• Make a collage  

Use anything you want; pictures of yourselves, a famous person/hero, a holiday, things that say something about who your mentee is, a favorite sport activity, a Bible Story or character

• Collect & paint rocks  

Do enough for a rock garden, make paperweights, add encouraging words

• Make friendship bracelets  

Wear them each time you go out and, on those occasions, when you have to miss a visit, use it as a reminder to pray for one another

• Paper airplanes  

Get a book to see the different ways you can make them, have races/competitions, make a landing bay or target area

• Decorate something  

Buy something matching at the dollar store (sunglasses, mirrors, cup, brush, notebook, tote, hat) & sew/glue on patches, buttons, beads, bling or tassels, use fabric marker on an old tee shirt

• Use sidewalk chalk  

Make a mural, make a hopscotch grid and play, write messages for people to read as they pass by

• Take care of an animal  

Walk a dog for a neighbor if you don’t have one, make a birdfeeder out of pinecones covered w/peanut butter or almond butter & seeds

• Make a map  

Treasure map (be sure to hid a treasure), a destination map (for someplace your going), a fantasy map (a made-up land), there are endless possibilities…

• Flash Cards  

Make them for homework/school help - math, science, history dates, and language, geography, capitals, anything that needs brushing up on or just for fun

• Flowers  

Pick wildflowers, press flowers (wax paper & heavy books work well), dry flowers, make potpourri

• Make bookmarks  

As plain or as fancy as you like (Don’t forget your tassel).  Follow up with a trip to the dollar store, thrift store or bargain book bin to pick out a book. 

• Puppets  

Sock puppets, paper bag puppets, finger puppets, shadow puppets, knucklehead puppets

• Stamps  

Ink pads of different colors, carve potato or apple stamps, make wrapping paper or cards

• Paper  

Cut out snowflakes or a paper doll & clothes, weave a paper basket, make a paper chain (write something special on each link), make an advent calendar, paper mâché, learn calligraphy, use stencils, origami, make a flip book, play table football or hockey

• Rubbings  

Leaves, coins, plaques, monuments, head stones, stencils

• Coloring

Use gel pens or colored pencils with an intricate adult coloring book, notecards or bookmarks

• Draw  

Use your feet, use your other hand or with your eyes closed.  

• Paint  

Anything from watercolors to acrylics, from free hand to following a photo, from decorating a frame to livening up a vase or a plate

• Make your own board game  

It can be as easy or as complicated as you want it to be. Develop your concept; come up with the board, the game pieces and the ultimate goal.

• Carve something  

A melon or a pumpkin. Carve a saying or scripture into a piece of wood to make a sign for the wall (you can sand it and/or paint it too)

• Sew  

Make beanbags and use them for games, make bandana pillows, make a pocket wall hanging, learn the primary stitches to repair clothes, rug braiding, and quilting

• Needlework  

Knitting, crocheting, cross stitch, embroidery

• Be nice to our feathery friends  

Build a birdhouse or birdbath; find out what birds are in the area and what they like to eat, leave out nesting material and watch them build

• Make science come alive  

Make a tornado in a bottle, go on line for all kinds of easy & fun science projects you can do with household items, build something from recyclables, play with magnets, use a magnifying glass (microscope if you have one)

• Make a scrapbook or memory box together  

It can be anything you want it to be, make a shadow box of an event you attend together

• Make jewelry  

Yarn & pasta, jewelry wire & gems, beads & string, braided gimp, floss and charms. Necklaces, rings, bracelets, anklets, hair clips, earrings… 

• Sculpt  

Modeling clay, play dough, homemade clay 

• Make a Wind Chime or Mobile  

From collected shells, old utensils from the thrift store, old keys, small toys