Upcoming workshops with available seats

The Fall 2013 Coordinated Training Calendar has been released, featuring workshops offered by PHMC, the Afterschool Activities Partnership (ASAP), the Free Library of Philadelphia, and the United Way. A number of these workshops will be offered in the coming weeks, and seats are still available. The table below lists the time, date and location of these workshops. The weblink in the right-hand column will take you to the registration system for that particular workshop (note that different workshops require registration through different websites).

Providing Students a Platform to Share Their Interests

The Driving Question is an essential part of the project plan. A good Driving Question will root the project in inquiry, and prompt exciting, hands on activities. Writing a good Driving Question can be challenging, particularly if students aren’t accustomed to giving feedback or sharing their interests with staff. Here are some fun ways to give students a platform to share their interests during the project planning phase. Let’s look at how we can use these techniques, and their benefits.

PBL and Fashion: DOs and DON’Ts

In the Philadelphia OST network, it is not uncommon to see popular project topics, like health and nutrition, recycling and community mapping, appear at many different OST programs. One such theme is fashion, a topic that seems particularly popular with pre-teens girls.

A strong fashion-themed project can engage youth in meaningful discussions about media, self-esteem, creativity, culture, history, and economics.  It can teach youth valuable life skills such as budgeting and how to repurpose old items.  On the other hand, a poorly executed fashion project can reinforce stereotypes and put undo emphasis on media-promoted ideas about beauty.

If you are thinking about using Project-Based Learning to explore fashion and design, here are some DOs and DON’Ts to keep in mind: 

The “Edible Car” Teaches Us that STEM is about Problem-Solving

Recently, I watched “The Edible Car.”  In this project, youth engineer a wacky solution to a fun, engaging question — “How can I build a vehicle out of every-day items?”  This gets youth involved in STEM activities & principles.  It seems perfect for OST programming because there are no scientists, engineers, techies or math pro leading this project.  There are no lab coats or experiment kits.  It became clear then that STEM is not about being a scientist or engineer who needs a laboratory.  STEM is about critical thinking and problem solving.

Beyond Christmas: Ideas to Enrich Your Holiday Projects

Around this time of year, when you ask your elementary aged students what they want their next project to be about, often times, “Christmas” will be the answer. Why not challenge your students to inquire beyond what they already know with a driving question like, “How do kids around the world celebrate the winter holidays?”

Using PBL to Teach Health and Nutrition

Trying to incorporate the new Healthy Living Guidelines into your OST Program?  Take a look at the Northeast Family YMCA of Fitzpatrick Elementary’s “Top Chef” project!   The driving question asks youth in grades K-2 “What makes us healthy children?”, and youth in grades 3-5, “How do we stay healthy as we change and grow?” 

Resources for Community Mapping Projects

Looking to foster community connections and spirit in your OST program? Looking to incorporate physical activity, social studies, and writing in your PBL projects?  If you are, then community mapping projects are what you are looking for!

Community mapping projects are projects that allow youth to discover what is located in their very own community, make connections with existing resources like businesses, recreation facilities, and non-profit agencies and foster a lifelong responsibility of caring about where they live.

Celebrate the National Day on Writing

Congress has declared October 20, 2012 the National Day on Writing! Across the country schools, OST programs and communities will be celebrating the importance of writing, particularly for America’s young people.

A number of resources are available for afterschool programs interested in celebrating National Writing Day, and integrating writing and literacy into Project-Based Learning. The National Gallery of Writing offers students an opportunity to read written work in every imaginable format. Last year, the New York Times collaborated with students and educators to blog National Writing Day, and students interested in participating can also find the Writing Day hashtag on Twitter. The National Writing Project also has a number of tips and resources available for use in classrooms.

Caine’s Arcade: Inspiring creativity and imagination around the world

For those of you who haven’t heard of him, Caine Monroy is a 9-year-old boy from East Los Angeles who built an elaborate arcade in his dad’s auto parts store – out of cardboard.

His inspiring story is told in an 11-minute short film created by his first customer, a guy named Nirvan who was simply looking for a part for his ‘96 Corolla.

Grant Opportunity for Gardening Projects

The Whole Kids Foundation is offering $5,000 grants to support youth gardening. Programs that implement Project-Based Learning can look for opportunities to integrate rigorous academic content into gardening activities, in order to submit a competitive, exciting grant application.