Activities that will empower youth to be creative, express themselves, and have fun through writing
Ideas to Get Kids and Teens Writing
Ideas for Arab American Heritage Month
Ideas you can use to celebrate Arab American Heritage Month in April
Adulting Day: Life Hacks for “Almost” Grownups
Learn more about Adulting Day, the Boys & Girls Club of Vernon's powerhouse annual event for 12th graders
Inspire Change Town Hall: Justice For All
Learn more about events on MyFuture, including the recent town hall sponsored by the NFL
Three Ways to Make Spring Break Better
Spring Break can be better than ever with these ideas for fun programming and staff development.
Why You Should Be Watching Abbott Elementary
The new sitcom Abbott Elementary has some lessons for everyone who works with youth, plus laughs!
Seven COVID-Friendly Ideas for Summer Fun
Ideas from Clubs for field trips or special events that are COVID-friendly for summer programming
Winter Olympics Activities Throughout the Club
Integrate the 2022 Winter Olympics into your programming with these fun high-yield activity ideas!
Ideas to Celebrate the Lunar New Year
Ideas for crafts, games, books, and more to help you celebrate the Lunar New Year in your afterschool programming.
Get Lucky (And Build Math Skills) With Dice Games!
A roundup of games and high-yield activities using dice to use with youth.
Making Financial Literacy FUN With Money Matters
Hear Boys & Girls Clubs of Milwaukee staff Nancy K.'s top four tips for running Money Matters with teens in this new ClubX Blog post.
Creatively Using Tech to Solve Real-World Problems With Youth
See youth-designed apps that could solve big problems, and learn more about how technology can be used for good.
Five Ideas For Thanksgiving That Aren’t Handprint Turkeys
Thanksgiving is upon us! Find a mix of fun activities for throughout the Clubhouse and for multiple age groups.
Catch A Vibe With Tie Dye Activities!
Tie dye is back in fashion and allows for lots of creativity as a fun arts project with youth. See some of our favorite ideas in this link roundup!
Everything You Need to Start a Book Club With Youth
Book clubs afterschool are a great way for youth to build relationships with others and practice skills like critical thinking and reading fluency. Learn how to get started plus get picks for Hispanic & Latino Heritage Month.
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.
How a Little Free Library Can Promote Literacy
Read how one Club is putting books in their community's hands and how you can start a Little Free Library through your afterschool program.
18 More Holidays and Events With Fun Activity Ideas
Eighteen holidays or historical events in September and October to spark fun and creative activity ideas afterschool.
The Four Things Rhode Island Boys & Girls Clubs Are Focused On In 2021
When Rhode Island Clubs surveyed youth statewide to find out how they were doing, the results were surprising. Learn more and what they will be focusing on in 2021.
Get Squishy With Air Dry Clay!
Air dry clay is paintable, super lightweight, and dries on its own, making it a great choice for summer crafts. Get 10 project ideas in this ClubX Blog post!
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.
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.
Club Story: Engaging Families in East Tennessee
Hear how one Club stays connected to member's families and get the new Family and Caregiver Engagement Guide in this ClubX Blog post.
21 Holidays and Events With Fun Activity Ideas for the Summer
Twenty-one holidays or historical events in June, July, and August to spark fun and creative activity ideas afterschool.
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.
Being Great Without Being Perfect
Anna is warm, witty, and welcoming, and things sometimes aren't perfect as she leads programming at the Waltham Boys & Girls Club. But that just adds to the fun!
17 MORE Holidays and Events With Fun Activity Ideas
Seventeen holidays or historical events in March, April, and May to spark fun and creative activity ideas
Ideas for Women’s History Month
Activity and décor ideas you can use around the Club for Women's History Month
How to Get Your Teens Engaged in Programming
Learn more about how to get teens excited and engaged afterschool, with tips from six Teen Centers!
