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!

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Where the Rubber Meets the Road- Planning a Successful Afterschool Activity

Building on the concept that the most productive learning comes through active involvement, the effectiveness of any program that seeks to develop skills in youth must be rich in activity. Remember, most of the students sit for almost 7.5 hours a day! They are eager to be involved in activities that allow for action and interaction. Enthusiasm is contagious and movement essential. You do not need a repertoire of several hundred activities. Such a large selection is simply not practical and, more...Read More

Supporting Young Creatives in a Time of Global Crisis

We have all shared this experience of navigating the impacts of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Tough decisions were made to close schools and community facilities. Parents and educators are learning to operate in a new virtual space. Layoffs have been made. There is new federal and state legislation to help communities cope. Through this all, our communities have seen tremendous creation from young artists, theatre-makers, musicians, and dancers. Spoken word performances on social media and virtu...Read More

A Holistic Approach To Helping Traumatized Kids, Adults, and Communities

I’m a voracious consumer of news. Each morning or lunch break, I set aside time to read headlines, scan news tickers, and flag the day’s trending developments on social media. Later in the day, I pick a few headlines or bookmarked videos, and dig into the details. When I have time, I read across news sources – traditional pieces, independent sources, and opinion bloggers – to provide more nuance to my understanding and sort out the general zeitgeist on the news of the day. Honestly, I think the ...Read More

A Short Story of Optimism and Generosity

I recently had the opportunity to spend time with some students from our after school program on a field trip and they truly impressed me with their generosity. We were walking to our bus in San Francisco’s financial district – where we had just finished our visit to one of our corporate partners. On the way to the bus, I learned that the students in our group had arranged among themselves to all bring a little cash to buy snacks at one of the shops along the way – something I would ...Read More

Raising Our Kids: A Long-Term Approach

I have had an experience several times in the last few weeks that, I am sure, happens to all of us who have worked with students for a certain number of years. If it has not happened to you yet, give it time. It will. Someday, you will run into your former students and they will have turned into adults. It is always a little strange to me when I see my “kids” as adults. I know that time keeps marching on and those kids I have worked with will grow up and continue to live their lives. They will g...Read More

What Is The Truth Behind E-Cigarettes?

For well over the past two decades, the cigarette smoking rate among US youth and teens has steadily been decreasing. This is a tremendous win for youth workers, public health workers, youth, and the general population because it took collaboration to help educate our youth about the dangers of cigarettes and to prevent them from ever starting. Unfortunately, the tobacco industry has found a new product to target youth, and it is working. The most popular tobacco product used by middle school an...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

Three Shining Lights Against a Dark Cloud

Under normal circumstances, I’m not one to be political in a public and professional forum, but really, I’m in need of some writing therapy. Every day, I read the latest news story about another negative appointment to the President- elect’s cabinet. Who knew there were so many people who both seem to despise the role of government AND also want to lead it? While alarming, those aren’t even the most upsetting parts of my daily doldrums. What really brings me down are the ...Read More