ACADEMIC PROGRAMMING
The academic programming at Boys and Girls Club of the Northern Indiana Corridor is a year-long learning program designed to use the innate passions of children to empower them to learn outside of the classroom during their time at Club each day.
Each month, the Clubs focus on a theme to guide the Math and Literacy work covered on a weekly basis, all while working towards a monthly capstone project.
The Boys and Girls Clubs have fantastic community partners in Robinson Learning Center and Riverbend Community Math Center who assist the academic program coordinators in designing the comprehensive learning programs for Boys and Girls Club children.
1 Day a Week: STEM Focus
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Youth engage in hands-on build challenges that strengthen persistence, problem-solving, and teamwork, such as creating lemonade recipes, designing marble roller coasters, programming robot cars, and launching rockets.
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Members explore real-world math through creative questions like, “How much popcorn would fill the room?” and “How many hops would an origami frog take to cross the school?” making math meaningful and fun.
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Math fluency is built through interactive games that boost confidence and accuracy.
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Science and engineering projects, like making music boxes, dissecting owl pellets, and assembling 3D-printed Mastodon skeletons, spark curiosity, creativity, and imagination.
2 Days a Week: Literacy Focus
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Lessons focus on high-frequency words, aligned with local school curriculum and word lists.
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Youth participate in read-alouds, comprehension discussions, and hands-on activities that promote learning, creativity, and peer collaboration.
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Programming for younger members includes strong phonics-based instruction to build early reading skills.
