Have you ever heard of a vision board? Do you know how to make a healthy smoothie? When you want to relax, do you know how? Much of Girls Camp got the opportunity to learn the answers to all of these questions during special workshops conducted by Oh My Girls this past S Day. Oh My Girls, according to its website, is the “first ever health club designed exclusively for girls ages 8-18,” and teaming up with Camp Starlight to present the Upper Inter Girls and Debs with such a uniquely fun and constructive day was their first venture into the world of residential summer camp.
Claire Liever-Saul, Oh My Girls Vice President, helped the Upper Inter Girls and
Lower Debs learn some techniques for de-stressing, including proper breathing during the Meditation and Stress Management workshop. Sydney M., one of the Upper Inters who was eager to share her experience, particularly enjoyed the lavender and Hershey Kiss exercise. “She put lavender in the window, and told us to smell it and think about how calm it made us. Then, she told us to suck on a Hershey Kiss and think about good things.” Says fellow Upper Inter Jamie F., “It worked really well!”
After learning how to relax, the girls made vision boards during the Design Your Life session with Life Coach Christine Judge. Vision boards are collages that encourage you to envision your lifestyle at a certain point in your life, whether it be in a year or ten. The idea is that creating a vision board helps literally helps you visualize your own success and enables you to focus on the steps you must take in order to achieve it, and the project scored very highly with virtually all of the girls. “The vision boards were really cool!” Jamie said, “not just doing your own but seeing other people’s goals as well.” Charlotte S. said that she enjoyed making a vision board because it got her thinking about what she really wanted. “It was a lot of fun to think about the things that I wanted to put on my board.”
Some of the girls found the Spinach Challenge the most interesting part of the day. As part of a demonstration that eating healthy doesn’t have to taste bad, the girls were encouraged to add one leaf of spinach to their berry smoothies during a smoothie making session. Although many were skeptical and a bit skittish at first, those who accepted the challenge were pleasantly surprised to learn that they couldn’t taste the spinach at all. Says Lily H., “I put in four big leaves, and it was delicious!” The Spinach Challenge was also part of a session entitled Not Just Any Body, Your Body conducted by LCSW Randi Zimmerman. “We learned that it’s really important to love yourself however you are, and that being fit and healthy doesn’t mean you have to look a certain way.” said Jamie F. Added Charlotte S., “She used an example of not liking your nose. She told us to think about all of the things we do with our nose, like smell, and to ask ourselves what we would do without our nose. She told us that when there is a part of our body that we don’t like, we should say to ourselves, ‘My_______makes me unique.’”
The day also included a circuit training fitness session with Camp Starlight’s own very popular and much beloved Head of Fitness
Richelle, which also scored high marks with the girls. It wasn’t just the campers who gave the day two enthusiastic thumbs up either. “I think it’s great that they [Oh My Girls] came,” Upper Inters Division Leader Janelle said, “It was a fun, informative day for the girls, and I think they really enjoyed it. Many of them had never done anything like that before.”
Later in the day, the Upper Deb Girls enjoyed a panel with all three of the Oh My Girls Specialists during which many of the ideas presented to the Upper Inter and Lower Deb Girls were discussed in an open forum.
Oh My Girls was founded by Lisa Rosen and Claire Lieber-Saul, both professional mothers of young girls, in order to “create an environment that aims to put the fun back in girlhood while guiding its members toward healthful and successful living in a most challenging time.” In addition to workshops, All My Girls also offers cooking and fitness classes as well as party packages for birthdays and special events. If you would like to learn more about Oh My Girls and the services they offer, visit their website www.ohmygirls.com.
S-Days at Camp Starlight are often a time of relaxation and fun. The Upper Inter and Lower Deb girls received just that when Camp Starlight partnered with Oh My Girls . Oh My Girls is “a health club designed exclusively for girls ages 8-18” as their website (ohmygirls.com) describes. The mission of Oh My Girls is to “create an environment that aims to put the fun back in girlhood while guiding its members toward healthful and successful living in a most challenging time.”
In a session focusing on the girl’s relationship with the outside world, Eugene Gerhman, Presirdent of Krav Maga Centers Of America taught self-defense moves and Krav Maga martial arts techniques. “My favorite part was learning self-defense tips and what to do if you are in a dangerous situation,” said Dani S. an Upper Inter.
bunk specialist Mollie F. Next on the Oh My Girls S-Day agenda was creating all-natural skin products. The sprays can be used on their hair, face, and skin. The girls created a cooling spray, bug repellent, hair spray and sun burn healing spray. “I liked making different products because I learned about taking care of myself and my skin,” says Upper Inter Marlie K.
The girls also focused on eating healthy. While making fruit smoothies the girls accepted the Spinach Challenge by adding at least one leaf of spinach to their smoothies. The girls learned that eating healthy can be tasty. Reese C. added one leaf of spinach last year and decided to up the ante by adding 2 leaves of spinach to her berry smoothie.