Ideas for Black History Month
Ideas you can use around the Club for Black History Month
Among Us STEAM Adventure
Free download of STEAM activities based on the hit online game Among Us, created by local Boys & Girls Club staff
13 Holidays and Events to Spark FUN Activity Ideas
Thirteen holidays or historical events in January and February to spark fun and creative activity ideas
Fun and Easy Ideas for Brain Breaks
With so many young people still having school online, some Boys & Girls Clubs and Youth Centers are transformed into Learning Support Centers during the school day. But even for those who are still doing more traditional programming or for when COVID is OVER (speak it into existence!), having some ideas quick at hand for... Continue Reading →
Halloween 2020
Halloween is one of the best times of years to be in afterschool. When this whole pandemic began, I don’t think many of us expected we would still be dealing with it after this long. But? Here we are. And? WE REFUSE TO LET IT STEAL THE SPIRIT OF HALLOWEEN! https://giphy.com/gifs/halloween-psychedelic-spooky-mBH9e8yz4oNIIq6X3D It is unfortunately true... Continue Reading →
Active Games for Social Distancing
If you are reading this in the future, it is now July 2020, and we have been in a global pandemic for what feels like 18 years now. It's exhausting. Hopefully from your view in the future you are like "Hang in there, it's almost over and then all this great stuff happens!" But for... 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 →
Celebrating Earth Day – Digitally!
BGCA's Lesa Sexton can't stop won't stop writing ClubX Blog posts filled with incredible educational ideas! With many of us stuck inside these days, we are gaining a newfound appreciation for the outdoors. What we wouldn’t give for a hike in the woods, a picnic in the park, or another chance to dip our toes... 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 →
Pi Day Throughout the Club
Lesa Sexton is BACK with a ONE-TWO PUNCH of academic ideas! Today, we are having fun with math! It’s a common refrain heard from kids and adults alike: “I’m bad at math. I’m just not a math person.” Math doesn’t always get a lot of love, and we totally get it. It can seem daunting... Continue Reading →
3 Ways to Celebrate Read Across America
Lesa Sexton, member of BGCA's Education team, took a break from getting Summer Brain Gain ready to write today's post. Wanna know how to travel the world for free, get intimate access to world leaders, entertainers, athletes, and visionaries, discover magical worlds full of imaginary creatures, and go on daring adventures-all from the comfort of... 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 Games Teens Love
BGCA sunset the Year of the Teen Director’s App to consolidate practices, tips, and all other content in the YD Toolbox app and here on the Club Experience Blog. We will be featuring some of the articles that appeared in the app here (with updates!), as well as content just for staff who work with... 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 →
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 →
Inclusive Ways to Celebrate the Holidays!
We LOVE the holiday season on the ClubX Blog! BGCA's Youth Trends team is bringing the festive cheer with inclusive ways to celebrate all the traditions that may be happening in the lives of your Club members. The holidays are a time when people come together and celebrate traditions. While Christmas tends to be the... Continue Reading →
Creative Ways to Use LEGO
So I knew I wanted to do a Link Roundup for today, because I have VERY CLEAR MEMORIES of trying to program plan in December when we were open all day and I was tired and my youth were tired and we were all. just. tired. And cold. And tired. And then I realized HOLD... Continue Reading →
Keeping it FRESH with 5 Game Remixes
Have you seen the latest Program Basics Playbook? It's the Gym & Field Playbook and it is WONDERFUL!!!!!!! The Gym & Field Playbook helps you prepare safe and effective programs in the gym and on the field. It provides ideas of how to program for the Sports & Recreation area, prep and run activities, recognize... Continue Reading →
Computer Science Education Week
Computer Science Education Week is December 9-15, 2019! Read on for three great ways to integrate it into your Club's programming from BGCA's Lesa Sexton. For better or for worse, computers have become an embedded part of our daily lives. They help us with everything from waking up on time and avoiding traffic to finding... Continue Reading →
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 →
Spooky Scary Halloween Ideas
It's September, which means IT'S TIME TO START PLANNING FOR HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Halloween is the best holiday to celebrate with young people. You can go all out and be silly and ridiculous and it is just accepted. I love it! To put together this post, I asked the foremost experts on fun- Boys & Girls Club... Continue Reading →
