Paulos plays the Piano!

A video of Paulos, one the kids of 808-812 Memorial Drive, playing part of a popular song on the keyboard. He was taught how to play it by Mark, and he sounded great!

Youth Council Meeting!

Last week, the 808-812 Youth Council met on its own for the first time. The young adults had pizza and soda provided for them (thanks, Management Office!), and they discussed a variety of things. Big topics included ways to give back to the community and possible field trips for April Vacation.

Considering that this was the first time the group met on its own (the only oversight was the presence of an Activity Room instructor, and he stayed on the edges of the discussion to allow the youth to carry the dialog), the meeting went very well. The youth were comfortable discussing their ideas and plans with their peers, perhaps even more so than usual because there were no adults/parents/neighbors present.

We think that this group will be a great way for these young adults to not only get better programs for themselves, but also to help them learn how to present and submit activity proposals professionally.

We're currently typing up the notes from the meeting (taken diligently by the secretary, Feldano), and will be submitting them to the Management Office soon!

Above: The youth enjoyed pizza and soda prior to the start of the meeting.

Above and below: The Youth Council in action, discussing ways to make their experiences at 808-812 Memorial Drive even better.

Learning to Fly

Recently, Microsoft released a free version of their popular "Flight Simulator" game. We installed the game on a few of the computers, and let some of the kids earn their virtual wings.

The kids had a lot of fun piloting the plane through various scenarios, including landing on water, landing in bad weather, flying through rings, and more.

The game is pretty cool, and can be downloaded for free here.

Above: Sirak uses some body language to try to prevent his plane from crashing.
Below: Ayoub makes a perfect landing!

Above and below: The kids crowd around the computer screen to watch each other's flight skills.

Making Basketball Jerseys

All of the kids at 808-812 love basketball, so last week we decided to do a craft project that combined basketball with creativity: making basketball jerseys! First, Molly cut out the basic jersey shape, and from there the kids were allowed to do whatever they wanted to them: add paint, numbers, shapes, and more.

The kids then laid their jerseys out to dry, and after that, we made a nameplate for each one and hung them on one of the Activity Room bulletin boards. The kids had a blast making them, and they came out great!

Above: The paints are all ready to be used!
Below: The jerseys before they were painted (don't worry, that paint came off the table, it's washable).

Above: Ariam helps lay out the wet jerseys.
Below: The finished jerseys, waiting to dry.

Above: Yoni's jersey.
Below: Isaiah's jersey.

Above: Sara's jersey.
Below: Ariam's jersey.

Below: The finished jerseys, brightening up the Activity room wall!

Cooking Fudge with Cocoa Lady

On Wednesday, we were lucky enough to have a cooking class with the Cocoa Lady. We learned how to make healthy fudge from scratch, including fillings like nuts and dried fruit. We also learned about eating healthily, controlling our portion sizes, and how to calm ourselves with a series of breathing exercises.

It was a fun afternoon, and the fudge was delicious. Thanks again, Cocoa Lady!

A Regular Day in the Activity Room

Last week, we decided to have one of our Activity Room assistants, Wilanda, document a regular day in the Activity Room. She took a bunch of pictures of the various happenings, and we put them into a slideshow. Enjoy a peek inside a standard day in 808's Activity Room!

Captain Green and the Recycling Team

Back in February, we decided that we wanted to create a short video on the importance of recycling. After discussing it with the kids, we came up with the idea of Captain Green, a sort of recycling superhero, and his sidekicks, the Recycling Team. Below is the first in what we hope will be a series of Captain Green appearances.

And remember: every bottle counts! Recycle more, trash less!

Arts and Crafts Wall!

Even though we have a lot of cool new technology in the Activity Room, nothing beats old-fashioned arts and crafts. With the help of our new Activity Room/CLC assistants, Ayana and Wilanda, we set up a new "Arts and Crafts Wall" on one of the unused bulletin boards in the Activity Room. Check out a picture of it below; we hope to have it all filled up with great works of art sometime soon!

February Vacation Field Trips!

We were lucky enough to go on two different field trips on February Vacation: one to the Harvard Museum of Natural History, and one to the MIT Museum in Kendall Square. The kids had a great time on both trips, and it was great that the outings were both fun and helped the kids learn some things.

They got to do things like touch a turtle, handle crystals and fossils, see dinosaur bones that are millions of years old, learn about simple machines and robots, and see some of the coolest holograms on the planet.

The kids talked about each trip for days afterwards, and they all had a great time. Below is a slideshow of pictures from both trips. Thanks again to the Management Office for making these trips happen!

Tickling the Ivories

With our new keyboard and microphone, we've been trying to encourage the kids to try their hand at making music. One of the youth, Fernandes, has always had an interest in the piano, and in fact has his own keyboard at home that he plays around with.

He's able to play the introduction to the song "I Need a Doctor," and can also play parts of "Dynamite," two songs the kids know very well.

Fernandes is practicing almost every day, and as you can see from the video below, he's getting better and better. It's great to see the progress he's making!

Even Kids Love Kinect!

The Xbox Kinect is designed to be fun for kids of all ages, and though kids between 8-12 are the most "into" the games, we even have some younger kids who enjoy playing.

Last week, while the "older" kids were working on a point-earning project, two young kids, Ariam and Isaiah, took advantage of the free Kinect time and played "Just Dance 3." They had smiles on their faces the entire time, and it was great to see them having a blast!

Above and below: Isaiah and Ariam showing off their "Just Dance" moves.