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It's time to go back to school!
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It's that time of year again- the breeze is a little cooler, the leaves are just starting to turn, and Michigan students are diving in to the next school year. Mentors and mentees both have to get back into the school state of mind as they adjust their match meetings around homework, sports, and other after school activities.
In this edition of 4-H Mentors on the Move, we'll share some tips and tricks to help get both you and your mentee off on the right foot this school year, as well as an opportunity for you and your match to help out the 4-H Guided Adventures team in a big way.
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Getting back into that school state of mind.
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It's that time of year again; mentees are getting back to school, some of them excited, some of them nervous, some of them both. As mentors, the challenge this time of year is to help mentees get back into "school mode."
If your mentee is not looking forward to going to school, the simplest thing you can do as a mentor is have a conversation about why school isn't something your mentee enjoys. Ask what specifically is keeping your mentee from looking forward to the new school year. After this discussion, ask your mentee to identify things about school that they enjoy. Do they like seeing their friends? What about the library? Do they have a favorite class or teacher that they eagerly anticipate? Talking about the positive aspects of school after the negative can help alleviate some of the worries about a new school year.
Matches can also  take some time in these first few weeks of classes to brainstorm some goals to set so mentees can have their best year yet. From little things like remembering to bring a pencil and the textbook to each class, to bigger goals such as trying to be on time to every class or turning in homework in their least favorite class, day to day achievements boost confidence and can help your mentee feel more capable to build up to larger goals as the school year progresses.
Even mentees who start off with a stellar year might have a few bumps along the way. Mistakes are a part of learning! If your mentee can't meet the goals they set or they get off to a rocky start, remind them that making mistakes is how we learn what we need to change for the next time we try something. It is said that Thomas Edison tried to invent the lightbulb 10,000 times before his invention finally worked. Edison said, "I didn't fail. I just discovered another way not to invent the electric lightbulb." What was true for Thomas Edison is true for every one of us. While your mentee may not handle a situation in school in the most productive way, what they did do is discover a way to handle a problem that didn't work. Mistakes become teachable moments that mentees can learn from so next time they can try to handle situations differently and in more productive ways. Mentees aren't the only ones who can get their brains in gear for school! You and your mentee both can try to learn something new every day and keep track of those facts in a journal in writing, pictures, poetry, artwork, or any other medium. By learning together, you model the importance of lifelong learning. When your match meets, share at least one thing from your notebooks and spend a little time explaining what you learned and why it interested you. Activities adapted from Going Back To School: 10 Tips to Motivate Kids and Fostering Motivation in Kids with Learning and Attention Problems. |
| Keeping track of progress:
Make an achievement tree!
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One simple and creative way to visually keep track of progress is to make an achievement tree. This can be used to track match goals, academic goals, or to keep track of the things a mentee is particularly proud of achieving.  Materials:- Construction paper or unlined white paper
- Markers
- Glue or tape
- Scissors
To create an achievement tree, draw or cut out the trunk and branches of a tree. The size of the tree is entirely up to you and your mentee and depends on how long you are planning on adding to the tree and how much you plan on adding to the tree. Cut out leaves for your tree of any shape or color that you wish.
Every time a mentee achieves one of ther goals, write that goal on a leaf and paste or tape it onto the tree. As your mentee meets more and more of his or her goals, the tree will fill out with leaves, giving a visual representation of how much your mentee has accomplished. |
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Starting off on the right foot: Kickoff events |
Many programs are starting the school year with a kick-off event for their matches. If you've been to a kickoff event, we'd like to know! Tell us your story- what event did you attend? What kinds of things did you do there? Did you have fun? Send in your stories and any pictures you have and we will feature a kickoff review in our next newsletter!
Programs: do you have a kickoff event you would like to share with us? Something in September you would like us to highlight in our next newsletter or October activities you would like to let people know about? Send us a message! We'd love to hear from you!
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Match Highlight:
Meet Juan and Mike | Submitted by Andrea Villanueva, AmeriCorps member, Clinton County 4-H Creating Connections
Juan and Mike have been matched since February of this year through Clinton County's Creating Connections mentoring. Creating Connections is a 4-H mentoring program that matches youth who are in foster care, or have previously been in care, with adult mentors. The influence a match can have on both parties can already be seen with these two! Juan is willing to try new things without complaint and has stepped up several times amongst his peers to take on leadership roles. Mike told the program coordinator that the bond between him and Juan is stronger than he would have ever imagined. You can find Juan and Mike out in the community catching a movie, watching baseball, getting a bite to eat, or trying something new together: like rock climbing!
Mike holds Juan's arm as he reaches for a bag of M&Ms to make trail mix at Mentoring Weekend.
Juan and Mike attended 4-H Mentoring Weekend 3 together and were interviewed about it for the fall edition of 4-H Vantage newsletter! Read about their experience here. Great job, guys!
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4-H Guided Adventures Needs Your Help!
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Submitted by John Merrill, AmeriCorps Member, 4-H Guided Adventures
Attention, Michigan mentors... outdoor recreation and educational activities are ready and waiting for you to try with your match!
The 4-H Guided Adventures team has compiled a set of youth-friendly outdoor activities that need to be tested by matches. 4-H Guided Adventures is an exciting new curriculum focused on getting mentors and mentees outside, having fun, and learning about the environment. Individuals who attended 4-H Mentoring Weekend got a chance to preview some of these activities when they participated in workshops like archery, kite building, and canoeing. Over the past year, dedicated AmeriCorps members have been researching and writing these fun and educational activities that will be made available online for mentors and programs. These activities are in the final stages of revision, but the 4-H Guided Adventures team needs to know how their plans work out in the real world. Can you help?
Assisting with the piloting process is easy. First, contact our team and we will send you activities that meet your interests. Then, you and mentee will get outside and use an activity of your choice during your match meeting. Finally, you and your mentee will complete a form or a phone interview to share how it went. Activities range from leaf hunting and insect collection to hiking and fishing, with many more in between.
Does this sound like something right up your alley? Great! Contact John Merrill at merril32@msu.edu to get involved. John can also answer any questions you might have about this piloting process.
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MSU is an affirmative-action, equal-opportunity employer. Michigan State University Extension programs and materials are open to all without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, religion, age, height, weight, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, marital status, family status or veteran status. Issued in furtherance of MSU Extension work, acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Thomas G. Coon, Director, MSU Extension, East Lansing,MI 48824. This information is for educational purposes only. Reference to commercial products or trade names does not imply endorsement by MSU Extension or bias against those not mentioned.
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