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When kids are left to their own devices after school they can sometimes get themselves into trouble. Studies show that after school hours are the prime time for youth crime, juvenile violence and accidents involving minors. To keep your kids safe until you come home, consider developing an affordable, after-school schedule of activities. This is an excellent way to expose your children to new experiences and to keep them out of trouble. In this article, we’ll show you how to use existing resources to create your own after school programs.

A child’s education should go beyond the classroom and outside of regular school hours. Most schools offer extracurricular activities like outdoor sports, book clubs, music and drama. Speak to teachers at the beginning of the year about the programs that are offered through the education system and find out about any fees and costs involved. Planning ahead for these expenses and doing things like buying used equipment, cost sharing with other parents, and putting aside extra money can greatly relieve the budget burden of after-school activities for kids.

You should also speak to your kids about things that interest them and find out what they want to learn more about. Come up with a list of options and ask them to choose a program that they would like to be involved in. Try to find a balance between fun and education. Forcing your child to participate in something that they don’t enjoy will only make them resent the activity. Look for things that seem to interest a lot of kids like skate boarding, music, collecting hockey cards, or making jewelry, as the benefits of after school programs cannot be stressed enough.

With a little research and imagination, you can come up with lots of fun after school programs and projects to supplement the school curriculum. If you look online, you will likely find 365 afterschool activities, such as easy to do science experiments, or arts and crafts. To expose them to photography, pick up some inexpensive cameras and encourage your kids to take snapshots of foliage, interesting shapes and colors, and their friends. After the pictures are developed, you can make homemade photo albums. If your kids are movie buffs, then develop a story, get out your camcorder, and shoot a movie with them as the stars. These are all great projects that encourage them to be creative while interacting with other children.

Tapping into the skills and talents of your friends and neighbors is a great way to come up with ideas for do-it-yourself projects for the kids. Know someone with a green thumb? They may be interested in sharing their hobby with the kids by spending one afternoon a week showing them how to grow plants from seeds. This ongoing project can be fascinating for children. Is there a mechanic in the neighborhood? Have them spend a few hours teaching kids about the basics of how a car runs. Spend some time volunteering in the community by going to local animal shelters, food banks or senior citizens homes. After school programs don’t have to cost big bucks. Starting after school programs is easy if you can work with other parents. You can develop your own projects that are both fun and educational.

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