the carrot around the circle. Once it gets all the way around, break off a piece and continue to pass it around until the task becomes impossible.

Line Ups and Categories

• Have campers line up or get in groups based on commands (by date of birth, height, shoe size, eye colour, number of siblings).

• What interesting things have we learned here about your peers?

• What is similar about our group? What are some of our differences? So what?

• How diverse is this group? What does diversity mean?

• How can we create an environment where we can learn about each other’s diverse experiences?

12

Helium stick

• Have campers line up in two rows. Place a stick across the campers’ fingers and instruct them to lower it to the ground. Exert downward pressure on the stick until instructions are complete. Only the tips of camper pointer fingers may touch the stick.

• Did everyone understand the rules?

• Was anyone trying to sabotage the game?

• Why did the stick rise at the beginning of the game?

• How did everyone work to get it to the ground?

• What is important for keeping focused on this task?

Group Circle Sit

• Camper must sit down together (on each others knees) in a circle.

• Did everyone participate? Were there leaders and followers?

• Did anyone become frustrated?

• How did you solve the challenge?

• How can groups work effectively to solve problems?

Human Knot

• Campers close their eyes and link hands with two different people in the circle (not the two people beside them). They open their eyes and then try to untangle the knot so that one untangled circle is formed.

• How is this game different from the last games?

• Did you succeed in your task?

• How much trust was necessary?

• What kind of decision-making was used to make this work?

• How did you communicate?

• Was there a leader? Who took the initiative? Was it more than one person?

• Was it the ‘rule of loud’? Did everyone feel included?

13


Do this activity in your camp teams. Spend time talking in a circle about goals and allow campers the opportunity to talk about some of the goals that they might have set in their lives. Use a flipchart to keep track of camper ideas, to explain what SMART goals are and to set a Wellness Fair related SMART goal.

Goals are things that we want to accomplish. We set goals to have a target for that accomplishment. They can be described as short term or long-term goals.

• Can anyone tell me the difference between short term and long-term goals?

• What are some examples of a short-term goal you might have had? How about a long term-goal?

• Did you accomplish your goals, why do you think that you met your goal or not?

• How did you go about accomplishing those goals?

We’re going to learn about SMART goals now. SMART is an acronym used to help people set a goal as well as a tool that tells you when you have met the goal. We’ll go through what the acronym means and then set a goal all together.

S- specific: the goal is very clear, it tells you who, what where and why. For example my goal for today could be to drink more water than I normally do because I am usually dehydrated and have a headache by the end of the day.

M- measurable: this is how you will demonstrate when you have reached your goal. I could measure my goal in two ways-one could be how many water-bottles of water I want to drink, which would be at least 2 and the other would be whether or not I get a headache at the end of the day.

A-attainable: is the goal something that you will be able to meet in the timeline that you set for yourself. Do you have the skills and/or resources to accomplish your goal? What are kinds of actions will you take? For the water goal, it would be very easy to accomplish. I have a water bottle at camp and I have access to drinking water. My action to accomplish could be to keep my water bottle with me when transitioning between activity locations.

R-relevant: how is the goal related to your life or well being? Make sure to choose a goal that is important to you or else you will not be likely to put the effort into seeing the goal through. For example my health and feeling good is important to me so I am likely to put effort into the goal.

T-time-bound: your goal must have a ‘due date’ or else you won’t be motivated to see your goal through and it might drag on forever. For the water goal, it is very specific, by lunchtime I will have had one bottle of water and then by the time all of the campers get onto the bus to go home, I will have finished my second bottle of water.

14

Now that you know what a smart goal is and have heard an example we are going to create a SMART goal together. This will be a goal that we can accomplish as a group and will be related to our wellness fair work, but can be related to any aspect, like a booth, an activity or our behavior at the fair. Give campers time and guidance as they create their own SMART goals for their wellness fair projects.

Giant Stick Figure

• Draw a stick figure on a piece of chart paper to confirm that everyone knows what a stick figure looks like.

• Have all of the campers organize themselves so that they are arranged to make a giant stick figure. Give the figure instructions to follow.

15

Day 3: Bullying & Gang Awareness

Time Activity



11:20-11:30 Review of Learning From Previous Day, Question Box Review


11:50-1:00 Life Skills Content: Discussion, Bullying Role Play, Let Me in the Circle, Finding North Without a Compass




2:10-3:45 Life Skills Content: Fire Building, Gang Awareness



Life Skills Content

1. Bullying Discussion and Role Play

2. Let Me in the Circle

3. Finding North Without a Compass

4. Fire Building

5. Gang Awareness

16

Bullying Discussion and Role Play

• What is bullying? What does it look like?

