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 views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer, or company. Enjoy the brain food.

The BOOST Breakfast Club Blog is Brain Food for In and Out-of-School Time Leaders!

Interested in becoming a blogger? Email [email protected]

Click here to Register for a free account or click here to Login to your existing account.

All The Single Moms

What did I have for breakfast today? I think I finished the kids’ Honey Nut Cheerios and must have downed some coffee. I can’t recall though, because I am losing my mind. My wife has been out of town on a work trip for two weeks and I am trying to hold down the fort as a single dad. I am running a zone defense and I am privileged enough to have the support of a part-time nanny… and still, I am getting crushed. This experience reminds me, once again, how much I appreciate all the Single Mom...Read More

Foiled: Lesson Learned!

I went face-to-face this weekend with the single most evil thing in the face of parenting and humanity. The thing that makes you come face-to-face with your faults and imperfections, which reminds you that you are undeserving to even be taking up space in the room in which you are currently standing. The thing that tests you to your human limits. When I die, if I end up in hell, my particular level will have me wrangling this thing 24 hours a day. It answers to a few different names. Saran wrap....Read More

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

10 Tips on How Parents Can Step Into Leadership

What does it mean, as a parent, to “step into your leadership”? Beyond the stereotypical “because I’m the parent and I said so” form of leadership, how am I most effectively leading my children? What does it even mean to lead our children? Is it teaching them right from wrong? Is it telling them what to do? Is it pushing them to get good grades and achieve great things? Of course that’s part of it. But the problem with limiting our definition of parent leaders...Read More

My Why: Serving From Behind the Scenes

Most people in the expanded learning field would be able to answer the question, “Do you know your why?” without much trouble. But I’ll be really honest with you. I didn’t find my “why” until I had worked in this field for a while. I got my first job in an after-school program by answering a classified ad in January of 1992. Why did I apply? Mostly because I had just obtained my college degree and I was ready to try something that didn’t involve serving ...Read More

Arriving in Holland

There is a very special story written by Emily Perl Kingsley in1987. She tells about planning a fabulous trip to Italy, learning the language and buying the guidebooks, but then landing in Holland instead. At first she’s disappointed because everyone else she knows is going to Italy. Because she’s arrived in Holland, she has to learn a different language and buy different guidebooks and meet different people. Soon she discovers that Holland has windmills, and tulips, and Rembrandts. ...Read More