What would your inner 5th grader want to do?

flickr CC image via Sean MacEntee

So we're deep into the brainstorming process.

Our program committee at http://growboys.wikispaces.com/Program is convening next week to tap collective intelligence regarding what a few hundred fifth grade boys would like to do at a one-day conference under the themes of respect, understanding, relationships and responsibility.

We're looking for engaging (not boring), thought-provoking (not preachy) and interactive (not "sit and get") activities that will create memories for the boys for years to come... the kind that will resonate ten years from now when they will be the ones volunteering to make sure the Grow Boys! wrap-a-round support effort continues.

We want to hear your ideas.

Share with us...
  

Happy and healthy boys...

flickr CC image via lorenkerns

Grow Boys! is an effort to engage boys. "But boys are easy to engage," you say. Many of us might say the real challenge is getting them to disengage as they run about wildly without focus or direction. Whether boys are running about wildly or doing otherwise, however, the point is they need to be engaged if we're to help them grow into happy, healthy young men. They need to feel that they are actively involved in determining their own paths of learning, growing, living.

Last June the Grow Boys! team collaborated with Red Deer College on a literature review addressing effective programs and strategies to help boys navigate learning, living and growing in contemporary society. We also held a knowledge cafe to tap local insights and establish a needs-assessment for boys in the greater Red Deer area. A knowledge café (KC) is a workshop where a group of people gather to openly and creatively discuss a topic of mutual interest in an effort to bring to surface their collective knowledge, to share ideas and insights, and gain a deeper understanding of the subject and the issues being discussed.