Early teens who enroll in our middle school afternoon activities will have access to our optional fitness classes. Physical fitness provides many health benefits, including maintaining a healthy weight, improved blood circulation, a clear mind, and better sleep. The full schedule of specialty classes, including fitness classes, is posted online and at the YMCA. Please keep in mind that our class dates are subject to change.
Leader's Club is a year-long, Y-based leadership development program for middle school and high school teens with direction from YMCA staff advisers. Young teens enrolled in our after-school activities will have access to this excellent program to build their leadership skills and confidence.
Visit the Welcome Center for schedules and additional information. Click here for a flyer with more details! From our youth sports leagues and classes to our middle school after-school activities, we've assembled various inclusive programs for young toddlers up through teenagers that build self-esteem and teach the value of looking out for friends and neighbors. Take advantage of all that the Metro YMCA offers your middle school child and become a member of our free middle school membership program today.
Learn More ». The Importance of After-School Programs for Middle Schoolers While middle school is an exciting time of transition for your child, it also comes with new experiences and a little uncertainty. Sign up should be done in-person at the Metro YMCA following these steps: Middle schoolers signing up for the program must bring a school ID, roster, or report card and be accompanied by a parent or guardian. This needs to be done in-person. Mailing or dropping off items is not allowed.
The parent or guardian will complete the required membership paperwork and sign the form. Both the student and parent or guardian must attend a Y orientation to begin the membership. Contact us for orientation dates and times. They can add sound effects available on Scratch to correspond with each of their reading segments. Next, they wire their books with copper tape.
Learners can then take their talking books into classrooms with younger grades so they can play their books. After doing some more research about their selected young person, they write an I Am poem from the perspective of that person. An alternative for older students is to do this activity choosing a Black activist. Using Adobe Spark a free and easy option to create multimedia presentations , they create a multimedia presentation that incorporates both images and a recording of them reading their poems.
Here is an example not made with Adobe Spark but still a good example of what can be done :. They can create a opinion piece where they discuss their thoughts and opinions about anti-racism, they can create a show where they interview other learners about their thoughts, or they can write and record a song. Learners are asked to listen to the podcasts, Hey Black Child and Art for Activism with the Butterfly Effect ; and listen to the song wrote and sung by Keedron Bryan called I just wanna live for inspiration.
These resources can also be found in the bitmoji classroom. For older and more mature students, there are the Generation Justice podcasts. The inspiration for this activity comes from the Social Justice Sewing Academy. Here are some examples that young people created:. Learners design their quilt blocks on Powerpoint slides basing it on anti-racist messages they would like to convey.
Powerpoint allows for shapes to be merged to create some more complex shapes. These shapes are cut out from fabric using a Cricut machine or laser cutter. Learners complete this unit by creating an online book or zine that describes the actions taken or the plans for actions to be taken in order to educate others about anti-racist practices. Here is an example. Book Creator is a great tool to use for this. They can then use the text tool in Book Creator.
As an alternative, students can do a series of comics using a tool such as Storyboard That. These art pieces are downloaded as images and then uploaded to Book Creator where students can add text. An alternative to above, learners can create a Scratch game about the actions they can take regarding educating others about anti-racist practices. Here are some examples with the theme of Black Lives Matter. Two people will start the game by putting their hands through the middle of the hula hoop and then linking hands with their partners.
Once the game has started each team will have to move the hula hoop across and over their body to the next student where they will do the same. The team that is able to move the hula hoop around the entire circle ending with the students who started the game are the winners. The cup mover contraption will allow the students to grasp the cups only if they work cooperatively. Once the cup mover has been made then students are given different tasks to move and stack the cups in certain patterns.
The game is the perfect example of how teamwork is only accomplished when everyone works together. The Human Knot is similar to the Hula Hoop pass but now there is no hula hoop but you still need to maneuver your body and work together to win the challenge. While this game can get complicated it sets up so many teachable moments that you will have to try it. The Marshmallow Tower Challenge is the pinnacle of problem-solving and critical thinking challenges.
Students will be given a certain number of materials and one marshmallow to build a structure the best they can. While the materials are helpful, there is only a limited amount which makes using them efficiently important and encourages strategy. Students are encouraged to plan and strategize before making their structure which is a great lesson in itself. When students are given the opportunity to work together and communicate regardless of how the tower turns out the activity will be successful.
The Escape Room or Escape Classroom is one of the most engaging and exciting team building activities ever but it takes a lot of planning.
The idea behind this team building activity is that the students are locked in the classroom and have to get out by finding all of the clues left by their capture.
This is all pretend of course. The students are split up into teams and must find clues activities to move on to the next clue. The Teacher sets up a group of activities that the students must do in order to get to the next clue which leads them closer to solving the main problem which is escaping from the classroom. The theme of this team building activity can be anything from a book theme to having students solve certain math problems to escape and win the game.
The Blind Minefield game is not only a great team-building activity but it is an amazing game for building trust within the teams as the students are blindfolded and they have to rely on their teammates to be successful.
The teacher will set up obstacles either outside or inside the classroom and the students have to navigate through the obstacle course while blindfolded. Students will be put into teams and each person is selected one at a time to go through the course blindfolded.
The other team members have to call out directions to help the blindfolded person get through the course without touching any of the obstacles. If the blindfolded person from a team touches an obstacle they lose their turn and another team member gets a turn. The team with the most people that can get through the obstacle course without touching anything wins. The great part of the team building activity is that it is super simple and it uses one of the most abundant school supplies in the classroom….
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