Next Step Adventure :: mindful, creative, fun approaches to help people and organizations reach the next level
Imagine freeing up your schedule from the routine tasks. Think of the time you’ll have to plan, and even dream. To look at the big picture. All with a Next Step team member doing a stellar job of planning and recording as the work is done. And keeping you connected all the while.
If you get bogged down in routine, or need a more objective perspective on a project, we have something to offer.
Polk County Conservation is collecting input from the public about renovations for Yellow Banks Park in the southeast part of Polk County, and for Thomas Mitchell Park in Mitchellville, the eastern part of the county. You can fill out a survey here–
…and you can see the survey results here–
Go outside! It’s spring, and Iowa is joining a broad based movement to renew a close, personal relationship with the out of doors.
I still remember the first time hill I rode down after my dad took my training wheels off. Such a feeling of exhilaration and freedom! I still like to ride my bike, and that feeling has never gone away. I got back into cycling in 2008, and rode the MS 150 in eastern Kansas with my brother’s team. Then I spent five wonderful days on Sanibel Island in Florida, with only a bicycle for transportation.
If you don’t have a bicycle, you don’t have to spend a lot of money to get one. The Des Moines Bike Collective, at 617 Grand Avenue, repairs used bicycles and sells them at a reasonable cost. They also offer classes on bicycle maintenance.
Where can you ride? Streets are okay, if you ride carefully, but it’s more stressful than riding on trails. The Des Moines area has about 300 miles of wonderful trails for biking. Some of them lead out into the countryside where you can glide through wooded areas and between cornfields. Many trails lead to restaurants and bars and parks where you can stop and rest in a park or get a snack at a store.
If you get started and decide you really like riding, then think about riding your bike across Iowa. The Des Moines Register sponsors a ride across the state every year, called RAGBRAI. As part of RAGBRAI, the newspaper sponsors a group called The Dream Team. Experienced cyclers are paired with teens. The group trains together during the spring and summer, preparing for the big ride across the state in late July.
Women across the world are into bicycle riding and racing. Last spring I watched young women in Paris riding their bikes to work in skirts and heels! Find out more about women and cycling and see if it’s for you.
I’m STILL learning about money! During the last nine months, I’ve written checks bigger than I thought possible for remodeling my house, putting in a new driveway and front porch. It’s really exciting to be able to do these things, and I expect to enjoy them for many years after they’re done! But I’ve had to revise my whole attitude about money, get some help and limit my spending to things I can pay for in cash. Those were novel ideas even five years ago.
Chrysalis After-School helps girls attain economic independence. Through programs like Bank and Store, outside speakers and Financial Champions, girls learn how to handle money, how to save, use a bank account and use credit wisely. The Veridian Credit Union has gotten high marks from CAS Facilitators for the programs they’ve brought in. Veridian offers multiple workshops tailored to any age group. Topics discussed are:
The contact for programs in Erica Andersen; her phone number is 515-289-5511.
Service learning is more than picking up litter and cutting down trees. Kids and adults can have fun and learn a lot from doing such activities together. But to have a bigger impact, service learning must be well planned and provide opportunities for reflection and feedback.
Experiences with the best outcomes include youth voice and choice, varied processing opportunities and reflection that informs future planning. Here are some resources to help you get started.
Do you have a group of youth that might be interested in creating social change, but isn’t sure?
Well, that’s a start. It doesn’t take much surfing to find lots of inspiration and help for getting involved in service learning; check it out!
I think I’ve been a frustrated entrepreneur my whole life, so developing Next Step, Inc. has been an exciting adventure. When I was in high school, a lot of people thought that girls could only be moms, nurses, teachers or secretaries. But now women run some of the world’s most successful businesses–Pepsi is headed by a woman. And then, of course, there’s Oprah.
Do you want to work in the business world someday? You could be an officer in a bank or open a shop and watch it grow. Invent something and sell millions on the internet. One of the Chrysalis After-School groups–the Whyld Girls–started a business about 2 years ago. It’s called Product with Purpose, and with the help of their mentors, the girls run it themselves. The profits from their jewelry sales go into a scholarship fund; two Whyld Girls are set to graduate from high school this spring. The Product with Purpose scholarship fund is there to help them achieve their dreams.
If starting and running a business sounds like fun, check out Business Horizons, a week-long camp for high school students where you’ll learn about the world of business while you have fun and meet new friends. Participants stay on Simpson College campus in Indianola, July 25-30, while they explore their talents and how to use them.
