HAPPY PLANET YOUTH
“Happy Planet Youth” is Afterschool Village’s after school program to get your pre-teens and teens eco-ready. At Afterschool Village they will learn about sustainable practices and how to implement them in their family, their community and the world. Our young people will learn the skills to connect with other sustainable minded people locally and globally and make meaningful changes to their environment.
We also take “green” ecological thinking and apply it to the growing human person.
We use activities that target how children deal with stress, their resilience, their ability to cooperate with peers, and their ability to sustain hope and commitment through long-term projects.
We teach them to be an integral part of their communities, reaching out to other community groups, businesses, professionals, and political institutions.
Requirement: No use of iphones, tablets other than the ones we use for research of various topics we use for our projects co-created with the children.
Sustainability based: No new bottles, single use utensils, saran wrap, rubber bands. Reuse lunch bottles, plastic containers, water bottles, crayons, color pencils, single-side printed paper, clothing. Encouraged the use of metal, glass, silicon, bamboo products, and thrifting.
START DATE - Sept 7th
Open HOUSE - Sept 1st
DAILY ROUTINE for Happy Planet Youth
Check -in time: (outdoor) 3:30pm 30 minutes (introduction to their inner life of thoughts, emotions, sensations); will be taught various self-regulatory techniques (meditation/ mindfulness/ use of aromatherapy, “parts of self”)
Activity stations:
Arts, Sensorial Manipulatives (rocks) , Sand trays.
Sustainability and community based projects will be co-created with the children. Children will be introduced to local community leaders, political groups with focus on climate change, clean energy, protecting the environment and building community. "
Composting club continues.
Chess and D& D clubs continue.
Outdoor activities: music, free play.
The sequence of activities during each day will be dependent on where the kids are physically, emotionally. Rest, self-regulation ( recharging oneself) and social skills will be reinforced and prioritized.
Homework: encouraged but not enforced.
Tutoring: per request per family at additional cost
School bridging: contact child’s teacher for additional support per family request and at additional cost.
Parent workshops: challenges of parenting school age children based on parent feedback.
We abide by the CDC Recommendation for child programs during covid 19.
Our Tool Kit Includes:
Role-Playing Games
Story-Telling
Creative writing
D&D
Art
Yoga practices for mind-body connection
Mindfulness
Aromatherapy
Gardening