By the time many young girls reach adolescence they show a profound lack of self-efficacy and optimism about their own futures. ~IPL Teen Space

The Bead Workshop starts today. In short, for five weeks, at no cost to the participants, twelve girls, ages 10-13, will join me at the library to make jewelry. I've been gathering materials and funding for weeks. We'll have decent snacks-no soda, caffeine, etc. And we'll talk. And laugh. And just hang out. I've been desperately trying to figure out a theme to discuss each week. I've thought about tackling communication skills, but I wasn't clever enough to blend it in seamlessly. Then yesterday, on the way home from work, I figured it out. (Thank God for 60 minute commutes). It's empowerment. Every week, we'll have a little topic discussion. This week Inner Beauty, next week Knowledge (This comes from first hand experience. Last year, my sixth grade girls refused to raise their hands, when I knew they knew the answers. They dumbed themselves down. What societal pressures are we putting on girls?) Then, Wisdom, Compassion, and Strength. All the gifts a girl has within herself. I called my informal parent advisory board and they blessed it. I made a cool poster last night, got the beads in order, today I make the snack, and we're off.

I did this in four sessions over the summer, and it worked really well. Some of the summer girls are coming back today. In our town, we have teenage girls pushing their babies down Main Street after school. This is my little preventative piece--giving these girls a chance to create beautiful things and experience their worth. It's going to be a great Thursday afternoon.