Mahogany posted about this a few weeks ago and we got some great ideas (thanks y'all).

We need more ideas! We're presenting all the possible things we can do with children on a Saturday afternoon. These are around 11-17 year old kids, and we want to have a positive impact on them.

Please hurt your brain a little and think of something that you liked when you were younger, or something you always wanted to do and couldn't.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. We are giving her our ideas on Saturday, so POST, dammit!!! :-)

-TC


"Back and forth, inside, I'm melting like water on wicked witches
A monster truck done came and ran over my picket fences
I had the best of life in my clinches but monkey wrenches was thrown
Like chairs kings sit on, my prayers seem too long" -Outkast

Gotta go but I will post a list of my ideas first thing in the AM.

Thanks for posting!

the general principle of making something together is always cool--the younger can learn from the older and vice versa...make an in-camera edited video, tell a story using photos taken with a polaroid camera, learn to make a website...

Here in Boston we have things like the Black Heritage Trail which is fun and informative, as well as various museums...etc.

When i was younger my favorite thing to do was to go to the library (yah i was a nerdy bookworm, so what?! that's why i graduated summa cum laude! :-) ) or to do any kind of art--drawing, printmaking, batik, painting, sewing, graffiti...

dunno if this helps...i'll keep thinking tho.


*********
"You are the revolution,.....don't wait to see it on the 6 o'clock news. Bear witness to yourself."
--Wise_7

"theres' so much tension and hate in the world that the act of love to your neighbor is trully revolutionary...it's all about thinking differently than the mainstream concerns of now. "
--mayhem

"SO POWERFUL IS THE LIGHT OF UNITY THAT IT CAN ILLUMINATE THE WHOLE EARTH."
--Baha'u'llah

I think you have a great idea. I also think that it is best for the children to learn more about computers. Without computers life is in total chaos.(Well I think)!!!! I really think is important for the children to learn more about where they came from. I have alot to say but I am still at work but I will post later when I get off.

Thanks.

"Please give us strength, Lord, to fight our battles. And we can walk on the streets of gold." "D'ANGELO"

"SMACK YOUR ASS PULL YOUR HAIR" "D'ANGELO"

"LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE" "COMMON"

"One Love ColeyCole99"

"OKAYPLAYER RULES"

THIS IS TO FUNNY YALL

TeeCole = Me!!!!!!!!

FrenchST99: yeah so whats cds you got
TeeCole1: I have a lot of cd's I have at least over 200 cd's.
FrenchST99: 200? you are a real collector. what is your favorite
TeeCole1: well my favorite is my Common collection
FrenchST99: who is Common?
TeeCole1: Are you seriuos you don't know who Common is???? does Common Sense ring a bell.
FrenchST99: name some of their songs
TeeCole1: well actually it just one and he sung Breaker 1/9, and off his new album The Light and the 6th sense, he has alot of songs
TeeCole1: Once you hear them you will probally know then
FrenchST99: nope haven't heard it!!!




"OKAYPLAYER RULES"

Well as you know Texas is hot as hell I think someone had metioned this already but I think we should take them swimming and to the musuems to learn more about their history, and we should have a clean up day also. I think we should teach the children that there are many different ways to live their lives by expressing them through art,music,poetry,and things like that or whatever the children are interested in. But we all have some good ideas. Can't wait to act on it.
One love Yall


"Please give us strength, Lord, to fight our battles. And we can walk on the streets of gold." "D'ANGELO"

"SMACK YOUR ASS PULL YOUR HAIR" "D'ANGELO"

"LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE" "COMMON"

"One Love ColeyCole99"

"OKAYPLAYER RULES"

THIS IS TO FUNNY YALL

TeeCole = Me!!!!!!!!

FrenchST99: yeah so whats cds you got
TeeCole1: I have a lot of cd's I have at least over 200 cd's.
FrenchST99: 200? you are a real collector. what is your favorite
TeeCole1: well my favorite is my Common collection
FrenchST99: who is Common?
TeeCole1: Are you seriuos you don't know who Common is???? does Common Sense ring a bell.
FrenchST99: name some of their songs
TeeCole1: well actually it just one and he sung Breaker 1/9, and off his new album The Light and the 6th sense, he has alot of songs
TeeCole1: Once you hear them you will probally know then
FrenchST99: nope haven't heard it!!!