• Who is involved in bullying? (bully,victim, bystander, upstander, community)

• What can we do when we see bullying? (Be an upstander, tell an adult, call a help-line).

• Provide role-playing scenarios about bullying. Act out role-plays in interactive fashion with campers saying ‘bully’ when they see it happening, then entering the scene to stop it.

Let Me in the Circle

• All but two campers stand in a linked circle facing outwards. The two campers must try and get inside the circle.

• How does it feel to be left out in this game?

• How does it feel to leave your teammates out?

• What about in real life- on the yard at school, how does it feel then?

• Should we exclude people like this in real life? Why or why not?

Finding North Without a Compass

• Use sticks and rocks (must be outside) to find North with shadows and lines.


Have groups meet to begin an outline of their Wellness Fair booth and start to plan out their activity/game. A list of all required equipment/materials needed by each group should be completed and submitted to the camp administrator by the end of the day. The camp administrator will inform the groups if equipment requests can or cannot be met.

Fire Building

• Have groups of two collect materials for and build small fires in fire pans. Practice different fire structures (log cabin, tee-pee and lean-to).

17

Gang Awareness

• Discuss what campers know about gangs. Gang is a group of people who take part in illegal activities. People join gangs for friend, status, money, family, to be cool, protection; they don’t get what they are looking for in the long-run.

• Read story, show video of past gang members.

18

Day 4: Photo-Voice Day

Time Activity





12:00-1:00 Photo-Voice Planning


1:45-2:00 Game


2:10-3:15 Picture Taking




Life Skills Content

1. Photo-Voice Project

19

Photo-Voice Project

• A picture may be worth a 1000 words, but getting those pictures to tell a story can be a bit tricky. A photo-voice project uses pictures, captions and your voice to tell a story about real life.

• Each camper will have the opportunity to take and print photographs, assemble them together on a bristol board with captions and magazine clippings, and share a few spoken words about their chosen story.

• Do you want your photos to have a beginning, middle and end?

• Who is telling your story? Is it from your point of view or a narrator’s?

• What emotion do you want your photo-voice to have? (Happy, sad, hopeful, funny, etc)

• Are there any questions you’re trying to ask the reader or do you just want to tell a story?

• Take time to show the children how to hold the camera, where the viewfinder is, how to take a photo by pressing the shutter button, and any other functions and settings such as flash and zoom.

• Go through photography tips with camers such as: photo orientation, perspective, distance, flash, focus, background, rule of thirds, and colour.

• Break into teams, and give each camper time to take 10-20 photos. After campers are finished taking photos, allow time for building photo-voice projects.

• Did you face any challenges taking photographs? If so, what were they?

• What did you learn while making your photo-voice?

20

Day 5: Grief & Loss and Hopes & Dreams / Spirituality

Time Activity




11:25-1:00

Life Skills Content: Wellness Fair Committee Meeting, Grief and Loss Discussion, Canoe Release, Hopes & Dreams / Spirituality Discussion and Solo



2:00-3:45 Amazing Race



Life Skills Content

1. Wellness Fair Committee Meeting

2. Grief & Loss Discussion

3. Canoe Release

4. Hopes & Dreams / Spirituality Discussion

5. Solo

6. Amazing Race

21

Wellness Fair Committee Meeting

• Camp teams committees will gather to work on Wellness Fair logistical details.

Grief & Loss Discussion

• People often feel a deep sadness known as grief when they lose someone or something important to them. Loss can include, death, divorce, separation (friends).

• Grief is an emotional and physical response, it can affect the entire person.

• How can people grieve?

• Grief is different for everyone: what it look like and how long it lasts.

• Any way that a person feel when they grieve is normal, but holding it in can cause harm.

• When we are confronted with the grief of others, how can we respond?

• Respond with kindness, understanding and acceptance. Can ask about happy memories, can provide a hug, listen to them express feelings.

Canoe Release

• Write a letter or draw a picture for a person, pet, thing that you have lost. Fold the letter/picture into a canoe and release in a river OR burn in a fire.

