Raising A Tween Girl | Easy Breezy Beautiful Preteen Girl Workshop

It makes me feel old to say it, but I’m raising a tween girl. Pretty sure she was just born yesterday, so I don’t know how we got to this point, but let me tell you, I am not ready! I am not ready for puberty, make up, boys… all the things my tween daughter wants! But she’s ready. She’s ready to think about taking care of her changing body, she’s ready to know about how to apply make up, and she NEEDS to know about the importance of loving her body as she goes through this awkward stage from child to teenager.

As we’ve entered these uncharted waters of raising a tween girl, I have looked around for resources. Our go to has been the American Girl brand book “The Care and Keeping of You”. It has been a great resource, but that’s all it is- a book. We read it together, discuss the different sections in it, but my daughter needs more.

And through raising a tween girl, an idea was born!

Arizona Tween Girl Workshop

I started toying with the idea of a preteen workshop. At first I thought mommy and me- a chance for moms and daughters to spend time together. They would learn the basics of hair and skin care, make up application and whole body health. As I kept brainstorming and talking to other moms who are raising a tween girl, we came to the conclusion that these girls might enjoy an evening without their moms. They could learn from other positive role models and making new friends. Things quickly fell into place.

After securing three professionals to present awesome information to the girls, I launched the Easy Breezy Beautiful Preteen Girl workshop. Yep. I know, it’s a mouthful! But those words describe exactly what I was going for! It is a workshop geared at tween girls who are ready to learn more about beauty and taking care of themselves in a light, easy atmosphere.

That’s exactly what they got!

Arizona preteen girl workshop

Last Saturday was our first workshop and it was amazing! 12 girls arrived at 5pm, ready to learn and have fun and make new friends. We broke into two groups, the first headed into the white room of my studio with Sara, a licensed aesthetician who taught them that a great make up application starts with good skin care. She demonstrated a facial, gave tips for applying make up and sent the girls home with a few samples as well as a detailed list of age appropriate products to try.

The rest of the group stayed in the main room of the studio with Loryn, a hair stylist who started her career working on Deal or No Deal. She gave the girls lots of tips for caring for their hair, then moved on to demonstrating different hair styles, including the ever popular beach waves. I was her hair model and after she demonstrated, the girls took turns practicing on me.

Once Sara and Loryn had finished their presentations, we all gathered in the main room for a yummy dinner. Pita Jungle Arrowhead was kind enough to sponsor our event and provide the girls with a delicious meal. We enjoyed a variety of healthy food while listening to Carrie’s presentation. Carrie is a registered dietitian and fitness instructor who also has two teenage daughters. She knew exactly what these girls needed to hear! She explained good eating and exercise habits and taught the girls how much water and sleep they need. Then she talked about the importance of having a positive mindset in regards to our bodies. She walked the girls through an exercise in which they listed various physical things they love about themselves, compliments they’ve received that really uplifted them and aspects of their personality that they feel are special.

It was so great to see these girls loving on themselves and realizing how amazing they each are.

Raising tween girl

After Carrie was done presenting, the girls switched locations to hear from the other presenter. Then we wrapped things up with head shots taken by me, and amazing swag bags filled to the brim with goodies from various sponsors of the event.

My favourite thing about the whole night was seeing these girls walk in as strangers and leave as friends. They had bonded as they learned about caring for their changing bodies. I loved their ear to ear grins as they left the studio!

Already, I have moms who are raising a tween girl reaching out to me, wondering when our next event will be! I am so excited to say that we have one in the works for January. Would you like to see this happen again sooner? Leave me a note and let me know!