Inspirational and Empowering Child Care Business Owners To Build Successful Child Care Businesses

Posts tagged ‘School-Age Care’

How to Create a Cool Place for School-Age Children

I began transforming my school-age program in the spring of 2010 with the help of a Missouri T.E.A.C.H. project Pilot grant. The information and resources that I gained while completing nine college semester hours of youth development training hours inspired me to create a cool place for school-age children.

In this blog post, I will share with you 5 ways to create a cool place for school-age children:

1. Solicit feedback from the children. Ask the children what type of activities that they would like to see in the program this summer.

2. Assess the environment and added materials that are appropriate for their age group. Changed the classroom centers to ,”Clubs.” School-age children love to belong to clubs and this makes the environment a cool place to explore. For example, The cooking center is now called the, ” Cooking Club” and the Art area is now the “Art Club.”

Fun materials to add to your environment: Games, clay, paint, paper, scrap booking materials, yarn for crocheting, hobby magazines, wood working materials, variety of books, dress-up clothes, blocks, large cardboard boxes, computer, sports equipment, puppets/theater, dramatic play prop box (hair dresser, store,etc)

3.  As you make changes  observe the children to see how they are responding to the environment. If the  children seem to be very involved in the materials and more focused…you did a great job!

4. At my childcare center, we plan a cool and fun-filled summer camp every year. The weekly activities are theme based and there are  a variety of field trips planned every week. For example: Mondays- Park Day; Tuesday- Visit a local attraction; Wednesday- Free Movie Camp; Thursday- Library (Summer Reading Club) Friday- Visit local attraction.

The parents are responsible for all field trip fees and the field trips are planned for the entire summer. Furthermore, the last week of camp is back to school fun and we plan a big back to school party for the children.  See my website for ideas

5. Ideas for the Fall Before/After School – Kids Club- In many cases parents need some place for their school-age children to go before/after school and creating after school club activities, is a great way to keep the children from getting bored. Some of the after school kids clubs could include: Art, Science, Music, Cooking, Drama, Technology, Math, Literacy Club. For more tips on how to create clubs visit, After School Training Tool Kit website.

Cool Summer Camp Marketing ideas:

  • Add a large Summer Camp Here Sign in your window (if permitted)
  • Market your summer camp program on your website and on your social media pages
  • Decorate your windows with summer decor
  • Be sure to insert Summer Camp Enrolling signs in your van window (if permitted)
  • Issue Summer Camp Flyers to your local schools
  • Offer incentives for parents who refer families to your summer camp

For more marketing ideas, check out my Marketing 101 Toolkit.

With your Child Care Business in Mind,

Shiketa Morgan

Follow my Child Care Business Tweets @ccarebusiness

 

Category:

Child Care Center, Curriculum, Family Child Care, Program Planning, School-Age Program

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Empowering School-Age Children For Leadership Success by Dr. Linette Daniels

“I believe that given the right space, tools and training ALL youth can succeed!”

Leadership is the key to success in life and those who have achieved success have reached the top by displaying leadership qualities.  In an effort to promote leadership success among the youth in your group, you must make opportunities for leadership available.

The following suggests are ways you can help young people develop leadership skills.

  • Allow school-agers to make decisions.  This is a hard one for some adults to accept. However, to develop leadership skills, youth need to make decisions.  Even the smallest decisions will help prepare them for the future.  Not allowing school-agers to make decisions will hinder their ability to be successful.  Remember, practice makes better.
  • Encourage school-agers to take on leadership roles.  When the opportunity presents itself, encourage the kids in your group to take on leadership roles. This can be in the form of being team captain, running errands, or taking the lead on a group project.  Encouragement will go a long way. If a child knows you believe in him, he will believe in himself.
  • Give school-agers opportunities to practice.  Too many youth are getting by without assuming any real responsibility. If leadership is going to be a lifestyle, youth must realize that they, too, are held accountable.  Examples of this can be making good choices, being a peacemaker with friends, following directions, etc.  BUT, you must also allow them to experience the consequences when they fail to act responsibly.

Teaching leadership is actually easier than it sounds.

Give these group activities a try. They are loads of fun.

LINE UP

Blindfold everyone in the group. Whisper to each person a number from one to the number of persons in the group. After you are done, tell the players they must line up by consecutive numbers without talking. Everyone should begin to move slowly around each other, putting palms up facing outward to protect themselves from collisions.

KNOTS

A group of six to 12 people forms a circle. Each person puts the right hand into the center of the circle and clasps hands with one other person who is not standing next to him or her. Then everyone puts their left hand into the circle and clasps hands, again making sure that person is not standing next to them. They should be holding two different people’s hands. The goal is to untangle the knot without letting go of anyone’s hand.

Connect with Dr. Daniels Today!

An International Movement To Empower More Youth!
1-(855)-EM-YOUTH

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School-Age Program

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