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!
Interested in becoming a blogger? Email [email protected]
Click here to Register for a free account or click here to Login to your existing account.
Healthy Kids on a Budget: Discount Store Scavenger Hunt
Back-to-school is here! Like most educators, you probably spend money out of your own pocket for supplies, enrichment materials, treats, and rewards. I recently went to my local discount store with $20 and a mission to find simple things to bring healthy afterschool to life. Check out my finds and corresponding activities below, then share your ideas in the comment section. Supply list: neon tape, plastic orange cones, math flashcards, animal flashcards, foam activity ball, wooden clothespins, p...Read More
Youth Development at a Hot Dog Stand
Good youth development practice can emerge in unusual places. For thirteen-year-old entrepreneur Jaequan Faulkner, good youth development came in the form of a street vendor permit. The teenager opened a hot dog business in his Minneapolis neighborhood on Penn Avenue North, meeting with early success and a booming business. Then young Jaequan ran into an obstacle that nearly upended his entrepreneurial pursuit – he lacked the proper permit to run a freestanding food stand. Jaequan had an idea an...Read More
“Treat Yourself,” Simple and Healthy Ways to Celebrate
As we head back-to-school, I hope you’re making time to recover from a busy summer and practice self-care. This summer, I’ve tried to slow down a bit, unplug from technology when I can and enjoy reading a book – yeah, one made of paper! My favorite summer read has been The Deepest Well. It explores the impact of childhood adversity and the steps to take to counter those experiences. Like many people in America, I scored high on the Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) questionnaire; now I’m findin...Read More
Leaping Into the Void: Modeling Learning for Our Students
Artist Yves Klein perfectly captured how it feels to be engaged in the creative act in this 1960 piece entitled Leap Into the Void. I have been teaching the creative process and making art for most of my adult life, and this image perfectly captures the feeling of not knowing where you’ll end up when you begin to make something. Leaping, literally, into the unknown, not knowing if you’ll fall to your death or grow wings and soar, is a wonderful metaphor for the process I’ve tried to teach studen...Read More
Math IS fun!
No, I am not being sarcastic. Math often gets a bad rap. It can be considered a four letter word! There was even a talking Barbie that exclaimed, “Math class is tough!” (You can read about the controversy here and even see her in action here.) Are we bringing up a generation of kids who think they don’t like math at a time when math is key and so important? In my 20 years at Collaborative Classroom, I have had the opportunity to work with many folks, both young and old across the country. Many w...Read More
Celebrating the Top Resources to Inspire Youth to Give Back
Editor’s Note: A special thank you to author @jillgordon for sharing the last of four webinars from the Youth Philanthropy Initiative of Indiana’s 2017 webinar series designed to promote next-gen leadership and giving opportunities. Today’s post focuses on how to incorporate service learning and volunteerism into your program. Jill provides several free resources and links to activities that any program can implement! ____________ In 2017, Youth Philanthropy Connect (YPC) and the Youth P...Read More
Make Your Surveys and Enrollment Forms More Inclusive
Equity and inclusion are on everyone’s minds these days. Out-of-school time professionals across the nation are taking a good look at their practices with an eye toward assuring that all young people and their families feel welcome. Don’t forget to review your program’s enrollment forms and surveys as part of this process – it’s a common, yet overlooked, spot for unconscious bias to have a field day. Small changes to the words you use in these materials can make a difference in the experiences y...Read More
Building Connectedness Through Healthy Eating: 5 Summer Activities
This month Healthier Generation is encouraging communities to make the most of their summer. From energizing outdoor games to new healthy recipes, summer should be fun for everyone. I recently teamed up with my friends, Jessy Newman from American Institutes for Research and Clarissa Hayes from Food Research and Action Center, to teach a webinar on how physical activity can foster a sense of belonging at summer meal sites (check out the recording here). Feeling connected and part of a community i...Read More
Rest and Restoration: Will You Take a Break This Week?
Editor’s Note: This blog was first posted on The Leadership Program‘s website on July 2, 2018. We have received permission from BOOST Blogger Erika Petrelli (@erikap) to repost. — Happy Fourth-of-July Week! The quintessential marker of “summer” for many of us. Since it’s on Wednesday this week, I’ve heard so many people talk about how it makes the whole week feel like a vacation, even if you just have the one day off. I’m kicking off the holiday by going to see Def Leppard and...Read More