April is National Autism Awareness Month! Get some information about what may trigger challenging behaviors and 26 sample adaptations for your Club from our partner Kids Included Together and Autism Speaks. Read on for more information on BGCA's all-new Serving Youth With Autism Toolkit! One in 68 children have Autism Spectrum Disorder, so chances are... Continue Reading →
Activity Idea: Life Size Pac-Man!
It is that time of year when we are planning parties and celebrations and end of the school year FUN (and real talk there may be some trying to hang on until summer starts happening too)! That makes it the perfect time to try out a new game that is SURE to be a hit... Continue Reading →
Webinar: Social Justice Activities From Teaching Tolerance
I've featured one of my favorite sites, Teaching Tolerance, on the ClubX Blog before. They are a project of The Southern Poverty Law Center, and they design training and resources for classroom educators. A lot of their stuff is easily and directly applicable to the Club context, including a great webinar they did last month.... Continue Reading →
5 Tips to Integrate Healthy Eating and Physical Activity into the Club Day
Today's guest post comes from BGCA's Lauren Barineau, Senior Director of Youth Development, Health & Wellness. She is an expert in making sure our members are as healthy as they can be! Is Your Club HEPA-Tastic?? In recent years, more attention is being paid to healthy eating and physical activity among youth. At Boys &... Continue Reading →
Activity Idea: Simple Strategy Game PLUS Sample Program Schedule
I'm always looking for new activities and games to play with youth, and especially for ones that will make them stretch their logical thinking muscles and expose them to new ideas or cultures. Today's find from Multicultural Kids Blogs does ALL of those! Pong Hau K'i is a simple board game from China, and can... Continue Reading →
5 Strategies to Improve Staff Recognition
If you've been to a Club Director's Academy or a Youth Development Institute, then you will know (and love!) today's writer, Issa Prescott. I've been hounding him for a blog post because I know he is full of SO MANY good ideas! I was delivering a training recently where we were discussing the power of... Continue Reading →
30 Circles Challenge: Creative Icebreaker Activity with FREE Download!
Most of our meetings here at BGCA start with icebreaker or community building activities, because we are YOUTH! DEVELOPMENT! PROFESSIONALS! 🙂 Last week, my colleague Danielle Narcisse started a design meeting off with this really fun way to get our creativity flowing. This activity is called The 30 Circles Challenge, and it is an icebreaker... Continue Reading →
Club Story: WAKANDA FOREVER! Taking Teens to See Black Panther
A couple of weeks ago, I asked around to find out what Clubs did to celebrate the release of Black Panther. The answer is A LOT! I am thrilled to share my conversation with Lauren Avey, Unit Director from the Boys & Girls Club of Washington County about how her Club integrated meaningful programming with... Continue Reading →
Club Story: 3 Ways to CELEBRATE After Surveying!
A couple of weeks ago, Desirae O’Neill, Associate Director at the Glen Cove Boys & Girls Club, shared some of her best tips for administering surveys. We are THRILLED that she is back to share about the best part of NYOI- the celebration! Congratulations! You made it to the finish line. Not only did you make it... Continue Reading →