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Building Relationships At the Beginning of the Year
So much is going on at the beginning of the school year, it is easy to put building relationships on the back burner. It is easy to think that you will take the time once things have settled down and a routine has been established. Sound familiar? It is important that you recognize your key…
Read MoreCalendaring
You may be wondering how calendaring is different that scheduling. C4K would suggest that a schedule identifies time slots during the program day over a period of 1-3 weeks that gives staff a road map for planning specific activities and learning opportunities for youth. A calendar, on the other hand, is an overall look at…
Read MoreMeeting With Principals
Building a strong and positive relationship with the principal of the school your after-school program serves, is essential. Remember that when you work on a campus, that campus is figuratively the “principal’s house”, and you need to be considered a welcome guest. Although you may informally greet the principal in the hallway, it is important…
Read MoreMath Facts to Automaticity
Automaticity is most often associated with sight words, but the concept can also be applied to the memorization of math facts. Whether we are discussing addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division facts, knowing these to automaticity, without thinking, is a necessary part of being effective in mathematics. Kids can learn math facts in much the same…
Read MoreMessy Art Projects
As school has become more focused on academic achievement and test scores, the opportunity for kids to experience art has decreased in many of our schools. After-school is the perfect place for kids to experience art. Now, you can certainly do this in a cerebral, art appreciation way, reviewing the works of great and not-so-great…
Read MoreThe Four Fold Way-Arriens
Angeles Arriens, author and anthropologist, shared her insight into earth-bound cultures and key principles that are at the center of how they live and interact with one another. The four principles are: Show up and choose to be present Speak to what has heart and meaning Tell the truth without blame or judgment Be open…
Read MoreBecome an Essential Service
When you think about the term, “an essential service”, what comes to your mind? Certainly for me it would be all the things that I use every day without so much as a thought, but would miss like crazy if it was unavailable. Running water (in both hot and cold forms), adequate roads for me…
Read MoreRecipe for Building Relationships
Building relationships is one of the most important roles of after-school. As youth get older, especially noticeable beginning in 4th grade, youth become more focused on the world outside of family, and it is important that they understand how to build strong relationships with others, both peer and adult. The recipe for relationships is simple…
Read MoreSummer Learning Loss
Summer learning loss has been defined as the loss in academic skills and knowledge over the course of the summer vacation. Although we expect to lose an edge when we don’t practice, summer learning loss is much greater for youth in low-income groups than it is for their middle-class peers. In 1996 a study by…
Read MoreGlobalization of the World
In his book, The World Is Flat A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century, Thomas Friedman discusses the notion that we are living in one world that is interdependent. He discusses globalization and how this is changing how business is conducted. He identifies world flatteners including work flow software, supply chaining, open-out- and in-sourcing, and…
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