Mentors

Download our mentor manual here.

Great Mentoring Activities

Places to Visit

• Visit a museum

-       Museum of Art at BYU. Housed in one of the largest facilities of its kind in the west, this museum features a family interactive center, print study room, theater, art study center, a 75-seat restaurant, bookstore and gift shop. Frequent host of international exhibitions. Lectures, gallery talks and education programs are on-going. (801-378-ARTS)
-       Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum. Houses an extensive collection of biological specimens and exhibits. Supports public education programs such as reptile shows, children's programs and a hands-on playroom, gallery presentations, and outreach presentations. (801-378-5051)
-       BYU Museum of Peoples and Cultures. With collections as old as 50,000 years, the museum displays artifacts of prehistoric Utah, the American Southwest, Mesoamerica, and Polynesia. (801-378-6112)
-       BYU Earth Science Museum. Dinosaur lovers of all ages will love this museum housing one of the nation's most extensive fossil collections. (801-378-3680)
-       BYU Planetarium.  To see a schedule of free public presentations see http://www.physics.byu.edu/clubs/astrosoc/schedule.aspx Cost is normally $2.00.
For more information, visit www.byu.edu then click on “Arts & Museums”

• Visit historical sites and talk about the important events that happened. http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/UT/Utah/state.html
• Take your mentee to the library
• Tour the Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple. Tours are available from 10 am to 7 pm.

311 West 8500 South, Spanish Fork, UT

Cooking/Food

• Learn about a culture then make food from that country. Check out http://ethemes.missouri.edu/themes/1390 and http://www.kids-cooking-activities.com/international-gourmet-recipes.html for ideas.
• Dip pretzels in melted chocolate.
• Cook a meal together. Include your mentee in buying the materials, cooking, and cleaning up.

Outdoors/Sports

• Play a sport together/work on one of the 4-H mastery programs. Sports equipment is available for check out from the 4-H office.

• Exercise or swim together

- Orem Rec. Center $4 for adults. $3.50 for children under 14.

580 West 165 South, Orem Phone: 229-7154 / 229-7156

- Provo Rec. Center $ 3 for adults. $2.50 for children under 13

1155 N. University Ave. 801-852-6610

Spanish Fork Waterpark $4.00 for everyone over 4 years of age

-199 N 300 West Spanish Fork, Utah 84660 Phone: (801) 798-5091

• Go fishing- Check here for locations close to you:

http://www.takemefishing.org/state/page/places-to-boat-and-fish/state/UT/flags/boating,fish?gclid=CLGfpKOv9awCFQVwhwod1AKBTg

• Play on playground equipment together
• Play kids games with your mentee and family or friends, such as “Red Rover,” Dodge Ball, tag, hopscotch, marbles, jump rope, etc. Some game materials available for check out from the 4-H office
• Take another mentor and mentee and build a bonfire in the canyon. Have a fire-starting contest. Make smores or roast hot dogs. Make foil dinners and cook on a grill over a campfire.
• Explore the community on bikes. Take a picnic lunch to eat in a park or canyon.
• Feed the ducks - Bread is available for purchase for under $1 at Walmart.  

 -Provo - Wilderness Paul Ream Park,1600 W. 500 N., Provo or the BYU duck

   pond on 800 N.

 -Orem - Neilson’s Grove park - just off of Sandhill road behind the Walmart.

• Hike the Y or check out http://www.everytrail.com/best/hiking-trails to find hiking trails in your local area
• Go geocaching - see http://www.brillig.com/geocaching/provo_and_utah_lake.shtml for details. GPS units are sometimes available for checkout from the 4-H office. Call ahead to make sure that units are available.
• Get together with other Mentors and Mentees and play waterballoon volleyball

Learning and Practicing Skills

• Work on a hobby together (scrapbooking, collecting, models, etc.)
• Help your mentee learn a new talent or practice a talent they already have (play a musical instrument, cooking, mechanics, woodcarving, etc.).
• Learn to play a new game like chess or a card game. Materials available at the 4-H Office
• Plant a flower or vegetable and help your mentee make it grow
• Teach your mentee life skills. Take them grocery shopping, wash your car together, change the oil, sew, etc.
• Learn about good hygiene
• Have an etiquette dinner. Learn about good posture, dress, speech, etc.
• Learn how to fix something. Help your mentee tune up his/her bike.

Get Involved in the Community

• Visit a city council meeting where they are discussing a topic of interest to you [http://www.provo.org/council.meetings_main.html].
• Check local college or high school sports schedules; Chose an event to attend together.
• Check local college cultural events and chose an event to attend.

