I have about a dozen magazines ranging from pre-school to teenager from January 2008 which I used in a training session on children and their culture.
The session was useful in highlighting how at the younger end things worked in parallel with Sunday school (story, colouring in, craft) but then topics diverged towards appearance & relationships at an age that gets ever younger. Teen Vogue caused outrage in our session!
An eye opener!
Mob Rule
This is a fascinating film made by teenagers in Jedburgh about life in Jedburgh and the perception of “mob rule” sparked by a letter in the local press. Would be great for a discussion with teenagers.(20mins)
“I just wanna be a sheep” and “If I were a butterfly” by Brian Howard.
Somebody better borrow these from me, because my kids are getting very attached. (There are some mp3 snippets on the website)
Amazon has just delivered some shiny new books for my resources library. They are designed more for working with teenagers, but could be used by most ages including adults. The new additions are:
“Would you rather…? four hundred and sixty five provocative questions to get teenagers talking” Doug Fields
“Would you rather have no values or no friends?”
“Would you rather be gossiped about or lied to?”
What if…? four hundred and fifty provocative questions to get teenagers talking, laughing and thinking” Les Christie
“What if you could keep only one of your five senses?”
“What if you could ask God three questions?”
“Help! I’m a small group leader. 50 ways to lead teenagers into lively and purposeful discussions” Laurie Polich
These are all very flickable and can be lent around the Diocese. I think the really positive things about these type of books are that they:
1)cover issues that teenagers worry about such as love, friendships, sex, self-image
2)provide a basis for open discussions and thought where there is no correct answer
3)if used in a church environment help make the church relevant to it’s younger members
