Recommended ages: 5-9
Spring time is such a beautiful time for kids observe the world around them. Whether they are buzzing in the air or crawling around in the dirt. I’m sure your kids have noticed a bug or two outside. “All About Bugs” Club is a neat way to teach kids more about Bugs.
Positive reinforcement can be very powerful in the childcare setting and often one group reward that is commonly thought of is food. Earning sweets such as cake, ice cream or candy or possibly a pizza party can be a big motivator for children and can be a fairly easy or obvious choice. But relying primarily on food based reward systems is not a good idea for a variety of reasons. Continue reading “Non-food based rewards/incentives”
It’s squishy and white, has a pleasant, clean smell – ah the wonders of shaving cream, I just love it! If ever there was a fun and versatile medium to use for manipulative play its shaving cream. It’s one of those activities that make you want to jump right in with the kids and squish away! As an added bonus, clean-up is a breeze! And you know what? Once you use shaving cream in an activity with the kids they will be asking for you to do it again and again.
Prov
iding a safe place for children to go after school is so important and parents want to know that their kids are not only safe and well cared for physically but emotionally as well. Providing an After School Club Program can be beneficial in many ways. Continue reading “The Psychological benefits of After School Clubs”
Thus
Cooking Club is a very popular after school club choice. Let’s be frank, if eating food is involved children will suddenly become more interested! But Cooking Club is a choice, not without its complications such as:
1) Many child care centers have limited kitchen access or only have access to a microwave/refrigerator which makes it difficult to “cook” any food.
2) Safety can become a concern with hot surfaces & knives. Using plastic utensils and active supervision is crucial
3) Cooking Club can easily become junk food club. Try to balance by offering a good mix of treats and healthy options! Continue reading “Cooking Club In After School Setting”
So the kids at school have been asking for quite some time now about planning a Club Penguin Club. I’m thinking to myself this is great!! The kids are taking pride and ownership in their after school program. But on the other hand I had no idea what Club Penguin was. It was time to start doing a little investigating to find out what Club Penguin was all about.
I decided the best way to find out what Club Penguin was total immersion so I visited their website at http://www.clubpenguin.com/ and created an 
account. Club Penguin is a MMOG (massively multiplayer online game) geared towards children aged 6-14. Club Penguin is a fully interactive online community where children can play games and earn coins to buy items for their penguin avatars.
Do you ever have those moments in life where you participate in something and suddenly realize ~ hey the kids at school would love this activity. How can I incorporate it into my program?
That’s what happened to me on Easter 2007. I was at a Family Easter Party and witnessed a family tradition that intrigued me. We had just finished eating some appetizers when everyone started grabbing some colored Easter eggs (the hard-boiled kind not the plastic variety.) The next thing I knew people were pairing themselves up and challenging their partner to an “Egg War.”
Continue reading “Easter Egg Wars”
