LINCOLN PARK — School has let out for the day, but a half dozen second-grade girls at LaSalle Language Academy are still in the classroom on a recent Wednesday afternoon, with eyes fixated on their bubbly instructor Annie Warshaw.
Warshaw says it's time to yell the class mantra so loud that other people in the building will be surprised. So at the top of their lungs, the girls scream in unison: "I am smart! I am kind! I am strong! I am a girl!"
At the same time, the girls lunge into warrior pose, a popular yoga move more commonly practiced by adults.
Warshaw then asks the girls to take a seat, lean over and touch their toes, each time taking a comically big bite. The girls comply, all while giggling and smiling and making loud, exaggerated biting noises.
"High-five everyone in this room for being awesome," Warshaw says sincerely.
Warshaw is among a group of instructors who go to schools in the city to teach empowerment to elementary-age girls through yoga, books with female protagonists and problem-solving activities.
She co-founded the after-school program Mission Propelle, formerly known as Smarty Pants Yoga, along with Jill Carey in 2013, back when it only offered two classes at one school.
Now, the pair employs a staff of roughly 40 instructors who teach at 60 schools across the city, including most of the schools in Lincoln Park and Old Town. By next fall, they plan to expand to other cities around the country.
"Thinking of what I might do to help the world"
The word of the week is "gumption," Warshaw tells the attentive second-grade girls.
"Let me hear you sing it in your high voice and your low voice," she says. The girls all sing the word "gumption" in funny voices, punctuated by giggling.
Gumption means to show courage in a new, different way and to be creative, Warshaw explains.
"One example might be you're sitting in class and you learn dolphins aren't being treated right in the ocean, and you say, 'How can you let the dolphins be treated this way?' You decide you're going to tell the world that dolphins need to be treated nicely," she says.
"I want you to think about a time in your life that you solved something in a cool and different way."
She pairs the girls up, and they have in-depth conversations that last for several minutes before Warshaw takes the lead again and asks each girl to share their story with the group.
One of the girls, Lexie Antoine, 7, says one time her family went to the beach and she noticed garbage in the ocean so she told her family and they came back with garbage bags and gloves to clean it up.
A visibly impressed Warshaw tells the girls, "Let's send Lexie major love vibes." They all wiggle their fingers in her direction to show appreciation, which is a method Warshaw has clearly taught them before. Another signal they use: the hang loose hand motion — "make that when you feel like you're not alone," Warshaw says.
Another girl, Xachell Guzman, 7, says she'd like to help her mom financially by selling lemonade and cookies.
The deep conversations don't end there.
Warshaw brings out a book, "Gertie and The Kickball Conflict," which she proceeds to read aloud and discuss with the girls. In the book, which is just one of more than 100 original books that Mission Propelle has created, a fictional girl named Gertie gets picked last for kickball, which makes her sad. But she comes up with a creative solution to the problem.
Warshaw reading "Gertie and The Kickball Conflict" to the class. [All photos DNAinfo/Mina Bloom]
"It hurts to get picked last. It hurts to feel left out. Gertie took a few deep breaths to clear her head. Why do think she's taking deep breaths?" Warshaw asks.
A few hands go up.
"Because when you cry you want to calm your body," one of the girls answers.
Warshaw enthusiastically agrees, and then asks "And what is she showing" in the story?
A few more hands go up.
"Gumption!" one of the girls shouts when called upon.
Warshaw smiles warmly, and tells the girls they are correct, and thanks them so much for their attentiveness — something she does almost constantly.
To Warshaw, anyone can read a book to a little girl, but it won't make an impact if there's no positive encouragement behind it.
"The minute I start pointing out that [one of the girls is] being positive, all of the other girls start to" emulate that behavior, she says.
"You're in a special club. You have that responsibility to look out for other girls in the school. If we can teach that language, then we can ultimately shift that to the entire school community."
The books, which all feature original stories and illustrations, fit into Mission Propelle's larger mission of girl empowerment.
"There are three male protagonists for every one female protagonist [in children's books] right now. And you become what you consume. if girls are not seeing themselves, they are not aspiring to fill those roles," Warshaw says.
After class, 7-year-old Lexie tells DNAinfo Chicago that her favorite part of class is "thinking of what [she] might do next."
"I'm thinking of what I might do to help the world," she adds.
A preventive measure
Mission Propelle bills itself as the only empowerment program for girls under fourth grade offered in the city.
"We see ourselves as a preventive measure rather than a reactionary measure. We believe that giving girls the tools from an early age will empower them when they do get to middle school and times get tougher," Warshaw says.
(Xachell Guzman (l.) and Josephine Drevs, both 7, practicing yoga.
Warshaw leading the class in yoga poses.
She says while there are a lot of girl empowerment programs that use sports, yoga is "inherently different."
"It gives girls the tools to connect with what's happening in their brains and bodies. They will have the voice within themselves to positively praise themselves."
Another unique element of Mission Propelle: cost is not a problem.
At schools where parents can't afford after-school programs, Mission Propelle hires a teacher from within the school and the school pays a small licensing fee so those parents don't have to pay.
"What's awesome is we can access all girls," Warshaw says.
Creative solutions
In addition to yoga, the girls also participate in a problem-solving activity on Wednesday afternoon, where they are broken up into two teams and must make a shape with their yoga mats. This week's shapes are a heart and a peace sign.
One of the groups comes up with the idea to use their bodies to complete the peace sign because they don't have enough mats to complete the shape.
One of the groups came up with the idea to use their bodies to make a peace sign shape.
Lexie Antoine (l.) and Josephine Drevs, both 7, during a balancing exercise.
When asked how she came up with the idea, Josephine Drevs, 7, says: "There was no mats left, so I thought we could use our bodies."
"Sometimes we see a problem and we have to come up with a creative solution," Warshaw tells the girls.
It turns out, coming up with creative solutions to problems isn't just educational — it's also a pretty good time.
"I like that we get to do fun stuff. We get to use our imagination and creativity," Drevs says.
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