So yesterday I was looking for a St. Patrick's Day craft for an after school program. After spending an hour online I was shocked that I couldn't find anything the caught my interest.
Continue reading...2. September 2009
Every recreation department teaches sports to kids, whether by their own staff or through contract instructors. And why wouldn’t they, the benefits for children are many. But what if you want to offer a sport and don’t have an instructor? Maybe you can’t find a qualified contract instructor to teach the skills and nobody on [...]
Continue reading...2. March 2009
Its been raining off and on here in Northern California so I decided to dig up some of my reference books and find some rainy day activities that I knew were good and have used in the past. Below is an excerpt from a book called Camp Program Ideas, edited and compiled by Janet Gibson, [...]
Continue reading...1. March 2009
The other day I was talking on the phone with a friend of mine, Susan, who is the director of an after school YMCA site. We were discussing programming, as we always do, and she mentioned that she started running a sign language program. I took a semester of sign language in college. I really enjoyed [...]
Continue reading...22. February 2009
I see a lot of parks and recreation department and YMCA brochures. Most of them have one thing in common, the cover is not as engaging as it could be. I would show you examples but I don’t want anyone getting offended. Just take a look at yours or the city recreation departments and YMCAs [...]
Continue reading...17. February 2009
When the youth programs supervisor told me she wanted to do an after school program called Spinners I was intrigued. “Spinners? Is that where you spin the paper and drop paint on the paper making cool designs.” “No Curt, it’s a jump rope program.” “Huh? You want kids to jump rope for an hour of after school programming?” “Exactly. [...]
Continue reading...26. January 2009
Are you offering your teens (specifically the middle school students) a Friday night program? Here are some ideas that may appeal to the teens and pre-teens in your area. Most of these activities can take place in your community center or a school gym. If you find one or two that are a real hit [...]
Continue reading...12. January 2009
Education should be an important part of your career. Sure, you have the college degree but recreation and youth interests are in constant flux. I know a number of directors that put very little stock in ongoing education. I know that even more board and committee members feel the same way. In my opinion we [...]
Continue reading...16. December 2008
A few weeks ago we started an after school program based around fitness. If you have ever tried to plan a fitness program for kids you know that it’s not as easy as having the kids run and do sit-ups. You want the kids to enjoy themselves so that they will continue to be active [...]
Continue reading...12. December 2008
A Drum Circle (a.k.a. rhythm circle) is an empowering group activity which uses a combination of various percussion instruments. The main purpose is to experience the joy of group music making. The facilitator creates an atmosphere charged with excitement – and focuses on developing group cohesion. We have an innate ability to feel and respond to [...]
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3. March 2010
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