Keep Kids Coming Back for More

Try these outside-the-box program suggestions to add spice and fun to your planning. Guaranteed to keep kids singing the praises of your program!

Make a mess
Messy projects are great you can take activities outside. “Doing messy art gives kids positive ways to release pent-up energy and have fun,” says Anna Reyner of Excelligence Learning Corp. in Los Angeles.

Create a mural, or try no-paintbrush painting by opening up your paint projects to hand- and foot-print designs. You can also use balloons, sponges, or cooked spaghetti to lay on the paint. A bonus: Reyner says such projects are “heaven” for the kinesthetic learner.

Roughouse responsibly
Water balloons may be the tradition, but they can be a pain to prep (and to get smacked with!). Rick Porter of Rainbow Rising Child Care in Hermosa Beach believes there are better ways to battle, using squirt guns or car sponges soaked in buckets of water.

“Throwing can help teach reading skill development,” Porter says, “as kids who have difficulty following the line across the page learn to coordinate and focus the eye.” He also recommends imaginary snowball fights with beanbags, balled socks, or even the scraps at your local ice rink, where “snow” the Zamboni scrapes away is sold.

Get technical
Kids who prefer the boob tube to outdoor fun can learn to be more active with their technology. At Sunset Neighborhood Beacon Center in San Francisco, kids learn to create video games, design robots, make digital music, and simulate a virtual business, says afterschool leader Kristin Moran.

The Cyber Café club at High Tech Middle School in San Diego allows youth to “check out laptops to work on their Digital Portfolios, instant-message their friends, and learn Flash animation,” according to Tia Quinn of the Region 9 Technical Assistance Center.

Open your mind
The main trick, according to California youth consultant Ray Trinidad, is to be willing to bend to kids' perspectives. "People look at something like paintball and say, 'No way. It deals with guns and shooting,' " he says. "But can't we also make it a lesson the historical battles in American history? Or say this deals with teamwork and leadership and math and physics -- how the balls shoot in a trajectory? It's all in the disguised learning."