OMG! #omg #tweens,#tweengirls,#middleschool,#totes,

Here is an omg bag to place some things in. What makes you say "OMG!"? Sweet words, Marie

So much pressure ! #friends,#peerpressure,#adolescence,#tweenblogs,

What is peer pressure? It is when your friends would like for you to do the same things they are doing! You may really want to have those same behaviors....or you may not want to behave like that! When you feel PRESSURED to do something that you normally would NOT do, Or you want to FIT IN and be like everyone else in the group..... that is peer pressure!! (Do you want to jump in the river just because everyone else does?) Okay, pretty,smart girls!! Be your OWN person,~ Marie

middle school ~ #middleschool,#juniorhigh,#school,#tweengirls,#books

What was your best experience in middle school? the worst? Keep on pushing! Marie Brewer

Jessie finds joy~#counseling,#journalwriting,#Jessie,#tweenblogs,#anger

Jessie was a rude girl.She never spoke to the boys and girls at school.She would talk in class and gave a frown to the teachers when they asked her to be quiet."Thank You" and "please" was not in her vocabulary. When someone bumped into her in the hallway,Jessie would say'"Watch where you're going!"She was in a bad mood every day of the week.Her parents asked what was wrong.She did not tell them because she wanted to solve her own problems. She wore her long brown hair in a pony tail.Her family was poor and she had two younger brothers in elementary school.It was Jesssie's job to care for her brother until her parents got home from work. Seventh grade was very stressful for Jessica.It was a new school.Her family had moved to Kansas City at the end of the summer.The middle school had 1,200 studenst.Jessie hated walking down the hallway...it was so many kids and made her dizzy just looking at them. Jessie talked to some girls and boys in class,but she did not have any close friends.There were girls who tried to be friends with Jessie,but she never hung out with any of them.The teachers were nice and tried to help Jessie. One of her teachers asked if Jessie could join the counselor's group.Jessie's parents agreed to this.Ms.Marsha was the school counselor.The told Jessie that counselors were there to help her with her feelings and thoughts. Jessie agreed to join the counselor group.Eight kids were in this group. The counselor took Jessie and a group of other kids to the library every Tuesday. Tuesday came.Jessie was a little nervous and played with her pony tail as she and the others waited outside of Ms. Marsha's office. Jessie sat down on the bench and looked at the other kids in the group.They looked 'pretty regular',Jessie thought.She sat by a girl whose name was Shelly.They smiled at each other.No one was screaming or fighting. Then Ms.Marsha came out and they all went to sit at a large table in the library.Jessie was surprised to see that the kids in the group had problems just like her.One boy said that his dad left the family.The boy started to cry and put his head down into his hands.Ms.Marsha listened to the boy and told him that he would be ok.Ms. Marsha told Jessie to bring a writing journal to the next group meeting. Jessie brought her writing tablet to the meeting.Ms.Marshs told the group to write about something that made them feel angry.Jessie took out her pen and began to think about what to write. She wrote: "I don't like being away from my grandmother.We moved her during the summer and it was so hard.My father got another job and we had to leave my other city.My grandmother made me feel so special and I miss her smile.She taught me how to decorate Christmas stockings.I used to help her make chocolate chip cookies too.We would sit outside and talk while we ate the cookies with some almond milk.Grand ma would always tell me stories of what she did when she was younger.I don't want to be at this school.I am not happy here." Jessie had not figured out why she was so upset.She like the counseling class and began to talk about the things that were bothering her.If she did not want to talk,she could write it down on paper. Wow! What a relief! Jessie is doing better now and has made new friends.She was sorry for treating other so badly because she did not want to leave her grandma.The family is now visiting grandma more often which is really cool with Jessie!

standing pretty ~ #tweengirls,#tweens,#selfimage,#selfconfidence,#selfesteem #dogs

(my dog's front legs, Her name is "Lady") Stand tall,strong,confident,and pretty today girls!

girl stories ~ #reading,#shortstories,#tweenblogs,#adolescence,#selfimage

(sale on camis at Justice in photo) Hi girls! Make sure you read my girl stories in the archives on the right sidebar. Breathe and live happily! Marie Brewer

Speak up Samantha! #tweenblogs, #selfesteem,#friendship,#tweenblogs,#selfconfidence,#tweengirls,#

