Cora's Awesome Growth Adventure: Mapping My Journey!

Materials You'll Need:

• Large sheet of paper or poster board
• Markers, colored pencils, or crayons
• Optional: Old photos of you (baby, toddler, younger you) – only if you're happy to use them!
• Optional: Magazines for cool pictures, glue stick, scissors
• "Growth Shapers" cards (your teacher will have these prepared with terms like: Heredity, Family, Environment, Physical Activity, Hormones, Nutrition, Choices, Health Habits)
• A small mirror

Let's Get Started! (40 Minutes of Fun)

Part 1: What's All This About Growing? (5 minutes)

Hey Cora! Grab that mirror for a quick sec. Look at yourself. What's one thing you've noticed that's different about you now compared to when you were much younger? It could be how you look, how you feel, things you can do, or even what you think about!

Growth isn't just about getting taller. We change in so many cool ways:

• Physically: Our bodies change shape and size.
• Mentally/Intellectually: Our brains learn new things, and we start thinking in more complex ways.
• Emotionally: Our feelings can become stronger, and we learn more about ourselves.
• Socially: How we connect with friends and family changes.

Today, we're going on an adventure to explore how people, especially awesome young people like you, grow and change!

Part 2: The Super Stages of Life! (10 minutes)

Everyone goes through different stages in life. Let's talk about a few main ones:

• Infancy (Baby): Learning to crawl, walk, talk, and explore the world. Totally dependent on grown-ups!
• Childhood (Little Kid): Going to school, making friends, learning lots of skills, playing!
• Adolescence (Teenager-ish Years - that's you soon, or now!): This is a time of super-fast changes! Let's brainstorm some:
  • Physical Changes: Growth spurts (getting taller quickly!), body shape changes.
  • Emotional Changes: Feelings might seem stronger or change quickly. You start figuring out more about who YOU are.
  • Social Changes: Friends become super important. You might want more independence.
  • Intellectual Changes: You start thinking about bigger ideas, solving tougher problems, and planning for the future.
  Can you think of one change in adolescence that sounds exciting? What about one that might feel a bit tricky?
• Adulthood: Careers, maybe families, making big life decisions.
• Old Age: Lots of life experience, perhaps grandkids, enjoying retirement.

We're going to focus a lot on adolescence today because it's a really important and dynamic time of growth!

Part 3: Your Personal Growth Map! (15 minutes)

Now for the super creative part! Grab your big paper and art supplies. We're going to make "Cora's Growth Map."

Divide your paper into a few sections. You could label them something like:

• "Baby Cora"
• "Little Kid Cora"
• "Cora Right Now (Awesome Adolescent!)"
• "Future Cora" (What do you dream of being or doing?)

In each section, you can:

• Draw pictures of yourself at that stage.
• Use old photos if you have them and want to.
• Write down a few words or short sentences about what you were like, what you could do, or how you felt (physically, emotionally, socially).
• For "Future Cora," dream big! What skills will you have? What might you be interested in?

Focus on "Cora Right Now": Think about the adolescent changes we just talked about. Can you show or write about any of them that you're starting to experience or think about?

This map is all about YOUR journey, so make it colorful and fun!

Part 4: The "Growth Shapers"! (7 minutes)

While you're working on your map, or just after, let's think about what things influence how we grow. These are our "Growth Shapers." Your teacher has some cards with these words. Let's discuss a few:

• Heredity: Traits passed down from your family (like eye color, or maybe being tall).
• Family: The love, support, and guidance your family gives you.
• Environment: Where you live, your school, your community – all the surroundings.
• Physical Activity: Moving your body! How does it help you grow strong and feel good?
• Hormones: Special chemical messengers in your body that cause many changes, especially during adolescence.
• Nutrition: The food you eat – fuel for your growing body and brain!
• Choices: Decisions you make every day (like choosing to read, or trying a new sport).
• Health Habits: Things like getting enough sleep, brushing your teeth.

Now, look at your "Growth Map." Can you pick 2 or 3 "Growth Shapers" from the cards? Think about how they have affected your journey so far, or how they might affect your "Future Cora." You can write them on your map near the parts they relate to, or just tell your teacher about them.

For example: "My family helped me learn to ride my bike (childhood)." or "Eating good nutrition will help Future Cora be strong."

Which "Growth Shapers" can you adapt, alter, or enhance to help you grow in positive ways? (e.g., you can choose to be more physically active, you can choose healthy foods).

Part 5: Wrapping Up Our Adventure! (3 minutes)

Amazing job on your Growth Map, Cora!

Would you like to share a bit about your map? What's one thing you learned or thought about today regarding your own growth?

Remember: Everyone's growth journey is unique, and that's what makes you, YOU! Growing and changing is a natural and exciting part of life. Keep being curious about all the ways you'll continue to develop!

Talk with your teacher about one aspect of your current growth that you find exciting and one that feels a bit challenging. It's good to talk about these things!