Back to School Means Back to After School, Too.
A Webinar Series to Get You Back in the Groove of After-School Programming
The Back to After School Series |
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| Join us for a 4-webinar series curated to prepare afterschool program providers for the transition out of summer and back into the world of post-class care!
We’ll cover:
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Binders and backpacks line store shelves, summer is winding down, and the bell is about to ring. School is almost back in session! But it’s a return to more than just hallways and books. Even after attending hours of classes, some students will find themselves in your after-school program.
No matter how their day started, youth come to you after hours of academic and social stimulation. The stress of staying focused after a summer of leisure or the desire to hurry home after an exciting time in class can leave some kids restless when the school day is done. As a result, they may need different kinds of support to make a smooth transition from the school day to your after-school program.
We put together a webinar series that gives you everything you need to make this the best year yet. It’s all packaged into our Back to After School course that you can sign up for now!
In the meantime, here’s a sneak preview that will get you ready for what this season brings.
Back to Understanding Behavior
Transitioning back to long days of focusing, socializing, and learning can put pressure on kids. It’s tough on teachers, too! When youth use challenging behavior like spitting or cussing, the natural reaction is irritability. But with tensions high, we need to take a breath and return to the why of behavior.
All behavior has a purpose. Kids may be feeling something they can’t express or control, so their behavior is a way of communicating those emotions. If we can identify the function of their behavior, we can respond to the root cause of their discomfort, frustration, or irritability. But how?
How KIT Can Help:
Learning the major functions of behavior can take the mystery out of responding to challenging behaviors in your afterschool program. Similarly, understanding redirection methods and the signs that it’s time to use them can help focus your energy on fun and games, instead of responding to challenging behavior.
Master the art of identifying, preventing, and redirecting challenging behaviors when you attend these two webinars in our Back to After School Webinar Series:
- Understanding the Why of Behavior
- Redirecting Challenging Behaviors
Key Lesson: Pinpointing behaviors before they escalate is important because early identification gives you time to redirect the youth positively.
Back to Preventing Bullying
Unfortunately, the prevalence of school-time bullying is not new, and dynamics between students can spill over into afterschool territory, too. The National Center for Education Statistics notes that 1 in 5 students report being bullied and that 46% of those bullied students have reported their treatment to a teacher.
As educators, we have a responsibility to keep youth safe. Bullying begs for solutions in the forms of intervention and prevention.
How KIT Can Help:
Start by creating a culture of acceptance from Day 1. When all children are intentionally included and made to feel welcome, the opportunity to single kids out from the crowd is diminished. And make sure that culture of inclusion carries beyond your afterschool program as well. Teach youth how to become effective bystanders in bullying situations. They can help act as an extension of you when bullying is taking place outside your purview.
Create a culture of acceptance in your afterschool program with the Addressing Bullying webinar in our Back to After School course.
Key Lesson: A culture of acceptance can safeguard your program from instances of bullying, and kids can hold each other accountable by becoming confident bystanders when bullying occurs.
Back to Building Support from the Bottom Up
Your return to after school programming is a balancing act. Being attentive to the individual needs of each child while also catering to the group dynamic can present a fair share of challenges – especially in the early days of the new academic year.
As everyone settles into the group, some children will be more engaged in program activities, and others will struggle to manage their emotions in the new environment. What they all need is a foundation of support.
How KIT Can Help:
Knowing when and how to support youth on the outskirts of your program will foster an atmosphere of acceptance that makes it easier for all kids to participate positively. Master strategies for supporting the kids in your group who are having difficulty connecting with peers, or thriving in the environment of your program. Design strategies for helping youth resolve conflict, recognize their emotions, and engage with the group.
Give your group the best experience when you take in the strategic knowledge of Managing a School-Age Group during the Back to After School course.
Key Lesson: To ensure all youth can engage positively in your program, create a foundation of support that focuses on building relationships and creating opportunities for participation.
After School Care Training Course
Join Us for the Back to After School Webinar Series
Back to After School is a series made for the professionals who give kids a safe place to learn and play after every school day. It’s designed to help providers transition from traditional summer programs back to an after-school mindset and to equip them to handle the challenges that come with that transition.
Throughout four on-demand webinars, we cover how to respond to behavior before it escalates, handle challenges as they arise, and get youth involved in creating a positive program culture of inclusion. 