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Farewell, Anna |
"May flowers always line your path and sunshine light your day.
May songbirds serenade you every step along the way.
May a rainbow run beside you in a sky that's always blue,
And may happiness fill your heart each day your whole life through"
~Irish Blessing
 Anna EldenBrady has been an AmeriCorps member with the 4-H Mentor Michigan Initiative and will be finishing her year of service in January. Anna has been the driving force behind many Michgan 4-H Youth Mentoring projects during her year of service, including the 4-H Mentors on the Move newsletter. You will be greatly missed, Anna!
We want to take this opportunity to thank Anna EldenBrady for her service with Michigan State University Extension. Anna is completing her AmeriCorps service with our program in January. This is the final newsletter that she will help us coordinate and write. Anna has been a wonderful addition to the 4-H Youth Mentoring team. She supported 4-H Mentoring Weekend 3 by coordinating the service project, leading a drama workshop, and overseeing evaluation efforts. Anna has also been active on our 4-H Mentor Training Curriculum team and has helped us launch our Mentors on the Move newsletter. Once her service is complete, Anna is looking forward to focusing on her writing and planting many gardens at her new home in Muskegon. Anna is leaving the Mentors on the Move newsletter in the hands of Kristy Oosterhouse, AmeriCorps member with MSU Extension. Please join me in thanking Anna for a wonderful year of service and in welcoming Kristy to the team.
Future questions about the 4-H Mentors on the Move newsletter can be directed to Kristy at oosterh6@msu.edu.
Submitted by: Molly Frendo, Associate Program Leader/ 4-H Mentor Michigan Initiative Program Director
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Holiday Service | There are many ways that youth can serve through the holidays. Giving gifts to friends and family is not the only way to share holiday spirit. Many charitable organizations find themselves short staffed and unable to meet the increased demand for services during the winter months. Mentors and mentees may want to think about the following ways to serve their communities this season.
Volunteer organizations:
Local chapters of the United Way, along with countless community foundations and other community service organizations, commit to many different volunteer projects through the holiday season. From shoveling snow for shut-ins to partnering with food banks and boots-on-the-ground service organizations, opportunities abound to get involved. Call or visit these organizations to find out what opportunities are available in your area. If you are unaware of community organizations near you, contact your local United Way or 211 (if available in your area) and ask- they most likely will have opportunities of their own and will likely know who else could use your help.
Local shelters, churches, soup kitchens, and food banks:
Due to the cold and harsh weather, shelters fill up fast and the demand for services grows this time of year, often faster than these organizations can find volunteers to fill the need. Even volunteering one of your December match meetings at someplace serving those in need can make a big difference to the organization, those being served, and the volunteers serving. To find these organizations, look in the phone book or call a county or state social services agency in your area. Churches, the United Way, 211 and other charitable organizations may also be able to point you in the direction of charities in dire need of volunteers. Be sure to call first to be sure that your mentee meets the age requirement and to see if parental consent is required.
Model volunteerism through small donations:
Mentors may want to show their mentee small ways to have a big impact by donating to a charity such as The Salvation Army's Red Kettle drive or Toys for Tots.
Do YOU have a story of service to the community from the holidays? Share it with us and we may include it in January's newsletter!
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Activity Idea: Snowsculpting
| If you would like to pilot these activities or other 4-H Guided Adventure curricula, please contact Kristy Oosterhouse at oosterh6@msu.edu.
Even though the arrival of winter drives most people indoors, a blanket of snow still provides plenty of fun activities to do outside. Bundle up and head outdoors to try one fun activity this winter. Don't forget to have hot chocolate waiting to warm you up once you return indoors!
Snowsculpting is a unique way to display your creative abilities outdoors in the winter. Start by gathering materials from around the house that can be used to sculpt the snow and create different effects (for example, a garden spade can be used for digging out areas, or a potato masher could be used to create texture on the sculpture's surface). Also find some buckets or bowls that will be used to contain and transport snow.
Once you have the materials ready, head outside & test the snow. Try to form a snowball. If the snowball falls apart, than creating a sculpture will also be difficult. If that is the case, just let the snow sit for a day or two so that it becomes more compact and easy to work with. If the snowball stays together, use the buckets or a shovel to build a snow pile. The size of the pile will depend on how large you want to build the sculpture. Once you have a sizable pile, start sculpting!
When the sculpture is finished, you can even paint it if you want. Fill squirt bottles with cold water and food coloring. Let the bottles sit outside while you sculpt and then paint the sculpture! |
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Match Highlight: Meet John and Jacobe
| Submitted by Christine Sisung, Mentoring Program Coordinator, Key Mentoring, Clinton County MSU Extension.
 Mentor John and mentee Jacobe were matched in November 2009. Since then, both of these individuals have grown tremendously. Jacobe has expanded his circle friends over the past year and now feels like he has someone to talk to about school. John says that he feels like he is making a difference and enjoys being able to make a younger person smile.
Every Monday during the school year, these two individuals meet at Riley Elementary. They participate in service projects, team building games, craft projects and much more! John and Jacobe love to play imaginary "car simulator", a game that they have invented and play each week. These two boys also like to talk. John, who also is a 4-H'er in the Olive 4-H group and Charlie's Gang, a camp counselor, and attended Riley Elementary, has made time to mentor once a week at the school. John enjoys interacting with all of the mentees and helping Jacobe grow as an individual. Jacobe often tells John, "thank you for playing with me". For Jacobe, having a friend to count on and talk with is exciting. He runs into the classroom, saying "Yes! I'm first today". This mentoring relationship has created two great friends, and has helped these two outstanding individuals grow. What a great improvement mentoring can make in two lives at once.