"OKAYPLAYER RULES"

Take them swimming. Have them star a business. Have them design a website to voice their ideas and opinions. Take them to the symphony. Take them out of the city and expose them to other ways of living. Have them play a sport together. Or help out Habitat For Humanity. Teach them chess and have tournaments. Have them draw/create art or something else along those lines. Kids just need a positive influence. Usually, that translates into being sincere and showing them that you really care about them and their future.

Thanks for reading. I love you.

Thanks to everyone for the ideas so far, they are good! Here goes my list (so far)

Do a play (perform for daycare)

Go to the Museum

Visit a nursing home

Clean up trash in the neighborhood

Go to a concert (Symphony already mentioned)

Go to the Farmers Market

Teach a Hip Hop dance class (I know someone for this)

Depending on Mahagony's friends center we could paint, plant flowers & "decorate" the center. Home Depot has paint (sometimes in odd colors) but on clearance for cheap.

During the school year we (along with our mentoree (sp?) could tutor the younger kids.

Volunteer at a shelter, soup kitchen etc. and not just at Thanksgiving all thoughout the year.

Help the elderly in the community with mowing their yard or just visit.

Have a garage sale at the center (everyone bring clothes they've outgrown, toys or whatever! and take the money we raise and to do something fun! Six Flags, Water Park, have a BBQ
Whatever the kids what to do.

That is all for now. I will be back with more when I talk to my Boss's daughter (age 10) later today.

Hey,
I think that if we visit needy children or ill children in hospitals with little gift bags maybe from the dollar store, etc.. Just to spend time with them to bring us all back to earth and let us all just be grateful!!

More Bounce,
Torrie

Now I would love to do that. That was a great idea.!!!!!!!!!!


"Please give us strength, Lord, to fight our battles. And we can walk on the streets of gold." "D'ANGELO"

"SMACK YOUR ASS PULL YOUR HAIR" "D'ANGELO"

"LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE" "COMMON"

"Why Do we Need Id to get ID" "COMMON"

"One Love ColeyCole99"

"OKAYPLAYER RULES"

THIS IS TO FUNNY YALL

TeeCole = Me!!!!!!!!

FrenchST99: yeah so whats cds you got
TeeCole1: I have a lot of cd's I have at least over 200 cd's.
FrenchST99: 200? you are a real collector. what is your favorite
TeeCole1: well my favorite is my Common collection
FrenchST99: who is Common?
TeeCole1: Are you seriuos you don't know who Common is???? does Common Sense ring a bell.
FrenchST99: name some of their songs
TeeCole1: well actually it just one and he sung Breaker 1/9, and off his new album The Light and the 6th sense, he has alot of songs
TeeCole1: Once you hear them you will probally know then
FrenchST99: nope haven't heard it!!!

That is a great idea. I can't wait to get started!

The most successful mentoring project I did with kids was the Teen Technology Committee at an East Harlem organization (NYC). We met once every two weeks, set up shop on the Web, had an online club with email and chat, we came up with projects integrating the arts and technology, and the best activity was our sleepovers.

I think we had two or three before I moved up to Boston. Kids would get permission from their parents and spend Friday night learning BASIC, HTML, digital video production and photography, graphic design, and creative writing. I mixed in DVD/video movies and lots of food. It was amazing to see teens from 13-18 in their pajamas, learning how to program on a Friday night and having fun doing it even until 2 AM!


"No matter who you are or what your age may be, if you want to achieve permanent, sustaining success, the motivation that will drive you toward that goal must come from within." - Ultramagnetic MCs

The computer stuff is a great idea. I like the learning about batik prints, too.

One thing I did in my Art for Children class that I loved was listening to about 5 different songs in a row, and painting/coloring what I was feeling on a seperate piece of paper for each song, and putting them together with the rest of the class. We defined the mood of the song by looking at everyone's paintings of that particular song.

We could do crafts, or free events in the Dallas area, too.

Keep those good ideas rolling!

