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IWAKUNI, Japan - Children, Marines and parents participated in
Superheroes and Princesses, an event at Yujo Hall aboard Marine
Corps Air Station, Iwakuni, Japan, Aug. 21, 2013, as part of the
Family Readiness and Deployment Program.
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Children build picture frames during Superheroes and Princesses at
Yujo Hall aboard Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, Aug. 21,
2013. Kids created the picture frames to hold photographs that were
taken during the event of them in their costumes. (Photo courtesy of
Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni)
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Superheroes and Princesses used a unique spin on an
ordinary Mid-Deployment Workshop that is geared toward
helping children deal with their parents being away.
Kids dressed as their favorite superhero or princess to
honor heroes in their lives.
“If you say
mid-deployment, some people think about that seven month
deployment...since we don't really have (seven month
deployments) a whole lot here, I wanted to give
(Mid-Deployment Workshop) a different title,” said Jennifer
Carr, Marine Corps Family Team Building family readiness and
deployment trainer.
Carr took a new route with the
curriculum and made it more activity based than just
information.
“She designed this around the
Mid-Deployment for Success for Kids, but the curriculum is
very cut and dry like you're supposed to teach it to them,”
said Alexandra Patrocino, MCFTB life skills trainer. “Being
the creative trainer she is, she figured this might be a
more appropriate avenue to do it.”
The kids colored,
made picture frames and played games during the three hour w
o r k s h o p while building relationships with children who
are sharing a similar experience.
“It gives them a
positive outlet to actually discuss these things that they
might not of otherwise discussed , ” said Patrocino. Carr is
a mother of three kids with a husband currently in Okinawa
and knows the importance of having outlets for children of
deployed parents to express their feelings.
This
class is important because it helps the children get
together with the other kids and realize the feelings they
have are normal, explained Carr.
Children of deployed
servicemembers are not the only ones who are allowed at
events like these, all children aboard station are welcome.
“There were a couple of kids here who didn't have their
parents deployed but that doesn't necessarily mean that
their parents are never going to be deployed,” said
Patrocino.
Deployment workshops help the entire
family benefit from the Family Readiness and Deployment
Program, said Carr.
The Family Readiness and
Deployment Program also offers classes for spouses and
teenagers.
The Taking Care of You series, a
Mid-Deployment workshop for spouses, is available monthly
and there are Deployment Lunches at school for teenagers.
“We don't deploy a lot here from Iwakuni but they are
going on a lot of two month missions,” said Carr. “Family
members going over to Okinawa for school, or back to the
states for training so (these workshops) are something to
get the kids and the community together to deal with those
issues.”
Courtesy of Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2013
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