| EVENTS |
Click here for a flyer about our upcoming Facilitation Skills and Children's Program Training in St. Cloud on February. |
| GROUPS |
Click here for a current list of groups in Minnesota. |
| CONTACT US |
Please send feedback and suggestions for
future issues to:
Circle of ParentsŪ Statewide Office
Priscilla Bennett
Communications Coordinator
709 University Avenue, Suite 234
Saint Paul, MN 55104
651-523-0099
pbennett@pcamn.org
Our Regional Coordinators:
Metro Office
Alice Lynch
Metro Program Coordinator
709 University Avenue, Suite 234
Saint Paul, MN 55104
651-523-0099
alynch@pcamn.org
Northeast Regional Office
Joan Johnson
Northeast Program Coordinator
9057 Sunset Strip
Pequot Lakes, MN 56472
218-821-6429
jjohnson@pcamn.org
Southeast Regional Office
Barb Sorum
Director of Family Support Services
606 East 5th Street
Albert Lea, MN 56007
507-377-7665
bsorum@pcamn.org
Southwest Regional Office
Susan Thomes Southwest Program Coordinator PO Box 202 Silver Lake, MN 55381 218-308-1311
Western Regional Office
Mary Weaver
Western Program Coordinator
32662 Birchwood Shore Drive
Underwood, MN 56586
218-770-1385
mweaver@pcamn.org |
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| FACILITATOR TIP | | |
Joan Johnson, Northeast Program Coordinator
Facilitators Need to Develop Parent LeadershipFacilitators of Parent Groups for Circle of ParentsŪ are frequently lacking a backup for those times when they can't be there. The Parent Group Leader concept is fundamental to the shared leadership model that is advocated by Circle of Parents development and can be an excellent backup since we want to avoid cancelling a weekly or bi weekly meeting. The Facilitator can help a parent gain valuable skills that will carry over into many aspects of their lives. Many of the parents in groups have limited experience being leaders, and don't think they have anything to offer others. They can lack confidence in their expertise or in the validity of their voice. ( read more here) |
| CHILDREN'S PROGRAM TIP | |
 Barb Sorum, Director of Family Support Services The format of some activities are perfect for children's program leaders and parents who want to provide interactive, creative play and a broad-based head start for children ages seven and up.
Drawing in the Dark - A drawing is easily visualized in our mind's eye, but can that picture be translated directly from mind to paper without using our physical eyes as a guide? As a way to further explore this mind-body connection, encourage your participants to try to draw a picture while blindfolded or looking away from the paper. They can either keep the pencil on the paper at all times or allow them to raise the pencil now and then as they are completing the picture. The children will likely find that they get better and better at this activity with practice. Over time, their mind will adapt to being able to draw without depending upon external visual cues. (read more here) |
| OUTREACH TIP OF THE MONTH | |
Sue Thomes, Southwestern Program Coordinator It's A New Year and what do most people attempt in January? They make a resolution to be healthier, lose weight, get more organized, etc. Those of us who work with Circle of ParentsŪ generally have made resolutions, as well, whether consciously or sub-consciously. We have resolved to make our groups stronger by attracting as many participants as we can and offering the support needed to those members to prevent child abuse. So as you start to reach out this New Year, think about where most people start out their New Year. Ask local health clubs, gyms, weight loss groups, massage therapists, etc. if you can provide their members with materials about your group. While you are at it, see if a local health club would be willing to donate a membership to be used as a door prize to encourage attendance, or a free trial or discounted memberships, for anyone who joins your group. ( read more here) |
| BOOK OF THE MONTH | |
 Alice O. Lynch, Metro Program Coordinator
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
by Michelle Alexander
As the United States celebrates the nation's "triumph over race" with the election of Barack Obama, the majority of young black men in major American cities are locked behind bars or labeled felons for life. Jim Crow laws were wiped off the books decades ago, but today an astounding percentage of the African American community is warehoused in prisons or trapped in a permanent, second-class-status much like their grandparents before them, who lived under an explicit system of control. (read more here) |
| WEB LINK OF THE MONTH | | |
Priscilla N. Bennett, Communications Coordinator
Support for Grandparents and Kin Caregivers
A new online database can help grandparents and other relatives raising kin children to find support and services. The AARP Foundation has launched the Grandcare Support Locator, which allows kinship caregivers to search for specific types of groups and services within their State or jurisdiction.
www.giclocalsupport.org/pages/search_form.cfm |
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Our Mission The mission of Minnesota's Circle of Parents is to empower parents to create healthy and loving families through positive parenting and mutual self help. |
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