Samantha's bff is Tanisha.Samantha and Tanisha grew up in the same apartment complex.They became friends in kindergarten and played together at the YMCA after school program.The birthday parties and swimming pool parties were always a blast!Tanisha used to love playing with Barbie dolls and singing as she listened to Beyonce and Taylor Swift.They wrote about their favorite books and games in their personal journals.Tanisha and Samantha liked going on the fastest rides in the amusement park.After the amusement park,the girls would go and get strawberry and chocolate ice cream cones.Those were fun days for the girls. Now the girls are in 6th grade.Tanisha plays on a soccer team and Samantha doesn't.Samantha wanted to play but her parents did not have anyone to pick her up after practice.This made Samantaha sad. Meanwhile,Tanisha made new friends on the soccer team and had fun playing at the games.The soccer coach told Tanisha that she was doing a great job. Tanisha was usually tired after soccer practice and fell behind in her homework assignments.Samantha was making good grades in all of her subjects.One Tanisha's teachers gave her a 69 on an English worksheet.She started asking Samantha if she could copy homework assignments from her.Samantha said,"ok".'That's what friends do',thought Samantha.She felt good about helping her friend. A teacher noticed that the two girls had the same answers on their classwork so Tanisha stopped copying the homework.Tanisha stopped talking to Samantha and began hanging out with her soccer friends.Samantha missed her friend but didn't say anything to her. Two weeks passed.Tanisha didn't eat lunch with Samantha anymore.Instead she ate with the soccer girl and some of the other popular girls.Samantha had not talked to her friend for days. Then on Wednesday Tanisha called.She had a favor to ask of Samantha.Tanisha had asked Samantha to bring her backpack to the soccer field after school. Samantha agreed and carried Tanisha's backpack to her each day that she had soccer practice. Because of this,Samantha would have to run to get a seat on her school bus after school.This went on for a week until Samantha's mom found out. On Saturday, Samantha asked Tanisha if she wanted to go to the mall with her.Tanisha said she would go. They were to leave at 3 pm,but Tanisha never showed up.Samantha called her cell,but there was no answer.Samantha and her cousin went to the mall anyway. They walked and looked at jewelry,cd's,clothes,and tried on some shoes.Samantha walked out of the shoe store and saw Tahisha and her friends standing outside of Macy's.One of Tanisha's new friends made eye contact with Samantha.The girl slung her long brown hair and turned her back to her. Samantha's feelings were hurt and she wondered if she had lost her best friend.Samantha didn't like the way that Tanisha was treating her.There was an ice cream stand in the mall.Samantha's cousin wanted to cheer her up,so they bought strawberry and chocolate ice cream.The strawberry ice cream did not taste so good on Samantha's tongue today because her heart was smashing... igg! It was like a part of her body being burned by a candle flame...or falling down on a piece of sharp broken glass. It was time for Samantha to think about the situation and find a solution to the problem. Samantha was smart,kind,and a real good friend to Tanisha.Samantha understood that there was absolutely nothing wrong with herself.She knew that she had to do something to throw this experience behind her.That night, Samantha went to her room,listened to music on her mp3 player and fell asleep with her thoughts. Samantha made friends with a new girl in Math class. Her name was Anna. A couple of days later Tanisha walked over to Samantha in the bathroom.They said hello.Tanisha asked if she could borrow her new house slippers to wear to a friend's sleepover that weekend. Samantha knew her friendship with Tanisha was over at that minute...she realzed that Tanisha was a "user". Samantha smiled and calmly said to Tanisha,"no,my slippers only fit my friends feet." That weekend,Samantha and Anna had a pink slumber party... and yes she let Anna wear her glittery house slippers! What would you do if your best friend stopped talking to you and got another best friend? Do you think Tanisha knew how badly she hurt Samantha's feelings? friends, Marie

write ~ #journalwriting,#diaries,#writing,#middleschool,#tweenblogs,#tweens

Do you keep a journal or diary? Sometimes it's good to get those weird feelings and moments down on paper! *Omg,I could not believe she said,"your shirt is too big!" *The teacher passed out new neon rulers,I didn't get one and had to share with Krista. *I want to go to Sarah's party on Friday,but I'm afraid my parents will say,"no." *My room is so drab...Maybe I'll put some stuff in boxes,then put up some new posters so it will be more colorful. geezzz...writing can be just as fun as the cellphone and wii games. write more to stress less ~ Marie

Marisol's new day ~ #tweenblogging,#tweengirls,#hispanic,#tweengirls,#selfimage,#peerpressure

