Activities

 

 

Many of the philosophies of Children's Choice in regards to intentionally programming of afterschool activities are articulated in the book, Best Practices: Guidelines for School-Age Programs, and the Best Practices Workbook, published by and available from  Sparrow Media Group, by Mike Ashcraft, Co-Founder of Children's Choice.

Curriculum Statement:

Intentionality is the key to programming.  Quality school-age care programming provides balance in a child’s life – balance between work and play; rituals and novelty; choice and community-building.  Constructive pedagogy teaches how important active, hands-on experiences are in the learning process, so we use many resources to ensure the program focuses on the positive development of the whole child, integrating strategies for physical, intellectual, emotional and social development. 

The activities are but one component of intentional programming that we consider.  We provide a developmentally appropriate routine that is consistent and stable yet flexible, a routine that allows for the individual developmental needs of school-age children.  Every child has unique needs.  Some kids need to relax quietly right after school, some need a snack, some kids need to run off some energy, and some need to talk to their friends.  Our routine allows kids to make these choices and explore and experiment with many other child-directed activities when the school bell rings.  Children need some time to settle in before beginning the staff-directed activities that are integrated into the schedule.

It is important that children have the opportunity to develop and practice social skills during activities so most activities involve mixed-age groups and a lot of interaction and playfulness.  Novelty in experiential learning is a key to brain development, so we provide a variety of experiences such as field trips, guest speakers, role plays, long- and short-term projects, and enrichment clubs.

The school-age care curriculum focuses on a variety of skills through the implementation of enrichment clubs that may emphasize art, math, science, theater, physical education, music, journalism, the environment or public service.  Through these enrichment clubs, we teach life skills such as cooking, earning/saving money, wise consumerism, health, nutrition, and safety; as well as social competencies such as problem solving, decision-making, negative peer pressure resistance skills, conflict resolution skills, friendship skills, and comfort with people of different backgrounds. 

WHAT DO CHILDREN'S CHOICE KIDS GET TO DO?

Children's Choice offers a variety of well-rounded daily activities for children to choose from that are safe, fun and educational. There are a mix of child-directed activities, staff-directed activities, clubs, field trips, presentations and visits from outside groups, special events and daily snacks. Activities are planned in advance and outlined on a monthly activity calendar which families use for home-time discussions and planning. Each day the activity area is transformed from the cafeteria into a model SAC indoor environment, which includes a quiet home-like area appropriate for relaxing or doing home work, special interest areas, a fine motor area, an open ended art area, a dramatic play area, an active play area, a strategy building games area, a snack area, and more! We offer artsy arts and crafty crafts, (as well as many crafts materials to make whatever they want), imaginative indoor activities, outrageous outdoor games, science and nature, music and drama, international and multi-cultural activities, field trips, homework time, daily snacks and special events.

Each month a schedule of activities is made available to you. Please especially note the field trip return times. If the time conflicts with the time you pick up your child, she/he may need to be picked up from the field trip site.

Child-Directed Activities:

Child-Directed Activities are open-ended activities that children are free to choose to participate in and which require little or no help from adults. Some examples of child-directed activities are indoor and outdoor interest centers such as sand toys, sand play, Legos, Lincoln Logs, other manipulatives, puppet making, dress up, pretend businesses, other dramatic play, clay, play dough, art, creative expression centers, strategy games, etc.

Staff-Directed Activities:

Staff-Directed Activities are scheduled activities which require some adult direction and supervision. Some examples of staff directed activities are active games such as "Octopus" or "Loose Caboose", team sports such as soccer or softball, other activities such as a cooking or sewing project, or a more complex art project.

Clubs:

Clubs are special interest groups that children may join which require significant teacher facilitation. Some examples of club themes are science, drama, journalism, fitness, cooking and the environment.

Field-Trips:

On many non-school or early release days, our kids will go on field-trips. Please note the field-trip return times on the monthly activity schedule. Most times children do not have the choice of staying back from the field-trip. We can't justify leaving a staff person back to stay with only a few kids. If you have to pick up your child before the scheduled return time, you should make arrangements to pick him/her up from the field-trip site. Most field trips return by 5:30 p.m. We charter transportation from a charter bus company, and sometimes the buses are late, so parents need to be aware of the fact that we are sometimes late returning from field-trips through circumstances that are beyond the control of the staff.

Daily Snacks:

Children's Choice will provide a daily snack which consists of at least two nutritious food choices and 100% fruit juice. Snack will be served family-style, so children will be able to choose not only the type of snack but the amount of snack that they wish.

DAILY SCHEDULE - BEFORE & AFTER SCHOOL DAY

Mornings: An organized staff-directed activity is scheduled every morning and appears on our monthly schedule. Children may also enjoy the child-directed activities, or participate in supervised in door/out door free play. Children are dismissed when the school bell rings.

Afternoons: Children report to the cafeteria as soon as school is dismissed.

Attendance is taken and any child who is absent is followed up on. The first half hour of after noon SAC Program is Snacks, Laps, Raps & Naps. Children can choose to eat a snack, burn off some energy in active play - running laps, sit and talk with their friends - sit and rap, relax in the quiet area - take a nap, or do home work, etc. Children sometimes come inside for announcements and discussion time. Children hear what their choices are for the day and discuss things like their school day, family time, value words, scheduled activities, etc.

Each afternoon there are two scheduled enrichment activities. One active and one passive.

Children that do not choose to participate in the scheduled staff-directed activity may choose a child-directed activity or supervised in door/out door free play.

DAILY SCHEDULE - SUMMER/VACATION CAMP DAY

 

FAMILIES GET INVOLVED!

We will establish for parents a place in the program called a "Family Corner", which will be located in a quiet area away from the doorway. At the Family Corner, families will find a place to daily sign their children in and out, activity calendars, program evaluation forms, newsletters, resources for parenting and family classes, special events, and ideas for things to do as a family.

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