-TC


"Back and forth, inside, I'm melting like water on wicked witches
A monster truck done came and ran over my picket fences
I had the best of life in my clinches but monkey wrenches was thrown
Like chairs kings sit on, my prayers seem too long" -Outkast

how about a jazz rehersal (if there intrested)historic areas in the respective city the planetarium .movie studio?recording studio?make your own adventure with a camcorder,any type of play or live performancesabsolutly take them to a green house,farm dairy plant or meat plan,t recyling planttake the older ones to an aids wing take them all to a old folks home,have them ineract wih pre k -3rd!show them how rewarding what you do is by hving them do it them selves.the beach for ecological study and polution awarenessany exibit about thier respective nationality's historyhave a nationality pot luck lunch where everyone brings a dish from tier back ground that'll teach them tollorance and love for diversity take them to a collage campus maybe for a lecture or like on open campus week when the hopefull visit. let me think a lil more

a friend of mine participated in a "rites of passage" program for kids. they had everything from games relating to african and african-american history to african dance and music lessons to rites of passage ceremmonies for pre-pubescent girls and boys. i can't remember what they call themselves, though. just an idea.

I've done some of that in my art for children class a few years ago. We made beaded necklaces as though we were the young women heading into womanhood, and were allowed to add a strand of beads when we "got married", had a child, death in the family, etc. It was beautiful.

Great idea.

-TC


"Back and forth, inside, I'm melting like water on wicked witches
A monster truck done came and ran over my picket fences
I had the best of life in my clinches but monkey wrenches was thrown
Like chairs kings sit on, my prayers seem too long" -Outkast

rites-of-passages are the bomb. i went through one myself in Atlanta. I am glad this topic was brought up, because many people say my gift is mentoring children. Already, I have learn so much from okayactivists' ideas. My suggestion, before we do anything with kids, is that we ourselves have a set of principles (i.e. humilty, wisdom, nurturing, forgivness, and spirituality) that govern our lives. In my experience with kids, I learn that they will run all over you if your foundation (your principles) is shaky. Therefore, if your foundation is strong, we will have a better chance in teaching the youth to apply these principles.

how about taking the kids to the tandy center or the galleria and taking them ice skating? for real, nothing makes kids bond like watching their peers bust their ass on the ice. therell be laughing and exercise all in the same day...plus im willing to bet most kids have never even ice skated before. hell im 19 and i didnt lace up my first pair of ice skates untl a few months ago!

u

AIM SN: psychophant110

"I have been and still am a seeker, but I have ceased to question stars and books; I have begun to listen to the teachings my blood whispers to me."
--Hermann Hesse

Where have you been haven't heard from you in a min. So whats the deal???? But N*E way I don't think I will be ice skating b/c I can't. I can't even stand up on them. But that will be nice to see the children smile!!!!!


"Please give us strength, Lord, to fight our battles. And we can walk on the streets of gold." "D'ANGELO"

"SMACK YOUR ASS PULL YOUR HAIR" "D'ANGELO"

"LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE" "COMMON"

"Why Do we Need Id to get ID" "COMMON"

"One Love ColeyCole99"

"OKAYPLAYER RULES"

THIS IS TO FUNNY YALL

TeeCole = Me!!!!!!!!

FrenchST99: yeah so whats cds you got
TeeCole1: I have a lot of cd's I have at least over 200 cd's.
FrenchST99: 200? you are a real collector. what is your favorite
TeeCole1: well my favorite is my Common collection
FrenchST99: who is Common?
TeeCole1: Are you seriuos you don't know who Common is???? does Common Sense ring a bell.
FrenchST99: name some of their songs
TeeCole1: well actually it just one and he sung Breaker 1/9, and off his new album The Light and the 6th sense, he has alot of songs
TeeCole1: Once you hear them you will probally know then
FrenchST99: nope haven't heard it!!!

hey there yourself...ive been spending time working in my garden mostly...gotta work that stress off. of course its hot outside so i just get more stressed but still...yeah i was thinking about the ice skating thing, that could get expensive, unless its cheap to get in...cant exactly remember cause the last time i went i mangaged to connive and cajole my way in for free. i think you can get a group discount tho...how bout taking the kids to the zoo? im more than sure they run group discounts...good day out in the sun...since it is hot we could take em all swimming or something...make a day out of it, most pools are built around parks, do some swimming and picnic-ing...ill be back later if i can think of more...

u

AIM SN: psychophant110

"I have been and still am a seeker, but I have ceased to question stars and books; I have begun to listen to the teachings my blood whispers to me."
--Hermann Hesse

......definitely teach them to THINK for themselves.....maybe have them solve a mystery or just examine nature......help them think analytically...expose them to as many different things as possible......then ask them what they like.......some of the most important things they will learn from y'all will be the intangibles.......seize every opportunity......

"....your life is the best sermon...."

......peace&blessings.........ukaa......a small axe.......giving you true thoughts sense........and still.....

