Celebrate the big transition from school to summer with this roundup of fun ideas!
Celebrating the End of the School Year
Three Reasons to Incorporate Culminating Experiences Into Arts Programming
Giving youth opportunities to showcase their work has HUGE benefits beyond the event itself.
5 Ways to Use Canva Afterschool
The online design tool Canva is useful for a TON of projects in your afterschool program. Learn five of our favorites in this post!
Five Key Ingredients to an Impactful Music Program
Make a positive impact on youth through music programming with these five key components.
Why You Should Be Watching Abbott Elementary
The new sitcom Abbott Elementary has some lessons for everyone who works with youth, plus laughs!
6 Things That Should Be In Your Club’s Onboarding Experience
Learn the six components necessary to make a YDPs first 90 days a success plus learn about the all new Youth Development Professional Onboarding Guide from BGCA.
Compassion Fatigue: What Is It and What Can We Do?
After two years of extraordinary circumstances, many of us are feeling tired. Learn more about compassion fatigue and tips to manage it, both in yourself and for your staff.
Tips for Retaining Tweens
One strategy for increasing teen membership afterschool is to invest in tween members now. Learn about four areas to keep in mind as you develop a tween strategy in this new ClubX Blog post.
NYOI 2021: The Club Experience During a Pandemic
Every year, we survey youth to learn about their Club Experience. Find out what we heard in 2021 and what questions it might raise for your Club in this new ClubX Blog post.
5 Ways to Engage Families and Caregivers Afterschool
BGCA’s Lesa Sexton is back with tips on getting families and caregivers engaged in your program, and be sure to grab the details for an upcoming webinar at the end of this post! There are a lot of pithy sayings that just ring true. Don’t judge a book by its cover. An ounce of prevention… Continue Reading →
11 Free Ways to Recognize Youth
I’m a huge awards season nerd. Golden Globes, SAG Awards, Oscars . . . these are my Super Bowls. I watch as many of the nominated shows and movies as I can, fill out my ballots, and tune in for the big events. January – February? MY TIME TO SHINE. I just love recognizing amazing… Continue Reading →
9 Low-Cost Ways to Recognize Youth
A couple of weeks ago we posted a list of free ways to recognize youth, but sometimes you have a little bit of budget and you want to do something more out of the ordinary. While physical gifts and treats should not be the only way we do recognition (they shouldn’t even really be the… Continue Reading →
3 Tips for Designing Your Summer Arts Experiences
Want to plan rich, engaging arts experiences that will build skills while integrating youth voice? We’ve got you!
Parenting During a Pandemic
This post, part of our special series on the Coronavirus outbreak, was written by Omar Guessous, BGCA National Director of Evaluation and Insights. A bad dad joke a day keeps the doctor away. Okay not really, but let’s try anyway. Today, my son asked “Can I have a book mark?” and I burst into tears. 11… Continue Reading →
Creating Club Experiences Where Trans Youth are Expected, Respected, and Connected
Learn more about creating safe afterschool environments where trans youth can thrive PLUS learn how Tier 2 National Trainers can be entered to win $500 for completing the new LGTBQ+ specialization.
How MyFuture Fits Into Your Program Plans
MyFuture is the THE destination for high-quality activities and digital engagement, but how does it fit into your Club’s programming? Learn how to structure a session with a MyFuture activity in this new post.
Get Programming On-Demand With BGCA’s National Virtual Club!
BGCA’s NEW National Virtual Club puts the best high-yield activities from Club staff across the country on your tv or device.
Club Story: Night Out & Night In
I heard about an event that the staff at the Don Kromer Branch of Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Tarrant County puts on, and I absolutely had to hear more! Here’s my conversation with Branch Director LaCharles Green on how their Club does recognition in a special way. First, tell me a little bit… Continue Reading →
A Summer of Superheroes
Just in time for National Superhero Day, a peek at the newest Summer Brain Gain Modules with ideas for programming throughout the Club.
Club Story: Recognizing FUN In Virginia
One of the building blocks of the Five Key Elements is Recognition. At Clubs and Youth Centers, we use authentic gestures and encouragement to positively reinforce the good decisions, efforts, and successes of our youth. Recently, I learned about a great recognition idea from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Virginia, so I chatted… Continue Reading →
Recognition Through Shout-Out Displays – Lots of Decor Ideas
One of the Five Key Elements for Positive Youth Development is recognition. We know that when staff acknowledge young people’s innate strengths and talents, members feel validated and recognized. We can positively reinforce member’s efforts and persistence through authentic gestures and words of praise, and celebrate their progress and successes. We can recognize youth for a… 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 →
Introverts in Afterschool: 5 Tips For Helping Quiet Youth Thrive
When I think of the average Boys & Girls Club, my mind goes straight to the Gamesroom. Often the heart of the Clubhouse. Loud, chaotic, busy, and fun! The next thing my mind goes to? How 8 year old Sarah would have HATEDDDDDDD the Gamesroom. The reason? 8 year old me was (and 30-something year… Continue Reading →
National College Signing Day: 9 Ways to Celebrate Seniors and Their Next Steps
It’s SIGNING SEASON Y’ALL! Read on as we welcome first-time ClubX Blog contributor Stacy Ruff for ideas to celebrate your graduating seniors making decisions about their next steps. As graduating seniors get ready to step into the realities of “adulting”, one of the biggest decisions they start off with is “where do I go from… Continue Reading →
Four Low-Prep Ways to Celebrate Juneteenth
One of the results of the recent protests over racial injustice is a growing awareness of Juneteenth. In case you aren’t familiar with Juneteenth, it marks the anniversary of June 19, 1865, when the last group of enslaved Texans learned that they were free – two months after the end of the Civil War and… Continue Reading →
Incentivizing Skill Building in Boston: With FREE “Karate Belt” Reward System Download!