Hopes & Dreams / Spirituality Discussion

If talking about Hopes & Dreams:

• Part of having hopes and dreams is about knowing what you value. Some common values include: respect, responsibility, understanding, effort, and caring. Discuss values they have and where they come from.

• What values have you been taught? Where do they come from?

• Discuss what hopes and dreams are. What is a hope or a dream? Can you think of an example of a hope or dream you had today? Can you think about a hope or dream you have for this week? This year? For the future?

• Set up a sharing circle (many Aboriginal traditions revolve around a circle) and go around asking everyone to share something that makes them happy; then invite campers to share their personal values/beliefs, and their hopes and dreams.

22

If talking about Spirituality:

• Spirituality develops deep within us - it can give us inner peace, and it can be present in all parts of our lives. Your beliefs and values are part of your spirituality.

• People in the community may have very different beliefs.

• Every time we do a mindfulness exercise, it is like doing a spirituality exercise because spirituality is about “living in the present”.

• Watch a short video where people will tell us about their spirituality and their beliefs. Discuss video.

• Some common values include: respect, responsibility, understanding, effort, and caring.

• What values have you been taught? Where do they come from?

• Our values give us guidance in life. Knowing your values helps build a foundation for developing goals and achieving your hopes and dreams. What are your hopes and dreams?

Solo

• Separate campers so that they are outside of talking range of each other. Have them sit and reflect on themselves and on their values, their hopes, and their dreams for at least 10 minutes.

• Was it difficult to be by yourself? Why do you think that might have been?

• Why do you think it was difficult or not? How can you become comfortable with your own thoughts and being by yourself?

• How can this practice help us cope with difficult times or thoughts?

The Amazing Race

• Teams of 4-7 will work together to complete challenges. It may be used to provide campers with information for their health fair.

23

Day 6: Addictions & Substance Abuse

Time Activity





11:50-1:00 Life Skills Content: Addictions, Smoking, Drugs, Alcohol





2:40-3:45 Shelter Building



Life Skills Content

1. Addictions Discussion

1. Smoking Discussion

2. Drugs

3. Alcohol


5. Shelter Building

24

Addictions Discussion

• A behaviour or use of some substance or activity that is out of control.

• What are possible consequences of addictions?

• Common addictions include smoking, alcohol, drugs, gambling.

Smoking Discussion

• Straw activity- breathing through different sized straws and writing down how it feels on a post it- for display on bristol board at the health fair.

• What do you think breathing through the different straws represented?

• Large straw, smoker. Small straw, breathing with COPD.

• Tobacco: contains nicotine which can cause a very short-lived pleasant feeling, which caused people to become addicted to smoking; it also contains over 4000 other chemical, over 50 can cause cancer!

• With all of those chemicals what could the consequences of smoking be?

• Tobacco can be sold as chew, plug, snuff and as cigarettes- all are very bad for you

• Why do people smoke?

• People smoke because they are curious, think it’s cool, think it makes them more adult, they want to fit in, they are addicted.

• Smoking is the leading cause of death in Canada- cancer, stained teeth, bad breath, gum disease, breathing problems.

• Settlement rules have changed-no smoking in buildings.

• Some people also smoke marijuana (pot, weed, joints, blunts); it is a illegal drug that has slows down your body- dry mouth, sleepy, hard to focus- can lead to problems as it can influence brain development; can lead to anxiety, panic attacks and paranoia in the long run.

25

Drugs

• Drugs not necessarily bad (doctors prescription, follow instructions).

• Prescription drugs taken when not prescribed or illegal drugs can have negative effects: loss of control, slurred speech, drowsiness, rapid heart-beat, cause permanent damage and even death from an overdose.

• Why do you think that people use drugs? (reasons similar to smoking)

• Do threading the nut onto the bolt activity (race to put nut on bolt, take off and pass to next person).

• What could some of the consequences of doing everyday tasks under the influence of drugs be?

Alcohol

• Should only be consumed by adults in moderation.

• Effects of alcohol: balance, hearing/vision, judgement.

• Alcohol poisoning: decreased heart rate, vomiting/choking.

• RCMP guest: consequences, drinking and driving.


Groups will meet to create a draft of their booth. Once the draft is approved by a facilitator, groups may begin to work on the final copy of their booth, creating any materials that they will need for the Fair.

Shelter Building

• In groups of 3-5 build debris hut shelters in the woods.

• Find good location for shelter > find ridgepole > place ridgepole and make ribbing > gather debris and cover ribbing, leave room for opening > place thin branches across

ribbing so that debris does not blow away.