Combine modern technology with old wisdom. Also utillize instruments as oppossed to sport it allows kid to work together outside of compettion. Give them a sense of self worth and try to infuse some academia, esp. true world history, math and science. I think that would be valuable

how bout we teach the history of hip hop, and how it's devlopment went hand in hand w/ the goings on around it. a lot of kids might only know about what's current and on bet/mtv, but we can round tht out so they can see it's more than one way to hop (hip hop)
**********THE SIG**********

i'm a tru pisces tryna flow in the direction of both of these okplayer quotes:

"I m raising a fuckin angelic being who is going to replenish this fuckin earths cuz in 2G all we fuckin do is talk.....im teachin my seed to turn his spirit inside out and spread beams of green light"
-nebbie

"GOd give me the strength to change the things i can, understanding for those i cannot and the muthafuckin heart to stand up for my beliefs and principles, so that when the government that is suppossed to protect me turns against me and my people we will have the means, the might and the muthafuckin gun power to blow away our oppressors
umm amen"
-earthqueen

and last but not least:

"all things considered, i'd rather be me"
-bfnh

have them create a collage with images from mags and newspapers about themselves. then they have sit there and explain each image and how it relates to them.

tie-dye (yes it's corny BUT!!! you can talk to them while you do it. it gives you time to just BE with them)

reading hour where the older kids read to the younger kids using props etc

have them write stories together. first person writes a paragraph (3-5 lines) the next person does the same. especially put the older with the younger

for the older kids do "lyric analyzation." you take lyrics from a popular song and make them look at it like a book. (i can give you details on this if you want to do it)

ethnic food day. each person is assigned a country etc and asked to cook something from that region and present a report on it.


QUOTE OF THE WEEK/DAY... whatever my mood

TODAY'S DEAL tOo for WoN

Watching the Beef.
Waiting for the 7th Trumpet and the 13th Seal and hoping I'm among the 144,000 Okayplayers who will get into OkayHeaven.

Look up, the sky is purple. - HotThyng76

"no one tells you about being no artist man, on career day" - jane


celebrating JU-LIE as fake quote month (or are they really real)

"I can't tell you because it might hurt your feelings"-Vet

Man...brother gave good head, just wish i could have gotten it here instead of the reunion - me on the chocolatiest moderator



Resident Poets' Quotables

why are your ears
dependent on the forum?
i mean if i plant seeds
at a poetry reading
my peoples openly receive
but if i say this truth
in everyday speech
it's like i'm speakin greek - incogx

I really like the idea about collages...I'll start saving magazines.

Thanks for helping us players out, okay?

:-)

-TC


"Back and forth, inside, I'm melting like water on wicked witches
A monster truck done came and ran over my picket fences
I had the best of life in my clinches but monkey wrenches was thrown
Like chairs kings sit on, my prayers seem too long" -Outkast

have them create a collage with images from mags and newspapers about themselves. then they have sit there and explain each image and how it relates to them.

tie-dye (yes it's corny BUT!!! you can talk to them while you do it. it gives you time to just BE with them)

reading hour where the older kids read to the younger kids using props etc

have them write stories together. first person writes a paragraph (3-5 lines) the next person does the same. especially put the older with the younger

for the older kids do "lyric analyzation." you take lyrics from a popular song and make them look at it like a book. (i can give you details on this if you want to do it)

ethnic food day. each person is assigned a country etc and asked to cook something from that region and present a report on it.


QUOTE OF THE WEEK/DAY... whatever my mood

TODAY'S DEAL tOo for WoN

Watching the Beef.
Waiting for the 7th Trumpet and the 13th Seal and hoping I'm among the 144,000 Okayplayers who will get into OkayHeaven.

Look up, the sky is purple. - HotThyng76

"no one tells you about being no artist man, on career day" - jane


celebrating JU-LIE as fake quote month (or are they really real)

"I can't tell you because it might hurt your feelings"-Vet

Man...brother gave good head, just wish i could have gotten it here instead of the reunion - me on the chocolatiest moderator



Resident Poets' Quotables

why are your ears
dependent on the forum?
i mean if i plant seeds
at a poetry reading
my peoples openly receive
but if i say this truth
in everyday speech
it's like i'm speakin greek - incogx

I think life skills should also be a part of mentoring. For instance cooking lessons (which can include health and nutrition), excercising and sports, and teaching things about hygiene and taking care of personal needs. It's hard to believe, but sometimes young folk aren't taught these things at home and only know the bare minimum about taking care of themselves.

