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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Managing Our Moves: Reflections on Phases of Discovery and Recommitment
On a hot day this summer I visited an outdoor swimming spot and after dangling my toes off the pier for a bit was inspired to challenge myself. It felt like decades since I last dove into the water headfirst, but as I curled my toes over the edge, extended my arms in front of me with one hand piled atop the other, the familiarity of that posture felt reassuring and exhilarating from the inside out. A moment later my ears were tucked into upper arms upside down, and I spotted my feet suspended f...Read More
Bringing at-home STEM success into focus
STEM has left the building For a long time, advocates of STEM education have worked to bring STEM learning closer to students’ lives outside of school. This year, though, COVID has made STEM learning a part of students’ lives outside of school in ways nobody ever imagined or wanted. The pandemic has forcibly ejected STEM from the traditional in-building school environment and strewn it about in a great blurry mess spread out variably and amorphously among the home, Zoom sessions, mask-, distance...Read More
Find Your Happy Place
I write about energy – whether that is the electricity we use in our homes or the energy we exert when we are physically active. As the Residential Energy Program Manager for a County agency and a part time Aerobics and Laughter instructor, it is all I think about. So much so that if you look closely, you may seem steam coming out of my ears. That is because I am always doing something. In fact, I have a problem saying no. I like to be helpful, I like to feel like part of a team, and I lik...Read More
What the COVID-19 Crisis Has Taught Us
I just finished my spinach smoothie for breakfast and am reflecting on how we all work hard these days to stay healthy and sane. My wife makes me spinach smoothies to start the day, and I drink them, though I don’t like them, because they are promising—hopeful for good health and energy. We need both, especially in these trying times of global pandemic, social distancing, and online learning. Friday, March 13, 2020 (yep, Friday the 13th) will be remembered by many folks in the education world fo...Read More
An Invitation to Unplug: 4 Nature-Based Activities
This month, Healthier Generation is celebrating Park and Recreation Month and the essential role greenspace plays in making our lives better. For example, did you know that trees can reduce anxiety and taking a walk outside can provide grounding and self-awareness when conflict arises? Today, I want to invite you to unplug and take a mindfulness break with me. We’re going to use Healthier Generation’s new Nature-Based BINGO Card. It’s a resource you can share with families, but for today, I want...Read More
Mindset: An After-School Legacy from Kobe Bryant
Kobe “Bean” Bryant was one of the youngest players to enter the National Basketball Association (NBA), at 18 years of age. He played 20 years for one of the greatest sports franchises in the history of professional sports, the Los Angeles Lakers. He was a five-time NBA World Champion, two-time Men’s Basketball Gold Medalist, twice the Most Valuable Player of the NBA Finals. He was voted the NBA’s Most Valuable Player in 2008. He became one of Nike’s greatest ambassadors, next only to...Read More
Taking Time over the Holidays to Reset
This blog was originally posted in 2018, the content is so relevant we wanted to repost. Self-care over the holidays is a magical way to enter the New Year! _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Many of us have the opportunity to take some time away from work over the end of the year holiday season. While this time usually results in time away from work, it is often over-scheduled and jammed with holiday parties, family g...Read More
When The Earthquake Hits…Navigating Personal Trauma
As professionals in the field of education and youth development, we are often faced monthly, weekly, and even daily, with helping support and manage other people’s trauma. We hear the horrible stories, watch in live-action the day to day responses and behaviors of kids who have been traumatized, and often spend our days and nights urging others to seek out guidance and help for managing these almost unimaginable experiences. But, what happens when the tables turn and that trauma is our own? Thr...Read More
The Super Hero That IS Within
Editor’s Note: This blog was first published on Monday, April 8, 2019, with permission to use from The Leadership Program and Erika Petrelli, CEO. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The kids and I saw the movie Shazam. We all loved it, and afterward, they immediately grabbed their sketchbooks with the intention of creating their own superheroes. After some initial prototyping, Dylan came up with the character of “Sir In...Read More
Turning Crickets Into Stories: Objects and Metaphors For Effective Processing and Reflection
Ahhhh! It is springtime in New England, which means summer is just around the corner. I live in a city and even though my summer days and nights are filled with the sounds of the city, I often will tune out those noises and tune in to the sounds of nature in my backyard; the sound of the wind rustling through the leaves on the trees, birds chirping, the cicadas whirring, and the rhythmic sound of the crickets, who play reggae in my town neighborhood. While I love to get lost in the sounds of t...Read More
Grace and Space
Grace and Space. That’s what I’ve been saying to myself and others lately. We need to offer it to ourselves and to each other. Grace and space. The words just popped in my head, but once they got there they clutched on tight and won’t let go. 2018 has been a hell of a year, for me personally and I think for us in general. So, I think those are my words for 2019. I’ve never been a resolutions girl because I feel they just set me up for failure at the very start of a new beginning (which may be ju...Read More
Planning for a “New Year” With Our Kiddos #Repost
Editors note: This blog was first published in January 2018. We believe the content of this blog is as relevant today for 2019, as it was for 2018. Let’s keep asking these questions… ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ January 1 is really our second “New Year” with our kiddos. Happy New Year, take two! As educators, we really have two new years. First, we start the year in August or September when our kiddos r...Read More