Join us Saturday June 7 for a day at the YMCA Camp Collins High Ropes Course! Meet other military connected upperclassman, challenge yourself on the high ropes course, and work on building important skills such as leadership, communication, and team work that will help you in your near graduating future! Lunch and snacks will be provided. Feel free to bring personal water bottles and snacks. If you have an specific allergies please fill out appropriate box in the registration. 

Transportation available... 
-Anderson Readiness Center 
Depart: 8:15AM Arrive: 6:00PM 
-Camp Withycombe 
Depart: 9:15AM Arrive: 4:45PM 

Once registration closes we will email further details and documents to the accepted applicants that must be filled out and brought on the day of the event. 

Click here for the event flier.    

PATRIOTS DAYS AT KEIZER STADIUM

The Keizer Vocanoes Baseball Team is having a three day celebration for military families July 4 - 6. Fliers are below for all events. Families are invited to attend these events and tickets can be purchased at a reduced cost from the Volcanoes Stadium. Kids will also have an opportunity to be a part of the opening ceremonies lining the first and third base lines as part of the honor guard during the "Fallen Warrior" ceremony. Kids participating in the ceremony must be at least 5 years old and they will receive free tickets to the game. Parents must purchase tickets to the game and stay with their kids throughout the event - Kids may not be dropped off at the stadium to participate in the activities. Kids interested in helping must register for the specific date they want to help.

Click here for the event fliers. 

Click here to register to help on July 4.

Click here to register to help on July 5.

STATE YOUTH SYMPOSIUM

The Oregon National Guard Child & Youth Program is excited to announce details for the 2014 State Youth Symposium! This years event will be July 18 - 20 and location is still pending contract approval. This event is a weekend dedicated to military connected youths ages 13 - 18 and will involve a giant scavenger hunt, challenge games, group activities and more! This is a unique FREE opportunity for military connected teens. Participants will be placed on individual travel orders, reimbursing mileage, covering lodging and all meals for youth participants. There is limited space available so register today! 

Click here for the event flier. 

Application Deadline is June 11 for the ORMTP!

The Oregon National Guard Child & Youth Program is now accepting applications for the Oregon Military Teen Panel. The Oregon Military Teen Panel (ORMTP) is a group of teens who speak on behalf of military connected youth in Oregon. This group of teens help our staff plan fun events for children and youth as well as help facilitate the events. We participate in a group conference call twice a month and have quarterly planning retreats that are all expenses paid!

ORMTP Flier 

Talking to your Parents while on Deployment

By Brytahni and Brooke

Are you a wife with a husband deploying, a father with your wife deploying, a kid seeking advice, or just someone wanting to know about communication with families through a teen's perspective? Well you've came to the right place! My friend Brooke and I, are going to be telling you about some different ways to communicate with your parents or family members while they are away.

I've had plenty of experience with deployment, you see, my mom has been deployed twice, for two years straight, and to be honest with you, we didn't communicate as much as I would have liked. But the one thing I want you to remember is that, communication is the biggest part of relationships whether it be father/mother and child, or husband and wife, communication is what makes-or-breaks your relationship. During my mom's deployment, there were many different methods of communication we used, such as writing letters, talking on the phone, emailing, and a couple fun things to keep us connected. 

Click here to read more... 

Many of you have heard a brief or read something that talks about what the Child & Youth program has going on. Whether it was during Month of the Military Child in April, last summer when we hosted our first State Youth Symposium, during a Yellow Ribbon event or from someone else who has experience in our program, hopefully you have an understanding of the varying events/activities we organize and facilitate for school-aged children and teens. But many of you may have no idea why we do what we do, why is a challenge course a positive activity for your son/daughter or why should you have your teen come to a Yellow Ribbon Event. In this article we are going to take a moment to address these questions and explain how our programming trends are building resilient youth. 

Why use adventure-based programming philosophy?

In the last 15 months we have been able to implement adventure-based programming into our Family Camps, Yellow Ribbon events, Young Leaders Conference, State Youth Symposium and community trainings.  What is 'adventure-based programming' and why should it be used?   Good question!

Adventure-based programming

Adventure-based programming can be used in indoor settings, but is more commonly referred to while working in outdoor environments.  It can be defined as using "direct, active and engaging learning experiences that involve the whole person and have real consequences" (Prouty, Panicucci, & Collinson, 20017, p.12).  The idea of having a perceived-risk to the participants is a key in both having real consequences but also to push beyond the individuals comfort zone.  Getting through a physical challenge that first appeared to be impossible can uncover confidence, self-assurance and open doors to feelings of accomplishment and pride. When working with others to get through various challenges the skills of communication, teamwork, leadership and peer connection can be found, all leading to a feeling of connection, acceptance and togetherness.  These positive characteristics are all crucial to building resilient youth.   Perceived risk can come in many forms, a physical challenge, working with someone else to accomplish something, reading in front of an audience, participating in a skit or play, learning to play a musical instrument. Each of these has a different challenge and a different consequence if the goal isn't reached; embarrassment, physical harm, disappointment or rejection from desired peer group. To each child the consequence can appear tragic or a bump in the road, thus offering a variety of activities and challenges in creating a successful program. 

Read Full Article

Activity Courtesy of KidsActivitiesBlog.com

Click here to view the article

One of my favorite things about camping is the food. Food cooked on a fire tastes so much better than the "everyday" food we make at home! 

Other than my kids catching their first fish (I think they trained the fish at that campground to come when they see a fishing pole - we caught 5 in half an hour!), the highlight of our trip were campfire cones that we made. These "S'more Cones" were so yummy and are super easy to make!

Ingredients we needed for our Fruit & S'more Cones:

• Chopped Fruit. The kids chose strawberries and bananas - but I bet any berries, even tart apples, would be perfect!
• Mini-Marshmallows.
• Chocolate Chips. We used semi-dark, chocolate chips - love the extra antioxidants.
• Waffle Ice-Cream Cone.  Unfortunately, not any icecream cone will work - we tried :)  I'd love to experiment with waffle bowls next time.
• Tin Foil.  To wrap your cone once you have it stuffed to capacity.