Marisol was in 6th grade.She loved when Saturday and Sunday came around.School was not a happy place for Marisol and she did not tell her parents why school was so awful for her. Marisol was born in Mexico and her family moved to San Diego when she was in kindergarten.Her kindergarten teacher was so nice and learning was so much fun with Mrs.Cook.The teacher taught her how to read,count,paint pictures,and sing songs.Marisol smiled and gave her teacher a hug every day as she left the classroom to go home. Things had changed now.Marisol had begun to grow very fast in third and fourth grade.She was taller than all of the girls and most of the boys as she entered 6th grade.She was 5 feet,2 inches tall and wore a size 7 shoe. Marisol was different and wanted to fit in with the other girls.Her mother told her that she must not worry about how tall she was.She told Marisol that she had to learn to like her body.No matter how she tried to believe her mother,she knew what was waiting for her at school. Some of the boys and girls had begun to point and whisper about her in class and in the hallway.Marisol could hear them call her "bigfoot" as she walked into the classroom.She would often ignore them.At home, she would go to her room and cry. One day,Marisol and one of her friends were coming out of the school cafeteria when Coach Stevens stopped her.Coach Stevens was the basketball coach of the 7th/8th grade girl's team.She needed a tall girl to rebound the basketall during the games. She asked Marison if she wanted to try out for the team. Marisol was surprised and excited and told her that she would ask her parents if it was okay. She had not played basketball before! Yeah! This was something new and she wanted to go for it! That night,Marisol asked her parents if she could try out for the team.Her parents told her she could if she wanted to.They also told her to keep making good try grades.Marisol was happy and talked to the coach the next day that she wanted to try out for the team. Marisol made the team and practiced after school for the next three weeks.She played in her first game and her parents rushed home after work to go to the games.They were so proud of her! Playing basketball with the other girls made her feel so good and she liked being a part of a group.The team got along real good and she went to parties and sleepovers with some of the team members. Today,Marisol still hears the kids call her "bigfoot" and other ugly names.But now it did not bother her.She had new thoughts about her height.Her new thoughts about herself were so cool.They made her understand something.She understood that she was tall and "so what?".Marisol saw herself in a new way, the way she felt in kindergarten with Mrs.Cook. Marisol knew that she was a STAR and had skills.The ugly words were just that... just words,not fact! Keep smiling, Marie

Friends ~ #friends,#tweens,#tweengirls,#tweengirls,#adolescence

Has a friend ever embarrassed you? Did you tell them about it later? Talk to them about it.They may not know that they were acting weird. Happy Monday! Marie

Holy tomato! Speak up! #communication,#tweenblogs,#tweengirls,

Khali squinted her eyes from the glare of the bright sun as she walked into her home after school on Monday.She had to tell her mom that her purse was stolen out of the girl's dressing room in the gym. *(what happened) After gym class, Khali and her friend Vanessa were going to a meeting at 5th period.It was a meeting with Mrs.Morris(the school secretary)to talk about decorating the front office for the holidays.Khali and Vanessa's Math teacher said that the girls could help Mrs.Morris if they finished their Math test early.Five were chosen in all,4 girls and 1 boy. After gym class was over, it was time to go to the office and help put up decorations.Vanessa told Khali that she was going to leave her backpack and purse on a bench in the girl's dressing room in the gym.Vanessa said that her stuff would be fine there.It was the last gym class for the day and the coach had left.Khali thought that someone may come in and steal their belongings. Khali didn't want to be different from Vanessa and the other girls.Khali just went with the crowd and left her purse and sweater on the aluminum bench in the corner. The girls and the one boy finshed hanging the garland and ornaments on the desks and walls in the front office.Khali and Vanessa laughed because the scotch tape kept sticking to their fingers. The bell rang.It was time for the girls to pick up their things and walk home.They opened the door to the dressing room. Khali,Vanessa and the other 2 girls stood still for a second.They could not believe their eyes!They saw their opened backpacks thrown on the floor.Books,pens,and notebook paper was scattered everywhere! The girls shouted,"Oh No !!!!,Holy Tomato!!! What happened???!!!! Their purses were gone! Their free passes to the football game on Friday were in their purses.Khali's purse was gone and she had $5 in cash in her wallet. The girls picked up their books and what was left of their supplies and rushed to report the theft to the assistant principal. "Why would someone do this?", they kept asking themselves. Khali walked up the step to go to her house.She did not have her house key because it was in her purse!!! Luckily,she knew that her mom put a spare house key by the plant. "What a bum day!",she thought. She was irritated with herself because she KNEW that she shouldn't have left her purse in that dressing room! "I'm going to follow my OWN mind next time.Then won't have to go through all of this trouble!!" Whereever there are people, there are those who steal. Khali learned this lesson the hard way... sweet communicating, Marie