26

Day 7: Anger Management and Conflict Resolution & Respectful Relationships

Time Activity





12:00-1:00

Life Skills Content: Anger Management Quiz and Discussion, Blowing Off Steam, Traffic Jam, “I Statements” For Conflict Resolution

1:00- 1:10 Mindfulness

1:10-1:20 Camper Clean Up and Collect Lunches

1:20-4:00 Farm Visit


Life Skills Content

1. Anger Management Quiz and Discussion

2. Blowing Off Steam

3. Traffic Jam

4. “I statements” for Conflict Resolution


6. Farm Visit

27

Anger Management Quiz and Discussion

• Read the anger management quiz to campers and have them keep track of any questions that they answer yes to.

• Do you feel angry when you encounter and inconvenience, something annoys you or gets in the way of what you are doing?

• Does getting angry cause you to be aggressive or violent, for example yelling, hitting, shoving or planning revenge?

• Do you hold onto your anger beyond the event that caused that anger?

• Have you even gotten really mad and thought that something simple, which maybe wouldn’t bother you normally, is a major issue?

• Do you do destructive things to deal with your anger: drinking, drugs, hazardous activities, self-harm, fighting?

• If you answer yes-have experienced anger that is out of control.

• What are some things that you might do to manage your anger?

• Mindful breathing, counting to ten, discuss, exercise, leave the situation, take a few minutes, know your triggers, manage time wisely.

Blowing Off Steam

• Teams must blow a cup from one end of the table to the other and get it in a plastic bag. No hands allowed.

Traffic Jam

• Have two equal teams that are facing each other switch spots, must follow rules set out (no moving backwards, you can only move forward to an empty space, only one person may move at a time, no jumping over team-mates, one person per place-holder).

• Did you get frustrated playing these games? Why?

• How did you overcome your feelings of frustration?

28

“I Statements” for Conflict Resolution

• Conflict can happen when people disagree, it is normal so it’s important to know how to deal with it.

• Responses to conflict can be violent or nonviolent.

• What does a violent response look like?

• What does a nonviolent response look like?

• To solve problems, first the problem must be acknowledged. Feelings need to be expressed in a respectful way and if emotions are running too high then take a break before attempting to resolve the conflict.

• steps to conflict resolution: 1: calm down; 2: discuss the situation; (state perspectives, I statements); 3: Think of solutions; 4: Decide on a solution; 5: Act on your solution.

• Go through an example with the group.

• When do people have problems with conflicts? What are the good points about compromising?

• Does a peaceful agreement mean less hurt feelings?

• What are the bad points about compromising? Will you always get your way?

• What can you do if neither of you come to an agreement? Can you ask someone else to help you decide on a solution?


Groups will continue to work of their booth and finalize details related to activities. By the end of the day, all posters and materials should be near finished if not complete. Activities should be set, equipment confirmed and ready to go.

Farm Visit

• Visit a farm for campers to see interactions with animals modelled (grooming demonstration) and then have an opportunity to model the relationships that they see.

• Bring packed lunches.

• Have a guest present on hunting practices.

• Play a game of find the facilitators. Facilitators hide and campers have to try and find them all to win the game.

29

Day 8: Respectful Relationships & Self-Esteem

Time Activity




11:30-11:00 Life Skills Content: Respectful Relationships Discussion, Self-Esteem Discussion




2:10-3:15 Last Chance Photovoice and Wellness Fair Set-Up

3:15-3:45 Active Game (Time Permitting)



Life Skills Content

1. Respectful Relationships

2. Self-Esteem


30

Respectful Relationships

• What do you think makes a relationship respectful? • What type of qualities do the people in respectful relationships have? • How do people in respectful relationships treat each other? • What are some of the behaviours that might be seen in a respectful

relationship? • A healthy relationship has: respect, trust, honesty, communication, safety,

boundaries, fairness, a willingness to work on it.

• Relationships are never perfect but require constant care and work.

• In groups of 3-4 create a public announcement poster showing what a respectful relationship looks like (words, pictures in some combo or another) to be displayed at the health fair.

• Media sends messages of glamorous lives, being liked, being popular, cool, accepted and fun. It often ignores real life, real people and risks associated with products or images being sold. They may try and use role models to make you want a product. The messages sent might be wrong- for example tobacco companies promote smoking as being cool and part of growing up.

