Section G: Activity Planning And Resources

Enrichment and Coordination/Physical Development Components

Description

In contrast to the regular school program, the after-school program is what children consider their “real life.” There is no set plan to cover specific academic subjects or pressure to do so by a certain time. It is a chance to enrich what may—or may not— happen in school. Children are allowed the freedom to form and develop relationships with others, explore new areas, or just quietly read, rest, or reflect.

In keeping with the informal nature of an after-school setting, enrichment and coordination/physical development activities should be planned in a way that invites children to participate, without coercing them. The activities should be motivating and fun.

Enrichment Component

The enrichment component is designed to enhance children’s experiences in a variety of areas not normally covered during the school day. Enrichment activities help children to perceive and understand themselves and the world around them and are chosen to be fun, interesting, motivating, and natural. Enrichment adds to children’s experiential and conceptual base of knowledge and helps them to be more responsive and sensitive to each other and to their environment. Enrichment activities can also be multidisciplinary, make creative use of time and organizational structures, and tap multiple resources within the school and community.

Enrichment activities in the A+ Program may include arts and crafts, the expressive arts (drama, music, dance, speech, literature), and activities in other content areas which extend children’s experiences beyond the basics. Some additional areas may include mathematics and science and their related fields such as space studies; social and cultural studies; and interdisciplinary units such as environmental education and self-care.

Coordination and Physical Development Component

The goal of this component is to supplement the efforts of the home and school in equipping children with the skills, knowledge, and attitudes for realizing their full physical potential and making this a lifelong habit. The physical fitness activities may include creative movement, individual sports, team or group sports, and games.

Characteristics of Children and Their Development

The characteristics of school-age children should guide the planning of the program’s content. The following guidelines have been compiled by the School-Age Child Care Project, Wellesley College Center for Research on Women, summarizes the developmental characteristics of school-age children in four areas: physical, intellectual, social, and emotional development.

Physical Development

• Growth occurs in uneven spurts, with girls often gaining in size, strength and coordination more quickly than boys.
• Eating is a favored activity, although the desire is not always for food and beverages that adults consider to be nutritionally sound.
• Testing the limits of one’s physical capabilities, at times to the point of endangerment, is not uncommon.
• Rapid physical skill development involving both large and small muscles occurs. With large muscles, children run, throw, catch, climb, swim, bicycle, dance, and wrestle. With smaller muscles they write, draw, cut and paste, sew, and handle a variety of tools.
• The first years after school entrance are a time when special support needs, relating to the body and the senses, may be identified for the first time: dental work, speech therapy, glasses, and hearing operations are part of the experience of many school-age children.
• The later school-age years, after age nine or so, are a time when chemical changes within the body bring about a greater sexual differentiation between boys and girls.

Intellectual Development

• In contrast to preschoolers, school age children have a greater attention span and a marked desire to follow through and bring projects to completion.
• They are intellectually inventive, adventurous, and highly curious.
• They are industrious, willing to apply themselves with tremendous concentration and utmost seriousness to new interests.
• There is a growing determination to demonstrate an awareness of the differences between reality and fantasy. This often manifests itself in a fascination with riddles, jokes, and magic.
• The older they get, the more they wish to focus on real tasks that have real, concrete goals and consequences, as opposed to activities which are abstract or lacking in perceived connection to their world. (Until they get past age 12 or so and begin to be comfortable with more abstract thinking.)

Social Development

• Rules are very important. School-age children look for rules, learn rules, tell others what the rules are—and yes, break the rules. 
• The peer group becomes more and more influential. Children will often sacrifice their own interest in a particular activity in order to be with special friends who want to do something else.
• The peer group is an important arena where children not only learn to form friendships, but also how to have conflicts and resolve them.
• The child is separating from the home environment. Parents remain extremely important; however, teachers, camp counselors, music or dance instructors, and many other adults are also viewed as important role models.
• Children differentiate their language from that of parents and teachers, enjoying the use of peer language that often includes slang and vulgarity.
• There is a reflection of societal criteria and societal prejudice, as school-age children begin to differentiate among their peers according to religion, color, perceived physical attractiveness or unattractiveness, and school performance.
• The aspiration toward adolescence is reflected more and more strongly as children get beyond the early school-age years.
• Clothing and hairstyle choices, talk about sexual subjects, musical tastes, and many other aspects of life are influenced by this desire to reach the next stage of development.