You are a bright FLOWER~ #tweens,#tweengirls,#flowers,#selfesteem

You are a beautiful bright flower! Stand tall and continue to bloom! If they say "you can't", Tell them "I will!" Keep loving yourself, Marie

she cut in line! #tweens #tweenblogs #friends #tweengirls #charactereducation

Tina and Emily were excited to go to a concert of one of their favorite bands: "One Direction" They had won tickets for correctly answering 5 questions about the band on a local tv show.They could not wait!Some other girls at their middle school were going also. Finally, the day of the concert came.Emily's mom dropped the girls off and they got in line at the stadium.Two girls from school called Tina on her phone and asked where they were.Tina told them that they were near the entrance. Emily and Tina looked around and the two girls had skipped the long line and got in line with them.Tina looked at Emily and a funny feeling came over them.They could not believe that the girls had cut the line and were laughing about it. After people complained,security came and put the girls who cut at the end of the line. Emily and Tina shrugged their shoulders.Emily told Tina that she would not like it if someone cut in front of her. The girls enjoyed the concert,took pictures and told their friends all about it on Monday. Have you ever skipped someone in line? How would you feel if a stranger did it to you and your friends?

Friend Story ~ #friends,#friendship #tweenblogs,#adolescence

Missi was friends with Colleen,(the new girl at school)Missi would often see Colleen in the cafeteria and after school while waiting on the bus. Colleen had 4 brothers and 1 other sister in her household,in addition to her parents.They had just moved to Los Angeles from Honduras.Colleen spoke Spanish but was learning English. Missi did not live close to Colleen but she decided to be friends with her. Missi knew how it felt to be the new girl in school and in a neighborhood.Colleen did not have nice clothes to wear to school.Sometimes she wore the same shirt for two days in a row.This did not matter to Missi.She liked talking to Colleen and learning about her family and her culture.They ate fried plantains in her country.They also ate beans,rice,tortillas and coconut. There were days when Colleen did not have a pencil for class.Colleen gave Missi a beautiful bracelet that was made in Honduras.Missi would buy extra fruit or a snack and share it with Colleen during lunch time.The girls would laugh and talk and Colleen would teach Missi Spanish words such as: "comida" means food.Missi wondered how it would feel to live in a country where most of the people spoke Spanish.Missi thought that she would feel isolated and left out.Wow...Missi would freak out! Missi felt good about having a friend like Colleen.She told her mom that it was fun to learn about other kids.... especially kids that are different from herself! make a new friend... Sweet talk, Marie

travel safely ~ #tweens,#tweengirls,#tweenblogs,#safety

Will you be riding with an older brother,sister,or cousin this weekend? Make sure that your seat belt is fastened and secure.Your family member drives carefully I'm sure.We just do not know how OTHERS are driving on the street! Sometimes people drink alcohol and then drive on the highway! This is so bad....really bad !!!! So,girls have to watch out for ourselves when riding in a car,4 wheeler,truck,suv,or on a motorcycle. Safety on the streets rock! Do you know someone who texts and drives at the same time? Have you ever rode with someone while they texted and drove? What do you think about those who talk on the cell phone and drive? Sweet safety everday ~ Marie

initial purse ~ #tweens,#tweengirls,#tweenshopping,#tweenblogs

cute shoulder purse... at Justice ~ Would this be a school purse or special occasion purse? styles and smiles,Marie

The wrong friend ~ #friends,#friendship #peerpressure,#tweens #adolescence

The wrong friend will: *tell you things that are not true *steal from you *say bad things about you *ask to copy your homework *borrow money and do not give it back *get angry at you for no reason *try to make you do something that you do not want to do sweet friends, Marie

Hey, Are you REALLY my friend? #friends #tweens

(glove is at J C Penny) Friends are cool! We need good friends! Great friends are even cooler! Girls and their friends may like to go to sleepovers,listen to music,and hang out at the mall together. Have you ever spent time with someone who you thought was your friend? Then,something happened and you had to let them go. Yes,that happens.Maybe there was a disagreement or they spilled private information.Why did she do that???!!! Take your time and choose friends carefully.Check them out and watch their actions. If you start to see things that may not be quite right,you may want to touch the pause button. So, have fun,listen,and make new friends as often as you like! A good friend is priceless! Keep it sweet, Marie

