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After School – St. Patricks Day Craft

3. March 2010

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After School – St. Patricks Day Craft

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.

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Teaching Sports After School

2. September 2009

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Teaching Sports After School

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 [...]

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Flashcards – A Rainy Day Activity

2. March 2009

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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, [...]

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How to Design The Cover of Your Activity Guide

22. February 2009

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How to Design The Cover of Your Activity Guide

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 [...]

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Jump Rope as an After School Program? Really?

17. February 2009

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Jump Rope as an After School Program? Really?

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. [...]

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FitDecks are Great Tools For The Youth Recreation Professional

16. December 2008

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FitDecks are Great Tools For The Youth Recreation Professional

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 [...]

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Why Drum Circles Make a Great Summer Camp and Youth Recreation Program

12. December 2008

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Why Drum Circles Make a Great Summer Camp and Youth Recreation Program

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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Go Fly a Kite

11. December 2008

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Go Fly a Kite

About 10 years ago my girlfriend and I went into a toy store and agreed to buy each other a gift under $10, just for fun. I can’t remember what I got for her but she purchased a kite for me. On our way back to camp (where we both worked) we stopped at a [...]

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How To Make Transitions and Downtime Fun During Youth Programs and Camps

5. December 2008

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How To Make Transitions and Downtime Fun During Youth Programs and Camps

Transitions from one activity to another can be difficult, especially if there is downtime while your group of kids are waiting for the next activity to start. Camps are notorious for this. There is so much downtime between activities and meals that campers start getting restless during these times. Thankfully, I have a solution. There [...]

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An After School Puppet Program Can Be a Big Hit

4. December 2008

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An After School Puppet Program Can Be a Big Hit

Kids love puppets. Create an after school program that kids can learn and practice puppetry once a week. After 8-10 weeks you’ll be ready to put on a show for other kids and/or their families. A puppet program is relatively easy to run and the kids will really get into it. Kids first learn [...]

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