Workshop Topics & Free Handouts
The ABC’s of Professional, Purposeful, & Powerful Programming
Practices: How can you provide a program that goes far beyond
providing a safe and fun place for kids to be…a program that will
help children learn and develop into great neighbors? Attend this
workshop, which clarifies the role and purpose of school-age care
and explores powerful, research-based philosophical foundations. We
will discuss how Autonomy, Belonging, and Competencies can be
intentionally put into practice in the environment, relationships,
and experiences of a high quality afterschool program. The ABC’s
are the basic foundation for all other workshops. Available as a
Keynote, double or single session workshop.
ABC's Handout
Superior Interiors: Do you want some practical and easy to use tools and strategies to use when designing or redesigning the space of any school-age care program. Attend this workshop and learn how to create an environment that encourages desirable behavior and results in a more enjoyable work environment for caregivers. We address the unique problems of shared space in school-age care programs. Available as a single-session workshop.
Super Tools: Behavior Management for Super Afterschool Programs and Camps. Have you ever experienced a behavior problem with a child in your program? Of course you have, we all have? Would you like some powerful and practical tools to help you get the kind of behaviors that make you love working with kids? Attend this workshop and discover how to create superior interiors and tremendous agendas that promote desirable behavior. Learn strategies for preventing undesirable behavior. Learn techniques to use once misbehavior has occurred: positive discipline, logical consequences, reparations, restitution and self-esteem. Learn many tools that are guaranteed to make guidance and building self-discipline easier and make working with school-age kids more enjoyable! Available as a full-day or double, or single-session workshop.
ABC's Handout
Games and Activities that Build Community - F.A.S.T: Do you want a
stronger sense of community in your programs? Attend this workshop
and learn games to do with groups of kids as they progress through
the Forming, Attempting, Storming and Transforming stages of team
building. Be prepared to play! This is a collection of our most
favorite activities – gathered during more than 30 years of program
experience. Learn name games, get-to-know-you games, circle games,
waiting games, team-building games and more. This is a hands-on
experience and a time to share some favorite proven games and
activities for use in school-age care programs. Available as a
double or single-session workshop.
Games that Build Community Handout
Superior Interiors: Do you want some practical and easy to use tools and strategies to use when designing or redesigning the space of any school-age care program. Attend this workshop and learn how to create an environment that encourages desirable behavior and results in a more enjoyable work environment for caregivers. We address the unique problems of shared space in school-age care programs. Available as a single-session workshop.
Superior Interiors Handout
Super Tools: Behavior Management for Super Afterschool Programs and Camps. Have you ever experienced a behavior problem with a child in your program? Of course you have, we all have? Would you like some powerful and practical tools to help you get the kind of behaviors that make you love working with kids? Attend this workshop and discover how to create superior interiors and tremendous agendas that promote desirable behavior. Learn strategies for preventing undesirable behavior. Learn techniques to use once misbehavior has occurred: positive discipline, logical consequences, reparations, restitution and self-esteem. Learn many tools that are guaranteed to make guidance and building self-discipline easier and make working with school-age kids more enjoyable! Available as a full-day or double, or single-session workshop.
Super
Tools Handout
Getting Along: Teaching Social Skills! How can you guarantee a strong-sense of community in your afterschool program? Attend this training! This training focuses on the intentional teaching of interpersonal and intra-personal social skills such as confidence, control, coping, curiosity, communication, conflict resolution, and community building. It is filled with many practical methods to teach social skills through direct, situational and integrated teaching in afterschool programs. Available as a Keynote, full-day, double or single-session workshop.
Keys to Quality: Unlocking the ARQ Process: Are you and/or your staff intimidated unsure about the self-study and accreditation process? Attend this training event and learn about the National Afterschool Association (NAA, formerly the National School-Age Care Alliance) Quality Standards and the ARQ self-study, accreditation application, and endorser visit process. We present the strategies we used in our model school-age care programs when we achieved accreditation through the NAA. We will discuss the process and accompanying benefits associated with the self-study process. Since our trainers are certified NSACA accreditation endorsers, and NIOST quality advisors, we provide unique insight on the endorser's perspective. Available as a full-day, double or single-session workshop.
Afterschool TeamsWork! Is your staff team a model of effective teamwork? Would you like it to be? This exciting workshop not only helps your staff team to learn communication, creativity, and problem solving skills, it also teaches them to lead teambuilding activities with the children. Staff experience creative and often hilarious team-building activities, then they discover ways to adapt the activities to use with children. This workshop is designed to be delivered to a distinct working team - people who will not only attend the session, but actually work together. Available as a full-day double or single-session workshop.
Brain Smart Programming: How can you create an afterschool program or camp that promotes brain development a program that kids will remember positively for many years? Attend this workshop! This training addresses cutting-edge neuroscience and the practical applications of this information through intentional programming in school-age care, with the purpose of facilitating positive development. We will discuss what needs to be present and what needs to be eliminated in programs for young brains to develop positively. Available as a Keynote, full-day, double or single-session workshop.
