Breakfast Club Blog
The BOOST Breakfast Club Blog is a curated space where bloggers from around the world contribute content on a continual basis about a variety of topics relevant to in and out-of-school time. The BOOST Breakfast Club blog is at the heart of an ongoing dialogue where expanded learning and education professionals share their personal thoughts and stories from the in and out-of-school time field. They also tell us what they ate for breakfast!
The BOOST Breakfast Club Blog is Brain Food for In and Out-of-School Time Leaders!
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Engaging Young People in Creative Placemaking: Part One
Young people have inspiration, ideas, and unique problem-solving skills to contribute to community planning. One of the most holistic ways of designing sustainable spaces and places is through creative placemaking. In this two-part blog post, I will share with you what creative placemaking is, the importance of it in our communities, and how we can use creative placemaking in our youth programs. Creative Placemaking One of the best definitions of creative placemaking is from Ann Markusen and An...Read More
It’s Not Enough Just To Make More Stuff….
Learning through making and doing is important, but so is teaching our students to make a difference in the lives of others. In the maker world, it’s not enough to just make “stuff,” we need to teach students the importance of making things that matter. As part of our three-level STEAM sequence of courses, I teach a Physical Computing/Wearables class, in which students learn electronics and how to program Arduinos. Both of these things are difficult and can be glitchy, even more so w...Read More
Hands-On DIY Wellness Projects: The Ultimate Life Hack
In the month of January, Alliance for a Healthier Generation is celebrating #NewDaysResolution. Gone are the old New Year’s resolutions that are ultimately broken (and leave us feeling terrible). 2018 is about making a daily commitment to achieve one simple healthy change that leaves us feeling fulfilled and proud. For example, on the first day of January, I used all of my leftover veggies to make this delicious smoothie (ignore the color). On January 2, I used my lunch break to get a 25-m...Read More
Hate Your Data? There’s A Toolkit For That!
We’ve all been there. Frustrated with maintaining 15 different spreadsheets, 30-word documents, and 19 Survey Monkey Surveys, a nonprofit leader says, “Enough! Let’s just get a database.” Yes! Finally! A centralized place for all the program’s data will help the team serve clients better and make reporting to funders a breeze. Joy and excitement fade to sadness as the team struggles to fathom how to go about getting a new database, much less implementing one. And the stakes couldn’t be higher: n...Read More
Serving Through Hands-On Projects
Editors Note: A special thank you to author @jillgordon for sharing one of four of Youth Philanthropy’s webinar series. Today’s post focuses on service learning models that can be implemented in your program too! Click on the webinar link below “Serving through Hands-on Projects” for the full program. And, keep your eyes open in February for the next special webinar from Youth Philanthropy Initiative of Indiana. Youth Philanthropy Initiative of Indiana (YPII) created a 4-part webi...Read More
The Terrifying Click of Heels in the Hall
When I was site coordinator at an elementary school in San Francisco, we were not afraid of the mice in the office, or the cold air that whipped through the poorly insulated windows on a foggy SF morning, or the cafeteria full of wildly enthusiastic pre-teens. No, but we were afraid of the click, click, click of the principal’s heels on the linoleum hallway. We could hear it about 2 minutes before she turned the corner into our closet-like office. We’d look at each other across our desks, each ...Read More
Together We Make a Difference – FREE DOWNLOAD
Many years ago, I arrived at a middle school to evaluate an after school program. As with all site visits, I checked in to the school office and asked where the after school program was located. They were unsure of which “after school program” I was actually looking for. This school, like most, had over a dozen programs happening simultaneously throughout their campus during after school hours. I found the state-funded after school program (that I was on campus to evaluate) and quickly learned t...Read More
Preserving Programs for Kids by Going Local
At the end of 2017, the nation is on the verge of one of the largest federal tax cuts in modern times. And while some in Washington celebrate, for others the Congressional tax deal holds the specter of devastating cuts to social services and education programs that rely on federal dollars. Some are bracing for budgets squeezed dry, and more and more programs, already run on a shoestring, hobbled to ineffectiveness or nonexistence. Knowing what’s at stake, people in our line of work don’t typical...Read More
What is advocacy, why does it matter, and how can you make a difference in just 10 minutes from your desk?
Why does advocacy matter? Did you know that 1 out of 3 students in California can’t identify a single caring adult at school? [1] Research shows that access to caring adults is critical for the development and success of youth, and expanded learning programs often provide these relationships that students depend on. [2] Advocating for these programs increases access to caring adults and safe spaces in and out of school that are necessary to support student success. In 2015 and 2016, the Partners...Read More
An Instant Activity Blueprint to Get All Kids Moving
It’s a fact. Kids need physical activity. Frequent physical activity has been linked to a variety of positive developmental outcomes for kids, including improved health, cognition, and even behavior. As “fitness mentors” it’s important we provide kids ample opportunities to be active throughout the day. While this sounds good in theory, the time, space, and equipment we have available to inspire kids to be active may be limited. Not to mention, we can quickly run out of ideas as little bodies an...Read More
Collaboration, Gratitude and Birds (Yeah, Birds!)
As we enter the holiday season, I’m thankful to be coming up on my 10th year at the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. As Director of Community Partnerships, I have the unique pleasure of cultivating relationships to engage communities in promoting children’s health. For this article, I wanted to share three collaborations that I am particularly excited about – each with resources I hope you can use to bring wellness to life in out-of-school time while engaging families and empowering children...Read More
The Flawed Leader… Follow Up 6 Months Later
Social Power is defined as the degree of influence that an individual or organization has among their peers and within their society as a whole. 6 months ago, I shared in this blog my challenges with my own leadership and that of the organization I started and grew over the past 15 years. I poured out on the table the comments my staff made in relation to my leadership flaws, and the ways I needed to be better for my team. Since then I have openly spoken in three different states in front of lar...Read More