13 thoughts on “Guestbook”

1. I am currently having problems with the children at the club, wanting more to eat than the food we offer them at 4pm. If you have anything, or ideas you could share with me about what i can offer them. because of the club being in a school we have to follow the healthy eating programme, but desperately need some fresh ideas.
   Thanks

2. Hi Laura,

   Thanks for the visit and the question. Providing healthy snacks after school can be quite a challenge, and something I have many changes and additions to many times in the last several years, in fact writing an article on Healthy After School Snacks is definitely on my to-do list. I think to provide some helpful ideas I might need a little more information, such as: What time to kids arrive at your club? When do they get to eat snack? What snacks are provided when they arrive? I know how heartbreaking it can be when little ones come to you saying they are hungry and you have little to provide.

   A few things that have been helpful in our center is:
   1) We always serve snack as soon as children arrive after school, for some reason, even on early release days this seems to a part of their routine that they like (It’s also harder to get hungry kids to focus on Homework after school). We usually serve a snack item + juice or milk at this time.

   2) We serve a second, smaller snack such as saltines or graham crackers later in the day, around 4:30-5:00pm. Children may also take out snacks from home at this time. This seems to help children make it through the whole day better and stave off hunger until dinnertime.

   I hope this helps, and I am looking forward to writing more about healthy snacks soon! Thanks for sharing Laura!

3. Hi
   I would like to get hold of paperwork for the administration side of running a kidsclub, for example, a signing in book, activity planner etc.

4. Depending on what you need ~ I usually create templates in excel or for club lesson plans and store them in white binders in page protector sleeves. This way I can reuse them from year to year. Lakeshore Learning Stores or other Teacher Supply stores will have activity planners and sign-in books. Not sure if that helps ~ but it’s a start. Thanks so much for visiting Anita!

5. Thanks for sharing your story! am so encouraged. I love children and for years I run away from the idea to really work professionally with them, I just wanted to do little and not really go the extra mile. Now as I am older and wiser (lol) I am getting the proper training needed to work with children of all ages, my knitted group are the school-agers. Another thing our professor recommended your site and it is well written and informative, again thanks!
   Juliana

6. Juliana – I am so glad you stopped by and are feeling so encouraged. Working with children truly is rewarding and something that fills up your heart more and more each day you spend with them. I feel I learn as much from them, if not more, than I teach them. I wish you luck in your journey to become a child care professional.

7. Hi Marie,
   I’m an Extended Schools Coordinator for a cluster of primary schools in the north of England and just wanted to say what a great site this is with lots of really good club ideas. I help organise a range of activities after school, at weekends and in the holidays with the most popular being sports (particularly for younger pupils) and family trips to sites of interest around the region but drama and language groups are also well attended. My schools recognise the importance of out of hours activity with breakfast clubs and after school sessions extending the day by up to two hours for some enthusiastic children.

8. Oh, how I love this! This is an eye-opener!! We are an NGO in Sagamu, southwest Nigeria. We are on a project promoting care and support for vulnerable children including orphans. We are looking for ideas to give psychosocial support and your website has come on sight. Thank you for sharing these resources.
   Dr.O.A. Jeminusi, Director & Project Manager, Sagamu Community Centre, Sagamu, Ogun State, Nigeria.

9. I need help! We are trying to bring about changes to our current Before/After care program, particularly in the evening. We have K-5 from 3:30-6pm and parents picking up any time.
   Our current teacher is convinced that curriculum is impossible. The children get outside play and homework time, but after that it is all free play with no learning going on. I don’t have experience with this type of program in particular, but I believe we could be doing so much more. Can you help me with types of schedules we might do or a sample lesson plan?
   We are looking for a new teacher who will be open to change.

   Thank you!

10. Hi Janelle –
    It is certainly possibly to have a schedule in an after school program, in fact children thrive in environments where different activities are constantly available. If it all possible give the children 2-3 choices to choose from. We usually start the afternoon with Snack Time, Outdoor Freeplay, followed by Homework Time (for 1 hour), and then After School Clubs, Outside/Inside Games, Crafts & finally closing activity or game. Each activity should last approx. 20-30 minutes.

11. Hello, Marie,
    I’ve just found your website and think it’s a great service you’re offering.

    I have developed an after-school club in which kids play popular online games that just happen to develop their cognitive skills. The games are organized into a six-part curriculum (Attention, Memory, etc.), and as kids “pass” each game they add pieces to their own colourful brain puzzle. Although conceived as an enrichment activity, some games may be of interest to Special Ed consultants as well, for instance those that affect brain areas that can improve reading ability.

    I hope you’ll check out my site and consider adding it to your resources.

    Thinking Skills Club
    http://thinkingskillsclub.com (Adults side)
    http://kids.thinkingskillsclub.com (Kids side)

    All the best,
    Mitch

12. I will most certainly check this out and would love to feature your site in a future post! Thanks for the info.

    Marie

13. Hi Marie
    That’s really great idea to enhance cognitive skills of the children. Hope it will benefit many parents and children. Thanks for sharing.

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