Two Posts In One Day?!

The girls club was good. Donna wants it to be for at-risk girls to give them positive role models and ideas of what they can do. She wants to bring in mentors from the community to talk to the girls and take the girls on outings they don't usually get to have. At the next meeting we're taking them to CiCi's Pizza. Donna gives each of them a dollar at the end of the meeting and they're allowed to spend half of it, but they have to save the other half. Then they each pay Donna fifty cents (out of their dollar) for CiCi's so they learn that nothing is free. Donna also plans to take them to skating and to the mall, but wants to wait until she's a little more sure of their good behavior.

The girls are mostly good, but they've grown up in situations where good behavior is not enforced or expected. So we lay down some firm ground rules: no fighting, no stealing, no cussing, no boyfriends. The boyfriends part surprised me a bit (these are after all elementary school kids) but apparently it's a real problem. So if they break any of these rules, they're out of the club, but they can earn their way back in (I'm not sure of that process, but it likely includes being on best behavior for a period of time). Keeping the girl's attention was difficult and they liked to talk over Donna, but those are all things that I think can be changed fairly quickly. Donna said they are much more respectful to her than they are to their teachers at school. I suspect this is because Donna has clearly stated what she expects of them, that her expectations are because she cares, and that she doesn't have to (and won't) put up any misbehavior.

The girls were super excited with all the things Donna got them. She got each of them a cloth bag to keep their things in, a paper tiara to remind them they are beautiful princesses, notebooks and pencils, a mini easter egg with candy in it, and socks to wear to school the day before a meeting as a reminder.

So at the meeting, we set down the rules, handed out the goodies, stuffed plastic easter eggs (to be donated to a church for their Easter hunt) and ate some snacks. I think the girls had a good time and I suspect the club will benfit not only the girls, but their families (it will hopefull instill a little responsibility since they have to transport the girls to everything) and Donna and myself. I'm excited about it.