Emotional Development

• Children are much more self-conscious when they reach school-age than they were as preschoolers. They become even more so as they approach early adolescence.
• One important manifestation of this self-consciousness is a tendency to repress and hide difficult feelings, such as anger, sadness, and rejection. Many children also are uncomfortable receiving praise and affection.
• It is not uncommon for children in the middle years of childhood to show a wide range of emotional traits, some of which would be characterized as “infantile” and others which would be considered “like young adults.”
• Children in this stage recognize for the first time that adults are not always right and are not always fair. But they also recognize that adults can play important positive roles other than protector or provider—they can offer friendship and trust which help children feel good about themselves.
• Many school-age children are filled with bitter feelings when they lose in a game or fail to do well in a school activity.
• The development of a conscience and a sense of morality is apparent in many school-age children. At times, their sense of justice and their outrage at what they consider injustice (generally something very concrete that affects them) is very strong.

Philosophy

While A+ is not a formal instructional program, a major premise on which it operates is that learning is a continual process that does not stop once the official school day ends. All experiences are potential learning experiences. The activities program, therefore, should be built upon the same assumptions, beliefs and understandings about how children learn as in other instructional programs. These assumptions operate not only in the regular classroom, but in any context.

• Activities should be personally meaningful and relevant to the child. Learning should not be imposed upon the child. Children must set goals for themselves; they must want to engage in an activity. It is only when a goal is personally meaningful and relevant to children that they are likely to achieve it. The teacher’s role is to provide invitations for learners to learn. It may involve explaining the goal or objective of an activity so that children accept or understand it better, or having the children themselves determine the goals, objectives and tasks (the means to accomplish them).
• What children know should be the starting point for all learning. Learning is built upon what we already know—our language, experiences, and thinking. Prior knowledge is the foundation on which new knowledge is created. Learning begins with our acceptance of this prior knowledge. Learning is, therefore, person-centered, not program- or material-centered.
• Learning is a meaning-making process. It is the program’s goal to capitalize on children’s natural curiosity and need to inquire about the world and helps them to make sense of the world in whatever way necessary. Some of these ways include reading, writing, speaking, dancing, dramatizing, moving, running, viewing, manipulating, drawing, painting, shaping and composing.
• Learning requires verbalization of ideas. Children learn when they talk about their ideas with others. This verbal interaction helps children to clarify their ideas, to affirm and reaffirm them, to get new ideas from others, and to make connections between ideas. Verbalization can take many forms, both oral and written. Some common forms are class or small group discussion, adult-child or peer conferences, dialogues or conversation, interviews, and writing activities involving journals or learning logs, stories, plays, poetry, or essays.
• Learning is a social act. Learning requires interaction. We learn from and with others. Thinking, talking, and learning with other people helps us to consider new ideas and clarify our own thinking and beliefs. The perspectives of others — when they differ from ours — motivate us to reassess what we know and make new connections and meanings for ourselves. Interaction also contributes to a positive learning climate.
• Learning involves not only being able to learn the material or procedure (e.g., a poem, dance, or game) but being able to determine how well the learning is taking place. Learning how to learn places the responsibility for learning on the learner rather than the teacher, the aim being to develop independent learners. The teacher becomes a facilitator of the learning process.
• Learning may be expressed in a variety of ways—through play, through imagining and role-playing, through art work, music, creative dramatics, and dance, through games, and through stories and poetry. Each of these modes are learning experiences in themselves, but also serve as a means for teachers to assess children’s learning. It is important that children be given opportunities to participate in a range of learning activities.

Suggested Elements of the After-School Program

Variety and Balance of Activities

The after-school program may include sports, music, dance, science and nature, arts, crafts, drama, and other enrichment and physical coordination activities or combinations of activities. There should be a balance between structured and unstructured times, adult-directed and child-initiated experiences, and a range of activity options for children. The program should also balance physical activities with sedentary activities or rest, high interaction with quiet and reflection.

Meaningful Activities based on Children’s Developmental Needs, Interests, Ideas, and Choice

The activities should be designed to capture and extend children’s interests as well as to help them develop new ones. Children should be working on real skills, not just doing things to keep them busy. The learning activities should be what children would naturally do and enjoy doing on their own. As much as possible, children should be offered many choices from which to choose, to allow them to control their own learning.

Different Modes of Learning

A variety of learning activities are planned to give children the opportunity to experience and use different modes of learning and ways of expressing themselves. While the following categorization is arbitrary, these modes may include, but are not limited to the following:

• LANGUAGE: reading silently, reading aloud, writing, listening, speaking, reciting
• NON-VERBAL: watching, viewing, sharing, touching, manipulating
• MOVEMENT: dancing, dramatizing, miming, acting, running, walking, moving, playing, manipulating, improvising
• ARTISTIC/EXPRESSIVE: drawing, painting, sculpting, creating, shaping, forming, composing, performing
• INTEGRATIVE: field trips, interest centers, group projects
• REFLECTIVE: quiet time for thinking, relaxing, incubating ideas, imagining, interviewing

Interactions (Social and Psychological Environment)

Interactions between children, staff, and parents are positive and demonstrate mutual respect for each other. Staff members must like children, model positive behavior, listen attentively to children, involve them in the planning of activities, and provide them with individual attention. Goals, rules, and expectations must be clearly communicated to children, while still allowing opportunities for them to question or suggest changes.

