Trick or treat!

On Wednesday, October 26, Renee from the Management Office led the kids on a trip to the Putnam Square Apartments to trick or treat. The residents at Putnam were very nice to the kids, giving them candy, donuts, apples, and even reading them a story!

Below is a quick slideshow featuring pictures from the trip. The kids had a great time. Thanks Renee and Putnam residents!

Activity Room Meeting

The Activity Room is changing, and prior to its renovation, we wanted to start some kind of group that would help the younger kids have a voice in what goes on in the Activity Room. We also had a meeting with the older kids/teens on ways we could better serve them, but this meeting was designed for the younger kids: we wanted to know how we could improve the Activity Room for them, what programs they'd like to see, and what changes need to be made.

We called this new group the 808-812 Youth Council, and the meeting was well-attended: attendees included Dan, Jamie, Rebecca and Shirley from the 808-812 Tenants Association, and over a dozen young people.

Suggestions included a designated time each week for a "Boys Group" and a "Girls Group" as had been done in the past; fundraising efforts to raise money to buy things for the room (a car wash and a bake sale were suggested); dividing time in the room so that older kids (13+) and younger kids (6-12) had their own time; and renewing our efforts in promoting 808-812's recycling program.

All of the ideas will be taken into consideration, and it was great to see the kids so interested in taking charge and making changes. We hope to have another meeting with the kids sometime in the coming weeks, and hope that their interest in the room translates into more respect for the room, its contents, the property, and their peers: once one has a vested interest in something, he or she will protect it more diligently.

Above: Feldano takes notes on what was being discussed.
Below: The kids listening to Jamie speak about the Activity Room.

Below: The kids listen as Fernandes makes some suggestions for the Activity Room.

Fantasy hockey

We try to get the youth of 808 and 812 interested in new things to broaden their horizons a bit. One of the things we've introduced them to is the sport of hockey, an activity they'd heard of before but didn't know much about.

After playing some street hockey last year and watching the Bruins go all the way to the Stanley Cup championship, the kids were interested in doing some more hockey-related things this year, especially with their favorite sport (basketball) temporarily shelved due to the NBA lockout.

We decided to create a kid-friendly fantasy hockey league, where the kids chose players for their teams and will follow their progress throughout the year. Mike has created a way of keeping score, and posts new standings every Wednesday. So far, the kids are pretty into it, and they loved choosing their players during the draft we had in the Activity Room.

Lists of players and goalies were posted on the walls, and the kids were able to browse and ask questions about the players before making their picks. Some of the kids have even taken to looking up their players during their time in the Computer Learning Center!

To make things even more fun and unique, Dan created some original team logos for the kids, and even printed some of them out on sticker paper so the kids could show their team pride! Some of those logos are included below, along with pictures of the kids during the draft. We hope the kids' interest increases as the hockey season goes on.

Above and below: The kids browsing the player and goalie lists before making their selections during the draft.

Above: Sirak's team, the Coyotes.
Below: Shahir's team, the Cobras.

Above: Nebil's team, the Zombies.
Below: Feldano's team, the Eagles.

Above: Adem's team, the Tigers.
Below: Abdullah's team, the FireHawks.

A lesson in economics

In today's harsh economic client, it's more important than ever to understand how the economy functions and why things work the way they do. Mike, who works in the Computer Lab on Wednesday afternoons, majored in economics at Stonehill College and currently works in finance at a firm in downtown Boston.

After spending one afternoon discussing supply and demand with one of the youth, he decided to create a kid-friendly slideshow explaining the laws of supply and demand to share with interested 808-812 youth.

The turnout was great, and, despite having just returned from a day at school, the kids were eager to learn and understand, especially because it involved money!

The kids learned the basics of supply and demand, and then were given real-world examples, such as why sunscreen is so cheap in November, and why Mobil charges more for a Pepsi than Shaw's does. After the lesson, the kids were rewarded with a cookie for having paid such great attention. There's an economics lesson right there: if you work hard and pay attention, you'll be rewarded!

The kids had a good time learning about supply and demand, so much so that we're working on coming up with another lesson for them. It's never too early to teach kids about responsibility with money, especially in today's lean times.

Above: The kids gathered around Mike to learn about supply and demand.
Below: The group pays attention to the lesson. Lena is even taking notes! Smart girl.

Halloween crafts!

Fall is here, and Halloween is right around the corner. While some of the kids aren't allowed to celebrate the holiday by dressing up due to their religion, that hasn't stopped them from getting in the holiday spirit.

In early October, the Activity Room had a "Halloween Craft Day," during which we created a number of spooky and scary characters out of simple materials: construction paper, scissors and glue!

The kids had a great time creating the crafts, and they came out awesome.

Above: A few created Jack-O-Lanterns, including one with a beard!
Below: More of the kids' creations: Jack-O-Lanterns, a ghost, and some black cats.

Below: A few of the kids hard at work on their crafts.