Know the 411 Bullying can be direct – name calling, physical harm, or indirect – gossip, rumors, cyber-bullying Bullying involves aggressive behavior with the intent to harm It is behavior done repeatedly over time It occurs within an imbalance of power Bullying occurs more when there is less adult supervision Bullying is prolonged when bystanders …
Know the 411 The children we mentor deal with much change and loss. Many may have experienced some form of abandonment. It’s important to have closure at the end of the year whether or not you are planning to continue mentoring your child next year. He or she may move and you want to have …
Now that the summer is upon us, Chris & I thought it would be good to use the time for spiritual renewal. The radical book Crazy Love by Francis Chan seemed like a good place to start. Hopefully some have read it already and this will allow for some sharing. I will try to draw out …
I believe I missed blogging last week as I was way too busy! Good stuff though. Last week we began taping the new mentor training video for KHUSA Mentors. It’s going to be more interactive than the current training model. I can’t wait to see how excited new mentors will be. Last week also had …
We’re between book studies so this week we are going to reflect on the importance of anticipating transitions in our lives. This past Tuesday a man I do prison ministry visitation with passed away. I knew he was terminally ill for several months but put off making a visit once I returned home from Florida. …
Autonomy leads to greater communication with children. Faber & Mazlish have 6 guidelines that encourage autonomy in children. They are: 1. Let Children Make Choices – Child selected choices reduces their need to express resentment. 2. Show Respect for a Child’s Struggle – Adults can be most helpful to a child when they give useful …
Mazlish is right when she says real listening is hard work. You have to concentrate with children so you don’t just give them pat answers to questions they may have. So here are five tips to being a better listener and helper; 1. DESCRIBE — to the child what YOU hear them being concerned about. …
Mazlish suggests we avoid the following adult tendencies if we are to become good listeners of children; Don’t ask too many questions. – Kids open up when not bombarded with “20 questions.” Don’t rush to answer questions. – Answering a child’s question with a question encourages them to find their own solutions. Don’t take away …
We’ll be spending the month of April listening to what Faber & Mazlish have to say to us in their book How to Talk so Kids Will Listen and Listen so Kids Will Talk. I often get concerns from mentors about their student who either will not talk to them or will not listen to …
“Believe in Me ” is the theme for Voices Of Hope this month and it highlights what saved Liz Murray from a lost life. You recall she spent all of her growing up life on the streets partying with people she thought were her friends. She always woke up empty the morning after. Once she …
