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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A Little Bit of Normal Please
This morning I continued my push for health and wellness by skipping the pancakes and opting instead for yogurt and berries for breakfast. Speaking of the push for health and wellness … I was a conscientious mask-wearer for the entire duration of COVID-19 in California, never wavering in my support for the shutdown or the mask mandate, or any of the other guidelines. Though I got impatient toward the end, I fixed my sights on June 15, 2021, the date our governor said business was “getting back t...Read More
Community Educators: What’s in a name? A lot, actually.
We are introducing the field to a new idea – the consideration that our afterschool staff are Community Educators at the heart of their work. To clarify, it is not a new idea but is a new way to think about the way we can refer to our staff. And we recently captured video stories of some inspiring Community Educators in California. Check out the first of the videos and see how Diego Arancibia, ASAPconnect Director, answered interview questions posed by Julie Sesser, ASAPconnect Specialist and Co...Read More
Creative Youth Development: What it Means and The Power of Youth Voice & Beliefs
Did you know that BOOST has been offering trainings, workshops, and learning communities online over the past year? Many of our past sessions are available for rewatch on our YouTube page, with new videos added regularly. We currently have over 100 free educational videos for you to enjoy! On August 5, 2020, Jeff Poulin of Creative Generation and Khalil Bleux of Agency 515 joined youth leaders from Arts Amplifying Youth to share the principles and practices of Creative Youth Development. Watch t...Read More
The Platinum Rule
I wrote a blog once about the Golden Rule, and how imperative it is as a manager to respect the Golden Rule: to treat your staff members and colleagues the way you would want to be treated. Later, after talking about it at a workshop, a gentleman came up to me and said that while he liked the Golden Rule, he much preferred the “Platinum Rule”—treat others the way they want to be treated. Ohhhhh, I remember thinking… that’s so much better. Treat others not the way I would ...Read More
Hope Circle: An Opportunity for Creative Movement
Dancing engages nearly all of the brain at once. Just participating in dance is good for the brain, but dance can also be used to intentionally target really important development areas for children. Children can come to see what they are capable of by experiencing the influence they have when they engage in creating dance. One of my favorite creative movement experiences to guide children through, and adults for that matter, is the “Hope Circle” experience. I first participated in a...Read More
Don’t look at the chipped paint on the walls…
Even I have to admit, it’s easy it is to be distracted professionally by things that are relatively unimportant to our organization’s overall goals. How do we as executive and organizational leaders refocus our minds on what gives us joy in our work lives while also driving us towards our mission? This seems to be especially important as we deal with the lingering impact of the pandemic and start the process of emerging out of the collective fog that has permeated many classrooms, organizations,...Read More
Focus on Reflection for Learning
Reflection For Educators You want this! A reflective practice is learning through and from experience towards gaining new insights of self and practice (Finlay, 2008). Reflection is a systematic reviewing process for all educators which allows us to link one experience to the next, making sure students make progress. Using reflection as an intentional practice is not only great for students, but also imperative for educators because it show us how much a student is a) paying attention b) if they...Read More
Making Fitness Fun in After-School Programs
Exercise is an essential part of a healthy childhood and young adult life, and after-school programs are encouraging America’s youth to get moving and build healthy lifestyle habits. While working out and exercises are crucial for a child’s well-being, it can be challenging to find activities that kids actually enjoy. After-school program directors have to work extra hard to create an exciting and unique curriculum for kids. In this article, we dissect the reasons that exercise is so critical fo...Read More
Finding the S.P.A.R.K. Beyond Trauma
Did you know that BOOST has been offering trainings, workshops, and learning communities online over the past year? Many of our past sessions are available for rewatch on our YouTube page, with new videos added regularly. We currently have over 100 free educational videos for you to enjoy! On July 30, 2020, Ashley Hunt of The SPARK Initiative shared resources that you can use with the student and community populations you serve. The SPARK Initiative is a non-profit organization with a mission to...Read More
From a Learning Disability to a Ph.D.: A Life-Changing Journey
As I opened an email titled “Congratulations! Your dissertation is approved.” I felt tears of happiness slowly running down my cheeks. I smiled, closed my eyes, and took a long, deep breath. It had been a long and difficult journey, but somehow, I felt that it was only a beginning – of a new era, the one where I officially had no reason to doubt myself. “I am a doctor now,” I thought to myself. “I did it, I proved them all wrong.” For as long as I can remember I was told that I wasn’t good enoug...Read More
Your Summer on Mars – Afterschool Enrichment
Ah, summer! A time for exploration, inspiration, and in afterschool – enrichment. Especially after this last challenging year, kids and leaders alike are in need of refreshing, inspiring things to learn and experience. Why not spend the summer on Mars, at least virtually? With temperatures heating up around the country, thinking about Mars may help cool you down. In Martian summers, the surface temperature can occasionally be what we’d call “comfortable” here on Earth, but on the same night can ...Read More
We’ve All Got a Spark. Let’s Light a Fire!
We have the power to light a fire in every child with whom we work. It only takes one person to change a child’s life. Think back on your educational influences and you will likely find someone who lit a fire in you that still burns today. Across the country I’ve asked leaders, “What childhood science experiences do you remember?” People share about baking soda volcanoes, science fairs, field trips, and dissections that lit a spark in them. I never hear about textbooks. D...Read More