I'm back into the full swing of things at my before and after school program. I have to constantly keep in mind how to instill the YMCA's motto of building strong kids, strong families, and strong communities. Part of their mission is to promote the growth of a healthy spirit, mind, and body - just what this blog is about.
How I did that this past week and a half with the kids:
Spirit: Play with the kids - engage them and try to find out what their interests are. The teachers and I asked them questions so that we could get to know them individually. For the kindergartners, we are having them start journals so they can get to know themselves. Every kid (and person) has a different personality and has different needs - they may need something different to let their spirit shine :)
Mind: We encouraged them to sign up for the homework club, but in a more disguised way, we get them to think. We play games with them when they walk through the door (such as trying to think of animal names from A to Z), and we give them a daily "interesting fact" on a board titled, "The BRAIN". They pick topics they want to learn about and drop them in our "brain box". Learning and exercising your brain can be fun....
Body: Already started giving them healthy snacks such as: cucumbers with hummus and chips (most tried the hummus!), whole grain pasta with tomato sauce, and popcorn with tangerines.
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What do you think? Comments? Have your own ideas?