Combat Juvenile Delinquency with an After-School Club in Your Home

Every neighborhood has its share of latch-key kids. Those kids whose parents are not around when the kids come home after school, leaving their children to get into all kinds of mischief. Some of these children end up moving from mischief to hardened delinquents in a very short time.

Many of these kids are fairly mature, and manage to take care of themselves quite nicely. Unfortunately, others are fearful and nervous about being alone, and some use their situation as a chance to roam around the neighborhood, often getting into trouble because they have nothing else to do.

If you are one of the rare stay-at-home parents on your block, why not start an after-school club for those neighborhood kids who could be destined for a very unhappy life unless someone intervenes? Calling it an after-school club gives you a chance to stop later on if you decide it isn't working for you, but if both you and the kids are enjoying it, you could give it a different name and run it through the summer, too.

If you see yourself as the type of person who could handle running a kid's club like this, here are some suggestions to help you get started.

1. List all the neighborhood kids who might benefit from such a club and pay their parents a visit.

It helps if you are already acquainted with your neighbors, but even if you only have an occasional head-nodding relationship, stop by, and get to know them. Tell them you have been thinking about having an after-school club and ask if they would be interested in letting their children attend. If they show the slightest interest, tell them you'll get to work on it and let them know more about it in a day or two. That day or two will give you a chance to visit the other parents on your list and to do a little planning. Don't do too much planning before the parental visits, because you may find no one wants to participate and all your work will have been for nothing.

2. If there seems to be any interest at all, set up an agenda for your meetings and distribute it in the neighborhood.

By any interest at all, I mean if even one child is going to attend, it will be worthwhile, because that one child will tell others and your club will grow. Write up a flyer with an outline of your club plan. Just call it the After-School Club to start with. The kids may enjoy picking a new name for it later. Your agenda may look something like this, but you can word it any way you like to let the parents and children to know what they can expect.

The Marcum Lane Neighborhood After-School Club will have its first meeting Monday, April 6 from 3:30-5:00 at the Johnson's house, 2290 Marcum Lane.

Everyone is welcome. (You might want to put an age limit here like Ages 8-12)

There will be crafts, games, refreshments, and even homework help if you need it.

(You might want to elaborate here by listing what kinds of crafts and games. Foosball--see photo--is always popular.)

The club will meet every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at the same time. (You can meet one day a week or every day, depending on your preferences. You might want to do only one day to start with until you see how things go.)

The club meetings are free, but we might ask for volunteers to bring cookies now and then.

Bring this paper, signed by your parent or guardian to the first meeting. Hope to see you there.

___________________ has my permission to attend the above described after-school club.________________________________. (Parent or guardian must sign.)

3. Start soliciting help from your friends.

Let your friends know what you are doing. Mention how happy you would be if one or more of them decided to help out at the club any of the days you plan to meet. Also, recruit some of them to bake cookies or donate a container of fruit juice or milk for the refreshments from time to time. Make a list of craft ideas you have, and let it be known that you will gladly accept any craft supplies they might be able to contribute-or even let them teach the kids a new craft on occasion. You'll be surprised how many people who would never attempt to start a club of their own will help you with yours. By letting your friends know ahead of time, you will probably accumulate enough help, supplies and refreshments to last for quite a while.

4. Make detailed plans for the first few meetings.

After you have a few meetings, you will get to know your club members and be able to plan according to their individual interests, but at first, have enough activities planned ahead of time to keep them busy. Something like this would probably go over well.

a. Introduce yourself and each of the kids. As they are introduced, ask each one to tell what his favorite thing to do is. (Take notes-you can use this information to plan activities later.)

b. If the weather is nice, go outdoors for an active game of some kind. Some of the old favorites from your childhood might come to mind. "Red Rover, Red Rover, is a great one to get kids relaxed and laughing together. A tug of war is also a good one. When you have them sufficiently worn out, go back inside for story time and a snack. There are many good books for kids today that teach good values without being overly preachy. Try to pick one where each chapter ends with a cliff-hanger. That way when you stop for the day, they will be anxious to return to hear more at the next meeting.

c. End your meeting with an inexpensive craft of some kind. One I like to use with kids is to show them a small smooth stone. Then take them for a walk and have them each try to find a similar rock. When you return to the meeting room, have a table spread with newspapers and a supply of quick drying paint. Let the kids wash, dry, and paint their rocks any way they want and take them home later. This costs practically nothing, but can be a lot of fun for the kids. Visit your local library for other easy craft ideas (or maybe some more difficult ones if you are working mainly with older children.) You can find ideas there using inexpensive materials or materials that would ordinarily be discarded.

d. If you find that you still have time left, ask the kids to sit in a circle on the floor to sing songs suggested by the group. Most kids love it when the song they suggest is chosen, so try to let all the kids take part in this way. (You might want to forbid "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall," from the start or you will find it being suggested every meeting. For most adults, if you've heard it once, you've heard it enough to last for a lifetime.)

e. In one group I had, I used a gallon can, the kind with a bail type handle, and covered it with pretty decals. We called it the Goody Bucket. Each week, I would ask for a volunteer to take the Goody Bucket home and bring it back filled with cookies for the next meeting. (If the members of your group are from lower income homes, you may not want to do this, because those who can't afford to participate may feel embarrassed, but if they are from a middle-income area, the idea should work very well.) Usually the child who takes the bucket home is proud that you have given him or her a big responsibility. Only once did my bucket fail to come back on time. The boy who took it said he forgot about it, but the next week it arrived, stuffed full of delicious miniature muffins, to everyone's delight.

I have just listed some basic things to give you a few ideas about starting an After-School Club in your home. It takes some practice to find out which things will go over well with your particular group, but I guarantee that after the first few meetings, you will be having just as much fun as the kids. Best of all, you are helping them make some memories that will last a lifetime..

Kids respond to adults who take time to do things with them. What the activities are, isn't nearly as important to the child as knowing that someone cares about them. Are you willing to put out a little effort, once, twice, or three times a week to be one of those people?