Learning to Lead: Leading to Learn! How can you develop a motivated, enthusiastic, high performing staff team with a high level of commitment? Attend this workshop! Explore the complex systems of afterschool leadership, leaderly learning, and learn how to develop vision, and a culture of innovation, empowerment and teamwork. An introduction to systems thinking will lead into an understanding of the importance of learning among leaders and team members. This workshop will focus on how to give knowledge, information, power and control to staff at all levels of an organization, creating a non-hierarchical learning organization. Available as a double or single-session workshop.
ZPD Doo Dah: Vygotsky Anyone?Lev Vygotsky, ever heard of him? If not, this workshop is a MUST! If you sorta, kinda know of him – you smile and nod your head when people say things like, “Zone of Proximal Development” and “Scaffolding,” but you wish you knew more, attend this workshop! If you know his theories, but desire more ideas on how to apply them in the afterschool profession, you are in luck. Do you think the social environment is an important part of afterschool? Vygotsky’s theories are centered on the importance of the social environment to the development of all higher skills. We’ll explore the man and some of his theories: Sociocultural Theory, the Zone of Proximal “Development, the Psychology of Play, and Thinking and Speaking. We will also explore Scaffolding and discuss comparisons between Vygotsky and Piaget. We’ll bring every topic home – back to practical application of theory to afterschool programming. Sound like a dry lecture? No way – come learn and have a good time! Available as a full-day, double or single-session workshop.
Satisfied Customers?...or Raving Fans! Who are your “customers?” Children? Parents? Higher-Level Teachers? The Community? The relationships we have with the customers we serve are an integral part of our work. Attend this workshop and discover how to transform the relationships you have with key stakeholders to ensure they are huge, raving fans of your staff and your organization. Available as a single-session workshop.
Getting Along: Teaching Social Skills! How can you guarantee a strong-sense of community in your afterschool program? Attend this training! This training focuses on the intentional teaching of interpersonal and intra-personal social skills such as confidence, control, coping, curiosity, communication, conflict resolution, and community building. It is filled with many practical methods to teach social skills through direct, situational and integrated teaching in afterschool programs. Available as a Keynote, full-day, double or single-session workshop.
Getting Along Handout
Open Questions from Getting Along Workshop
Fantastic Family Forces: It’s All About the Relationships. The relationships we have with the families of the children we care for are an integral part of our work. This training provides practical strategies for building strong staff-parent relationships. Come learn powerful tactics to use when communicating your concern about a child. Learn effective methods to use when listening to and helping alleviate parent concerns. Learn the best tricks to get parents involved and engaged. Attend this workshop and discover how to ensure your parents are huge, raving fans of your staff and your program. Available as a single-session workshop.
Fantastic Family Forces: It’s All About the Relationships. The relationships we have with the families of the children we care for are an integral part of our work. This training provides practical strategies for building strong staff-parent relationships. Come learn powerful tactics to use when communicating your concern about a child. Learn effective methods to use when listening to and helping alleviate parent concerns. Learn the best tricks to get parents involved and engaged. Attend this workshop and discover how to ensure your parents are huge, raving fans of your staff and your program. Available as a single-session workshop.
Fantastic Family Forces Handout
Keys to Quality: Unlocking the ARQ Process: Are you and/or your staff intimidated unsure about the self-study and accreditation process? Attend this training event and learn about the National Afterschool Association (NAA, formerly the National School-Age Care Alliance) Quality Standards and the ARQ self-study, accreditation application, and endorser visit process. We present the strategies we used in our model school-age care programs when we achieved accreditation through the NAA. We will discuss the process and accompanying benefits associated with the self-study process. Since our trainers are certified NSACA accreditation endorsers, and NIOST quality advisors, we provide unique insight on the endorser's perspective. Available as a full-day, double or single-session workshop.
Keys to Quality Handout
Afterschool TeamsWork! Is your staff team a model of effective teamwork? Would you like it to be? This exciting workshop not only helps your staff team to learn communication, creativity, and problem solving skills, it also teaches them to lead teambuilding activities with the children. Staff experience creative and often hilarious team-building activities, then they discover ways to adapt the activities to use with children. This workshop is designed to be delivered to a distinct working team - people who will not only attend the session, but actually work together. Available as a full-day double or single-session workshop.
TeamsWork Handout
Brain Smart Programming: How can you create an afterschool program or camp that promotes brain development a program that kids will remember positively for many years? Attend this workshop! This training addresses cutting-edge neuroscience and the practical applications of this information through intentional programming in school-age care, with the purpose of facilitating positive development. We will discuss what needs to be present and what needs to be eliminated in programs for young brains to develop positively. Available as a Keynote, full-day, double or single-session workshop.