There is informal two-way communication between parents and staff. Rules and expectations are clearly explained—both orally and in writing. As needed, formal conferences between parents and staff may be scheduled.

Lines of communication should also be kept open between A+ staff and the regular school faculty and staff.

Collaboration/Cooperation

Because learning is a social activity, children work in collaborative groups whenever possible. A goal structure of positive interdependence — situations in which children must cooperate to accomplish a goal — is set up. Activities are planned that foster cooperation and keep competition to a minimum. Sharing of ideas, resources, etc. within and among groups is encouraged.

Children are mixed in the groups – with each group made up of a balance of children of different abilities, interests, aptitudes, personalities. The compositions of groups are changed periodically so that each child has a chance to work with all of the other children. Social interaction is encouraged.

The Learning Process

In any effective learning or life activity, three phases are evident: a preparation phase, a doing phase, and an application/evaluation phase.

PREPARATION. In the preparation phase, the learners make themselves ready or primed to learn. Preparation involves: focusing, attending, or anticipating; recalling, verbalizing, and sharing prior knowledge about the topic or activity;  setting purposes or goals for learning by raising questions; predicting and/or hypothesizing, stating a problem or issue, setting goals, and/or clarifying the task(s).

DOING. In this phase, learners actually engage in the learning and try to make meaning or sense of what they are doing. It is a continuation of what was initiated in the preparation phase and may involve: trying, doing, experimenting; confirming and refining predictions or procedures (trial and error); constructing personal meaning for the newly presented information; clarifying ideas, answering questions, asking new questions; categorizing information; and generalizing ideas.

APPLICATION/EVALUATION. In this phase, learners may apply the principles of what they have learned to new situations. They may also evaluate the success and usefulness of their learning. This may involve: practicing and using the ideas to solve a new problem or perform a task; evaluating the learning process through discussion, writing, or other forms; and discussing the values and possible uses of the learning information. 

Physical Environment

The physical environment is clean, well-organized, and inviting to children. A variety of play/learning materials is organized and easily accessible to children. Areas for rest and reflection, small group work, and centers for various types of activities are set aside and supervision is provided for these areas.

Because the A+ Program shares space with the regular school, consideration must be given to staffs working together to mutually agree upon the use of the shared space. Equipment and supplies should be clearly marked.

Planning and Scheduling

The schedule of activities is developed collaboratively and clearly understood by all staff and posted so that it is accessible to children and parents. The schedule includes both one-shot projects, activities that may take several days or weeks, or happen at regular intervals (e.g., once a week). The schedule also takes into account how children have spent the first part of their day in their regular classrooms.

Organizing Activities

The learning experiences provided for children are organized in a meaningful, not random, way. Two meaningful ways of organization are by theme or by activity. Themes or activities can serve as the focus of the learning experiences, while adjustments are made for children’s developmental needs.

Organizing By Themes

A theme is an idea, usually a broader or more universal one, that serves to unify a variety of ideas or activities. Themes and concepts have built-in meaning, making it easier for learners to set purposes and “hook” into the learning. Learning experiences then become the means to the end of increasing understanding of the theme or concept, rather than ends in themselves.

Examples of themes are: understanding other cultures, maintaining good health, learning about the neighborhood, keeping the environment clean, being a good citizen.

Organizing By Activity

Activities are grouped by type, such as group or individual physical activities, seatwork, reading or writing, conducting experiments, playing quiet games, and drama.

Program Elements Checklist

• The program includes a variety and balance of activities including sports, music, dance, science and nature, arts, crafts, drama, other physical and enrichment activities or combinations of activities. There is a balance between structured and unstructured activities, adult-directed, and child-initiated activities. There is also a balance between physical and sedentary activities or rest and between high interaction and quiet reflection.
• Activities are real should be real and meaningful. Children’s interests and ideas help to determine the activities. Children are offered and can choose from a variety of activities. A variety of activities should be provided. Activities may include, language activities, watching, viewing, sharing, manipulating, dancing, dramatizing, acting, running, playing, drawing, painting, creating, attending and going to field trips, interest centers.)
• Interactions between children, staff, and parents are positive and demonstrate mutual respect for each other.
• Children work collaboratively when possible.
• Activities should be planned to provide opportunities for learning. 
• The physical environment is clean, well-organized, and inviting to children. Various supervised areas are set aside for their use.
• The schedule is developed collaboratively, communicated clearly, and takes into account how children have spent the first part of their day in their regular classrooms.
• The activities should be fun and organized in a meaningful way.