Hi parents,
I'm happy to say, after struggling to fix the synchronization on the website, the blog is back up and working again for all groups. As you may have noticed, Stasi, one of the primary counselors, has been keeping the blog going for the past few months. By the way, if you're interested, check out her blog on Psychology Today: A View From Venus.
Tonight's tween group was great, with some new twists and turns. At the start of the session, with only two members missing, we talked about how there were four sessions left, including tonight's meeting. The group then discussed our next planned community outing, which will occur the first session in May. We are planning to go for miniature golf over at Castle Park and then walk to the Galleria where they will be able to choose dinner from one of three restaurants and eat together outdoors. Oh, did I forget to mention that they will also be able to play in the video arcade?
We also made a shopping list for our barbecue, which will occur during our final meeting in May. Finally, dinner for tonight was chosen via “persuasive argument.” I asked each group member, who had an opinion about where we go tonight, to use up to 20 seconds letting the other group members know why they thought their choice should be selected. I/we critiqued their reasons and also rated how close they came to using the full 20 seconds. The shortest time recorded was 2 seconds and the longest time was about 15 seconds. In the end, we chose Chinese food because one group member presented a case that we had not yet been for Chinese food, which was accurate.
Only one group member did not wish to go for Chinese food, and we talked about how sometimes you wind up trying to make the best of it. He had some difficulty finding something to eat, but in the end was able to try different things, even though I'm certain that he got something else to eat once he left group.
All but two members present tonight had one or more LUNCH Points certificates. Rather than doing a raffle, we awarded five dollars to each group member who brought in at least one certificate. Later in the session, toward the end of dinner, we held a bonus round where group members can earn an additional five dollars for being able to state at least one behavior that they earned the certificate for. I didn't expect to award bonuses to all group members, but each of them legitimately recalled at least one behavior on their certificates. Frankly, it was impressive, click here to listen to how they sounded.
Remember that we have switched our raffle prizes to Amazon gift certificates. You will be receiving them as e-mails and can “stack” certificate amounts so your child can buy a larger prize if they wish.
You mentioned that the group was visited by three police officers during the meal? Don't worry, all for the good. I happened to see about the police officers having dinner nearby and asked the lieutenant if it might be possible for the kids to ask them some questions. The officers were great once they got past the advice “listen to your parents,” and I think it was good practice for the kids just ask questions and to see officers up close acting friendly towards them.
We had planned to do one short animation this evening, but that proved to be a bit too ambitious. Next week will have our parent dinner on Wednesday from 5:30 to 7 PM. Watch your e-mails for details.
Also, some of you have asked about the upcoming summer program which begins right after the July 4 holiday. We will be sending out your paperwork in the next couple of days. Currently the team program will be for mornings on Tuesdays and Thursdays and if there is sufficient demand we will hold a second session Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. The 8 to 12-year-old program will be running as usual on Monday Wednesday and Friday during the month of July.
One final note: because the group in two weeks coincides with spring break for many students, we will be sending out a survey to confirm that this works for most of you. If it looks like many of the participants will be absent, we will move it to the fourth week for this month only, meaning that there'll be a group the fourth week of April and again the first week in May. Questions comments etc.? Please e-mail me.
Bruce