During the mentoring hour, there are many ways that you and your student can spend your time together. While students often choose the activities, you can come prepared with fun ideas that your student might be interested in.
It’s important to recognize that the mentoring hour is not a tutoring hour. This slice of time is for relationship building, conversation, and enjoying each other’s company! However, there are ways to incorporate some light learning into our time with students. Here, we unpack a few specific activities that make learning feel like a game!
Reading and Reflection
Reading is an activity that many mentors and students enjoy together. But have you ever taken a moment to reflect on the story after you close the book?
When it comes to reading and reflection, our Kids Hope USA Resource Center for mentors houses some awesome resources that pair a creative activity with a learning opportunity:
- Consider interviewing your student as though they are on a book tour speaking about this book. What is this book about? Which character should everyone know about and why? This is a unique way to get your student to reflect on the story they just read in a casual way.
- The book cover design is a way of challenging students to draw a book cover. What would the title be? What would be on the front cover? What colors would they use for this book? This gets the student to think outside the box and maybe spark some ideas from the book you just read together.
Spelling & Scrabble
Can you make spelling fun? Yes! Here are some great ways to consider helping your student with their letters and spelling in a way that doesn’t feel like homework:
- Watercolor letters on construction paper
- Roll out words using playdough
- Use beans or macaroni to spell out words
- Try writing your name with dot markers
- Stand up and complete jumping jacks as you spell
Additionally, use Scrabble tiles for fun spelling challenges! If your program has Scrabble, use the letter tiles to spell out words like your name, town, state, favorite book, and more! If your program does not have scrabble tiles, feel free to use this resource and print off the scrabble tiles that we have provided on the last page.
Math & Maps
Math
You can also use scrabble letters to practice some simple math skills! Arrange your tiles in 3-5 letter words and then add the numbers that are assigned to each letter. Have your student add up the same word as you and see if you both get the same answer!
Maps
Do you spend time coloring with your student? If so, give coloring a United States map a try! Color your state, outline the original thirteen colonies, draw a star on Texas, etc. This is a great way to engage your student in learning geography while still coloring and having fun!
Ladders & Labeling
These resources are great for critical thinking skills. Understanding how to solve a riddle and learning how to articulate what certain emotions look like (happiness, sadness, anger, etc.) are helpful to a developing mind.
Ladders
Word ladders start with one word at the top. The student then reads each prompt to determine what the next word on the ladder will be. They continue this all the way down the ladder until they end up with the final word!
Labeling
Labeling feelings to their corresponding emotions is a great practice for students of all ages. If you got an A+ on your spelling test, how would that make you feel? The student needs to select the right emotion/reaction to this prompt!
Getting Started
There are ways to both have fun and learn something new! Give these activities a try and share with us how it goes! If you have any questions about the resources that we offer or anything related to these activities, reach out to your program director or contact us! We are happy to support you in your mentoring journey.