RESOURCES: OTHER SESSIONS
The following is a collection of session and activity suggestions collected from past events, community organizations and industry best practices.
Group Sessions
Event Kick-Off
Welcome and thank mentors for participating, and provide an overview of the day's events. Help delegates break the ice by getting everyone involved in a fun activity like the People Scavenger Hunt from the High School Teen Mentoring Activities book.
Keynote Speakers
Set the tone for the day by inviting influential community members, organizational speakers or former teen mentors, mentees, or matches to speak about their experiences with mentoring.
Community Dialogue Panel
Invite youth and community leaders to discuss their experiences with mentoring amongst themselves and with the audience. Explore what mentoring and leadership mean personally and to the community.
Event Wrap-Up
Collect surveys, draw for door prizes, thank participants for attending and encourage them to stay involved with mentoring throughout the year.
Experiential Sessions
Participants frequently identify experiential learning and hands-on activities as their favorite part of the day, and the part they find most valuable. In addition to revitalizing and energizing potential mentors, these sessions provide team building and networking opportunities, and give participants an opportunity to apply the skills they have learned first-hand.
Initiatives Courses and Obstacle Courses
Small activities and challenges that provide mentors with the opportunity to have fun while learning valuable skills. Working in groups, facing challenges and constraints teaches participants to think collectively, communicate, and experiment with creative ideas and solutions. Debrief after each activity to explore the role of communication, teamwork, support, initiative, and personal experience in the activity. Relate these experiences back to mentorship and how to be an effective mentor.
Fitness Sessions
Offer unique physical activities like Zumba, yoga, or salsa aerobics to get participants up and moving. Mentors can teach their mentees some of the new skills they have learned!
Activities From The Teen Mentoring Handbook
Have participants get in groups to try out different activities from the Handbook.
Breakout Sessions
Mentor Training Session
Provides guidelines for working with mentees, including communication skills, sharing information, confidentiality, reporting abuse, appropriate roles, and activities.
Alberta Mentoring Partnerships Online Training
Provides an overview of some of the core concepts of mentoring and what it means to be a mentor. The On-line training consists of one course on mentoring; 5 short modules and then a quick quiz to complete at the end.
Complete mentor enrollment efficiently by screening potential mentors and finding appropriate mentoring matches for participants.
Tip Frequently the highest rated activity of the day, the opportunity to engage in applied mentoring plays a significant role in mentors choosing to sign-on for the upcoming year.
Applied Mentoring Experience
Provide an opportunity for potential mentors to interact with mentees after completing the training session. Encourage them to try out some of the activities from the handbook.
Current post-secondary students provide free presentations to students sharing their experience and knowledge, helping students understand what is post-secondary education, highlighting the benefits of post-secondary education, and motivating students to plan for education and training after high school.
Can't Choose?
Try offering supplemental lunch-and-learn events throughout the year to reinforce learning and encourage continual skill building.
Resiliency (for returning mentors)
Encourage mentors to look at their lives, and the lives of the mentees they've encountered, and consider how to promote resiliency in children, as well as to identify strengths in children that come from difficult situations. Include activities to help mentors be more creative when spending time with their mentees.
Child Safety
Communication Skills
Mediation Skills
Cultural Sensitivity
All the Bling Won't Get You There
Making a Difference By Being the Change
Living Big for Teensy Weensy
Designing Community Culture
Become a Volunteer Mentor 10
Breaks
Unstructured times between sessions for participants to unwind, engage in informal networking, and form relationships and connections. Morning and afternoon breaks are a perfect time to provide snacks and beverages, while lunch break, or immediately after, is an excellent time to incorporate some form of short entertainment such as a dance group or local band.