Before and After School Programs: Fun Activities for Kids
At Noah’s Ark Child Center, we want to make sure your child has a safe and fun experience while expanding his learning! If you are looking for some fun activities with your child or for a sitter to create, here are some exciting before and after school program activities that you can try at home.
Outdoor Before and After School Program Activities
The Society of Health and Physical Educators, aka SHAPE America, advises that school-aged children have an hour cumulatively of moderate to vigorous physical activity each day. Before and after school programs can help ensure your child is getting enough physical activity by including outdoor play time.
The Care.com team offers fun and safe ideas for children in before and after school programs, including playing with sidewalk chalk. Playing with sidewalk chalk can create opportunities for art projects, hopscotch, and even reviewing some math problems with adults!
If you’re looking for fun and creative before and after school program activities that get kids moving and playing outdoors, try an obstacle course or scavenger hunt. These activities will be fun, physical, and creative for kids to have a great time.
Indoor Before and After School Program Activities
Before and after school programs are a great time to integrate a child’s curriculum with fun applications to help them understand what they learn in the classroom. One delicious learning opportunity is making ice cream in a plastic bag with the kids! Both a fun and delicious before and after school program activity, making ice cream in a bag teaches kids about chemistry!
Another great before and after school program activity is making rainbow soap foam for kids to play. It only takes about 10 minutes to create some soap foam, and you can choose primary colors to teach children about color mixing, and playing with soap foam is a safe sensory activity. Make sure to use liquid watercolors, as they are washable and won’t cause stains.
Before and after school program activities can be colorful and educational. Want to teach children about how plants absorb water? Fill cups with water and different colors of food coloring, and add cabbage or white flowers. The kids will love watching the flowers take on a new color as they absorb the water!
Noah’s Ark Child Center’s Before and After School Programs
Noah’s Ark Child Center provides a Before and After School Program for children in kindergarten through sixth grade on traditional school schedules. Our Before and After School Program includes students from Peavine Elementary School, Mamie Towles Elementary School, Elmcrest Elementary School, and Roland Melton Elementary School.
On “early release” days or days off school, the children at Noah’s Ark Before and After School Program have supervised field trips and fun activities away from the Ark.
About Noah’s Ark Child Center
Noah’s Ark is a non-profit out-reach mission of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church. Our childcare program has been in operation since 1972. Noah’s Ark began in a small space with only 15 children and over the years has grown to encompass 115 children and an expanded faculty.
In 1987 the “educational wing” of the church was built by St. Paul’s with the Ark, to accommodate youth programs of the church and the growing child care population. St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, hand in hand with Noah’s Ark Child Center, reaffirms daily their commitment to the needs of the community, childcare and childcare excellence. We welcome you to our Noah’s Ark family.