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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Finding the S.P.A.R.K. Beyond Trauma
Did you know that BOOST has been offering trainings, workshops, and learning communities online over the past year? Many of our past sessions are available for rewatch on our YouTube page, with new videos added regularly. We currently have over 100 free educational videos for you to enjoy! On July 30, 2020, Ashley Hunt of The SPARK Initiative shared resources that you can use with the student and community populations you serve. The SPARK Initiative is a non-profit organization with a mission to...Read More
Their Lives Changed Overnight… How Youth Responded
Almost overnight, the lives of high school students all over the country, along with their teachers, mentors, and group facilitators, were completely disrupted. At a time where spring break, prom, and graduation was on the mind of many students, suddenly they found themselves wondering if they would return to school at all, or whether the abrupt ‘goodbyes’ were the last memory they would carry with them. Later in the spring, when racial tensions increased nationwide, students found themselves ag...Read More
2,500+ Free Online Resources for Learning
We’re in an unprecedented moment. The ways we teach, and how students learn, are shifting in ways they never have before. It’s hard to stay connected, focused, and on-plan with so much change happening daily. But, fortunately, we also have tools, technology, and community keeping us all together. TEAMBOOST has collected a wealth of free, online resources that teachers, afterschool program staff, youth workers, and families can access to keep the kids in your life learning and growing...Read More
Youth Participatory Evaluation: An Opportunity to Promote Youth Development and Program Improvement (Webinar #1)
In 2019, Indiana Philanthropy Alliance (IPA) hosted a free, two-part webinar series designed to support next-gen leadership and giving. The first webinar, “Youth Participatory Evaluation: An Opportunity to Promote Youth Development and Program Improvement,” explored concepts of Youth Participatory Evaluation (YPE) with Dr. Lori Palen of RTI International’s Center on Social Determinants, Risk Behaviors, and Prevention Science. Sharing Indiana examples of youth evaluative processes that included y...Read More
C.A.L.M.M Classroom Break – 5 Simple Chair Poses to Calm The Chaos
Educators, you know that moment when the energy in your classroom feels like utter chaos and you imagine yourself running out of the room and never looking back?! We’ve all had those moments when our students are distracted, dysregulated, and disconnected and it feels as if whatever you say is going in one ear and out the other. Most likely this is actually the case. When children’s nervous systems are dysregulated, their pre-frontal cortex can tend to be offline. The prefrontal cortex is implic...Read More
A Step Beyond –Youth Team Up And Advance Their Curiosity for Space
Kids are naturally curious, wondering about everything around them, and growing in their journey of figuring out life. Each youth comes into an afterschool program with a unique background and experience – and that is reflected in their own story, perspective, and skills. In afterschool, kids can have experiences where they are guided to deepen their curiosity, develop open communication, make careful and thoughtful observations of the world around them, and learn to work with others as a team. ...Read More
3 Family Engagement Resources to Try this Month
Community gatherings, potlucks, and school parties are great opportunities to re-engage the caregivers, older siblings, and families that your program supports year-round. These events, in addition to being fun and light-hearted, can build protective and supportive factors for families and children experiencing adversity. The benefit of out-of-school time goes beyond the social-emotional to the physical needs of families. According to the Afterschool Alliance, more than 4 in 5 parents in communi...Read More
Why Wellness is Important
I am lucky enough to work for an organization that values health and wellness. They know that the most important form of healthcare is preventative, so every quarter we can make up to $85 through an app called Virgin Pulse. It’s an awesome tool, but not everyone has access to this app, and even in my office, contractors do not qualify for the program at all. As the Wellness Champion for my department, I make sure that the activities I promote can be used by all! While not every workplace, or eve...Read More
Brokering Youth Interests, Opportunities, And Relationships
Learning happens in both formal settings like school, and informal spaces such as museums, libraries, afterschool clubs, and online affinity spaces. At museums and libraries, youth can engage in following passions on a wide range of interest-driven topics, from makerspaces to retro-videogaming. In afterschool clubs, youth may learn 3D printing, computer coding, digital photography, or debate skills. In online affinity spaces, youth can explore other interests not always available locally. Online...Read More
Raising Kind Kids through Social-Emotional Learning (Webinar #4)
In 2018, Indiana Philanthropy Alliance (IPA) and the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy partnered to host a free 4-part webinar series designed to support next-gen leadership and giving. The fourth webinar, “Raising Kind Kids through Social-Emotional Learning,” explores research that points to a decline in empathy, as well as how we can work to foster empathy and kindness in youth. Background In 2014, IPA became involved in social-emotional learning by developing a curriculu...Read More
Build Your Kids’ “Moonshot-ability”!
Creative thinking. Bold imagination. Tenacity. Rising to a challenge. Innovation. Know-how. Skills we work on building in kids in afterschool, right? It’s also what it took to put together an amazing feat that made history, when on July 20, 1969, humans first landed and set foot on the surface of the Moon. President John F. Kennedy announced to the world NASA’s “Moonshot” challenge in May of 1961. NASA answered the challenge with a series of missions to the Moon, each making more progress toward...Read More