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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Part 2 – How One After-School Program Prepares Students for the World
Asia Society and BOOST Collaborative are partnering to create a series of blogs on global learning in out-of-school time. Community organizations incorporate global learning into their afterschool programs in a number of ways. Here, Asia Society’s Heather Loewecke interviews Katie Aylwin and Amanda Wells from WHEDco, an organization committed to building a sustainable Bronx, to learn how they have included global components across their afterschool program from the mission to activities to...Read More
Part 1 – Beyond School: After-School Programs Bring the World to Young People
Asia Society and BOOST Collaborative are partnering to create a series of blogs on global learning in out-of-school time. Across the country, afterschool programs are looking at global learning as an approach to engage youth, enhance quality, and advocate for the value of learning beyond school. Alexis Menten, Executive Director, Program Development, Asia Society, shares more on this growing movement. This entry was originally posted on EdWeek’s Global Learning Blog. A Value-Add Aftersch...Read More
Yoga as a Strategy for Improving Behavior
There are many strategies used for improving behavior in children with autism and special needs. These include: visual aides to foster communication and understanding, sensory activities to support sensory needs and token/reward systems to increase desired behaviors and decrease undesired behaviors. These strategies, if implemented consistently can be highly effective across a variety of settings. Over the years I have incorporated yoga in my classroom setting as a complementary and holistic app...Read More
Supporting Afterschool Programs on Your School Campus
In 2008, forty-six percent of public elementary school reported that a fee-based stand-alone program was physically located on campus. -(National Center for Education Statistics, February 2009). Whether or not that figure holds true in 2014 is not yet known, but count yourself – and your students – lucky if you have a program available to your students on your campus. A continually growing body of research proves that high quality afterschool programs have the ability to change children’s ...Read More
Gift-Giving Ideas: All It Needs is a Little Love
How are you planning to share the love this Christmas? Some of you are already doing a facepalm: “Good grief!” (said in true Charlie Brown voice) “Is it Christmas time again?” Black Friday anxiety is already piling up. In response, I’ve compiled a (hopefully) helpful list of gift-giving ideas that might assist you in creating a terrific Christmas for you and your friends and family. The cool thing is: we can share these ideas with our kids and help them create their...Read More
Where’s the Water? Hitch a Ride and Find Out!
In the middle of a severe drought here in California, water is very much on our minds. Kids probably know not to waste water, and maybe you have activities at your site to urge kids and their families to conserve. With 80% of California’s water used for agriculture, and more than half the U.S. fruit, nuts, and vegetables grown here, a drought in California is a nationwide concern. Where does water come from anyway? Kids are taught the water cycle in elementary school – the cycle of rain an...Read More
Remembering Our Past, Sharing Our Stories
Today was once known as Armistice Day – now known as Veteran’s Day. This is a day to reflect on and “be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service” since 1919. Today is a day for us to remember our past. Sometimes remembering our past can be hard to do. It can be filled with painful memories and as time goes by, memories – both good and bad – can begin to fade. Sometimes we need to step back from the focus on the f...Read More
Time Well Spent in Expanded Learning
Put your hand in. Right now, as you’re reading this blog post, take one of your hands and hold it out, palm down, in front of you. It’ll only take a second. No, seriously. We’re going to make a virtual circle of hands here. Let’s do this. Is it in? Good. Keep reading. Now on three, let’s all imagine a really loud “Go team!” and you can lift your hand up. Ready? One, two, three, GO TEAM! That felt good, right? This is when I’d love to ask you to sta...Read More
ASES Programs Caught in a Fiscal Squeeze
In November, 2002, California citizens passed Proposition 49, which requires the Legislature to annually appropriate not less than $550 million to the California Department of Education for the After School Education and Safety (ASES) Program. The Proposition passed with a financial trigger that delayed the release of the appropriation until the 2006/07 fiscal year. The funding has been level since that time, unlike many other programs that were decimated during the recession, but despite its pr...Read More
10 Tips for Making Feedback Part of Your DNA
I was in a meeting recently and was offered a suggestion: To invite my staff to play back what they heard during discussions in order to reduce the chance for misunderstandings. I appreciated this feedback because it was practical and addressed an area of growth for me. It was especially meaningful since the feedback was from someone whom I supervise. I know that it’s not always easy to offer up constructive feedback to a supervisor. Feedback within an organization: Practice makes better I...Read More
Ecuador to Philadelphia: A Snapshot of a Global Artology Program
Asia Society and BOOST Collaborative are partnering to create a series of blogs on global learning in out-of-school time. This month features Jamaine Smith from BuildaBridge International. In Argelia, Ecuador, the eyes of eight children lit up as children from Philadelphia appeared on the screen of the small tablet they were going to use to complete their video call. They were elated as a symphony of “Hola!” and “¿Como Estas?” erupted from the mouths of the Philadelphian ...Read More
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