2021 StayConnected Webinar Recordings

January 7, 2021: Supporting Self-Care and Resilience for our Staff

Saundra Wever Frerichs, Nebraska 4-H, sfrerichs3@unl.edu
Emily Koopman, Executive Director, Belmont Community Center, Lincoln

As COVID-19 continues to disrupt our lives and our work, we are all experiencing stress and fatigue.  Let’s start 2021 by focusing on what we can do, what we can control, and how we can support each other.  We’ll share resources you can use to take care of yourself and your staff so that we can all be more resilient together.

January 21, 2021: Building Staff to Build Kids: Using The Other Wes Moore to Foster Understanding

Megan Crawford, Project Director, Broken Bow Super Kids Club Afterschool Program
Jan Handa, NDE 21st CCLC Coordinator

Examine how to tailor training for your staff using the book The Other Wes Moore.  This session looks at how one program connected resource materials for meaningful discussion with their staff.  Learn the impacts this training had on staff as well as discuss how this training could benefit your program.

February 4, 2021: Summer Fun and Learning

Heather Bebout, Project Director, Schuyler Afterschool and Summer Program
Deb Sawyer, Project Director, O’Neill Afterschool and Summer Program

Join this week’s StayConnected webinar to hear from two 21^st CCLC Project Directors about their summer program plans. Heather Bebout, Schuyler Project Director, and Deb Sawyer, O’Neill Project Director will discuss their summer program schedules, staffing, their community partners, and also share some resources others might find helpful. There will be time to ask these experienced program leaders questions and share participants’ experiences.
Summer Programming in Schuyler

February 18, 2021: Summer Planning: Easier

Sandy Day, Beyond School Bells
Saundra Frerichs, Nebraska 4-H, sfrerichs3@unl.edu

Sandy Day, Beyond School Bells, will lead a discussion regarding the importance of summer learning and new opportunities for funding to support efforts to make 2021 a Summer of Innovation. In addition, Saundra Frerichs, Nebraska Extension, will share resources to assist in your summer planning offering models and available hands-on curriculum.

March 4, 2021 – Preventing the Summer Slide

Dr. Abby Burke, Reading Specialist, Nebraska Department of Education
Nancy Armstrong, Afterschool Project Director, Ogallala, NE
Holly Myers, Afterschool Project Director, Loup City, NE

Summer slide is a decline in reading ability and other academic skills that can occur over the summer months when school isn’t in session.  Learn ways to enhance literacy skills during one-on-one or small-group time. Explore options for embedding literacy development at home as well as throughout a summer program.
Preventing the Summer Slide handout

March 18, 2021 –E-Afterschool: Utilizing Out-of-School-Time Experiences to Develop an Entrepreneurial Mindset in Youth

Kelly Biggar, Afterschool Program Manager, Young Entrepreneur Institute
Anna Wishart, Director of Partnerships, Nebraska Children and Families Foundation
Breann Hines, COO Young Entrepreneurs of the Future

Join Beyond School Bells, the Youth Entrepreneurship Institute, and Young Entrepreneurs of the Future to learn about the E-Afterschool opportunities available this year to the youth you serve. From statewide pitch challenges, to youth marketplaces, to entrepreneurship clubs, there are many opportunities to engage youth in building their entrepreneurial mindset.

April 1, 2021 – Planning Summer Units and Lessons

Saundra Frerichs, Nebraska 4-H, sfrerichs3@unl.edu

This StayConnected experience will focus on resources to help plan for summer.  I’ll share an afterschool lesson template and afterschool unit template designed especially for Nebraska; and my favorite sources for high-quality, free STEM curricula.  We will discuss the differences between planning units and planning lessons.
Afterschool Planning Template
Afterschool Unit Planning
STEM Curriculum Resources for Afterschool Programs

April 15, 2021 – 2021 Nebraska GetConnected Afterschool Conference is September 10th!

The 2021 GetConnected conference will be held in Omaha at the CHI Health Center (Conference Center) on September 10, 2021. Join this week’s StayConnected webinar to learn about the exciting conference facility, the in-person and virtual options that will be offered, the conference themes, and more. We will spend most of the webinar time listening to your ideas through facilitated conversations. Please help us plan the best conference ever!

May 6, 2021 – Nebraska Extension Marathon Kids

Marathon Kids is a national running program designed to motivate kids by utilizing running logs, boost their activity, and introduce them to the joy of running! When COVID-19 forced schools to transition to virtual learning in the spring of 2020, Nebraska Extension responded by launching a virtual running program to help families at home stay active in the midst of social distancing. In partnership with the Nebraska Nutrition Education Program and the NE Department of Education, Nebraska Extension is launching a new and improved FREE virtual running program starting May 1st, 2021! The pandemic has been hard on everyone, and physical activity is an important aspect of staying healthy in this midst of it all.

Donnia Behrends, Nebraska Extension, Educator
Beth Nacke, Nebraska Extension, Educator

May 17, 2021 – A COVID-19 Discussion
Deadline for submitting questions is noon, May 13th.

May 20, 2021 – Nebraska 4-H STEM Reading Connections – Tails & Tales Resources (video)

The Nebraska 4-H STEM Reading Connections Program (web page)

These adaptable and engaging resources are just the thing to “connect” 4-H & STEM to libraries, books, education, or any other area that needs a bridge. The 2021 Nebraska 4-H STEM Reading Connections Resources are a collection of Storybook Imagination Guides, Clover Kid & 4-H Workshops, and four lessons plans all tied together in a neat little package of the Collaborative Library Summer Program theme “Tails & Tales.” The inclusive resources are an opportunity to bring 4-H to youth through new and old partnerships. Youth have the opportunity to “connect” their experiences from books and the world around them to practical application through the interdisciplinary STEM approach, with the addition of “[A]rt” as a means to visually communicate their experience. With a wide variety of lesson topics (service animals, animal adaptations, financial literacy, farm animals, wildlife, and animal habitats) every youth and facilitator can find some “connection.”

Jennifer Hansen, Nebraska Extension, 4-H & Youth Development Extension Educator
Jackie Steffen, Nebraska Extension, Learning Child Educator