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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Self-Care Ideas: Give 1/Get 8
Youth development is hard work and often emotionally draining; taking even a few minutes for self-care can be beneficial for our mental and physical health. I know what you’re thinking, self-care is all about juicing, advanced yoga poses, beach vacations, and lavender-scented spa days. Although these absolutely fall into the category of self-care, there are plenty of simple ways to practice self-care without breaking the bank. For this article, I want us to reimagine self-care by bringing one of...Read More
A Time Of Transition And Growth
I’ve had the pleasure of being involved with youth development and out-of-school learning time since 1998. For the past eight years, I’ve been the Program Director of the Youth Philanthropy Initiative of Indiana (YPII). In that time, I’ve watched as YPII built a strong local, national, and even international reputation as a thought-leader and become a significant resource for training on youth philanthropy, young people sharing their time, talents, and treasures. Through numerous collaborations...Read More
Books to Help Build Elementary Students’ Understanding of Engineering
Thoughts Turn In Springtime … For the last several weeks, the view from my office on the third floor has been of treetops filling out with leaves. Looking down to the ground, I can see flowers coming into bloom, bushes becoming green, and animals of all kinds scurrying, hopping, or flying about, urgently concerned with their appointed, springtime tasks. It’s a delight and a wonder to see the natural world coming to life in such vivid fashion. … To Tech? But here’s what I have been touching and u...Read More
Webinar 3: Igniting Leadership in Young People
Editor’s Note: A special thank you to author @jillgordon for sharing the third of four of Youth Philanthropy Initiative of Indiana’s webinar series. Today’s post focuses on youth leadership practices that can be implemented in your program too! Click on the webinar link below “Igniting Leadership in Youth” for the full program. And keep your eyes open in April for the next special webinar from Youth Philanthropy Initiative of Indiana. The Youth Philanthropy Initiative of Indiana (...Read More
Butterfly, Spread Your Wings and Self-Care
Editors Note: This blog was first published on The Leadership Program‘s website on January 29th. Breakfast Club blogger and author, Erika Petrelli, has generously repurposed this blog for the BOOST Breakfast Club out-of-school time readership. The field of out of school time can be so difficult—we give so much to the youth that we serve, and constantly worry that it’s not enough because we are only one person and how much can we possibly impact? We give to others at the detriment of our ...Read More
Together We Make a Difference – FREE DOWNLOAD
Many years ago, I arrived at a middle school to evaluate an after school program. As with all site visits, I checked in to the school office and asked where the after school program was located. They were unsure of which “after school program” I was actually looking for. This school, like most, had over a dozen programs happening simultaneously throughout their campus during after school hours. I found the state-funded after school program (that I was on campus to evaluate) and quickly learned t...Read More
Preserving Programs for Kids by Going Local
At the end of 2017, the nation is on the verge of one of the largest federal tax cuts in modern times. And while some in Washington celebrate, for others the Congressional tax deal holds the specter of devastating cuts to social services and education programs that rely on federal dollars. Some are bracing for budgets squeezed dry, and more and more programs, already run on a shoestring, hobbled to ineffectiveness or nonexistence. Knowing what’s at stake, people in our line of work don’t typical...Read More
4 Amazing Tips To Making Communities Healthier Through STEAM and Sports
If you are a regular BOOST Breakfast Club reader, you may have read my summer article, STEM and Wellness: Colliding Galaxies. The article explores a partnership sparked by a chance meeting at the 2017 BOOST Conference between the Alliance for a Healthier Generation and the National Girls Collaborative Project. Three months later and our educational brief, STEM and Wellness: A Powerful Equation for Equity, is now live! Here is the heart of the brief: Intentionally blending STEM/STEAM and wellness...Read More
Cybersecurity Taking Root in Afterschool
The best and worst of online times. What do you know about Cybersecurity? The Internet, as we all know, offers all the information you could ever want to find, all the time, from anywhere. Unfortunately, “all the information” includes a lot of revealing, specific data about ourselves, our property, and things we care about that we might not want or even understand to be available. Staying protected while connected has become a fundamental challenge of citizenship, as the reach of “being online” ...Read More
15 Messages of Encouragement to Site Supervisors
As the beginning of the school year is underway, safe spaces during the out-of-school time hours are open and serving children all around the nation. This piece is collaboratively written by our bloggers and includes wisdom, tips, and inspiration for all of our valued Site Supervisors of out-of-school time programs. You ALL matter, and we wish you a successful school year. “I’ve been thinking a lot lately about this quote from Faouzi Skali: “My friend, stop searching for the wh...Read More
Now Live! Submit an RFP for the 2018 BOOST Conference
From May 1-4, 2018, thousands of professionals will be joining together to learn, think, inspire, create, and grow at the BOOST Conference and we want YOU to help facilitate this growth and learning through our dynamic workshops. Submit a proposal today! Think about your expertise, what you have to offer to the out-of-school (OST) time field, and what conversations conference participants are seeking. The variety of workshop themes are designed to promote those conversations, interactions, and ...Read More