Mentors and Gingerbread Houses.

One of our after-school programs at school is a mentoring program. Various teachers and staff members are matched up with a kid who needs some extra attention. My little buddy fits that description. He's quirky, picky about which rules he wants to follow, and very clever. When he gets overwhelmed, he sheds a few tears to release some frustration - we're working on coping skills.

In other words, we're a perfect match.

Last Wednesday we made this beautiful gingerbread scene together after school. It's pretty idyllic really. I'm sad to think that all the pieces of the perfect house and yard that we put together is a cover-up for the sadness that sometimes he feels in his own home.

Don't you love the little SUV? My mentee came up with that all on his own. He put a lot of thought into the construction of our scene, and we laughed a lot while we did it. He even muttered a couple of "epic fails" as we completed our scene. I ate a lot more candy than he did. He told me that he use to have a sweet tooth but "trained himself" not to anymore. I will be getting some pointers from him on this.

My wise friend Lindsay told me earlier this fall that so many middle schoolers just need someone to listen to them. Whenever they are with the adults in their world, the grown-ups are distracted by tv, cell phones, computers and more. So I'm trying to just listen to my mentee. Maybe in 2010, you'll think about listening to a middle schooler. I think that you will like it. They are really funny, offer new perspectives on life, and will be so thankful that you listened.