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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Evergreen Learning Principles for Afterschool Programs
The Learning in Afterschool & Summer (LIAS) project was designed to unify the field of afterschool and focus the movement on promoting young people’s learning. If afterschool programs are to achieve their full potential, they must be known as important places of learning that excite young people in the building of new skills, the discovery of new interests, and opportunities to achieve a sense of mastery. “We spend so much time focused on ‘achievement’ and so little time fo...Read More
Global Incidental Learning
I’m a big fan of incidental learning. It’s sort of like multi-tasking for educators. Way back when, my classroom had English, French, and Spanish labels taped to walls, cabinets, desks, and other objects throughout the room so my first graders could make connections to those languages during transitions or after completing assignments. By placing these labels around the room, my hope was they would learn these words incidentally during “down times,” or if (gasp) they weren’t paying attention to ...Read More
Putting the “Happy” in “Happy New Year”
Happy New Year! It’s what most of us say this time of the year, isn’t it? If you asked, “What do I mean when I say that?” what might your answer be? It’s easy to fall in step with using these common phrases without the deliberate thought behind the words. What really got me thinking about this were the reactions to a recent post of mine on Facebook: I choose to see 2020 not as the year of canceled plans, but as the year where the world stood still long enough for us to see the things we need to ...Read More
How Youth Development Programs Have Responded to COVID-19: Creativity, Innovation, and Doing What’s Brave and What’s Right
Defined by lockdowns, face masks, and video conferences, the COVID-19 global pandemic caused the world to shift to an era of physical distancing, at-home and on-line learning, shuttered community organizations, and the possibility of stifled creation for young people around the world. Recently a colleague shared an essay, “A Message of Hope,” by English author Neil Gaiman, in which he describes the unusual moment of panic, disruption, grief, and pause we are collectively experiencing as the COVI...Read More
Being a Change Agent in Quarantine
With both in-person schooling and programs moving online, I didn’t have the resources at the time to transition to fully relying on digital platforms. I had adapted to having hands-on experiences and collaborating with other students in the same space to advocate for student voice and BIPOC communities. As a Gem Project fellow, I was really worried about how engaging the program could still be and how much I’d be learning about youth activism if our resources are limited. But The Gem Project’s e...Read More
Focus on the 4Cs
I’m addicted to podcasts. They are my friend on long commutes and I’ve learned so much about so many random topics from Mars exploration to discoveries deep in the ocean. Every one of them leaves me curious and eager to learn more. One of my favorites is How I Built This, with Guy Raz. Because I’m an educator, I lose myself for miles listening to stories about the masterminds who had an idea they took all the way to a successful business. How did they do it? Why did they persist when others gave...Read More
Flipping The Script: Laying The Groundwork For A More Powerful Advocacy Force
In our work, there are always limited resources. This can, unfortunately, put those working toward the same goals at odds—competing for members, for donors, for grants, or for state or federal funding. This is the case for many nonprofits and afterschool providers and has been the plight of afterschool and child care advocates for years. The constant need for increased public investment has led our two groups to sometimes feel as though a win for one is an automatic loss for the other. This has ...Read More
Back to School? It’s Time To Let The Kids Do The Talking!
There is power in letting the kids do the thinking and the talking and you can make this happen as you are thinking about starting a new year with your kiddos. A successful day for an after-school leader is when s/he goes home rested and the kids are exhausted from all of the thinking and collaborating! I’d like to share some tips for facilitating more and talking less. In short, working on being a “guide on the side” so that the children do the majority of the thinking and talking. There are pl...Read More
Traveling, Speaking And Collaborating For Future Education Equity: A Report From The Road
This blog is being republished with permission from TGR Foundation. It was originally posted on November 1st, 2018. —————————————————————————————————————————————————– October presented me with multi...Read More
From Toddlers to Teens! Let Them Play!
If you are an 80’s baby, you probably played with a toy kitchen set. I did. When I was four years old, Santa brought me a kitchen set for Christmas. With a big grin on my face, I served my family plastic chicken drumsticks and fake pieces of yellow corn on the cob. My mom would pretend to chew the food and comment “Umm Tiana this is sooo good.” Unaware of my actions, I was emulating my mom and pretending to be a big girl. As I reminisce about this experience, I discover how critical pla...Read More
Serving Through Hands-On Projects
Editors Note: A special thank you to author @jillgordon for sharing one of four of Youth Philanthropy’s webinar series. Today’s post focuses on service learning models that can be implemented in your program too! Click on the webinar link below “Serving through Hands-on Projects” for the full program. And, keep your eyes open in February for the next special webinar from Youth Philanthropy Initiative of Indiana. Youth Philanthropy Initiative of Indiana (YPII) created a 4-part webi...Read More