Posts filed under ‘Jr. High’
Transformers 2: Movie Review
Did you take kids from your youth group to see Transformers 2? Did you take them to be relevant or to teach them a lesson? Why? Brett Ullman’s video blog #46 has a specific call out to three groups of people regarding this movie. Thoughts!?!
Change Conference 2009
October 16 & 17, 2009
Change Conference is put on each year by Canadian Youth Network.
They consider this event to be about EVANGELISM on Friday night and EMPOWERING on Saturday. They say this event is different than many existing conferences that focus on the equipping aspect of leadership development.
The Details | October 16 & 17, 2009
Queensway Cathedral
1536 The Queensway
Toronto, Ontario
Friday Night Change Outreach Event | 10.16.09
After the Anthems
Kutless
Bruxy Cavey
Saturday Change Conference | 10.17.09
Matt Tapley Band
Kary Oberbrunner
Todd Bender
Brett Ullman
Carl Nash (and Launch)
Amie Sider
Natalie Armstrong
Mark Wallace
and more…
What are you hearing?
Students and parents communicate so many messages to us as youth workers that we oftentimes feel overwhelmed with the content of what we are hearing. What can we do with all of these messages that we are hearing? Who do you have that cares for you? Mentors you? Refreshes your soul?
ht to our friends at Canadian Youth Workers Convention: www.cywc.com
Canadian Youth Workers Convention
Jr. High Boys
by Adam Clarke
Why is it that a jr. high guy canʼt see that his room is as dirty as you tell him? Simple: Males absorb less proximal or sensory data than females. This is also why they may not hear a teacher calling them in class. Males have many other functions that make them as unique as they are.
The first step is to understand that the jr. high male is going to have a shorter attention span than females. Males are two to three more times likely to be diagnosed with ADHD. Since a maleʼs brain develops at a different rate than a femaleʼs, here are some specific areas that we can focus on to help them grow into strong men of God.
1) Guys need to be known. It is important that as parents and youth leaders, we know the struggles and development habits they will go through in order to help guide them through adolescence.
2) Guys need validation as unique individuals. Stereotyping guys can hurt and hinder their development with becoming strong men. They need to realize that God created them especially so that they can build up their characteristics that God gave them.
3) Guys need community. They need multi-aged relationships to help them learn how to develop. They need the bond of a man to guide them like a compass, but they also need many peers to sharpen them like “iron sharpens iron”. They will also need these male influences to help form masculinity
4) Guys need mentors. A mentor helps to impart wisdom as well as being concerned with the development of character. They become the safe place that every guy needs, giving them a listening ear without the fear of judgment. Most importantly, a mentor guides his protege into a strong relationship with Christ.
5) Guys need to play. They need to learn a healthy way to release their aggression. Here they learn about fair play, respect, control and discipline.
Guys develop at a very different rate than females, and we need to be very careful not to expect uniformity from them. If you have questions about your young men feel free to email, call, have lunch or whatever to talk about the characteristics that make them unique.
Understanding Jr. High: Is it Possible?
by Adam Clarke
The most frequent question that I receive from parents would have to be; What is
happening to my child? In one, big, giant word: CHANGE! In the next two years, your
child will begin to change physically, intellectually, socially, emotionally and spiritually-just to name a few.
All of these changes can be brought back to three main questions:
1) Who am I? (personal identity)
2) Do I matter? (significance)
3) Why am I here and where am I going? (purpose)
These three questions deal with their identity, significance, and their purpose in
life. The following are five areas that you as parents will become very accustomed with
during your youthʼs jr. high years.
Physical Changes
• Puberty begins
• Growth spurts
• Increased attraction to the opposite sex
• Physical skills are maturing, but they will still be clumsy
All of these changes will cause them to become very conscious of their
physical appearance, but these rapid changes are perceived to be a change to
their identity. They will need to learn to differentiate between their inner and
outer changes.
Intellectual Changes
• Understand abstract facts which leads to the drawing on conclusions
• The word ʻwhyʼ returns to their vocabulary as they begin to question everything
• New hobbies creep in as they search for their identity and the allowance for the
freedom to experiment
• Grades might lower as rapid growth changes can cause memory loss, and major
life changes will also cause a dip in their school work
Social Changes
• Friends become more important
• Increase peer influence
• Strong popularity complex
• Search for independence
• Wants to be an adult, but they are not there yet
• Critical of others (tattletaler)
Reassurance and encouragement is the only way they will exit their comfort
areas. This will be the most difficult transition for both you, the parent, as well as
your youth.
Emotional Changes
• Become more expressive
• Experience ʻupsʼ and ʻdownsʼ at the drop of a hat
• Extreme emotion
• Feelings become identifiable to them
• Self esteem is a constant struggle
• Unable to hide emotions
• Fixate on emotions rather then rational thought
Spiritual Changes
• Question faith they had during childhood
• “Because the Bible says so” is no longer acceptable as an answer to them
• Can apply spiritual principles to everyday life
• Looking for ways to experience what they have been taught
• Strong sense of self-awareness causes them to become sensitive about sin
This is a strange time for your youth, but a very important time for parents as this
is the life stage where your child will grow into what they will become. Patience
will be the key, but once they grow out of this stage, the benefits will be
phenomenal.
