Nings with fifth graders

I am a teacher at an independent school outside Philadelphia. Teachers are encouraged to use technology with students. The elementary classrooms all have Smartboards and some teachers do podcasts, voicethreads, etc. I am a beginner, but I know my students are eager to do more than create powerpoint presentations. So...I started a closed Ning about memoir, our tech teacher invited all of the fifth grade students, and it went wild. Fifth graders' favorite thing was friending everyone in the class, and choosing their "memoir avatar." The friending was a little lame--"Wassup?' and "Hows it goin?" I think kids were excited that they could tell their parents they HAD to be on the Internet, and taking advantage of the freedom. Even after we talked about "No friending" the urge was too strong to resist, and these kids who are generally so compliant were friending after five days of discussion. One boy told me I can make this impossible, but part of me wants to build a piece into our Ning that makes good use of this feature. Any ideas? Kids have added pictures, created new discussions--"What's your favorite poem?" "What's your favorite memory?" "Homework Help." I think I'm probably supposed to dismantle this feature also, and one discussion was silly, but I love the energy AND the initiative. Does anyone use Nings successfully with elementary students? Let me know how it works. I'll post again. I just keep losing my posts and want to post this one to see if it works. Juniperlake