Posts by c4kadmin
Not So Usual Celebrations
July 7th is Chocolate Day. WOW! What an opportunity to eat chocolate and not feel a bit guilty. Chocolate is one of America’s favorite flavors. Chocolate in candy, cookies, cakes, drinks, ice cream and cereal—Yum! And of course, what’s not to like about an Oreo. You can eat Oreos plain, dipped in milk, crunched up…
Read MoreClubs and Afterschool
Clubs and After-school In the world of after-school there are 3 Rs—relationships, relevance, and rigor, which stand as a litmus test in selecting the activities that we do with youth. If the activity can meet the test posed in these three words, then chances are, it will be a winner with young people. Clubs are…
Read MoreCooking With Kids
Have you tried a cooking club with the youth in your program? If not, you might want to give it a try. The youth are engaged (at every age level) and love having the opportunity to measure and mix, and of course EAT! Here are several different ways you can get started. Harvest of the…
Read MoreVirtual Vacations
The weather outside is far from frightful in California at least. We have sun and cool breezes and it feels like spring. So for those of you who live somewhere else, consider taking a virtual vacation here in California, and for those of you in California, consider taking a virtual vacation to some other point…
Read MoreSTEAM Is An Integrated System
STEM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. This acronym wasn’t simply chosen because it makes it easier and quicker to talk about these subjects. It wasn’t chosen simply because there seems to be a natural connection between science and plants (including the stems). It wasn’t chosen so you could add the arts…
Read MoreQuestion to Solve Problems
A blog post entitled “What’s More Important: Knowing the Right Answers or Asking the Right Questions” explored the importance of questions and answers. This blog referred to the work of Hal Gregersen who argues “That the what-ifs, the why’s, and the why not’s are more vital to shaping a child’s lifelong creative intelligence than knowing…
Read MoreStrive for Accuracy
Although making a mistake is not the end of the world in most cases, striving for accuracy is an important habit of the mind. Notice that it doesn’t say striving for perfection, rather striving for accuracy which could also be translated into excellence. Certainly we care about how other perceive the work we do, but…
Read MoreMetacognition
Humans are the only creatures that can think about thinking or develop the skill of metacognition. Metacognition is cognition about cognition or knowing about knowing. It is the ability to consider how you learn as well as what you learn. In the past we have talked about multiple intelligences (nine have been identified) and learning…
Read MoreThink Flexibly-Habit of Mind
What do you think of when you hear the word “flexibly”? I don’t know about you but I think of gymnasts and dancers who seem to be relaxed and able to move into any number of graceful positions. I also think about contortionists who can bend, twist, and wiggle into the smallest of places. I…
Read MoreListen With Empathy and Understanding
Communication is a two way street. Someone needs to speak and someone else needs to listen, really listen with understanding and empathy. Too often we hear the words, apply our own thoughts and experiences to them, and then react or respond to what we’ve translated. When you take the time to listen with understanding and…
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