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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12 Tips to Integrate Academic Enrichment In Afterschool
I have been working with after school programs across the country since 1998. And there are some things that I have learned that make doing academic enrichment activities more successful with kids after school. To meet the goals of this, we need after school not more school and kids should be engaged and having fun. Here are some helpful tips: Meet with your school(s) to find out what areas to focus on, where kids need more time, and how you can work together to align with what they are focusing...Read More
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
New paper: What are the impacts of afterschool STEM?
Today, many afterschool and summer programs include science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) as a standard part of their comprehensive programming. Afterschool providers recognize the importance of improved STEM education for their students and that hands-on, inquiry-driven STEM is in line with afterschool’s overall approach to education. Practitioners are able to directly see the impact afterschool STEM programs have on students—they see youth engaged in and excited about STEM activiti...Read More
The Next Generation of Afterschool Staff
When I started out in the afterschool field 30 + years ago I never envisioned this work as a career. I had taken a position as the Outreach Director at a YMCA in New Jersey. One of the many items on my job description was operating the After School Kare (ASK) program at one school site. Fifteen years later when I left the Y the ASK program had grown to 32 sites in 7 school districts with 1600 children. Since that time I’ve worked as a state contract administrator, trainer, and evaluator fo...Read More
Look Up! Space-based Science in Afterschool
With the New Year comes a time of reflection and renewal. With it comes celebrations of past accomplishments, and thoughts for new directions. We all want what’s best for our kids, to give them skills to succeed in life. Have you considered offering experiences that can develop your youths’ observational skills and natural ability to wonder? Afterschool is a wonderful place for kids to develop basic life skills – and this can have an even stronger impact when it sparks their interest...Read More
Developing Superheroes
With age also comes reflection. Often this reflection is not sought after by the “elderly” but rather triggered. I was recently approached, after doing a keynote, by a disgruntled site coordinator who wanted to know where I found all the “Unbelievable” staff that did all of the inspirational adventures I had just talked about. This question has always been a double edged sword for me. My gut response was to say “First you have to be what you are looking for!” ...Read More
Marketing Your Program Through Positive Youth Development
Just because you built it, doesn’t mean they will come. Afterschool is no field of dreams. Even with a wonderful curriculum, enthusiastic staff, abundance of supplies and unwavering support from the regular school staff, your program cannot be labeled a success if nobody attends it. Recruitment issues exist at all grade levels. If you serve younger children (K-4th grade), parents usually ensure that the children attend the program, and the children are less likely to rebel at this age. Att...Read More