This post was written by BGCA staff Kate Endries and Clarke Hill, with contributions from Jennifer Bateman and Heather Campbell In the United States, June is well known as Pride Month and is dedicated to celebrating Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) identifying individuals. Parades, festivals, and celebrations across the nation are devoted to... 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 →
Learning Through Making and Tinkering
This post, part of our special series on the Coronavirus outbreak, was written by Susan Ciavolino, BGCA Academic Success Director. What do our kids need right now? First and foremost they need connection—those 5 Key Elements for Positive Youth Development are even more crucial now than they were a few weeks ago when your Clubs were... Continue Reading →
Be A Coronavirus Myth Buster!
This post, part of our special series on the Coronavirus outbreak, was written by Danielle Morris, M.P.H. and BGCA National Director of Youth Development Programs. I don’t know about you, but my head is spinning! The media, a next-door neighbor, your best friend from high school, and a favorite coworker all claim to have the definitive... Continue Reading →
Supporting Academic Success During Shut-Down
This post, part of our special series on the Coronavirus outbreak, was written by Lesa Sexton, BGCA Academic Success Director. This post goes out to all those who are trying to figure out how to keep kids learning while the world is topsy-turvy and schools are out on an extended spring break that never ends (and... Continue Reading →
Preventing the Spread of Viruses
The BGCA Youth Development team is committed to responding to what is happening in the lives of youth. Today, National Director of Youth Development Programs Danielle Morris is here with the latest on keeping Club staff and youth healthy. This post is part of our special series on the Coronavirus outbreak. I bet you’ve never... 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 →
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 →
Club Story: Finding the Right Equation in Green Bay
It's National Arts in Education Week! Today's Club Story comes from Craig Knitt, Visual Arts Director at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Green Bay. I heard a statement early in my teaching career that has stuck with me. I heard it from more than one instructor so I knew it was true. They said:... Continue Reading →
5 Ways to Celebrate National Arts in Education Week
Next week is Arts in Education Week! It's time to CELEBRATE! National Arts in Education Week is an opportunity to celebrate and advocate for the Arts and to share the impact of Arts Education with our communities. During this week, the field of arts education joins together in communities across the country to tell the story... 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 →
To the Moon and Back: Four Ways to Celebrate 50 Years of Exploration
50 years ago this July, Apollo 11 landed on the moon. BGCA STEM queen Susan is back on the ClubX Blog with four fun ways to mark the occasion. It’s 1962—long before many of you were born, President John F. Kennedy spoke at Rice University in Houston, Texas. He stunned the world with his declaration:... Continue Reading →
Club Stories: Pride in Our Movement
June is here and it’s time to celebrate! In the United States, June became the month to celebrate Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Pride Month to honor the 1969 Stonewall riots in Manhattan. 2019 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the uprising that played a pivotal role in human rights progression within the United... Continue Reading →
Club Story: Celebrating Traditions in American Samoa
It'a Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month! In case you missed it, earlier this month we took a look at the history of this observance, ways you can celebrate at your Club, and we were introduced to LaCresha McManus and her journey within the Movement as a woman of Samoan heritage. Read that post here! LaCresha was... Continue Reading →
Club Story: Girls Who Code
Recently, through the BGCA Education Learning Community, we were introduced to Kelley Smith, Program Director at the Boys and Girls Club of Fauquier in Warrenton, Virginia. We were immediately struck by her enthusiasm for coding! We were curious to learn about how she’s been able to successfully establish a coding program at her Club (especially… Continue Reading →