Spotlight on August

 Hello Friends!

     Summer Program is in the books and we’ve circled back around to preparing for After School Program. August gives the opportunity for a (brief) respite before we have friends in the building once again. Personally, we have two days of downtime before we dive deep into quick planning sessions this year with less than two weeks between the end of our Summer Program and the first day of school. I encourage everyone who works with youth to take some down time where you can, our jobs are so rewarding, but also so taxing.

    I've created the Spotlight On page for August filled with fun things to make your month extra special. August brings with it so many things to celebrate, even if it doesn’t have any commonly recognized holidays.  Whether you’re looking for fun learning opportunities like World Lizard Day or Vesuvius Day or you’re wanting to share some fun food ideas for Chocolate Chip Cookie Day or Watermelon Day, August has something perfect for you. There are also fun field trip ideas (American Adventures Month, anyone) and some great craft and hobby inspired activities for those who prefer something cozier. And, don’t forget La Tomatina, where Spain has the world’s largest tomato fight every year, that’s definitely something new and different!

To download the Spotlight, simply click on it then you can save the image to your device

    What do you do with the Spotlights once you download them? I personally print and put them into my monthly idea binders because I'm old school and prefer having a paper copy of everything. I also have a digital file for each month where I keep them. I use them as a reference when planning activities at the Club, and for fun ways to add some excitement in my downtime. 

    How will you choose to celebrate this month? Whatever you choose I wish you the very best that late summer has to offer!

Spotlight On Summer 2026

The latest edition of Spotlight On is now available and is focused on introducing our Summer Program. To see the full size version, simply click on the image below.

I'll be releasing new editions each week through June and July as we continue on our voyage in Passport to Adventure.

Spotlight on September

 The "ber" months are here! I am a fall person through and through and I love it when we finally hit the season (even if it takes a while for Oklahoma weather to catch up). This time of year always brings so many things to celebrate, that it seems like the perfect time to bring back the Spotlight On sheets to help keep up with all of the wonderful variety this time of year has to offer. This is just a small sampling of celebrations for the month, but the ones that (to me) seem like the best from a youth development perspective. If you would like to see (and save) the full size version, simply click on the image.

There will be some posts showing how we've celebrated the incoming fall as we go through the month, but I like to release these early enough that you can plan as well. 

Enjoy your celebrations!

Spotlight on March

 Happy March, Friends! I hope you enjoy the March Spotlight post. Currently, there are Read Across America Week and Spring Break resources in the works. To be able to read the full newsletter, click on the image below to make full sized.

Much Love,

Spotlight On: October 2024

 I'm trying something new Behind the Blue Doors - a newsletter of sorts that is focused on special events and tidbits of interest for after school programs. I've created this as an image so it's super easy to save and to add to your planning boards at Pinterest. 

If this is something you enjoy, please let me know!