Just for Fun

• Do ice cream sculpting with blocks of ice cream
• Read a story or watch a movie together
• Make a short movie together.
• Learn how to make beaded bracelets or decorate sunglasses with jewels and sequins. some supplies available in 4-h office
• Go to DI and make cheap purchase. Find some cool retro clothes. You can call ahead for a tour of the store
• Take pictures of your activities together.
• Scrapbook an event you two did together.
• Have a beauty day, doing each other’s hair, nails, etc. Experiment with different hair styles at home.
• Go on a scavenger hunt. Make a list of things to search for.
• Check out a book on origami and try to make some of the designs.
• Visit Nickle City in Orem.
• Play miniature golf or laser tag
• Go bowling (At BYU Game Center, BYU students get one free game and shoe rental each year, M-F before 6:00 p.m.)
• Go Roller Skating. Classic Skating 250 S. State, Orem. $5 per person plus skate rental. You can also bring your own roller skates, roller blades, or scooters.
• Go Ice skating. The Peaks Ice Arena, 100 N. Seven Peaks Blvd., Provo. 377-8777.
• See http://www.provo.org/peaks.publicskate.html for pubic skating hours. $5 for adults $4 for children up to 11
• Go to the dollar store and see who can get the coolest thing for $1.00
• Build something cool using gumdrops and toothpicks - check out http://www.exploratorium.edu/science_explorer/geo_gumdrops.html and http://www.techbridgegirls.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=7j00F5yWErc%3D&tabid=165&mid=583 for ideas.
• Have a paper airplane building contest or make small boats out of tinfoil. Put the boats in a sink and see whose boat can hold the most pennies.
• Kindergarten Day- Finger paint. color in coloring books, blow bubbles, do side walk chalk, ect
• Decorate of tie die t-shirts
• Watch an episode of minute to win it, and then practice some of the challenges
• Play mad libs

Getting to Know You and Service Ideas

• Go out to ice cream or to get pizza and just get to know each other.

-Maceys grocery store sells ice cream cones for under one dollar

• Make cookies together and deliver them to your mentee's friends or someone they know who could use cheering up.
• Help your mentee do a chore or a favor around the house.
• Have a personal show-and-tell. Bring some photos and items important to you and have your mentee do the same.
• Celebrate your birthdays, other holidays, or any other special day.

-  Make cards for the mentee's family for birthdays, Mother's Day, Father's Day, etc.

• Talk about your mentee’s goals and dreams and what needs to be done to achieve them. Make a plan to achieve a short-term goal.
• Make a vison bored: Take a piece of paper and old magazines and cut out the item and words you would like to have or be one day glue them on the paper and work towards those things.
• Talk about your  major or classes. Take them on a tour of your school’s campus. For a formal tour of BYU on one of those cool golf carts, contact the BYU Hosting Center on Campus Drive. Tours Monday-Friday on the hour from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. by appointment. Call 422-4678
• Invite your mentee to "shadow" you at work if possible or to visit a job he/she is interested in.
• Help your mentee get involved in an appropriate organization, such as scouting or little league.
• Whenever possible, involve your mentee in activities with your family or your friends to expose them to positive family and peer relations.For example, invite them to a family dinner or birthday party.
• Do activities with the mentee’s family
• -       Play games together
• -       Celebrate birthdays or special family holidays.
• Write letters to armed-service members or missionaries you know.
• Attend special occasions in your mentee’s life—scout Court of Honor, Little League games, soccer games, concerts, etc.  
• Involve you mentee in a service project. Help them feel the positive feelings that come from doing something with no thought of the reward.

-Visit your school’s center for Service and Learning to find out about volunteer opportunities in the community.

-Go to the food bank and help sort cans and dry goods. Talk about how good it is to help others. 1144 West Columbia Lane, Provo, UT 84604. Call Taylor at (801) 887-1229.

- Read or play games with disable kids at Topham’s Tiny Tots in Orem 247 N 100 E Orem, UT, (801) 225-0323.

- Shovel snow or pull weeds.

- Make thank you notes for teachers.

• Talk to your site coordinator about attending your mentee’s after school club
• Attend monthly Family Night Outs with your mentee and their family

Seasonal

• Take advantage of the seasons. Build a snowman or play in the snow, jump in a pile of leaves in the autumn or drive at the canyon to look at the new spring leaves or wildflowers
• Attend local fairs, parades, and festivals. All the small Utah county towns have celebrations (usually in the summer).
• Dye Easter eggs, carve pumpkins, decorate a tree, make valentines… etc."Reverse trick-or-treat." Knock on doors and give them candy.
• Go sledding and drink hot chocolate