Afterschool programs provide excellent opportunities to help students build a foundational knowledge of food and nutrition. Youth who develop good nutritional habits are more likely to maintain those habits in adulthood. In your program, you have the ability to help them along their journey.

To help you get started, here are a few tips:

National Nutrition Month

March

"In my food world, there is no fear or guilt, only joy and balance." - Ellie Kriegger

Out-of-school time educators who work in urban settings may feel like they have few to no options for connecting youth to nature. Where is nature in a concrete jungle? But Smith reminds all of humanity that even in the toughest urban settings, the natural world breaks through. It is the educator's job to notice nature and to provide opportunities for children to observe and be curious about it. Likewise, it is the provider's role to introduce nature to a setting when it is absent.

Career and Technical Education (CTE) Month

Month of February 

Why Youth Leadership?

National Mentoring Month 

Month of January 

Children learning to work together on a soccer team.

Kids in the midst of a gardening activity stopping to examine grasshoppers in the garden.

Youth learning about and solving real-world problems.

World AIDS Day, Computer Science Education Week, Hour of Code, Disability Day, World Soil Day, International Day of Veterinary Medicine, Gingerbread House Day, Games Day

The process of teaching and learning science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) offers youth opportunities to make sense of the world they live in and prepare them for the future workforce. High-quality STEM opportunities help youth develop critical-thinking, collaboration, and problem-solving skills; enhance creativity; and engage in an investigative process.