Activity Planning

Activity Ideas

• Portland: 52 FREE Things to Do with your Mentee around Portland
  52 FREE Activities (PDF, 65 KB)
  Fun FREE activities around Portland all year long.
• Southern Oregon: 52 Low-Cost Things to Do with your Mentee in Southern Oregon
  52 Low-Cost Activities (PDF, 61 KB)
  Fun FREE or low-cost activities around Southern Oregon all year long.
• Mentoring for Meaningful Results: Asset Building Tips, Tools, and Activities for Youth and Adults (The Search Institute).
  A low-cost book that highlights mentor and youth activities which promote the 40 Developmental Assets.
• Tools for Mentoring Adolescents
  Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota and the Search Institute
  www.mpmn.org
  Toolkit includes a module on "Activity: What's Hot and What's Not"
• Activity Ideas
  YouthFriends
  http://www.youthfriends.org/resourcecenter/activity_ideas.html
• Conversation Starters for Youth & Adults in Mentoring Relationships
  Dr. Franklin W. Nelson (TalkTrips, Inc., 2000)
  Conversation starters to foster good mentor-mentee communication. Topics include interests, relationships, respect, stress, choices, education, conflict, service and the future.
• My Mentor & Me
  Dr. Susan G. Weinberger (published 2001 for the Connecticut Mentoring Partnership)
  A pamphlet of activities and strategies for mentors and mentees do together. Three in the series: The Elementary School Years, The Middle School Years and The High School Years.
• Mentor Guide for Grades 6-12 (Step Up to Leadership !)
  National 4-H Cooperative Curriculum System, Inc.
  A guide of ideas and activities for mentors to help youth: learn to identify their own leadership skills; build on strength of self and others; acquire competencies in communication, group process, relationship building, planning and organizing, diversity, assessment and service learning; acquire the ability to apply leadership skills to real life experiences; and learn to influence and support others in a positive manner towards a common goal. This booklet compliments three youth guides targeted at specific developmental levels.

Outdoor Experiences

• Children Outside
  www.childrenoutside.com
  An outdoor activities facilitator for youth aged 4 to 14 in the Portland-metro area

Service Learning

• Portland State University Certificate in Service Learning
  http://www.ceed.pdx.edu/service-learning/
  Shared resources on best practices for service learning, curriculum and calendar of events
• Character Education & Service Learning
  Resources at Free Spirit Publishing
  http://www.freespirit.com/

Tools for Youth Success

• The Elevator is Broken: Youth Leadership & Decision Making Workbook 2nd Edition
  Authors: John P. Hamilton, Ed. D. and Larry D. Brown, Jr. (Hamilton & Associates)
  http://www.brokenelevator.org/
  A workbook to help students be more successful in/outside class by developing decision- making, leadership and academic skills. An excellent resource for parents, schools, parent educators, parent advocacy groups, mentor programs, and youth groups. ($19.95/book)
• Building Everyday Leadership in All Teens – A Guidebook
  Author: Mariam G. MacGregor (Free Spirit Publishing)
  A guidebook of activities to help teens discover their leadership potential and develop skills that guide them to act responsibly and make a difference in the world around them. Written activities encourage reflection. “Do something” activities call for commitment and action.
• What Teens Need to Succeed: Proven, Practical Ways To Shape Your Own Future
  Authors: Peter L. Benson, Judy Galbraith, and Pamela Espeland (Free Spirit Publishing)
  This book describes 40 developmental assets that all teens need to succeed, then gives hundreds of suggestions teens can use to build their own assets at home, at school, in the community, in their congregation, with friends, and with youth organizations. The book introduces the concept of asset building, invites readers to identify the assets they need in their lives, and gives specific suggestions on how to build them. Assets in Action sections show how people across the nation are creating healthy communities using the asset-building model.
• Respect: A Girl’s Guide to Getting Respect & Dealing When Your Line Is Crossed
  Authors: Courtney Macavinta and Andrea Vander Pluym (Free Spirit Publishing)
  To be respected, girls need to know how they want to be treated, treat themselves that way, and let others know to do the same. This smart, savvy book helps teen girls get respect and hold on to it. Topics deal with body image, family, friends, the media, school, relationships, and rumors. The authors confront tough issues like sexual harassment, date rape, sex, drugs, and alcohol, and debunk the myths and stereotypes that hold girls back. Girls learn that respect is connected to everything, that every girl deserves respect, and that respect is always within reach because it starts on the inside.
• Other Materials on Tools for Youth Success
  Visit Free Spirit Publishing online at http://www.freespirit.com/index.cfm to see a variety of print resources on topics such as Bullying & Conflict Resolution, Social Skills & Relationships, and Emotional Learning & Personal Growth.