Restorative Circles are a crucial component of Restorative Practices. By gathering in a circle, every individual can see and hear one another. Restorative Circles offer shared responsibility, ownership of choices, safety, trust, and connection. Moreover, circles can be utilized in a variety of situations.

Restorative practices are an invaluable tool for fostering social-emotional skills in youth. Conversely, social-emotional development is also a crucial component for youth to meaningfully engage with restorative practices. These skills will not only help your students learn better but also develop into better citizens. The benefits of these practices extend beyond the classroom. Check out this month’s tip sheet for some skills that are part of restorative practices.

Restorative practices are a set of strategies programs can use. They are rooted in repairing harm and building and repairing relationships. There are a lot of ways to build relationships between staff and youth; building relationships between youth is just as important! This month’s tip sheet shares some ideas for doing just that!.

Restorative practices are a relationship-based approach to conflict resolution and disciplinary issues that brings together those involved and those affected. They are rooted in repairing harm and building and repairing relationships.

It’s never too early or too late to introduce kindness. Kindness promotes empathy and compassion, enhances relationships and teaches SEL, just to name a few!

Having positive relationships with non-parental adults is proven to impact youth’s lives in positive ways.

Think of your favorite book—it grabbed you from the start, kept you hooked with mystery or excitement, and left you satisfied yet craving more. Let's infuse that captivating essence into our lesson plans, sparking a love for learning in young minds!

We are wired for connection. When we make connections with our youth, when we consciously build trust, we improve learning opportunities for everyone.

A debrief can help you assess what went well during summer, as well as any challenges or pain points. Use this feedback tool with your team to help you continue to improve and plan for next summer.

Brain Breaks help kids and teens feel refreshed and ready to learn. This tip sheet provides a few different types of brain breaks.

This tip sheet provides you with some strategies to help you create effective partnerships with your families.

This tip sheet provides you with some tips for infusing social and emotional learning (SEL) outside the classroom.

Positive and supportive staff relationships are the foundation to a thriving program. While relationships have always been meaningful, they are now more vital than ever.

When afterschool and summer teams engage in a Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) process, they maximize their impact and potential. A great first step in the process is to conduct a program observation.

According to data from 2021, 21 percent or approximately 11 million children ages 5-17 speak a language other than English at home. This tip sheet includes four strategies for honoring, supporting and celebrating bilingual learners.

It is crucial to foster a sense of inclusivity and belonging. One aspect of diversity, equity, and inclusivity (DEI) is ensuring you have current knowledge of gender identity and gender pronouns. Use this tip sheet to help create an inclusive environment and you can also view the recording from our session on DEI: Pronouns, Language & Inclusive Practices.

No matter if you teach elementary, middle, or high school-aged youth, here are two SEL focused strategies to help create a classroom community.

Youth engagement is essential for them to grow academically and developmentally. But sometimes keeping them engaged can be tricky! Check out this quality tip sheet on 10 engaging teaching strategies you can use to keep your youth focused and engaged during your afterschool and summer camps.

As summer comes to an end, take a moment to reflect on your program. Here are our best tips to wrap up your summer and prepare for an even better program next year.

Mastering transitions can be one of the hardest parts of classroom management. Here are six awesome ideas to capture the attention of your students quickly and effectively.