Highlight--March RA Soiree!

As promised, I have attached the pictures as well as some resources from our March RA Soiree!

Teddi had some creative recycled crafts. I must say, my creations never turn out as well as I hope the do, but I saw some pretty incredible crafts that day! We made pen cups and paperclip holders out of recycled newspapers, coffee sleeves out of felt, and there was even a book of creative uses for old t-shirts!

• Cool community builder idea for the end of the semester: Clothes swap! (or Item swap, or Anything swap!) -Have residents bring all items from their room that they are ready to part with, and gather in an open space. Then, have residents go through and pick out things they want to keep! To amp it up a bit, if you are savvy with a sewing machine, you could offer "alteration" services. This could be to re-do some sheets into a pillow, some jeans into a purse...the opportunities are endless!

And, yes, we ate bugs. I'll admit, I was not brave enough to try a cricket, but I did eat a few worms, and more than my fair share of grasshopper cookies. But, I loved seeing the enthusiasm of all of the RAs that stopped by!

• Male community builder idea: several of you mentioned that you thought your residents would enjoy doing something similar to this. I ordered the bugs online from the Hotlix website, and there are also edible bugs for sale from Thailand Unique and Fluker's. Additionally, there is a really neat blog about eating bugs called Edibug. Here, you can read about bug delicacies, and how eating bugs as opposed to traditional proteins is actually quite sustainable. It's a really interesting read, and a great community building resource.

Bon appetit!