Hi Parents,
Here's a review of what occurred during last night's group. We had all of our attendees except one. As is our routine, the kids had a chance to socialize informally near Gelsons. Afterwards, the kids transitioned to the office and congregated in the waiting room.
After they had been conversing for about five minutes. The room became so quiet spontaneously. It was really quite amazing. I almost wondered if there was something going on I didn't know about. Turns out they were just being aware of the fact that I was filming and they wanted it to be a quiet time. During that time we talked a little bit about what kind of activities we were going to be doing tonight. We reviewed the LUNCH Points program (which you will be using beginning next week... watch for the upcoming tutorial!) and how the raffle tickets (blue and "Hero") work.
We transitioned (incredibly smoothly, ask to see the video for the parent meeting). All of the group members updated and reviewed their behavioral goals. So, in terms of the overall momentum and cohesiveness of the group building that clearly seems to be happening. They are listening to one another, even the few who were bored spoke quietly and in a nondisruptive manner.
I showed them a project that the kids had done and explained that I wanted them to do a very similar project. One of the distinctions between the teen and child group is that we will tolerate (not condone) mildly inappropriate language as teenagers will do. What was nice to see is that nobody became too over excited about that. Overall in fact the group was very well controlled tonight.
The group completed the animation and then we went out to eat at Baja Fresh, tonight. It was an organized process. Some of the kids did not know what to order and they were helped by the counselors. The groups gravitated into smaller groups of fours, and they conversed, and enjoy themselves. They really alternated between eating and talking. I didn't see inappropriate manners from anyone.
The evening ended on a very positive note. It was one of the group member's birthdays and we had cupcakes for every one. They selected them in an orderly manner. They sang happy birthday to her. And when we realize we were running out of time, they very quickly cleaned up and with very little guidance, we're ready to leave and we're back within just a few minutes of the time we were expected.
One of the really nice things that I observed is that the degree of group cohesiveness is very strong. This is probably related to the fact that in this particular group the majority of the group members are returning either from spring or from summer. So the few new kids who we have have been easily assimilated but also the kids who were late 12 year olds are really working out well within the team group as well.
So that's it for now.. except, here is the cartoon they created. We will have it up as a narrated version in a couple of weeks.
