Welcome
Become a Mentor
Become a Donor
Start a Program
Active Programs
The "Guide"
Frequently Asked Questions
Watch the Videos!
Board of Directors
Reviews
Students' Yarns
A Mentor's Story
Friends
Contact Us
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The "Guide" includes:
|Table of Contents
|Acknowledgements
|Forward
|History
|Benefits
|Getting Started
|Steps to Success
|Logistics
|Conclusion|
|Warm Up America|
|Appendix|
 Logistics 
First Projects
NAMP encourages everyone in knitting and crochet programs to make the same
first project. The knitted/crocheted bookmark (see appendix for pattern) seems to be the
best first project. It can be done in knitting or crochet. It’s easy, quick and gives instant
gratification to both mentor and child. It is also adaptable to a wrist, neck or headband.
It’s a good vehicle to learn
cast on, cast off, knits, purls
and fringing. For cross-stitch
and needlepoint programs,
your first project will be a
simple cross-stitch design or a
hand painted needlepoint
canvas.
After the bookmark we
recommend having your
knitting and crochet students
make the sample squares
(see appendix) in sequence
since it steps them through
the process of learning more
pattern stitches. It is also
encouraged that these squares
be added together to make a
group project that gets donated to a worthy cause of their choice on behalf of NAMP.
This gives the students a feeling of community and helping others with their new-found
talent.
Other future projects may be bags, potholders, wash cloths, caps, backpacks, doll
clothes and small animals. Large plastic canvas projects are another option. There are
books and magazines available for these projects.
Time Line
This should be discussed prior to your mentor training and established with the
program. We recommend a six to ten week program with a one-hour session once a
week. This schedule seems to work well with most participants’ commitment level. If you
establish a doable time frame, you are more likely to have enthused and involved
mentors and students. It is best to begin and end on an "up" mentality than to have it
fizzle out.
Best times of the year for school programs are fall and winter quarters, because
after Spring Break you run into conflicts with sports activities and more outdoor-oriented
school programs. We have been most successful running six to ten week programs
between late September and Thanksgiving; and late January to Spring Break. Starting
new programs in the middle of the school year has been done but is not recommended.
If you want to continue the program through other parts of the year, other options might
be through local Parks and Recreation Districts, camps, churches, libraries or scout
troops.
Location
If your NAMP is connected to a school program, be flexible with the school
officials and allow them to pick the space. A good location is usually the school library or
cafeteria. Most schools are responsible for many activities and you will want the program
to be accommodating. Other groups will need to arrange meeting space within their
community.
Transportation
Students will probably need to provide their own transportation. This will depend
on how each program is set up. This can present a problem for some students if there is
no school system to address this. In the pilot program, the school system was not willing
to provide a bus for the after-school program, and therefore, parents were responsible
for arranging their child’s transportation. It is not acceptable under any circumstances for
the program to get involved in providing transportation. Out of consideration for
children’s, you must be very careful concerning the liability factors.
On this same topic, this program does not encourage the exchange of telephone
numbers, nor sanction the meeting between mentors and students between sessions.
The legal ramifications in this regard could be significant. The program must maintain a
neutral position with this issue and not encourage contact outside the program.
Snacks
If yours is an after-school program, the children will need sustenance to carry
them through. In some cases, it will have been 11:30 or noon since they last had
anything to eat. If the school has a funded after-school program and staff, the school
may provide the snack. If not, the program should provide something they will look
forward to about halfway through the session. Juice boxes, dried fruit, cookies or
crackers are easy to store, serve and clean up. Keeping the portions small doesn’t hurt
their appetite before dinner. After all, don’t we all remember coming home after school
and reaching for the cookie jar and that glass of milk? The VC and mentors can provide
snacks, parents can be asked to take turns providing for the group, or each participant
can be responsible for his/her own snack needs.
Program Start-up
Plan to meet with your
mentors fifteen minutes before the
beginning of the first session. Take
this time to answer last minute
questions, allay anxiety and set the
tone for a fun experience. Have
them sign the Mentor Sign-in sheet,
if you are using one.
When children arrive, give
them each a packet as described in
Gathering Supplies, have them sign
a Student Sign-in sheet if used, and
introduce them to a mentor. Keep
placing children in a round-robin
progression until all children are placed with a mentor. For the most part matching
participants with mentors is a random process.
Closure
At the very end of the program, it’s a good idea to have a celebration, which
allows the children to thank their mentor with a small gift of appreciation. Invite the
parents to come to the celebration, see their child’s project and meet the mentor. The
initial program established a ritual of buying an inexpensive outdoor plant that each child
individually presents to the mentor while thanking him/her in front the group. Other ideas
to incorporate might be to have special celebration treats and take pictures. This ritual
adds a nice touch and teaches children the social grace of being thankful for what they
have received from these adults. It also validates the adults with how special their
involvement with this child has been. You need to constantly tell your mentors how much
you appreciate them. Never overuse, ignore, or abuse their participation.
Publicity
Once the program is established and everything looks relatively successful, it’s a
good time to share this with the community by gaining publicity. This can be done by
calling the local newspapers, radio and TV stations, and inviting your community editors
to visit the program to photograph and interview students and mentors. Publicity will help
gather future mentors and children, giving the program credibility within the community.
This is an important component to insure the program’s continuation and growth. HHF
appreciates receiving copies of all published articles and photographs.
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