Dodge, Dip, Duck, Dive, and Dodge!

Thanks, Chill! As always, we had a great time at our 4th Annual Dodgeball Tournament and Chili Dinner! A few of my favorite photos from the event (Find more on our Facebook page):

Preschool!

The King Street Center preschoolers cooked Thanksgiving dinner last week and had a visit from some friends from Shelburne Farms. Peeling the butternut squash:

Preparing the potatoes:Mmm . . . delicious!

A friend from Shelburne Farms:

Why Technology at King Street?

At King Street Center, we focus on academics, social and emotional health and well-being, and playing. And, increasingly alarmed by the technology gap, we also focus on technological literacy. Why?

The ChildCareExchange points out today that the technology gap is only growing:

New research by Common Sense Media indicates a growing disparity in high-tech access. As reported in Education Week(November 2, 2011), the research indicates, on the one hand, that more than half of young children now have access at home to new mobile devices such as smart phones and iPad type tablets and more than a quarter of parents have downloaded apps for their children to use. On the other hand, only 14 percent of low-income parents have ever downloaded a mobile application for their children, compared with 47 percent of wealthier parents.

Youth at King Street Center have access to desktops, laptops, iPads, digital cameras, writing tablets, scanners, printers, and more. We use this technology to improve academics, to create art, and to develop vital skills with technology that are imperative in work environments.

At the Beach

This week, Malcolm takes us to the beach.

Ommmmmmmmmmm . . .

This is one of those blog posts that's all about the picture.

Computer Lab, you are AWESOME!

The most-fun thing I've ever done at King Street Center? This. Right here. This picture. This moment. The moment when we got new computers, and a handful of teens said, "Can we help you set them up?" and I said, "Sure," and they were shocked that I said, "Sure," and then I said:"And you're going to open up the computers to put in extra memory, too."

And they did it:

But, that's not quite the beginning. The beginning involved hauling the new computers downstairs:

And then we recycled all the packaging:

And cleaned off the desks:
And laughed at this, because it's a ridiculous picture of a baby with a bag on its head:

Then the teens learned how to take the backs off a computer safely (I cannot begin to describe how worried they were that they would hurt the computers by doing this, and how proud they felt when they accomplished it):

And then began a frenzy of set-up. Please note the youth underneath the desk, plugging in cords while another youth sets up the materials above the desk. If you ever want to get computers set up quickly, have kids do it.

Some of the AWESOME, AWESOME questions I answered while were were doing set-up?

• Why isn't there a plug for the keyboard on the monitor?
• Why won't the monitor start up? You mean you need a power cord for that, too?
• Where does the mouse plug in?
• This kind just automatically has internet, right? You mean there's a phone cord attached to each of these? It's not a phone cord? What's a cat-5 cable?
• How do you attach the monitor to the big box? The big box is a CPU? What's that?
• We just got new screens, right? Why is the CPU important?
• Can I have the old computer?
• Will you come to my house and show all this to my parents?

I'm not kidding - these were awesome questions. Because, if they hadn't had the opportunity to put these computers together, they would have never realized they didn't know the answers, and they never would have thought to ask. AND, because they were the ones putting the computers together, they learned the answer as they put the plugs and cords in the right place, and they'll never forget it.

And the best part? We're also getting a laptop cart and an iPad cart!

People's United Bank, Tarrant Foundation, and Henderson Foundation: thank you, thank you, thank you!

The computers are coming!

We are SOOOOOOO thankful to People's United Community Foundation, The Tarrant Foundation, and the Henderson Foundation for their support of our technology program. Yesterday, the new desktops arrived, and the Afterschoolers got so excited that they all drew pictures of new computers.

Important fact: we talk about the difference between monitors and CPUs all the time, but not one kiddo drew the CPU. Sigh. Also, the mouse does not attach to the keyboard. Malcolm drew this one:

The googly-eyes on Ahmed's computer just make me so happy:

Jasper started the excellent trend of putting 'Love' on the monitor. His is a laptop, hence the lack of a mouse.And Zach decided that he just wanted to draw how the new technology made him feel:And finally, because we always offer the option to choose your own topic of illustration, Mowlid decided to completely ignore the new computers, but I liked his picture so much that I had to post it:

Tutors Wanted!

King Street Center is looking for educators to staff our SES Tutoring Program. Tutors work with small groups of 2-3 students for 3 hours a week, focusing on reading skill development and math skill development through lessons designed by the tutor. Students are grouped according to ability, and are comprised of elementary, middle, or high school students. Meeting times are flexible throughout the week. All tutors must have a current teaching license or have significant experience with direct instruction in reading or math.

To apply, send a cover letter and resume to Bethany Silva, Tutoring Coordinator, at bethany@kingstreetcenter.org. EOE.

Tidy Up Snack

We first learned about the artist Ursus Wehrli through Robert Krulwich's blog on NPR. Fascinated, we also watched Ursus Wehrli tidies up art | Video on TED.com. And, after showing the King Street Kids an image of a properly organized bowl of alphabet soup, their first response was, "We already DO that!" and they set to work right away:

And, here are some very tidy, properly organized snacks:

Tutoring is ON!

Guess what?

The Champlain College Work-Study Each One Reach One tutors started yesterday, which means 2 things:

1. The kids are psyched.

and

2. My office looks like this right now:

Don't worry, though. This is what the kids and tutors saw when they entered the board room for their match-up meeting:

Doesn't it look super-organized? Each tutoring pair keeps track of their work in a journal - that's what the colorful journals are for. Many of the youth have been in the tutoring program for three years now, and since their journals follow them, they have these great documents of all their hard work for three years.

The blue binders have phonics and math work in them. Each binder is different, set up to match that youth's reading level and math level. The tutoring pairs work on homework completion first, and then afterwards, they use the binder to help develop reading and math skills.

And, that stack of papers? That's the contract that the kids sign. It pretty much says, "I will be prepared for tutoring, and I will work hard while I'm at tutoring."

But, organized-schmorganized! What does the room look like when it gets fun because the youth and tutors are in there? Here it is:

And, after we had our snack (if you've never had rice cakes with cream cheese, you totally need to try it), here's what tutoring looked like:

And that's why yesterday was one of my favorite days of the year.