Looking for "back to school" After-School Care program ideas...

Question

School will soon be starting! I want to get the kids (K to grade 6) off to a good start. Do you have any fun ideas that will build program team spirit, a good comfort level and a feeling of connection with each other? Thank you.

Answer 1

What about a scavenger hunt? Or an Olympics of silly games like carry the egg in the wooden spoon, obstacle course, tricycle ride..etc.

A ridiculous relay race could be fun too... have a barrel of clothes and blindfold one kid have them get dressed (over their clothes of course) have the team shout directions to them to get them to swim thru a ball pit, bounce on a ball on a straight line and then get to the next kid.

the next kid runs up a slide grabs a flag and slides back down runs around the tree... and hands the flag to the next kid...

and so on.

you could have all the kids tie dye shirts...a local craft store may donate items.

good luck!

Answer 2

I would have a back to school celebration: a really fun party with great snacks and cooperative games (I posted some links to an earlier poster requesting games. Just google "cooperative games" and you'll get lots.)

Have kids make "All About Me" posters they can post in their room. Make a chore chart to have children take turns being responsible for some of the cleaning and maintenance in the room.

Get kids involved in planning activities for the year. Ask them what they'd like to do, any field trips they'd like to take, rules they'd like to change, schedule changes they might want to make, etc. Let them feel they have some say in their program. (For example, many of my kids didn't like having to sit down and eat snack as soon as they arrived. They voted and changed the schedule so they could play outside before snack.)

I also got my kids involved in supporting charity. We held a bake sale to raise money for flood victims. They could select one and vote on it and support it in various ways through out the year. It's great to get school aged kids involved in their community, even if you could find volunteer opportunities for your group.

We also planned a bake sale and raised money so we could go roller skating. They were so proud and pleased that they paid for it themselves (the program couldn't afford it and this way no parents had to pay extra).

I find they really liked feeling the program belonged to them and they felt this way when they were involved in the planning.  

Answer 3

It depends on your location. I lived in Austin while I was growing up and from K-5 I used to stay in an after-school program that I loved. It was called "Extend-A-Care". All of my good friends were in it too and they give the kids an afternoon snack and they do arts and crafts, play games, go to the playground, take little field trip things, etc. The counselors usually hung around until about 7:00pm until all of the kids parents got off work. I don't know if this is the right answer to your question, but I hope it helps.

Answer 4

Play some name games, or start a sport involving learning eachother's names. Something so they can laugh together and be active.

Maybe some duck duck goose.

Answer 5

The above ideas are good because they are getting the youth to work together. What it seems like you are asking however--are for community builder/ice-breaker type activities. These are important through-out the year and especially at the beginning. Connection builders are used to get kids to feel more like they are part of a community by interacting with each other... THEY HELP CHILDREN TO GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER AND THEMSELVES!

Here a few ideas from www.After-School-Care.com

STICKER PARTNERS! (Getting to know each other)

Each student is given a sticker to put on his or her hand upon entering the room, but students aren't told what the sticker is for until the time is right! Be sure there is a partner (matching sticker) for every student.

Ask students to find their partners and interview them (name, grade, hobbies, etc.). Each interviewer is responsible for introducing each interviewee to the rest of the group. You might find that children find it less threatening when someone else shares information about them than when they are asked to share about themselves

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DESIGNING SELF-COLLAGES: Grades 1-6

In order for youth to build self esteem (and get to know each other), they need to know who they are and what is important and unique to themselves personally. Children also need to have a concrete way in which to express this. Children can become resident 'experts' in the program and this is one way of finding out what the range of knowledge is among a group of students.

Using pictures, words, or symbols clipped from magazines that represent things they enjoy doing or own, places they've been, and people they admire--- or careers they desire---have youth create a collage. They place their names on the back, and post the collages around the room.

Have the other students guess which collage belongs to whom and state why they made that guess. This activity gives youth a chance to reflect on who they are and then to share that information in a fun way with the rest of the group.

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SNOWBALL FIGHT!

Grade Levels K-12

To get to know each other and have a "ball" at the same time, incorporate a "Snowball Fight" into one of the first days of activities. Give youth a clean sheet of white unlined paper. Have them write 3-4 unique things about themselves. Tell them NOT to put their name on the paper. (If they can't write--have them draw a picture) Next, have them crunch the paper into a ball. Have them stand in a large circle around the room. Then allow them one full minute to have an all-out snowball fight!

When one minute is up, have them locate a "snowball" nearest to them, unfold it, and take turns trying to guess who it is. They'll really like this activity! It loosens them up and they'll will remember it always. Many kids will say it was the best minute of fun they had all year!

Note: I actually do a version of this in training sessions with adults--If it's still 'baseball season" instead of throwing 'snowballs'...pretend to be throwing baseballs. Play themed music (Take me out to the Ballgame) while balls are being thrown!

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GETTING TO KNOW EACH OTHER

Have youth sit in a circle, with a roll of toilet paper. (If the group is large--break children up into a few circles) Tell them you're going to pass around the roll, and they should "take as much as they need to complete the job." Don't tell them what the job is though!

After everyone has a laugh over the paper they took, explain that for every square of toilet paper ripped off, they must tell everyone one thing about themselves. The last square must be their name! The kids really love it!

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DOES YOUR SCHOOL HAVE A MASCOT?

A neat idea is to get a stuffed animal of THAT MASCOT to play this getting to know you game of: HOT __________!

Have the students sit in a circle. Pass around the stuffed_________ to music. When the music stops the student holding the _______ has to say his/her name. Continue until everyone has had a chance to tell his/her name.

You can add features to the game such as: my name is Sara and my favorite things to do is ______.

_________

There are many other ideas of this type!

Links for Community Building threads are:

"Beginning of the School Year Ideas"! http://after-school-care.com/Replies.asp... and

"Connecting & Feeling Good Activities" http://after-school-care.com/Replies.asp...

Hope this is what you're after!