A Primer on Pronouns and Gender Identity
More youth are identifying as part of the LGBTQ+ community than ever before in American history. A recent study found that as many as 1 in 4 young people identify as “nonbinary”, meaning outside of male or female. Additionally, 1 in 5 young...
End of the School Year
It’s that time of year, Mentor! As school draws to a close, we encourage you to plan a meaningful closure with your mentee. Whether it is saying “so-long for the summer,” saying “goodbye” forever, or even if you haven’t met with your mentee this year, the...
Reconnections
Your Impact on your mentee is bigger than you think! They still giggle when they think of that funny thing you said, still smile when they think of the compliment you gave them. Your impact has made them think twice, your support has made their day! Your...
Cultivating Patience
Lately, it seems like everything in the world is happening at once. It’s easy to get caught up in the rush of deadlines, news, and the daily grind, and feel like we have to demonstrate tangible success every day. Research of human growth and development tells us that...
Politics Anyone?
Presidential elections always come with a bit of apprehension, but this year’s upcoming election carries significantly more heated rhetoric and tension. In recent years, psychologists and child experts have repeatedly documented how political discourse has had a...
Talking With Your Mentee About Being Online
Mentoring online provides you the unique opportunity to reconnect with your mentee virtually, but also to facilitate a conversation with them about their online experiences. A conversation with your mentee doesn’t have to revolve exclusively around internet safety,...
From the Mentor Directors
The new school year is a time of transitions and new beginnings for all of us. For all of our mentors, it will mark a new chapter in your mentoring relationship, for some of you it may be the big jump from elementary to middle school. And some of you may be...
What are We? Seeing your Mentoring Relationship as a Developmental One
Describe your relationship with your mentee. Would you say it’s fun? Positive? Rewarding? What about developmental? The Search Institute describes developmental relationships as“close connections through which young people discover who they are, cultivate abilities to...
The Building Blocks of Developing a Relationship with your Mentee
As a Seedling mentor you may wonder how you can strengthen your relationship with your mentee. The Search Institute leads the way in youth development research and has outlined several areas where mentors can strengthen their bond with their mentee. There are five...
Mentoring and Beautiful Questions
Listening is an essential skill in mentoring. It provides a safe space and the attention needed to convey validation and worth. Oftentimes mentors also have the opportunity to problem-solve with their mentee. To be successful we must be prepared to ask the right...
Mentoring Policies & Procedures
Setting Mentoring Boundaries With Skill
We have all been there at one point or another…finding it easier to bring our mentee food each week to avoid the school lunch line, giving in to the urge of buying our mentee a new toy or something we notice they need. In isolation these allowances seem...
Beginning With The End In Mind
As we begin a new school year, some mentors are looking forward to reconnecting after a long summer apart. Others are looking forward to a new start, a new mentee, some mentoring for the first time, others being rematched. Whatever the case, new beginnings are a...
Seedling Mentoring, Work of Heart
Being a mentor is not only an investment of time, but also of heart. Seedling understands this and works to support you as your mentoring relationship progresses. Through the process of building a trusted friendship with a young person, mentors will experience proud...
The Importance of Play
Want to play a game? Seedling believes in the magic of play. Research tells us that engaging in “play” gives us a wonderful opportunity to learn about ourselves and others. Engaging in creative games and activities with your mentee produces countless benefits to your...
Mentoring Together
Mentoring has the wonderful capacity to advance a mentee’s development or even change his/her life in a remarkable way. It is a responsibility and an honor that must be approached with integrity and commitment. These ethics are not only expected of the Seedling...
Ethics In Mentoring
In the specially defined relationship between a caring volunteer and a minor who is someone else’s child, good intentions and understandable motivations can sometimes cause us to slip and jeopardize our mentoring ethics. If you find yourself saying, “just this one...
Mentoring And Attendance
Good attendance is important for children to do well in school and eventually in the workplace. Absences – excused and unexcused – add up, resulting in too much time lost in the classroom. In fact, missing just 10% of the school year, just 18 days or two to three days...
Making The Most Of Always
When we invite mentors to describe the mentors of their own youthful experience, the sentences frequently begin, “He would always…” In our annual survey question asking mentees to name the best thing about the mentor, students often start with “She always…” When...
Policies And Procedures At A Glance
Contact with children must occur only at school You may visit before, during, or after school with permission of school staff. Mentoring contact via email, phone, texting, or social media is not permissible. Should the Seedling Foundation or your assigned school...
Being Present is the Present
At this time of year, mentors often ask “May I give my mentee a holiday gift?”. Seedling believes that you are the gift, along with the time and undivided attention you bestow on your mentee each week. However, if you elect to give your mentee a holiday present, we...
Consistency Is Cool
In formal mentoring relationships, consistency is connected to the longevity and quality of relationships. One of the greatest things an adult can do when working with young people is to be consistent. Young people are learning the nuances of the world and can often...
Essential Listening Tips
Develop the desire to listen. Really listening to someone is a wonderful gift to give. Let the other person do most of the talking. Applying the 70/30 rule ensures this will happen. You listen 70% of the time and you talk 30%. Avoid...
What Is A Mentor?
Three key roles mentors play in their mentor/mentee relationship include: Adult Friend- building a relationship where you are a trusted adult friend to your mentee includes: o Consistencyo Working towards equal power in...