Today we’d like to introduce you to Annie Wolf.
Hi Annie, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I began my career as an elementary classroom teacher. As a young professional, I poured myself into the role. I loved working with kids, learning from coworkers, and the opportunity to create a positive impact. After my husband and I started a family, I found that I did not have the same amount of energy to give to classroom teaching. I came home at the end of the school day feeling frazzled, depleted, and having very little energy left to give to my own family.
After 12 years of teaching, I also began to realize that my favorite parts about the job weren’t actually teaching the core subjects. Instead, I took great care in creating a warm and welcoming classroom environment, hosting class meetings, compliment circles, articulating daily affirmations, and coaching kids through life lessons and difficult emotions. I began to daydream about my ideal job. I created a presentation that outlined a new role within the elementary school building and called it “Wellness Coach”. Similar to what you might expect a school counselor to do. I chose district outlined character traits and incorporated them into mini-lessons. The idea was to support teachers by doing classroom visits and teaching mini-lessons on topics such as self-love, resilience, breathing strategies, integrity, etc. The idea for this role was well received by everyone I shared it with. I was encouraged to take it up the district chain. When I finally reached the assistant Superintendent, I was told that even though this role would be valuable, the district would not fund it.
This “no” was very informative and directional for me. I had spent so much time and energy visualizing myself in this new role that I knew I couldn’t return to teaching in the general education classroom. So, I quit teaching without a plan.
The summer after I quit, my mom friends and I were discussing how best to broach the subject of growth and development, puberty, and sex education with our kids. Since my daughter’s curiosity had already taken us into these conversations, I shared with my friends what and how I had explained these topics. My friend, Lindsey Pryor, suggested I help all of us moms by teaching their daughters what I had taught mine. This invitation felt exciting and expansive, so I set out creating curriculum and lesson plans for my daughter and her friends. We met weekly after school. I taught them about their female body parts, where they are, what they do, how incredible they are! Each lesson was paired with a self-love activity and affirmation. The girls’ curiosity was piqued, and they went home asking more questions! We had so much fun during our time together and called it “Girls Club”. The moms appreciated the opening of new conversations and the opportunity to share with their daughters too. I saw so much value in these classes that I began offering them to more families. It turns out many parents love having support in this important area!
Moms especially kept telling me they wish they had classes like this when they were younger. So I created Women’s Club too! I paired up with Jewel Anderson, a licensed clinical counselor, and created a course just for women called “Aware and Alive”. We teach women about the power of their female bodies, how to access joy and pleasure, and ways to connect with their deepest desires and longings in life in order to fully express themselves.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Being my own boss and running my own business has been fun in a lot of ways. I love creating my own schedule, charging my own rate, and creating my own curriculum. It has been such an expansive and creative process! It has also given me the opportunity to reflect on my own coming of age experience. I have infused my lessons with information that I wish I had when I was young. I teach with an energy of celebration, appreciation and amazement for how incredible our bodies are. That part was really missing from my own experience.
Being a small business owner has been challenging at times. I like making my own rules, but sometimes it’s difficult to make every decision myself. With a background in elementary education, I have no previous business experience, so I call on help from my husband frequently!
Doing this particular type of non-traditional work was a struggle at the beginning. I grew up in a very religious home and community. Not everyone in my family was/is comfortable with my exuberance to talk about and teach about these topics. At first, my parents did not understand my method and message. They have since come around and are very supportive, but it was a process. I still have some family members and friends who do not engage in any conversation with me about the work that I have chosen. I think this reflects the taboo nature of these topics that still exists within our culture. There was a time when I took that personally, but now I understand it to be a symptom of a larger problem that I am trying to address in my work. I want girls to feel comfortable in their bodies, understand their parts and how the whole system works to their benefit. I want them to feel prepared for the changes ahead and maybe even a little excited. I want to show them they have a support system of friends who are not afraid to talk about what they are going through. I want them to feel proud to be a girl, a young woman, and a woman!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I created a program called Girls Club. I teach young girls about their female anatomy and function, the body changes that will occur during puberty, body safety and boundaries, and basic sex education for older girls. The classes consist of small groups between 8-12 girls. This small community of friends creates an environment of comfort, safety, and fun and encourages girls to get curious and ask questions. Early education allows a normalization of anatomical terms before these topics seem awkward or cringey. It also lays the foundation for future conversations as the child grows, matures, and has different, more sophisticated questions.
Each lesson has a corresponding affirmation such as “I love myself,” “I am safe,” or “My body is growing in a beautiful way.” These affirmations are spoken aloud, repeated as a mantra, and sealed with a temporary tattoo during each class. The lessons include self-love activities, crafts, and games as well. The focus on self-love, body appreciation, and community is an intentional effort to help girls understand how incredible they are and celebrate what it means to be uniquely them. I believe it is so important to plant these seeds at an early age so these beliefs and practices can grow!
The 4 pillars of Girls Club are education, celebration, self-love, and sisterhood. I have found these ingredients to be helpful in creating a feeling of empowerment, which is my ultimate goal. I want to help young girls love and appreciate their bodies and unique selves. I hope that they can access these beliefs and this wisdom as they grown into women and tune into their own unique sexuality.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
Any time we make a career change, it involves risk. Sometimes, the older we get, the harder it is to get off the well-worn path, even if we know we are not utilizing our gifts fully.
As the old adage goes, “no risk, no reward.” It was definitely a risk when I quit my job teaching. I did not have a plan, and I was scared of the unknown. I knew I was good at teaching, and I wondered if it was selfish to leave a profession that “needed me”. I struggled because I had not yet experienced a fuller more expansive version of myself. I had only imagined it in my daydream of myself as a Wellness Coach. My experience is, if you can get deep enough and serious enough about a dream of something more, you can allow that dream to get bigger and more powerful than your current reality.
I look back on the time in my life when I was a classroom teacher with perspective now. I gave it everything I could, and I feel proud of my work during that chapter of my life. But now that I have found Girls Club, I hope I never have to go back. This new way of life is fuller, brighter, and more fun!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.girlsclubkc.com
- Instagram: @juicy.wellness.woman
- Facebook: Annie Leonard Wolf
