Activity Idea: Mummy Pizzas

(image and recipe from familyfun.com)
Disguises aren't just for Halloween. Children enjoy making these dressed-up, spooky-looking snacks any time of year just as much as they enjoy eating it. 

Children spoon the pizza sauce on the English muffin and make the mummy face with the cheese and vegetables.

RECIPE INGREDIENTS:
English muffins
Pizza sauce
Black olives
Scallions
Red or green pepper
Cheese sticks or slices

1. Heat the oven to 350° F. For each mummy, spread a tablespoon of pizza sauce onto half of an English muffin
(toast it first, if you like).

2. Set olive slices in place for eyes and add round slices of green onion or bits of red or green pepper for pupils.

3. Lay strips of cheese (we used a pulled-apart cheese stick) across the muffin for the mummy's wrappings.

4. Bake for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the muffin is toasty.

Activity Idea: Speed Stacking

Cup Stacking is a growing sport.
School-agers love it!
Check out this amazing video and start a stacking craze in your site.

To learn more about speed stacking click here.
To see how cup stacking is linked to the NAA standards click here.

Tips for Managing Active School-Agers.

1. Always have a plan for the day, but be flexible, allowing for changes depending on interest.
2. Have various activities planned that children can take turns doing, in order to minimize wait time.
3. Get the children’s input of what they want to do, and what they have to do (like HW)
4. Set limits and boundaries. Be consistent, predictable, prompt. Keeping it plain and simple eliminates arguments.
5. Give the child a space to cool off, re-group or let out steam.
6. Give smaller specific tasks instead of large tasks.
7. Always encourage physical activities.
8. Prepare for free time giving children appropriate choices.
9. Establish a routine that the children can count on.
10. Look for and appreciate each child’s individuality.

Resource:
Half A Childhood:Quality Programs for Out-of-School Hours by Bender, Flatter &Sorentino, 2005.

***p. 238 Half-a Childhood
Neither babies nor baby sitters.

Question of the Day: Boss or Bossy

Question:
"I have a lot of rowdy children in my after-school program and I would like my staff to be able to manage them. How can the staff make sure that the children know that they (the staff) are the boss?"

Answer:
There is a difference between being "Bossy" and being "The Boss."
Being bossy is authoritarian-and is counterproductive to having a pleasant, congenial atmosphere that will enhance a child's development.
Being the boss means using authoritative strategies.
Authoritative strategies show a friendly, positive commitment to the children combined with clear, firm rules and explanations. An authoritative staff provides structure and control while taking the children's wishes and point of view into consideration.

(Clarice Feagin, Elements of a Quality After-School Program)

The Chefs say:
The difference between being authoritarian and
using authoritative strategies:
Telling a child not to knock down someone else's blocks "because I said so" is authoritarian.
An authoritative strategy would be to:
-Ask a child
"how would you feel if your blocks were knocked down without your permission?"
-Come up with an action plan to satisfy a child's desire to build and tear down.
"Its fun to tear down stuff, isn't it."
"What if you take turns building and knocking down? "
"Or what if the two of you see how many blocks it will take to knock this structure down?"
-Have a consistent consequence for someone that has not learned to respect others' creations.
"Jill, come sit over here and lets see how many blocks it will take for Jack to knock that down"

To see how using authoritarian strategies is linked to the NAA standards click here.

*Please feel free to post your own questions and/or answers in the comment section.
We welcome all comments or suggestions.