Bully ~#bullying,#tweens,#tweengirls #bullies,#middleschool

Paola and Dawn handed in their Reading assignment to Mrs.Sanders and gathered their books for the next class.Mrs.Sanders smiled at Paola and told her that her heart necklace was pretty."Thank you!" said Paola.(Paola's grandmother gave her the heart necklace for Christmas.It was pink,yellow,and blue.) Paola went to the doorway of the classroom where Dawn was waiting.Dawn told Paola that her stomach was hurting.They always walked to Art class together on Tuesdays and Thursdays and had five minutes to get to the next class. Paola went to her locker.Then she went around the corner to the stairway to Art class.She dreaded walking to the stairway.It wasn't because she sometimes lost her pencil on the way to class.It wasn't because the line at the water fountain was too long.No,it was not because the hall monitor hurried them to the next class. Paola was being bullied. The girls names were Desiree,Cindy,and Jina.They would wait for Paola in the stairway that lead to Art class.Sometimes they tried to trip her with their foot.The girls told her that she was ugly and made fun of her clothes.Paola did not like it,but she pretended not to hear them and didn't want to stir up trouble.Paola never told her mom what was happening to her in school.Dawn told the girls to leave her friend alone.Dawn told Paola to stand up for herself. Today, Dawn told Paola that she was going to the school nurse.Paola had to walk down the stairway by herself.So the took a breath and held her drawing pad to her chest tightly as went down the steps.She could hear Desiree and the other girls talking as she approached the classroom.They talked about trying to skip their next class.Paola figured that these girls thought they were cool,but really were just losers. Paola saw the girls and they saw her.She looked away and a couple of seconds past.The next thing she knew,Desiree tried to snatch Paola's drawing pad away from her.Paola knew she had to stop this nonsense or it would get worse each day.Paola felt the silver chain of her heart necklace break and saw it fall to the floor.Dawn and Cindy laughed and walked over and tried to stomp on Paola's necklace. Paola felt her fear go away and it was replaced by rage!She knew that she had no right to be treated this way!She decided to protect herself and her property.Paola yelled for them to stop and pushed Jina and Cindy to the floor before they could stomp on her heart necklace.Paola stepped on Desiree's foot and twisted her wrist to make her let go of the drawing pad.Desiree's mouth flew open so wide that a tennis ball could have fit in it.She could see the surprise on Desiree's and the other girls faces.By this time,a teacher came by and rushed all of the girls to class. After school,Paola called Dawn and told her all about what had happened.Dawn told her that she was proud of the way she stood up to the bullies.Paola's necklace was not damaged and she wore it the next day. Desiree,Cindi and Jina never bothered her again. Now,Paola enjoys her walk down the stairway to Art class without fear and polishes her heart necklace everyday! *Should Paola tell her mom about the girls who wanted to bully her? *What would you do if you were bullied? *How would you deal with one of your friends if they bullied others? no more bullies, Marie Brewer

Shannon's fight ~ #friends,#tweengirls,#tweens,#friendship

Shannon put a little alcohol on her cotton ball and dabbed it on the cut on her elbow.She got a bandage out of the bathroom medicine cabinet and had a flashback of what had happened yesterday. Terra was Shannon's friend and told her to come with her to a birthday party. The birthday party was for Mindy's on Saturday.She was turning twelve.The party was at a lake near Mindy's house in the country.About twenty girls and boys showed up along with a few parents.The food,drinks and cupcakes were set up on a large table outdoors.A volleyball net was nearby and the kid played a game before the party started.Everyone talked,listened to music,and played board games. After eating,a group of kids wanted to play another game of volleyball.Mindy was next to Shannon on the ground.They began to volley the ball back and forth. Shannon noticed that Mindy was stepping over in her space to hit the balls that were coming to her.Shannon did not say anything at first.The game went on and the score was tied.The other team served the ball into Shannon's direction.Shannon jumped high to hit the ball back when Mindy's left hand flew in front of her face!Shannon thought: "This is enough!" Shannon pushed Mindy down onto the ground and told her to stop interfering with her game! Mindy got up and charged at Shannon.The girls began to fight and Terra yelled at them to stop.Some parents came over and separated the girls. Shannon and Terra decided to leave at that moment.They picked up their cell phones snd Shannon noticed that blood was running down her right elbow.She felt Mindy's ring scrape her elbow when they were on the ground. Shannon told Terra that she was ready to leave.On the way out,Shannon took a cupcake off of the table and ate it.Terra and Shannon left the party and walked back home.Shannon apologized to Terra for getting into trouble with her friend.Terra told her that it was okay.(Inside Terra was embarrassed that Shannon had a fight with her friend at the birthday party.) Do you think Terra should remain friends with Shannon? Should Terra still be friends with Mindy?