Breakfast Club Blog
Commencement
On behalf of the BOOST Breakfast Club, congratulations to all the graduates across the nation in 2017! This post from @erikap is so beautiful and well written, we wanted to #repost this heartfelt message. We believe the message is universal. Enjoy! As spring has officially given way to summer and academics have been replaced by pools and bike rides, I’ve been thinking about commencement speeches. Students across the country have been hearing them, whether graduating from high school or col...Read More
Keep The Channel Open
I’ve been sitting in contemplation of this quote by dancer/choreographer Martha Graham for a few weeks now: “There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with...Read More
How to Talk with Kids About Grades
Whether kids tend to earn A’s, B’s, C’s, or F’s, kids often define “who they are” based on the grades they receive. “I’m an A-student.” “I’m not very smart.” “I’m an average student.” Unfortunately, when kids label themselves based on grades, it can have a negative impact on their self-esteem — even for “A-students.” If they bring home an A, they feel great about themselves. If they bring home a C, they get down on themselves. Creeper picture of a dude’s shadow and face Creeper picture of ...Read More
My Moments at BOOST that Left Me Wanting More
We recently asked our BOOST Leadership and Blogging Teams to share their favorite memory and why they volunteer to be a team member of the BOOST Conference. Perhaps you will be a volunteer, Ambassador or Breakfast Club Blogger for BOOST in 2018. Enjoy! Definitely the very first time I attended the BOOST Conference. The energy was through the roof and everyone was so eager to work together. I’ve been back every year since. – Daniel W. Hatcher, MPH | Director, Community Partnerships, Allianc...Read More
Finding Some Extraordinary In Your Ordinary
What does it mean to find the extraordinary within the ordinary? One of my favorite quotes is by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (author of The Little Prince, among others), where he says: “A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.” Are you someone who sees rock piles, or do you see cathedrals? To find the extraordinary within the ordinary, you have to see it. And to see it, you have to look for it. And to look...Read More
In Memoriam of the One
Earlier this month I attended a funeral service for someone I hadn’t seen in quite a few years. He was the pastor of the church I attended as a child and teen. But he was more than that. For many years he was that caring adult in my life outside of my family. What made the relationship so special was it was based on kindness. If I ever needed an ear, a hug, a laugh, or a piece of chocolate I could count on him. What truly made him unique was he was the caring adult to so many. Young and ol...Read More
A Journey of Self-Discovery
The students in our programs come from diverse backgrounds and face unique challenges in navigating the world they are growing up in. It is a privilege to be their guide in this journey called life. Many of the students we have in our programs are having experiences that may be similar to the staff working in our programs. The true challenge is being able to create an environment that supports the staff and students to feel emotionally and physically safe and not just survive but thrive in spite...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
2017: I Am Here (with love)
Starlings In Winter, by Mary Oliver Chunky and noisy, but with stars in their black feathers, they spring from the telephone wire and instantly they are acrobats in the freezing wind. And now, in the theater of air, they swing over buildings, dipping and rising; they float like one stippled star that opens, becomes for a moment fragmented, then closes again; and you watch and you try but you simply can’t imagine how they do it with no articulated instruction, no pause, only the silent conf...Read More
A Fresh Start to a New School Year: Possibilities that Lie Ahead
School starts for my kids in a week. One week from today! My daughter starts third grade and my son starts KINDERGARTEN, which just seems ridiculous. Time flies, they say. Time doesn’t fly—it rockets. It races. It’s relentless. It leaves me saying wait, Wait, WAIT!!! I can’t catch up with them growing older; I can’t catch up with life passing by; I can’t catch up with any of it. We went back-to-school shopping last weekend and as our cart began filling up with two s...Read More
Digging In To Family Communication: How to Create An Atmosphere Where Your Kids Talk to You
I’m only at the cusp of this thing, this elusive thing called “family communication.” My kids are just 5 and 8, but already—already!—I can see the need for intentional and thoughtful strategies to encourage and maintain open lines of communication. I recognize how important it is to set up a safe and open line of communication with my children now so that they can rely on it later. The following list is a mash up of things we’ve just organically tried and things that the ...Read More
What is After-School?
What is after-school you ask? It’s an answer 14 years in the making, although the recipe was already baking long before I came on the scene! After-school is a THING! Not a time in the day where you play, Bring out some board games And close out the day. After-school is a thing to be seen. Something to look back on and say, “Remember when…,” With a tear in your soul. Not a timesheet to track, Or a paycheck to hold! After-school is a thing that happens to you, Transforming ...Read More