Academic Mentoring is a program activity of HandsOn Kansas State, focused on the academic success of youth in the Greater Manhattan community. The Academic Mentoring program selects, trains, and places K-State students in school and community-based classrooms and programs that promote and support family literacy efforts and youth development. The Academic Mentors serve throughout the Greater Manhattan area, including the cities of Ogden, Wamego, and St. George.
This spring, the program partnered with Wonder Workshop to host an event for the youth in our community. The event was called “Zooming Through Outer Space with K-State Academic Mentors.” Ten 2nd-4th graders attend and spent approximately two hours exploring the Wonder Workshop.
The Wonder Workshop started in 1989 as a program intended to address the educational, recreational, and social needs of community youth and their families. Since its founding, the Wonder Workshop has been working to promote education in the arts, sciences, and humanities to develop self-reliant children, families, and community members through hands-on after school activities and interactive exhibits which instill a desire for life-long learning, a recognition of our cultural diversity, and a focus on fostering creative potential.
K-State is a natural partner for these activities, given its outreach mission and focus especially in the areas of promoting literacy and STEM education. The Staley School and the Academic Mentors were excited to join this community-based effort through the “Zooming Through Outer Space” event.
The activities they did throughout the morning included making colorful books of the various phases of the moons, ice breaker activities, outer space bingo, and a variety of games outdoors that centered around the theme of outer space. Throughout the morning, each child was paired up with an Academic Mentor to help lead them through the activities. There was also a portion of the morning that included reading books about outer space in the child-mentor pairs. The morning was full of learning, fun, laughter, and relationship building.
For more information about Academic Mentoring, including how to become a Mentor, check out our website or contact Amanda Lee!