Strategies for Motivating Students I remember facilitating "Girls Chat" every Wednesday when I managed a middle afterschool program. The girls seemed disinterested in participating at the start of the program. Their indifference frustrated me.  I thought what am I doing wrong? I seemed to have tried everything: several pep- talks,...

5 Ways to Improve Your After School Storytelling Storytelling in the purest sense of the word is the tradition of oral narrative. It is timeless entertainment and education shared by the relating of a story. As after school educators you are front line to use storytelling simultaneously for both purposes....

The Power of Teaching Young Children Social Skills    “Pink, Pink”, my niece excitedly repeated as she walked into the kitchen. I loved the way she attempted to say paint. She was only two years old, and she was quickly expanding her vocabulary every day. I grabbed the paint supplies...

“Reel” Life Lessons for OST Success When I was a little girl, my Poppa wanted to teach me the virtues inherent in fishing as a hobby; patience, perseverance, and pride. He took me out to the local lake as soon as he thought I was ready. I remember very specific...

Tips to Identify Behaviors and Linking them to Social and Emotional Needs I recently brought my daughter to the hospital and we encountered a doctor with the worst bedside manner. He spoke to us in a condescending tone; his responses were abrupt, coarse, rude, and uncompassionate. I hated everything about...

We are seeking presenters who are able to present a workshop in one of three categories:  STEAM in Program PracticesSTEAM in Program DesignSTEAM in Partnerships. Workshops should be appropriate for staff working with K - 8th grades.  Each workshop will be presented in all three sessions; participants will rotate through...

I belong to a cloud app called "pocket".  It allows me to download interesting articles to save and/or read later; it also suggests interesting reads on my google page. I was intrigued when I came across one article called "The Downlside of Work Life Balance".  Hmmm, the work-life balance.  We...

The Allegory of the Oxygen Mask I have been flying on airplanes since I was a very young child.  Spending my mid-80s childhood-summers in Kansas, I would often fly alone to and from the Midwest; armed with a chapter book, a stuffed animal, and a super-secret safety word to ward...

The Connecticut General Assembly kicked off its 2019 session on Wednesday, January 9, and will finish on June 5. Governor Lamont has released his proposed budget (Click here to see the entire proposal, and here for his budget address). For CSDE’s After School Grants, the line item is flat funded...

AHA! I recently had an aha moment - I have written several blogs about Social Emotional Learning (SEL), but I have not clearly defined what it is. So just what is social-emotional learning and why do we need it? In the next few blogs, I will provide you with a...