For Littles in K-5th grades
Matches Actively Preparing for Success Community Service Literacy Health & Wellness Financial Literacy STEAM
130 W. 5th Street, Davenport, IA 52801 563-323-8006 www.bbbsmv.org
Welcome, M.A.P.S. matches!
As an Elementary match, you are officially welcomed into the M.A.P.S. Program! In an effort to help our Littles find their “direction” in life, Big Brothers Big Sisters will use the MAPS program to guide your match through the elementary years. Matches Actively Preparing for Success will find focus in 5 areas:
Literacy
Community Service
Health & Wellness
Financial Literacy
STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, & Math)
MAPS matches will be invited to attend two activities per month – one that is strictly for FUN and the other that will be focused on one of the five areas above. Can’t make it to the activities? Use this guidebook for great examples of how you can incorporate those five focus areas into your match on your own. Fun prizes will be offered throughout the year as you fill in your passport– each MAPS activity you attend, and each independent activity you complete from this guidebook will earn you a stamp in your passport. Just let your Program Specialist know what activity you completed, and you’ll receive a stamp in the mail! Special recognition will be given to any MAPS match who completes their passport! Please note that School-Based Plus matches may only visit on school grounds or at a BBBS-sponsored activity. Some of the ideas in this guidebook may be suitable for Community-Based matches only.
Literacy You can find magic wherever you look. Sit back and relax, all you need is a book! ~Dr. Seuss
Create Your Own Book List Book that my Big read when they were my age: __________________
My favorite book: __________________
Book that became a movie: __________________ Book about a holiday: __________________
MAPS Book of the Month Club Each month, a new book will be featured in Coaches Corner. Upon completion of the book, your Program Specialist will send you an activity to return in exchange for a Literacy Stamp in your passport!
Book that makes me laugh: __________________ Book with a color in the title: __________________ Book my teacher likes: _______________
Become a Pen Pal! Ask us how to become a pen pal to exchange letters with other MAPS matches! Three letters to your pal will earn a Literacy Stamp!
Book that teaches me something new: ____________________ Now, read 3 of these books to earn a Literacy Stamp!
Don’t forget to attend BBBSsponsored activities as well! Each Literacy event will earn you a Literacy Stamp. Watch Coaches Corner for upcoming dates!
Community Service
Share a “random kindness” *Buy someone a meal *Deliver cookies to police officers, firemen, postman, etc. *Help a neighbor plant/weed their garden, rake leaves, or shovel snow *Send someone a card.
Spread some encouragement! Gather up some sticky notes and write encouraging messages to share! Post the notes anywhere that people may see them!
Follow us on Pinterest (BBBSMV) for more ways to “give back”! You can also contact your Program Specialist for a more detailed list of volunteer opportunities in the Quad Cities.
Collect and deliver donations for any of the following: animal shelters, food banks, homeless shelters, etc. Contact directly for specific needs. Keep the QC beautiful! Volunteer to help with clean-up days throughout the community. Or take some time to clean up the school grounds during lunch visits. No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted. –Aesop
Health & Wellness Try this variation of Candyland! While playing, use this chart for each color you draw. Tell about a time you felt…..
Try a new colorful food during each visit until you’ve had a food from every color of the rainbow!
Red: Angry Orange: Embarrassed Yellow: Happy
Make a stress ball:
Green: Anxious/ Scared Blue: Sad Purple: Loved Pink: Special
Use old magazines to create an “I AM” collage with your Little!
Fill a balloon with flour using a plastic funnel and tie the balloon shut. Draw a face on the balloon with a Sharpie for extra fun!
Financial Literacy
Look through loose change and try to collect a quarter from each state or any coin from each year!
Let your Little be the banker as you play a game of Monopoly!
Check out richkidsmartkid.com for fun and interactive ways to teach your Little about money!
Plan a healthy meal, listing all of the ingredients, and then go shopping together. Have your Little keep track of items, pricing as you go through the store and calculating the total cost of the meal by the end. Look for discounts along the way and see how much you can save by thrifty shopping!
STEAM
Visit PBS Kids ZoomScience website for a ton of great projects to do with your Little. Check these out: Create a paper bridge. Shoot marshmallows from a catapult. Create a hovercraft with a balloon and cd! Visit the Bettendorf Family Museum. Build a tower using toothpicks and mini marshmallows.
Check out our Pinterest page for links to great STEAM projects! Play cards games such as Blackjack, Uno and Solitaire.
www.bbbsmv.org/maps 130 W. 5th Street, Davenport, IA 52801
563-323-8006