Brain Smart/Brain-Based Programming Handout
Learning to Lead: Leading to Learn! How can you develop a motivated, enthusiastic, high performing staff team with a high level of commitment? Attend this workshop! Explore the complex systems of afterschool leadership, leaderly learning, and learn how to develop vision, and a culture of innovation, empowerment and teamwork. An introduction to systems thinking will lead into an understanding of the importance of learning among leaders and team members. This workshop will focus on how to give knowledge, information, power and control to staff at all levels of an organization, creating a non-hierarchical learning organization. Available as a double or single-session workshop.
Learning to Lead Handout
ZPD Doo Dah: Vygotsky Anyone?Lev Vygotsky, ever heard of him? If not, this workshop is a MUST! If you sorta, kinda know of him – you smile and nod your head when people say things like, “Zone of Proximal Development” and “Scaffolding,” but you wish you knew more, attend this workshop! If you know his theories, but desire more ideas on how to apply them in the afterschool profession, you are in luck. Do you think the social environment is an important part of afterschool? Vygotsky’s theories are centered on the importance of the social environment to the development of all higher skills. We’ll explore the man and some of his theories: Sociocultural Theory, the Zone of Proximal “Development, the Psychology of Play, and Thinking and Speaking. We will also explore Scaffolding and discuss comparisons between Vygotsky and Piaget. We’ll bring every topic home – back to practical application of theory to afterschool programming. Sound like a dry lecture? No way – come learn and have a good time! Available as a full-day, double or single-session workshop.
Vygotsky Handout
Satisfied Customers?...or Raving Fans! Who are your “customers?” Children? Parents? Higher-Level Teachers? The Community? The relationships we have with the customers we serve are an integral part of our work. Attend this workshop and discover how to transform the relationships you have with key stakeholders to ensure they are huge, raving fans of your staff and your organization. Available as a single-session workshop.
Raving
Fans Handout
Promoting the Positive Potential and Power of Play! Play is not a four letter word. Well, technically it is, but that’s not the point! Do you feel pressured to sit children down, to keep them “busy” to get them working on worksheets? Do you understand that play is important to learning, but don’t have the words to help others understand why? High stakes testing and pressure to improve academic performance are stealing the essence of childhood learning and forcing educators into counter-productive practices. Attend this workshop and learn why playfulness is important to the brain and learning. Come learn how abstract thought and discipline are built through play! Come learn how to advocate for play with parents, colleagues, administrators, and lawmakers! Available as a single-session workshop.
Total Recall: Mega Memory Mind Muscle! Are you great at remembering things or are you better at forgetting? Attend this workshop and boost your own memory power and build some strong memory muscle. Learn techniques to help children and staff remember what you teach them. Learn strategies to help learning stick in the minds of learners of all ages. Learn tricks for teachers and trainers. Unravel and remember the mysteries of pegging, linking, mnemonics and the ancient “room” method. Available as a double or single-session workshop.
Promoting the Positive Potential and Power of Play! Play is not a four letter word. Well, technically it is, but that’s not the point! Do you feel pressured to sit children down, to keep them “busy” to get them working on worksheets? Do you understand that play is important to learning, but don’t have the words to help others understand why? High stakes testing and pressure to improve academic performance are stealing the essence of childhood learning and forcing educators into counter-productive practices. Attend this workshop and learn why playfulness is important to the brain and learning. Come learn how abstract thought and discipline are built through play! Come learn how to advocate for play with parents, colleagues, administrators, and lawmakers! Available as a single-session workshop.
Promoting Play Handout
Total Recall: Mega Memory Mind Muscle! Are you great at remembering things or are you better at forgetting? Attend this workshop and boost your own memory power and build some strong memory muscle. Learn techniques to help children and staff remember what you teach them. Learn strategies to help learning stick in the minds of learners of all ages. Learn tricks for teachers and trainers. Unravel and remember the mysteries of pegging, linking, mnemonics and the ancient “room” method. Available as a double or single-session workshop.
Total Recall Handout
Lovin’ Learnin’: Sneakin’ in the Standards! The educational climate is
changing. With a dramatic increase in the focus on testing, standards,
accountability, and academic achievement, the afterschool movement is struggling
to keep its balance while straddling competing educational approaches and
ideologies. Don’t get fooled into thinking it’s one OR the other – academics OR
whole child development; learning OR fun. When learning is active, engaging,
hands-on, novel, relevant, playful, and social, learning is a whole lotta fun!
We can stay true to the playful nature and positive relationships that make
afterschool special AND significantly enhance academic achievement. Learn how to
create afterschool programming that includes movement, music, and novelty to
promote artistic, physical, social, emotional, AND intellectual growth. Do you
want children to learn without losing the playful, engaging, characteristics
that make afterschool such an enjoyable part of childhood? Learn how to create
programs that are playful, appealing, unique, interactive, AND are intentionally
designed to “SNEAK IN” specific academic standards and simultaneously help kids
develop a love of learning to last a lifetime. The full-day and multi-day
session includes experiential activities that teach English Language Arts,
Social Studies, Math, and Science Standards. Another option: focusing on one or
two content areas (i.e. Sneakin’ in the Science Standards).
Lovin' Learnin' Handout