At camp, each business team develops a product and figures out how to sell it. Teams create marketing plans and infomercials about their products, and then present their product ideas to potential investors. The teams manage mock manufacturing businesses where they make decisions about pricing, production, marketing, research and development, and capital investment. Here is what a couple girls had to say about the camp–
“Man I had a great time this summer! I am kind of disappointed that it is only a week long. Someone told me that this was a business camp… who knew business was so fun!”–Kashonna Drain, Waterloo
“Business Horizons was an amazing program. This week I was able to …network with some entrepreneurs in the Des Moines area, and I had a great time doing…this. I would recommend this program to anyone, it was an amazing experience!”–Kristi Philips, Ames High School
It’s been an especially cold winter in many places, but kids (and adults) can have fun and get healthy by going outside even in frigid, snowy weather. Each winter I resolve to renew my relationship with my skis, toboggan and ice skates. This winter looks like it might be a good time to keep that resolution! Ray Morley and his grandkids built snow huts and a giant sledding track across several back yards during winter vacation. My daughter tried out her new snow shoes.
I’ve skied off and on for nearly 30 years; a couple winters ago I had fun just taking my skis down to Beaverdale Park and skiing in giant figure 8’s, but there are groomed trails at Jester Park. Check out this video about cross-country skiing from Polk County Conservation; you can rent skis, snowshoes, boots and poles. This year Polk County Conservation is facilitating outdoor fitness programs for youth groups; contact Patrice Petersen-Keys for more information.
One of my favorite Chrysalis After-School group meetings was when the Star Choices girls at Harding Middle School spent most of the afternoon playing in the snow. The girls loved it and got some great exercise. Informal play develops independence and mastery. When I visited the fifth grade group at Capitol View, we were taking photos of the girls in the hallway and I asked them to all look and point to the right for a silly one. The next instant they exclaimed, “It’s snowing!” Their excitement was apparent. Two snow days followed, so that may have been the cause, but check out these resources for ideas about how to make the most of the winter months.
Kate’s Snowshoes
Snow Hut
Whatever you decide to do–make a snow angel, build a fort, go sledding, skating or skiing, or just take a walk–have fun out there!
People used to believe that girls weren’t good at science and math; my high school physics teacher thought it was just luck when I got the high score on our weekly quiz. Until I aced statistics in graduate school, I thought I couldn’t do math. When my nephew was checking out the College of Engineering at Iowa State University 3 years ago, I went with him and my brother (his dad) to an engineering day. I can honestly say that until that day, I thought engineering might be one of the most boring fields he could go into. But the Engineering Leadership Program changed that perception; the students had us design a solution for an African village without clean water. Since I’d experienced just such a village in Zambia, the experience showed me the key role that engineers play in solving the world’s problems.
Mosi oa Tunya Protes
We need more women to pursue careers in engineering; women bring a unique perspective to communication, problem solving and relationship skills and orientation. Women with engineering and other science and math degrees will find a much friendlier job market when they graduate! Here are some resources for exploring engineering and related careers–
I just applied to make my yard a certified wildlife habitat. I figured I might as well, since the deer have plucked my rosebuds one by one this summer and fall. Really, it’s a small step toward taking better care of the outdoors.
I started the process about three years ago when a group of friends and I removed an extensive pool, deck and pond structure and opened the space to nature. The huge Pin Oak that anchors the space has flourished since then, putting out new growth. I’ve added a perennial border of native plants and shrubs, allowed redbuds, oaks and maples to grow where they will. I’ve composted for a while, raised a bit of food and most recently installed a rain garden with the help of my friend Anne, the Iowa Garden Coach.
It’s really turned the back yard into a refuge, not just for the critters, but for me and my friends. I hope you’ll take some actions to make the world a little greener; here are some suggestions–
Yesterday I visited the Junior Bridges Chrysalis After-School Group at Southeast Polk Junior High School. It was really fun to see the girls surfing my Web site and then using some of the ideas they found there.
While they were in the computer lab, they asked me about the game, “Human Knots” and I told them I would put the directions up by today, so here they are–
When I was a kid in California, we played this game all the time on our patio, but we called it Scrambled Eggs. Once a kid fell while we were untangling a particularly difficult circle and broke his tooth. We all worked together to get help and get his tooth fixed and we all lived happily ever after.
