Being intentional means having a clear intent or goal and making purposeful decisions based on that goal. Although both are purposeful, being intentional in program design (as discussed in that section) and being intentional in the delivery of program activities are different. In the first instance, you are purposefully planning a program based on program vision and goals; in the second instance, you are purposefully planning activities with the specific youth characteristics and outcomes you hope youth experience after participating in the program. In this section, we are discussing the latter. Being intentional in the delivery of afterschool and expanded learning activities means selecting age- and stage-appropriate activities that address young people’s interests; meeting them in their developmental and learning space and building on their strengths; creating clear, consistent, and fair guidelines and expectations; developing written activity plans with content-specific strategies and embedded youth development practices; and including reflection as a key component of your activity.
You can be creative and flexible about how you develop activities and how you and your staff interact with youth in the program. However, be sure to have a rationale for why each activity is chosen (use your asset map!). Have a clear sense of the activity you want to offer, why you want to offer it, and how this activity will help youth develop. As you are determining activities and developing your program, ask yourself the following questions to ensure intentionality: What is the purpose of this activity? Does the purpose align with our program’s vision? Is the activity aligned with young people’s interests or aimed at expanding interests? Will this activity build on young people’s strengths? Is this activity age and stage appropriate for our participants? Do I have a clear activity plan? What will young people learn, or how will they develop, as a result of the activity? What outcomes do we want to achieve? Does the activity match an expressed interest from youth, teachers, and families? See Tool 72: Youth Preference Survey for a sample survey that you can adapt and use to gauge youth preferences. You also can use Tool 73: Intentional Activities to help maintain a focus on intentionality.
Although this Toolkit does not contain a dedicated section on programming for older youth—enough similarity exists between what encompasses “high-quality afterschool or expanded learning programs” for both age groups that we don’t need it—it is still important to be intentional about how you plan your activities for older youth. Remember that programming for older youth needs to be flexible to reflect their interests, and it needs to truly reflect youth voice.
A Note on Snacks and Meals
Don’t underestimate the importance of a snack or a meal! Remember, young people are constantly growing, and after a long day at school, they’re hungry. If they don’t have a healthy snack, they may find it difficult to concentrate on activities. Snacks should be nutritious as well as easy to prepare and serve. Some programs use snack time as a transition between a structured school day and a more informal afterschool period.
Likewise, serving meals in your program can be a great way to not only meet the nutritional needs of young people (in some cases it may be the only dinner they will get) but also engage families and become a resource for your community.
Snack and meal time also can be a learning opportunity: Preparing and providing snacks can reinforce mathematical concepts; menu creation can strengthen literacy skills; and when youth take part in food preparation, serving, and workspace cleanup, they acquire valuable life skills.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture offers a federally assisted afterschool snack and meal program in public and nonprofit private schools and residential child care institutions. For more information, visit http://www.fns.usda.gov/school-meals/afterschool-snacks. In some cases, these programs provide most of the nutrition that young people will get. If your school or program is eligible for snack or meal assistance, the food provided is funded directly from federal tax dollars and will not come from your program budget.
In recognition that too many children do not get enough to eat on weekends, many programs are developing “backpack programs” to provide a backpack full of easy to prepare, healthy foods, such as boxed oatmeal, whole grain pasta and sauce, fruit, or granola bars, to children on Friday afternoons. Peyton’s Promise was started by an eight-year-old in Weston, Wisconsin, who was distressed to see a news story about a boy struggling with hunger. The program works with local food stores, which sell prepackaged bags of these foods for $10 each near the checkout counters. The program collects the bags and disseminates them to local schools and programs. The program has expanded as it has harnessed the energy and efforts of other young people who want to help address this issue.
