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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3 Ideas to Develop Healthy and Active Role Models this Fall
Our last blog featured 6 Ideas to Make Your Next Staff Meeting Fun and Healthy this Summer. Did you try one of them? Maybe you made “Silly Water” for a retreat or added some physical activity to your regular staff meeting. Building on those tips, here are a few ideas to help you continue to develop healthy and active role models this fall. Let us know how it goes by tweeting to @HealthierGen. Developing Healthy and Active Role Models this Fall 1. Do you have a fall festival or family...Read More
Does Self-Doubt Mean I Lack Self-Confidence?
Do you ever experience self-doubt when you’re about to do something new? Do you ever get the jitters and feel nervous? Do you ever wonder where your self-confidence has gone when this happens? Guess what…you’re normal! You’re supposed to feel a little nervous before you do something new because your brain is wired that way to protect you. You see, whenever you experience something new, your brain builds connections called “neural pathways” that let you know th...Read More
Polo Shirts & School Master Keys Were the Beginning as a Site Coordinator
It was a typical day in my elementary after school program. I was the newly appointed Site Coordinator after 5 years of being a line staff program leader working with 20 youth at the same school. I remember how excited I was to be promoted to the Site Coordinator position. I felt like for the first time someone had recognized my talent in working with youth. I remember how I felt when I received my staff collared polo shirt; line staff wore regular t-shirts. Somehow the collar told everyone arou...Read More
Music and Arts Programs are NOT Frills
Music is a language that kindles the human spirit, sharpens the mind, fuels the body, and fills the heart. – Erik Jensen The arts are far closer to the core of education than are the more exalted subjects. – Abraham Maslow In this era of standards and accountability, arts are increasingly viewed as a frill and removed from school curriculum. Brain research suggests that arts can lay a foundation for academic and career success. Science, mathematics, and language require complex cognitive a...Read More
Building Positive Self-Image and Community Through the Arts
Included in this post is a basic outline for a four-session Dance/Visual Arts and Poetry workshop. The following session series is created around the poem, “Phenomenal Woman” by Maya Angelou. I have used the following experiences as a part of a curriculum for teenage girls who identified challenges with positive self-image and bullying within their peer group. As you read through the outline keep in mind the age of the children or young people you work with. Also, think about the theme or messag...Read More
Inner City Scholars
For most inner city students of color, college is a distant dream. The thought of four more years of school is enough to discourage many inner city students from going for the gold in education. The military seems to be the golden ticket instead of college. In fact, 2 out of every 4 seniors I have counseled from the inner city intend to choose the military over college. Conversations of escaping current situations and making instant money surpass the collegiate pursuit. I am not bashing the mili...Read More
7 Ways to Maximize Your BOOST Experience
Below is a list of 7 ways to make the most out of your next BOOST Conference! 1) Be PRESENT. Don’t compare last year to this year. You will be chasing a ghost or even worse, you will try to “recreate” last year’s experience. Every year is distinct and every year there are new ‘openings.’ Which is one of the secrets of BOOST and something that can be appreciated, only if you are PRESENT (mind, body and soul). 2) The ENTIRE CONFERENCE is a workshop. If you expe...Read More
Pomp and Circumstance: Engaging Seniors Before Graduation
For many high schools, spring break is here. Or, at least, right around the corner. When students return to the classrooms, extracurricular activities, and their afterschool programs, thoughts may turn to planning lazy summer days with no responsibilities, homework, or teachers! This is especially challenging for the 2014 graduating class, which is extremely susceptible to senioritis this time of year. What kind of “medicine” can be provided to reduce the effects of this seemingly co...Read More
Feel Like a Child: How to Take Time for Ourselves
I walk into a room and all I see is a large curtain. All I hear are muffled giggles emitting from behind the curtain. A head pops out and as I stand back, I realize this large curtain is actually a tablecloth covering a GIANT dining room table. I crawl under the curtain and immediately feel like a child. Children are lounging on soft pillows and running around laughing. On the walls are images projected of children around the world feeding themselves. It is amazing to see the kids sitting with m...Read More
A Canadian’s Top 10 Checklist for Beating the Winter Blues
It’s the middle of February and we’re in The Zone. Winter has caught up with us, we’re weary of the cold weather, we aren’t getting enough natural sunlight, road conditions are often hardly mediocre, and… the kids are ornery. That’s right: ornery. Downright unpredictable. Bored. Whining. Frustrated. We have plenty of activities for them to do, but they remain energetic one moment but restless and cagey the next. It’s difficult to know how to respond to s...Read More
Us vs. Them Mentality & Classroom Management
I recently attended a training session on classroom management. Among the attendees were leaders in the field of after school education. The trainer, a former classroom teacher of 10 years, now a program director, was highly engaging, organized, and unquestionably experienced when it came to working with challenging students. She eloquently shared information on her program, classroom management protocols used in her district, as well as some best practices that included guidelines commonly used...Read More
What Drives your After-School Program?
This new year of 2014 marks eight years of working in out-of-school (OST) time programs for me. While my passion for youth work has not changed over the course of that time, my approach to youth work has been profoundly shaped. I started my work in OST programs in a vulnerable neighborhood outside Philadelphia. I was a young college student looking for academic credit by putting in my time with at-risk youth. I loved this program and I loved the people I worked with. All of us had a passion and ...Read More