Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: child/adult mentor program?

[Diana Carroll (dianaecarroll]

Have the kids expressed interest in this?


On Sat, Nov 16, 2013 at 6:59 PM, Joey Kimdon <jkimdon [at] gmail.com> wrote:

>
> Hi all,
>
> Several of us in our community would like to establish a child/adult mentor
> program, and we were wondering if any other communities would be willing to
> share their experiences.
>
> One of our main goals is to deepen the connections between children and
> adults who are not their parents. We're hoping these special connections
> will give the kids many people they're comfortable talking to as they are
> going through life's challenges, as well as enrich both parties' lives as
> they share their special talents, interests, and personalities. We also see
> it as a way to keep the kids connected to and interested in the community
> as they grow older.
>
> We already have many rich child/adult interactions, informal activities,
> special friendships, and a kids club where adults can share activities with
> the kids. However, we're looking to have a more formal program in order to
> include more of the less-outgoing people, to encourage more one-on-one
> time, to help people find ways to fit this type of connection into their
> schedules, and to give an almost family/grandparent-type of commitment that
> the kids (and adults) can count on over many many years.
>
> Our current thoughts are to have some rotating one-on-one mentorships
> (maybe 6 months long?) starting as soon as the kids are interested and
> continuing until adulthood, fostering many different relationships. Then in
> addition, as part of a coming-of-age ritual (around 12 yrs old), having the
> child and an adult find each other for an enduring (non-rotating), deeper
> mentorship. The shorter mentorships could help the children and adults
> figure out who they want for their long mentor and could continue even
> during the longer mentorship.
>
> Does anyone have any experiences they'd like to share that could help us as
> we are developing this idea? Or can you point me to some archived posts? I
> did a quick search in the archives, but didn't find the right search terms
> to come up with anything.
>
> Thanks,
> Joey
> (from CoHo Ecovillage in Corvallis, OR)
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