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Mentoring Success:
Friendship, Smiles, Laughter...
Schuyler and I were matched by Big Brothers Big Sisters of
Livingston County in the spring of 2006. Since then, we get
together at least once a month. So far, we've been able to
find fun things to do together every time.
Our
first several get-togethers were part of BBBS' once-a-month
evening program. We did crafts, went roller skating, and played
card games. In the fall, we transitioned to the "community"
program, and we started hanging out whenever we can. To get
things started, we went to the
Natural History Museum on U of M's campus in Ann Arbor,
where we spent the afternoon eating lunch at
our favorite deli,
exploring the exhibits, and catching the planetarium show.
We take turns choosing the activities. Since I chose the
museum, Schuyler countered with roller skating a few weeks
later.
When I get to chose the outing, I try to find season-specific
activities. In the fall, that meant a trip to the
apple orchard,
followed by making our own homemade apple pies. While the pies
baked, we talked a lot about school and played some video games.
Later we made a date to do some extra credit social studies
assignments together. Our agreement was to play 10 minutes of
video games for every 50 minutes of homework. In December, we
hit the new shopping mall in Green Oak, and helped each other
find gifts for our families.
This
spring, we built
bird houses, and gave one to the
Howell Nature
Center, which is now on our list of places to visit this
fall. As the
summer progressed, and our schedules got full, so we started
making our get-togethers less formal. Sometimes that meant that
I would come out and watch Schuyler playing sports. Of course,
afterwards we usually grab a bite (or an ice cream cone) to eat.
Recently, we started playing tennis together, since the start-up
costs were pretty cheap, and its something we can do for free.
We also have plans to play some Frisbee golf;
Kensington and
Hudson Mills Metroparks both have free courses.
We attend as many BBBS-sponsored events as we can, like the
Holiday party in December, and hay rides in the fall. There was
a picnic and fishing pond outing a few weeks ago. We had such a
good time, we added "go fishing" to our trip list, along with a
camping weekend before the summer ends.
All of these activities are fun, but the real point is to
find a way to get together and just hang out. Getting to know
each other is the best part of being a Big-Little match.
-Joe
July 12, 2007 |
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