Connect for Kids / Child Advocacy 360 / Youth Policy Action Center - Kids & Community

Nashville Coordinates After-School for Middle School

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 11:33:58 -0500

The Forum for Youth Investment (our publisher) says Nashville, Tennessee has launched a quality-based citywide coordination of after-school services for middle school students.

Get Help, Give Help: New Summer Service Initiative

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 11:26:25 -0500

President Obama recently announced a new summer service initiative in partnership with the Corporation for National and Community Service. Local service projects can find volunteers and volunteers can find projects in education, health, energy, the environment and more.

More Things That Do Make A Difference for Youth: A Compendium of Evaluations of Youth Programs and Pratices

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:29:31 -0500

This compendium contains evaluation briefs on 49 youth programs that were assessed by the American Youth Policy Forum. The programs were selected because they demonstrate that careful application of the following principles can lead to powerful results for youth.

Community Counts: How Youth Organizations Matter for Youth Development

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:24:12 -0500

Over 10 years, the researchers studied community-based organizations (CBO) for young people, eventually examining the work of approximately 120 youth-based organizations in 34 different cities. A look at these organizations and the young people they serve shows that CBOs offer a means of reaching at-risk youth, and that they can have a significant impact on the skills, attitudes, and experiences of young people.

Summer Changes Everything Conference

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 19:53:01 -0600

Hosted by the National Center for Summer Learning at Johns Hopkins University, the Summer Changes Everything (April 16-17, 2009 in Chicago) covers how to build and strengthen summer programs. Preconfe

Parent Tip Sheets for Reading with Young Children

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 20:26:58 -0600

Here are some useful, age-appropriate “cheat sheets” to help parents and caregivers get the most out of their time with their children, boosting reading skills and enjoyment.

The Kids Carpentry Program

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 21:20:55 -0600

Kids’ Carpentry is a year-round after school program designed especially for boys and girls, kindergarten through the sixth grade. Since 1982 we have been teaching kids the safe use of woodworking hand tools. Children work together and independently on boats, trucks, bird feeders, clocks, doll furniture, airplanes, games and many other projects. In addition to the fun these kids have, they also gain quality experiences in measuring, applied mathematics such as fractions, and hands-on experience with a variety of carpentry tools. By visualizing, planning and building projects, children develop valuable abstract reasoning capabilities and fine motor skills. Children can select from a wide range of project choices supplied by the teacher and are also encouraged to design and build based on their own needs and imaginations. Our Socratic style of teaching empowers the children to become good problem-solvers and independent thinkers!

Project Play

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 12:22:44 -0600

Project Play is an initiative to inspire families and neighborhoods to play traditional backyard games like "Follow the Leader," "Treasure Hunt," or "Kick the Can"-games that demand imagination and foster creativity. Through a series of lively hardcover children's books featuring a group of active neighborhood kids, Project Play provides guidance to parents and children for getting back to basics and enjoying the joy and freedom of playtime. In addition, Project Play encourages parents to make play a priority-for as founder and author Marlene Byrne believes-it is as equally important to be creative and imaginative as it is to be smart.

Connecting Families, Schools and Community Resources

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 20:50:58 -0500

Schools can be more than vibrant places for learning, they can also be year-round hubs
that connect families and communities to resources and services. This brief from the
National Human Services Assembly looks at schools that doing just that and outlines

Help Create America's After-School Storybook

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 19:04:48 -0500

To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the federal 21st Century Community Learning
Centers, the Afterschool Alliance is creating a storybook featuring people whose lives
have been improved through out-of-school time programs. Share your stories and program

2008 Changes to the Summer Food Service Program

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:02:13 -0500

A simplified version of the USDA Summer Food Service Program has just gone national. It lessens the paperwork involved for groups or out-of-school time programs that want to incorporate summer meals.

Evaluating Out-of-School Time Programs

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 09:54:13 -0500

The American Camp Association has tools and surveys for measuring outcomes from camp activities an

Veterans Day

Mon, 11 Sep 2006 12:09:05 -0500

Start: Nov 11 2006 - 12:00am

End: Nov 11 2006 - 11:59pm

Timezone: Etc/GMT+5

Originally called Armistice Day, Veterans Day commemorates the end of World War I.

Eid-al-Fitr

Mon, 11 Sep 2006 12:05:13 -0500

Start: Oct 24 2006 - 12:00am

End: Oct 24 2006 - 11:59pm

Timezone: Etc/GMT+5

Eid al-Fitr falls on the first day of Shawwal, the month which follows Ramadan in the Islamic calendar.

Yom Kippur

Mon, 11 Sep 2006 11:47:42 -0500

Start: Oct 2 2006 - 12:00am

End: Oct 2 2006 - 11:59pm

Timezone: Etc/GMT+5

Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.