• Sometimes media tells us how we should act, for example by creating stereotypes about how men and women should act- these messages are false.

• There are things to think about when you see or hear media messages in order to see them more clearly. Who makes money from this? Who is the message for? What is not being said?

• What are some examples of media? (Print, electronic, new media).

• There are things to think about when you see or hear media messages in order to see them more clearly. Who makes money from this? Who is the message for? What is not being said?

• A brand is an image or idea that is linked to a product or service.

• What are some brands you know about? Why do you like them? What brands won’t you wear? Why?

31

Self-Esteem

• Self esteem: what you think of yourself and your worth. Self image: how you look at yourself.

• Have a huge impact on how others see us. Need to love and respect ourselves before we can expect others to love and respect us. Important to mental health.

• In camp we have done activities to build self-esteem: increase skills, learn about community, kinship, communication, how to resolve conflicts and set goals > can all contribute to high self-esteem.

• What do you think are some things that we can do to help us build up positive self-esteem?

• Create self-portrait on large piece of paper (trace head neck and shoulders).


Groups will complete any unfinished booths and materials for the Fair. Each group will create a schedule for the fair which ensures that there will always be someone responsible for manning their activity/booth and that each group member will take a turn manning the booth/activity. Committees will meet to finish any last minute planning details. By the end of the day, set-up of the booths and activities should be completed as much as possible.

32

Day 9: Stress and Anxiety & Wellness Fair

Time Activity





12:00-12:20 Life Skills Content: Stress and Anxiety

12:20- 1:15 Wellness Fair Final Set-Up

1:15-2:00 Family Lunch

2:00-3:00 Wellness Fair

3:00-3:30 Wellness Fair Clean-Up




Life Skills Content

1. Stress and Anxiety

2. Wellness Fair Set-Up and Wellness Fair

33

Stress and Anxiety

• Stress is your body’s response to anything that disrupts normal life and routine.

• So what does that mean? What is your body’s response?

• Crying and upset, increased HR, breathing, feeling nervous, being more careful, falling apart, feeling sick, upset stomach, trouble sleeping, headaches, tense muscles.

• How do you feel about everyone seeing the work that you have done? Excited, nervous, stressed out?

• Balloon activity for stress (juggling balloons/life)

• What did you think about that game?

• Did it resemble your lives in any way? How?

• What might this tell you about juggling duties? (It helps to have help, don’t take on too many tasks at once).

• What are some things that might cause someone to feel stresses?

• Take a minute alone to think. Is stress a bad thing and why or why not? Now take a minute and share your thoughts with one other person. Does anyone want to share what you just discussed with your partner?

• Stress can be positive (worried about a test so you study for it).

• Can anyone think of another example of stress being positive?

• What do you do when you feel stressed? What do you think are positive things that you could do?

• Anxiety is a mental health disorder that will look different for everyone. When you have anxiety many similar experiences as stress-if it starts to interrupt quality of life seek help from medical professional.

• Often, the same strategies that are used for managing stress can be used for anxiety. To recap, what are those strategies?


Any finishing touches to Wellness Fair set-up must be made. Guests will attend to enjoy the Fair and view photo voice projects; campers will take charge of their guests’ experiences by being the leadersof the wellness fair. At the end of the Fair, all campers will assist in cleanup.

34

Day 10: Camp Wrap-Up

Time Activity




11:30-12:00 Post-Camp Survey

12:00-1:00 Water Quality Testing



2:00-3:00 Focus Groups

3:00-3:45 Water Games



Note: End of camp surveys and focus groups will be conducted on Day 10.

Water Quality Testing

• Water quality changes from human and natural inputs and is the responsibility of everyone to protect.

• All types of water monitoring are important so that we can track impact of activities around the water and learn how water systems work.

• Physical (temp, colour, suspended solids, turbidity), chemical (pH, dissolved oxygen, phosphorus) and biological (bacteria, counts of aquatic plants and animals) parameters can be tested.

• Follow kit instructions to test water quality.

35

Camp Wrap Up

• Use time during camp to have each camper put their work, water bottle, and camp gifts in a plastic gorcery bag for take home.

• Certificates of completion can also be handed out at this time.

Water Fun Afternoon

• Choose games from the facilitator manual to play based on resources and time. Can

be arranged like the Amazing Race.

Life Sk i l l s Journey

life skills journey 11-14 facilitator quick guide

Documents