Fall/Spring 2023-2024

Social-Emotional Development Program

Aug 23, 2023 - May 17, 2024

*Wednesdays and Fridays 1:45pm-5:45pm

New Changes this Year!

*Later Time: we are switching to a later time to accommodate teens' sleep, meal, and homeschool schedules, as well as family commutes with other children pickups, and to avoid traffic times. This also helps families not worry about packing a lunch or buying a meal out. The times could shift a tiny bit depending on activity or family needs, and families are still welcome to flex their pick up time to accommodate family schedules, as some teens do need to leave early. We just ask teens arrive at the scheduled time so they can be part of the structured team bonding activities.

Fall/Spring Membership Includes:

• Experiential Social-Emotional Learning Facilitation by an LMFT Associate - see Full Bio

• Pre-planned & Guaranteed Social Event Calendar with Other Teen Members

• Activity/Admission Fees at Various Venues Around Austin

• SEL Skills Development & Training Class

• New & Old Member Mentor System for SEL Skill Application

• Leadership Training & Opportunities for SEL Advancement

• Safe Teen Community - Pre-Vetted Teen Selection Process & Continual Monitoring

• Private Discord Teen-led Server to Increase Bonding & Plan Informal Meetups

• Private Parent/Teen Facebook Group to View Photos & Stay Connected

• Access to a Supportive Community of Homeschool/Unschool Families

• All Administrative Fees and Operation Costs

• An Instant Friend Group!! Loads of Fun!! & Meaningful Connection for Your Teen!!

  Wednesdays (SEL Class/Activity at Venue)

  Fridays (Optional Board Game Hangout)

  1:45pm - 5:45pm

  General Schedule (Wednesdays):

  • 1:45pm - 3:15pm - SEL Class (Check-Ins/Team Bonding & Social-Emotional Learning Education & Activity with Sara, LMFT Associate)

  • 3:15pm - 5:45pm - Teen Time (Activity at Venue, Socializing, & Building Friendships with other TeenTurf members while Practicing SEL Skills)

Check-Ins/Team Bonding: upon arrival, we will meet at a table to check-in and warm up for the day, which will include talking prompts, checking-in with everyone, sharing the happenings of their lives, giving and receiving support from others, genuinely and empathetically connecting with each other. Everyone typically shares how their week is going or anything else they want to share going on in their lives. It is a chance for each of them to work on opening up/connecting with others while the rest of the group practices supporting each other, also helping build a cohesive community. This helps foster communication, connection, empathy, and self-awareness. This is also a time for sharing announcements for the group as well as feedback and collaboration to continually improve the program.

Social-Emotional Learning Education & Activity: fun activity designed to learn SEL skills and build social-emotional capabilities and camaraderie for the group while strengthening relationships within the community. SEL skills will be taught and discussed, primarily in an experiential way, so there are typically not any lectures or worksheets, and the teens don't feel as though they are doing SEL programming, but rather it is all happening organically, yet they are gaining all the benefits naturally as a result of it, and of course, having a lot of fun while doing it! The teens love these interpersonal activities that challenge each of them in various ways to help them grow socially and emotionally. It also helps newcomers quickly get acquainted with the other teens and is essential to facilitating and maintaining the strong bonds for which TeenTurf is known. These activities may consist of an icebreaker, team-building game, or pairing up exercise to increase connection, self-awareness, vulnerability, and confidence, sometimes followed by a discussion of a social/emotional topic. We've done a wide array of SEL exercises, from Trust Falls & Trust Walks to Get to know you Jenga, Would you Rather question games, Staring challenges, Team Scavenger hunts, Guess Who Pictionary, Team Relays, and so much more!

SEL Activity & Teen Time Format: Please note we have a new format to our program! Teens will only be directly supervised during the structured SEL time. For the venue activity portion, the director of the program may not be on site, but can be reached by phone if any issues arise. After several years of running the program as a supervised drop-off time, we have decided the teens need more opportunities to be autonomous and self-reliant in order to further develop and practice advanced SEL skills while also strengthening the bond between the teens without reliance on the director being there. As a result, we will also be doing a heavier emphasis on SEL skill development and training during the structured SEL time to equip the teens with increased capabilities for a successful Teen Time socialization at the venue. In addition, we will be implementing a new/old member mentor system for teens to practice their SEL skills in an autonomous environment, while also helping new members integrate into the group and build a cohesive community.

Activity at Venue: We will be meeting at public locations around Austin that offer various fun activities for teens. These activities include bowling, arcades, yoga, coffee shop, swimming, board games, sports, roller skating, rock climbing, and more! Favorite locations will be on a rotation schedule throughout the fall program - the schedule will be released 1 week before the start date and continually updated throughout the fall/spring as needed to accommodate teen interests, weather, changes, etc. Most locations will be in or near Central Austin, and most will be north of the river. We get families from all over though! Including Buda, South Austin, Leander, Lakeway, Lake Travis areas, Georgetown, Round Rock, and of course, Austin proper. We are always working hard to accommodate families that live all over the Austin area so more teens can participate in our program. We have also chosen times of the day that accommodate teens schedules, yet also reduce traffic times, to make any commuting easier on families. We will also try to alternate areas of Austin within the same week to reduce your overall commuting in any given week. If you need more information on specific locations, please inquire for details.

Snacks: teens can grab snacks at the venue or eat packed snacks from home together. Most of the venues offer a range of affordable items that accommodate most diets. Teens get hungry! So, they will need to bring money for snacks if they do not bring any from home. So please make sure your teen brings a little money, if possible. However, please note, some locations do not allow outside food to be brought in. These locations will be noted on the official schedule.

See more detailed information on what makes TeenTurf unique!