Meeting Remotely

As a reminder, we are still asking matches to stay in touch remotely. At this point, no matches should be meeting in person. This means no social distancing or any face-to-face contact. We will tell you when it is approved to do so. Please watch for an email later this week with updates on what is coming.
Connectivity Kits

Thanks to Mountain West Bank, we have matching connectivity kits for Bigs and Littles to have supplies in common for fun activities like making slime, painting a little canvas, snacks for movie night, and more. Contact your Match Support Specialist if you would like a connectivity kit for your match.
Book Club
Book it Forward Idaho has been so gracious to provide BBBS with some new books for our matches. If you are interested in reading a book with your Little, please look at the titles and covers in the survey below and rank your top 2-3 choices. We will do our best to ensure matches get their top choice, however to create a variety of choices, we only have enough of each book for a few matches.  Fill out this survey to sign up for your top choices. After you fill out the survey, a BBBS staff member will be in touch about picking up the books from the BBBS office.
O n Wednesday, May 20th at 4:00 pm, we will host a Virtual Event on Zoom for matches to learn Saidi dance together (and also DANCE)!

**This is an event to encourage connectivity for our Bigs and Littles.
For those of you who cannot make this class or are interested, we will be putting a recording of it up on our Facebook page for you to enjoy.**

Saidi dance is a folkloric dance from the Sa'id, a rural area in Upper Egypt. The dance style includes a lot of energetic bouncy footwork and horse-styled steps, and it is for all shapes and sizes to enjoy! No items required - please dress in attire appropriate for a yoga or gym class.
The meeting will be on Zoom and you can access the meeting at this link on Wednesday May 20, 2020. To sign up or if you have any questions, please email Kyle at kchristensen@bbbsidaho.org.
Join us for Bigs and Littles Growing Together at Noon on June 6, 2020!

Emina, one of our spectacular Bigs, will be walking us through a couple of different options for growing plants this Spring. There will be an option for people wanting to plant seeds or pot a small plant to enjoy as it gets bigger. Bigs and Littles will be able to send pictures to each other to share their progress.

What Does Your Match Mean to You?

We want to know why your match is important to you. Please consider making a short video that answers one or more of the following questions. Email your videos or any technical questions to Victoria at vbenoit@bbbsidaho.org .

1.What do you miss most about your Little? 
2. What do you think will be the first thing you do when you meet in person again? 
3. How has being a Big helped you DURING these times? 
4. What would you like to say to people on the fence about becoming a Big or on the fence about donating to our organization? 

Icon Credit Union Sponsors the Big News
Do Successful Children Need Praise or Encouragement?

According to success researcher Carol Dweck, children are more successful when they are recognized for their work ethic rather than praised for their talent. In a Columbia University study, Dweck found that students who were praised for intelligence gave up after a failure, while those encouraged for their hard work tried even harder to succeed.
Becoming an expert encouragement coach to your little isn’t easy, especially if you were not encouraged yourself as a child. But you can start with these simple shifts.

Praise: “You’re so smart. I knew you’d do well on that test.”
Encouragement: “ You worked so hard to ace that test. How does it make you feel?”
Praise: “I’m proud you did your homework this week.”
Encouragement : “What did you do to remember to do your homework?”