Our Kids are Stressed Out

I was looking through my email this morning and I caught site of a BOOST blog with the above title.  I have grandchildren and I’ve been using them as guinea pigs, along with the rest of the neighborhood children.  It’s fascinating to watch children grow and see the various effects on children by how parents…parent. […]

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Lt. Governor’s Coding Challenge

The Lt. Governor’s Coding Challenge is a statewide coding competition for Connecticut students.

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Resources from National Geographic

National Geographic is again promoting their terrific, free resources to afterschool educators.

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NAA’s Next Generation of Afterschool Leaders 2021

The Connecticut After School Network would like to recognize NAA’s Next Generation of Afterschool Leaders 2021 honoree Mackenzie Steadman! This annual honor is given by the National AfterSchool Association to recognize emerging leaders who are making a significant impact in the afterschool field.

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STEM Beyond the School Day Series – Engineering Mindset 6 or Math…Yuck!

Engineering Mindset 6: Children apply Science and Math Knowledge to Problem Solving Engineers use knowledge of math and science to solve problems. They combine that knowledge with their own creativity to design technologies. Soooo maybe you’re feeling pretty good about engineering and you’re ready to share it with the young people in your life.  You’re […]

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STEM Beyond the School Day Series – Engineering Mindset 4 or What to Watch on TV

Engineering Mindset #4: Children Consider Criteria and Constraints that Require Tradeoffs If you’ve tried to solve a problem, or teach problem solving skills in a blue sky sort of format you are likely familiar with the expanse of the human imagination. Let’s consider something small like, you’ve got the day off.  You just got up […]

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Creating Culture in a Cafeteria Classroom – Staying Positive and Negative during a Pandemic

Week 4 Over the week leading up to the holiday, I spent a significant amount of time trying to get my technophobic father onto a more reliable video chatting platform. We got him a new laptop, specifically for the upcoming Thanksgiving and Christmas occasions. Our goal? Connect him to the family so we could all […]

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STEM Beyond the School Day Series – Engineering Mindset 1

Engineering Mindset #1: Children Consider Problems in Context Considering and designing with the engineering design process In our last post about the properties and use of materials we talked about finding the right materials to find the best solution to any given challenge. The more you can understand the materials you’re working with, the smarter […]

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Creating Culture in a Cafeteria Classroom – Staying Positive and Negative during a Pandemic

Week 3 In our Summer Enrichment program, I chose to read a chapter of L. Frank Baum’s Wizard of Oz to the children each day. During Chapter 1, the group was very interested in the cyclone. Several children had never heard of such a thing and were full of questions. This led to an afternoon full […]

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Computer Science Week

Did you know that the week of December 7th is Computer Science Week? 

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