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Thinking Ahead: Discovering the Possibilities
| Submitted by Kristy Oosterhouse, AmeriCorps Member, STOMP 4-H Youth Mentoring, Eaton County MSU Extension.
Does your mentee need help figuring out their skills, what they want to do in life, and how to get there? If you answered "yes" to any of those questions, you and your mentee should check out a new curriculum from the Mentoring Partnership of Long Island (MPLI) called Discovering the Possibilities. The curriculum details a step-by-step way for you to assist your mentee in charting their own course by sharing information and activities to do together as a match, giving you the tools necessary to help make your mentee's dreams come true. The curriculum is divided into three sections: Exploring Careers-I "C" My Future; Preparing for College-I "C" My Options; and Building Character-I "C" Myself. It is even free to download from the MPLI website! Even though the curriculum is designed for eighth and ninth graders and their mentors, the information would be beneficial to tenth or eleventh grade mentees as well!
Visit www.mentorkids.org for more information.
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Seasonal Craft: Popsicle Sticks!
|  As the winter weather drives more and more people inside on blustery, snowy days, it is a good time to try your hand at new types of crafts. This month, why not try building something out of popsicle sticks? Found in craft stores under the name 'craft sticks', these versatile little bits of wood can be used to build a number of different items. This month, we're going to learn to build a hanging craft stick snowflake and a trinket box.
Snowflake
To make a craft stick snowflake, you are going to need three craft sticks, white or craft glue, and whatever you would like to use to decorate your snowflake- permanent markers, paint, glitter, or anything else that suits your fancy. If you want to hang it up, you will need ribbon or twine as well.
First, color your sticks with paint or markers. Keep in mind that permanent markers will stain your fingertips if you handle the stick while the ink is still wet.
Cross two of the sticks in an X. 
Glue the other stick on the X so the central spoke of your snowflake is sandwiched between the angled legs.
Decorate! If you want to make a hanger of ribbon or twine, tie it in a loop and glue the knot on the back of your snowflake.
Box
Though making a craft stick box is a little more involved, it is not difficult, it just requires more patience. You will need quite a few craft sticks for this, but the number depends on how tall of a box you want to make. You will also need white or craft glue and anything you want to decorate your box with.
 FamilyFun.com has an excellent set of directions to make a log-cabin style craft stick box and they have a great set of pictures to go along with their directions. Click on over to their website to try out this fantastic and fun craft!
Want to make more fantastic craft stick stuff? Check out this page of craft stick projects!
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Did You Know?
|  While the stores bring out their lights and trees and emphasize Christmas and New Years, there are other interesting events to celebrate and remember this month.
From historical events that changed the course of the nation to silly celebrations that can help relieve the stress of the season, December is a wonderfully full month with plenty to look forward to, no matter what holidays someone celebrates.
1st- Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus on this date in 1955- her arrest sparked the 381 day Montgomery bus boycott which resulted in the desegregation of public transportation. The first is also Pie Day.
9th- Pastry Day- crack out the cookbooks and start making deserts!
21th- Winter Solstice- Winter officially begins.
24th- Apollo 8 reached the moon- in 1968, three astronauts became the first people to see the far side of the moon and the first to see the Earth rise over the moon's horizon.
28th- Chocolate Day- online searches refer to a variety of dates for Chocolate Day through the year. That must mean there is never a bad date on which to celebrate chocolate.
In celebration of Chocolate Day, how about trying this recipe for Chocolate Peanut Butter Muffins?
1 roll slice and bake Pillsbury cookie dough
2 bags Reese's miniature peanut butter cups
2 mini muffin pans
Slice and quarter cookie dough. Place each quarter in a mini muffin cup. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes. While the muffins are baking, unwrap the Reece's pieces. As soon as you remove the muffin pans, place a Reece's piece in the center of each muffin. Return to oven for 2 minutes to allow dough and candy to melt together. Makes 96 muffins.
Recipe from "Beyond Peanut Butter, A Cookbook Just for Kids" by Classic American Cooking.
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Save the Date! January is National Mentoring Month!
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There are quite a few reasons to celebrate the coming of January- one more month closer to spring, a new year- but perhaps the best reason to celebrate January is that it is National Mentoring Month! Some events to look forward to:
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service
January 17th- 
Instead of taking a day off, spend a day serving the community, either with your program or with your mentee. If there aren't any events in your area, why not plan a service activity together? A service activity can be as simple as picking up trash along the roadside or volunteering together in your community.
"Mentoring Night at the Palace", January 22nd- The Detroit Pistons celebrate mentoring during their 7:30 pm game against the Phoenix Suns. Tickets for the game are currently available and for every ticket sold through this website, Mentor Michigan will receive $5 that will go towards mini-grant funding opportunities later in the year. Note that when purchasing tickets, you will need to use the keyword "mentor". Want to learn more about this exciting opportunity for you and your mentee? Check out Mentor Michigan's page on the event!
Thank Your Mentor Day, January 25th- Why not do something unique to celebrate your mentoring relationship on this day? While the day technically is to thank mentors, mentees impact the lives of their mentors, too and celebrating on the 25th could be a fun way to acknowledge just how special you are to one another.
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