Through my friendship with the Music & Youth Initiative, I learned about an incredible skill-building incentive system developed by Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston staff member Anders Olson. Read on to learn more about how he uses guitar picks to encourage youth and get a FREE download of his plan! We always start with… Continue Reading →
Four New Games to Cultivate a Love of Learning
BGCA’s Lesa Sexton shared this great post with the Education Learning Community last month. Want more content like this, and to connect with other Club staff focused on Academic Success? Join the community! Are you sick and tired of playing Connect Four? Is your deck of Uno cards worn to shreds? Are all the tiles… Continue Reading →
Just Play Outside
It’s #MovementMonday! This post, part of our special series on the Coronavirus outbreak, was written by Michelle McQuiston, BGCA Director of Youth Development Editorial Projects. It started so innocently, with a delightful-sounding daily Lunchtime Doodle with Mo Willems … and progressed … to a !!SEVEN-DAY FREE TRIAL!! of a streaming yoga service, which I’ve used… Continue Reading →
6 Things to Do While Shut Down for Coronavirus
This post is part of our special series on the Coronavirus outbreak. WELP. Two weeks ago when we posted our Preventing the Spread of Viruses blog, little did we know what situation we would find ourselves in today. Boys & Girls Clubs, schools, and other youth-serving organizations across the country are closed, and not only are… Continue Reading →
Club Story: Celebrating Our Data
Today’s guest post is from the staff team at Boys & Girls Clubs of the Fox Valley’s Little Chute Elementary Unit. They hosted a data reveal party when this year’s NYOI data was released, and it was a blast! We will hear from two perspectives in this first-of-a-kind post, first from a staff member and… Continue Reading →
8 Creative Member Work Displays
A new year is upon us! Time to start fresh and do all the things we know we should do. Like drink so much water, start running marathons, and eat broccoli at every meal. LOL SURE. One simple way we can hit the reset button is by refreshing our program spaces at the Club! This… Continue Reading →
Setting SMART Goals
As youth development professionals, there is a LOT we want our young people to learn. We want them to graduate from high school with a plan for the future, demonstrate good character and citizenship, and live a healthy lifestyle. We want them to be kind and empathetic and explore their passions. We want them to… 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 →
28 Ideas for Door Decor Throughout the Clubhouse
Summer is winding down (with some schools already back in session), and it is time to start thinking about switching up that decor! I always had a hard time coming up with ways to change my bulletin boards and decor in my Education Room at the Club. Its partly why I’ve been diligent about posting… Continue Reading →
It’s Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month!
Did you know that it’s Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month? Get ready for a culturally rich ride in our two-part blog series! First up, we will explore the history behind the celebration of Asian/Pacific American Heritage month, how Clubs can incorporate recognition of the month into their Club day, and we will hear from one of… Continue Reading →
Club Story: M&M’s Reminders
I recently came across a SWEET management reminder tool from Tiffany Boley, Unit Director at the William Dawson Soaring Eagles Unit of Boys & Girls Clubs of Gadsden/Etowah County in Alabama. She graciously agreed to share it with us on the Club Experience Blog!
DIVING IN to Continuous Quality Improvement: A CQI Primer
Today’s guest post is from Clarke Hill, Director of Quality Improvement at BGCA. Her team is known around the office as the KOALAS! 🙂 You might have heard of Continuous Quality Improvement or CQI. Maybe your Club is participating in a CQI process such as the Weikart Center’s Youth Program Quality Intervention, or maybe this… Continue Reading →
Visualizing Goal Tracking
I am not an artsy person. I know it’s hard to believe what with this amazing blog and all (wink wink), but I am just not. One of my least favorite things both in my classroom when I was teaching and in my program area at the Club was creating bulletin boards. Luckily, there are… Continue Reading →
Club Story: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Exit Polling
Today’s guest post, and third in our series on Pulse Checks, is from Max Fenster from Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Nevada, where Club staff have been piloting exit polls for a year. Read on to discover what they’ve learned!
How Do We Measure the Club Experience? NYOI Primer
NYOI has officially started! National Youth Outcomes Initiative (NYOI) season is a very exciting time for us at Boys & Girls Clubs. As we kick off this year’s survey administration, we will have a series of posts in the Let’s Talk Data Series to give some background information as well as some ideas from Clubs… Continue Reading →
