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 views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer, or company. Enjoy the brain food.

The BOOST Breakfast Club Blog is Brain Food for In and Out-of-School Time Leaders!

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Self-Care Ideas: Give 1/Get 8

Youth development is hard work and often emotionally draining; taking even a few minutes for self-care can be beneficial for our mental and physical health. I know what you’re thinking, self-care is all about juicing, advanced yoga poses, beach vacations, and lavender-scented spa days. Although these absolutely fall into the category of self-care, there are plenty of simple ways to practice self-care without breaking the bank. For this article, I want us to reimagine self-care by bringing one of...Read More

Raising Our Kids: A Long-Term Approach

I have had an experience several times in the last few weeks that, I am sure, happens to all of us who have worked with students for a certain number of years. If it has not happened to you yet, give it time. It will. Someday, you will run into your former students and they will have turned into adults. It is always a little strange to me when I see my “kids” as adults. I know that time keeps marching on and those kids I have worked with will grow up and continue to live their lives. They will g...Read More

Learning to Give Time, Talent, and Treasure (Webinar #1)

In 2018, the Youth Philanthropy Initiative of Indiana (YPII) and Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy partnered to host a free 4-part webinar series designed to support next-gen leadership and giving. Sessions featured national experts and Lilly Family School of Philanthropy faculty and students sharing research, resources, and examples of classroom-based grantmaking programs. The first webinar, “Learning to Give Time, Talent, and Treasure,” addressed how young people bring pas...Read More

The Exploration Of Kids’ Spaces

Teachers are experts in creating challenging, engaging, and exciting spaces for kids.  Classrooms all over the world are adopting “real world” school cultures that stimulate curiosity, collaboration, and problem-solving just like top performing companies Google or Salesforce. During my six years teaching 1st grade and 10 years as Director of Education at the children’s museum in Charleston, South Carolina, I learned to be intentional in the design of a classroom or exhibit space. The simple addi...Read More

Three Lessons from Practitioners in the Field of Expanded Learning

This past month I had the opportunity to attend the Site Coordinator Symposium by the California AfterSchool Network hosted at the historic Queen Mary ship in Long Beach. This two-and-a-half-day event hosted 500 practitioners from the field of Expanded Learning programs in California, with the majority of them being Site Coordinators from across the state. I wanted to share the three takeaways that stood out the most for me that had heart & meaning and reinforced my two-decade experience in ...Read More

Mindfulness Practices For Afterschool Program Staff, Students And Parents

Why take the time to pause and introduce mindfulness as a practice that enriches the lives of our students, parents, and program staff? How might mindfulness also benefit us as educators? Soon after the presidential election in November 2016, many Latino and Muslim students and families in our partnering Los Angeles schools were experiencing a lot of anxiety and fear. In addition to obtaining information about community resources, the students, parents, and staff in our afterschool programs were...Read More

Why I Don’t Have Time To Write A Blog

      February 12, 2019 Dear BOOST Breakfast Club Executive Chef, I understand that I committed to providing you a blog post as of February 11th, but I regret to inform you that this is no longer possible, given my current workload. As you may know, the California Expanded Learning field, of which I have been a proud member for 27 years, is facing unprecedented challenges that threaten our continued existence. After School Education and Safety (ASES) programs receive $8.19 per stu...Read More

What Is The Truth Behind E-Cigarettes?

For well over the past two decades, the cigarette smoking rate among US youth and teens has steadily been decreasing. This is a tremendous win for youth workers, public health workers, youth, and the general population because it took collaboration to help educate our youth about the dangers of cigarettes and to prevent them from ever starting. Unfortunately, the tobacco industry has found a new product to target youth, and it is working. The most popular tobacco product used by middle school an...Read More

 Fostering a Growth Mindset

I remember extending my right hand up in the air and waving it feverishly. I thought today “I had enough” after being ignored by my fourth-grade teacher too many times, today was the day I was going to speak up. Each day, I eagerly raised my hand to answer a question only to be overlooked. (Know that this is my fourth-grade perception of things.) I would watch her peer out into the classroom and scan all the buzzing hands, including mine, hoping she’d pick me. Ugh! Again, I thought, “she only pi...Read More

Are We Modeling Social Emotional Skills?

Social-emotional learning requires the same kind of intentionality as academic learning and as adults, we have to model the social-emotional skills we hope to build in our students. Here is a painfully ironic example: Joshua Trump is an 11-year-old who was one of President Trump and first lady Melania Trump’s guests at the State of the Union. He is not related to the President but has been bullied over the last few years because of his name. “He said he hates himself, and he hates his last name,...Read More

Leaders Who Inspire Us: Nathan Houston

Editor’s Note: Continuing with our Leaders Who Inspire Us campaign, check out today’s featured leader Nathan Houston! Keep an eye out for more inspirational people in our field who are change makers. If you want to recommend someone, please send a note to [email protected]. Nathan is the founder of #iAmImpact, a non-profit focused on educating and inspiring educators everywhere. He provides keynotes, motivational speeches, and training for various levels of expanded lear...Read More