NO lectures, just sit and talk to them like your talking to one of your peers(and Listen too!). You can set the topic or let the kids decide what they want to talk about and let it go from there.You can give some positve feedback and get your point across without coming off as too preachy.( Nobody like a sermom outside of church) Plus,It's fun!I'm SLMAO from a conversation I had with my little cousin a month ago.


:*

"I'm the bad thing that happens to good people"

Today we each made a serving of ice cream.
Put the following ingredients in a sandwhich size ziplock bag:
2 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup half and half
(For flavored add chocolate syrup, candy pieces, etc.)
Make sure after it is sealed you squish it around so it mixes together.

Fill a gallon size zip lock bag half full of ice and add a handful of rock salt.

Put the small bag into the large bag, seal, and shake, shake, shake. Believe it or not, in about 5-8 minutes you get ice cream! Less equals milkshake. Be careful: Make sure you rinse the ice cream bag with ice water before you open it ...otherwise salt residue will ruin the taste.

I was great fun on a hot day!

Science project: This will take a week, but it is oddly facinating.
Submerge an egg in vinegar for a few days and see what happens! (The shell becomes soft...like a peeled hard boiled egg...try to squeeze the egg into a bottle without breaking the egg...let the shell reharden...kids will be amazed at how you got an egg into a bottle.) If you need any other crafty projects let me know.

Check out http://www.mentoring.org


"And I'll tell it and think it and speak it and breath it,
And reflect it from the mountain so all souls can see it,
But I'll know my song well before I start singin'" Bob Dylan

Whats going on. We are getting pretty quite. I just want to know whats going on in here.

"Please give us strength, Lord, to fight our battles. And we can walk on the streets of gold." "D'ANGELO"

"SMACK YOUR ASS PULL YOUR HAIR" "D'ANGELO"

"LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE" "COMMON"

"Why Do we Need Id to get ID" "COMMON"

"One Love ColeyCole99"

"OKAYPLAYER RULES"

THIS IS TO FUNNY YALL

TeeCole = Me!!!!!!!!

FrenchST99: yeah so whats cds you got
TeeCole1: I have a lot of cd's I have at least over 200 cd's.
FrenchST99: 200? you are a real collector. what is your favorite
TeeCole1: well my favorite is my Common collection
FrenchST99: who is Common?
TeeCole1: Are you seriuos you don't know who Common is???? does Common Sense ring a bell.
FrenchST99: name some of their songs
TeeCole1: well actually it just one and he sung Breaker 1/9, and off his new album The Light and the 6th sense, he has alot of songs
TeeCole1: Once you hear them you will probally know then
FrenchST99: nope haven't heard it!!!

definitely feeling the computer suggestions: have them think of all of the stuff that they would like to learn about (prompt them if they don't know much about what's out there), and have them build a site (using a free provider like www.geocities.com) that includes links to the stuff that they've found.

you can also teach them how to search for different things (ie, if you need yellow pages type info or a company's official site, you can go to yahoo, or if you want to ask a question you can go to askjeeves). show them how it can be used for research, etc.

hit on the basics of computers (ie, whats a cpu, monitor, hard drive, memory, how the web works, why its important) and try to show some of the concrete ways in which being up on technology can help you make a living (the fact that in many cities there's almost ZERO percent unemployment in high tech).


POETRY POWER!!

definitely build with them creatively. have them read, recite and listen to various kinds of poetry. get a good anthology (i have some that cover everything from Dunbar to Maya Angelou). show them how language was used and debated in black poetry, and how cats like Dunbar had to gain acceptance while writing in "vernacular" - ebonics, if you will. and how Langston came and flipped it so nice that nobody could even argue that he wasn't a genius.

intersperse the old school poetry with new school - both contemporary poets like Paul Beatty and Saul Williams, and emcees. in hip hop, contrast, say a Rakim with a Too Short with a Common (by Rakim and Short I've been inspired). use sonia sanchez and amiri baraka to discuss the politics of poetry.

identify the way that skilled poets use language, alliteration, repetition, double and triple entendre, all that. have them write their own rhymes. have them write their own poems.

download some stuff from the freestyle board.

i'm kinda gettin into this. great idea. hope this post stays up or gets archived. i'm just freeing up some time this year to get more into some mentoring and this has got my wheels turning.

good luck.

peace & blessings,

x.