Kids Buddy Guidelines |
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Membership Team
Revised 06/10/10
As a Heartwood Kid Buddy, your job is to help new kids learn about Heartwood. You will be paired with a kid or kids who are around your age or slightly younger, so that you can be a good mentor. New kids have a lot to learn about Heartwood, and it can feel overwhelming, new, and exciting. You can help them understand what to do, know, and see at Heartwood so that they begin to feel at home.
Here are some ways that you can help new kids learn about Heartwood.
Revised 06/10/10
As a Heartwood Kid Buddy, your job is to help new kids learn about Heartwood. You will be paired with a kid or kids who are around your age or slightly younger, so that you can be a good mentor. New kids have a lot to learn about Heartwood, and it can feel overwhelming, new, and exciting. You can help them understand what to do, know, and see at Heartwood so that they begin to feel at home.
Here are some ways that you can help new kids learn about Heartwood.
- Plan to spend a little time with the new kid(s) every day or two for the first couple weeks after they’ve moved here. Seek them out and invite them to play with you, or just show them around. Keep inviting them to participate in activities until they start to feel more comfortable and at home here.
- Introduce them to the kids, grownups, and dogs and cats of HW, and help them figure out who lives where with whom.
- Ask them about themselves — what they like to do, what they’re good at, why they’re excited about Heartwood, what’s scary about Heartwood. Consider writing a post to the community chat about what you’ve learned about the new kid(s). Tell the other Heartwood kids about the new kid(s), and help them understand each other.
- Think about what they might be interested in, or might need to know about Heartwood. Here is a list of things to make sure to show them:
- Village Green and SS Ponderosa
- Playing Field
- Tennis & Basketball Court (rules posted in the cabinet)
- Common House (rules posted in entry way)
- Chickens and Greenhouse — kids need adult supervision in both of these areas
- Trails
- Hot Tub (rules posted — kids need adult supervision)
- Concrete Play Area next to Workshop
- Workshop — off limits to kids unless with adult supervision
- Resource Pile / Burn Pile — off limits to kids
- Yurt — off limits to kids unless with adult supervision
- Sledding Hill
- Help the new kid(s) understand what stuff is community property (anyone can use it) and what stuff is private property (get permission from the owner, either kids or adults); and also what land is private (yards around houses) and what is community land. Remember that the pathways are community property, and we can respect everyone’s use of them by keeping bikes, toys, and other stuff off of them.
- If they’re young, help them know when they should get parent/adult supervision to do something (like go into the Common House other than meal time or leave the cluster to go wandering in the woods).
- Talk to them about how to treat other kids and adults and pets with respect, how to be inclusive of others in community spaces and activities, and how to work things out with each other. If they get into a conflict or are having a hard time with someone, help them figure out how to deal with it.
- Show them what is expected behavior at common meals — how to be respectful in the circle, how to respectfully get food in the line, how to clean up their own dishes, to take playing outside or downstairs, and to clean up the rec room after they’re done playing.