Advice about Kids & Clubs
Parent Q&A
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I'm trying to find a group learning/social opportunity for my daughter. She's not interested in sports.
Girl Scouts didn't appeal as much to her--and all the groups near us are full anyway.
I was hoping to find an ongoing makers class series where kids can make stuff (sewing projects, etc.) and chat. Does that exist somewhere?
Also thought about group ukulele lessons--singing and ukulele?
Writing groups seem a little too high pressure for daughter.
Maybe 4-h? Maybe hiking/nature journaling?
If anyone has any suggestions or wants to help start one, let me know! Looking for a location not too far from Berkeley.
May 1, 2022How kids' groups handle fees for competitions
–Mar 13, 2019Some kids from my son's STEM club qualified for some sort of competition that requires travel and hotel for the next step. It is individual basis or at least does not require the whole team (so the whole team does not have to participate and travel) and not the whole team is going. There is fee to participate (that might be covered by the PTA though it is still being decided) and individual travel costs will be each participating student's and accompanying adult's responsibility. We were going to pay out of pocket but my son decided he does not want to go since it would conflict with a sport event he needs to play in so looks like I'm off the hook on that one. Though I am wondering how other groups (clubs, sports teams, etc) handle travel costs. It is not a lot from my perspective, but involves airfare and hotel, so adds up and I think it would be viewed as a lot for some kids' families on the team. It is not school sponsored club (more like a loosely organized club/activity led by parent volunteers) so PTA cannot cover individual travel costs (not even an option this late in year when most discretionary funds were already allocated), especially since it is voluntary and only about half the team max is planning on going so it is not a whole team outing. Are there funds out there that kids get for travel to competitions and events? Or do the families that cannot afford it do fundraising or ask PTA for help? This event is coming up too quickly and everyone found out late, so a lot of kids are not going for various reasons anyway (no time to fund-raise, also no time to move sport games) but if this occurs again next year, what do other teams do for travel costs?
Mar 13, 2019
What about (all-gender) scouts? My son is in the Berkeley group and we like it, and I know there's a group in Albany and probably some in Oakland too. Focus is on nature, hiking, taking care of nature/community/etc., not really any of the god-and-country stuff you would have found in boy scouts a generation ago. And scouts is much more inclusive now, they welcome all genders and sexual preferences. There are also some art-based after-school programs that I have heard good things about, like sticky art lab or kala art institute. Probably full for this year but look into it for the fall.
I cannot say enough good things about Girls Garage in Berkeley, on 10th Street near Gilman. They have fantastic after-school and summer programs, which fill up fast (so make sure you put the registration dates on your calendar).The amazing director and staff have created an empowering, supportive and dynamic culture there, focused on projects to benefit the larger community. The programs are for girls and gender-expansive youth. I would say it has been the single most influential program for both of my kids, in all kinds of great ways. Www.girlsgarage.org
Hello! Check out Emeryville 4-H! It is AWESOME and they are super welcoming of new members. My daughter participated for a few years and we were super impressed with the club-- interesting and fun projects, monthly meetings run by students, great community. 4-H is all about youth empowerment through experiences where kids learn by doing. The club strives to create a fun, engaging and valuable experience for kids and families. Happy to answer any questions you have. The club is winding now as the school year ends and will be back in September. When they meet in person, it's usually at the Emeryville campus of EBI or Lake Temescal. Some meetings are also on Zoom right now. Have fun!
Have you tried https://trackersbay.com/ ? They have camps and after school programs. We only did the camps but my daughter loved prowling through the woods with a bowie knife (they teach knife safety- it's not as reckless as it sounds :) ). They have a wide variety of kind of "old school" camp activities. Highly recommend.