ReCharge! Energizing After-School is designed to be practical, feasible and adaptable to a variety of settings and program types. These tips, based on feedback from educators who are already using the ReCharge! program, will give you ideas and information to help easily implement and adapt ReCharge! as part of your after-school program.

If you have additional tips for implementing ReCharge! please submit your suggestions through the Provide Feedback Form.

ReCharge! in your after-school program

 

Each after-school program is unique. That’s why ReCharge! has been designed to easily adapt to a variety of situations and facilities. To meet your individual program’s needs, you may want to consider the following strategies:

• Use ReCharge! daily for a concentrated period of time, one or more times a week, or as part of  a multi-week unit.
• Assign all ReCharge! activities in sequence, or pick and choose the activities and order that best meet your needs.
• Group various grade levels together for ReCharge! activities, or group all students together and have older students mentor younger ones. Specific mentoring tips are provided throughout the program.
• Use ReCharge! as an elective throughout the year for those students who are interested in learning more about staying healthy. 
• Conduct activities outdoors or indoors depending on your facility. 

Enhancing your ReCharge! program

To keep the ReCharge! program fun and exciting, some schools recruit guest volunteers to help plan and implement the ReCharge! activities. These individuals may be student aides, college students, Action for Healthy Kids Team members, school nurses, dietitians or community partners such as YMCA staff. To help with the task of training such volunteers, guidance and tools are available in the Coach’s Clipboard.

Preparing to teach ReCharge! activities

The step-by-step lesson plans are designed to be easy to pick up and use. Video activity demonstrations of the Student Activities are helpful tools to quickly visualize several of the ReCharge! activities.  These playback clips can be found in Video Demonstrations.  

Keeping the ReCharge! schedule on track

Consider creating a "calendar of events" based on the ReCharge! program to keep everyone on track with when various activities will be done. List staff and outside volunteers who will be involved, as well as any special considerations (location, materials, follow up) that may be required.

Incorporating nutrition into the ReCharge! program

Good nutrition plays an important role in the ReCharge! program. Basic information about these topics is available at the Coach's Clipboard, including links to many valuable resources for more information. You may also consider inviting guest speakers to join the program occasionally — such as the school nutrition director, cafeteria manager, health teacher or a local dietitian — who can speak to kids in more detail about nutrition and the importance of eating a healthy, balanced diet.

Preparing healthy snacks

A list of some simple to prepare healthy snacks is available at the Healthy After-school Snack Guide and recipes are available in the Student Playbook. Share these with your program's snack provider or consider preparing some of them with students (many of the recipes require no cooking facilities to prepare).  

You may also wish to check out the following resources for more information on healthy snacks:

• USDA includes cycle snack menus for both traditional and limited kitchen facilities.
• Nutrition Explorations lists "Snack Smart" ideas for parents.
• Parents Magazine has suggestions for healthy snacks.

Procuring healthy snacks

The Healthy Snack Guide includes suggestions on how to pursue after-school snack funding as well as sources for nutrition program information. Find out if your program is eligible to receive reimbursable after-school snacks!

Create a ReCharge! wellness committee

Consider establishing a wellness committee comprised of community people, including those from the local parks and recreation department, fitness centers and health/wellness providers. Invite committee members to talk with students about ReCharge!-related topics, such as setting goals, physical activity, teamwork and healthy eating.

Help outreach volunteers teach staff, educators and parents about ReCharge!

The two-page ReCharge! flyer (PDF) is a good handout for informing staff, educators and parents about the ReCharge! program. Another way to educate the community is to produce a bilingual guide on selecting your after-school program, which features the ReCharge! program. Such a guide could be promoted on the after-school program's website or school website, and shared with the PTA.

Use take-home book bags

One after-school program reports successfully involving parents by using a take-home book bag packed with everything needed to make a healthy snack. The bag rotates from student to student, being re-stocked with a recipe card, ingredients and supplies in between. Check out the Student Playbook (PDF) for recipes that are fun and easy for kids to prepare and share with their families.

Feature ReCharge! at back-to-school night and other parent/family events at school

School events attended by parents and family are the perfect venues to showcase the ReCharge! program and its many benefits to kids. Prepare materials about what kids are learning to keep families informed. You may also want to ask for volunteers to help prepare and share healthy snacks.

Involve parents and families in Recharge! field day

ReCharge! Field Day is designed to promote home-to-school communication and get parents excited about what their kids are learning. You can involve parents in this event by inviting them to participate in teams, lead activities or help with setup and cleanup. You may also wish to have parents showcase their special skills related to health, nutrition, physical activity or football.

Additional information on parent involvement can be found at Home Field Advantage and Coach's Clipboard.

Use incentives

To help reinforce to students the importance of good nutrition and physical activity, Action for Healthy Kids has put together a store of fun incentives to help motivate your students throughout the program. There are many ways you can use these incentives to help motivate students as they move through the ReCharge! program. For example, use incentives as rewards when students complete teamwork, goal setting or football related activities. They can also be used as incentives for completing the Tracker or participating in Field Day.

Some after-school programs use prizes (stickers, pencils) to motivate students and their families. For example, on Mondays, students take a food tracker home for each of their family members, especially their parents. The students then get prizes if they bring back their completed trackers on Friday.

Be a role model

One of the best ways to motivate students to track their healthy nutrition and physical activity choices is for them to see you completing your very own "Energy In-Energy-Out" Tracker! When students see you implementing the Tracker, they likely will want to follow your lead. For more information on using the "Energy In-Energy-Out" Tracker, visit Evaluation Tools.

Share successes

You can motivate students throughout ReCharge! by having individual students share their successes, pairing up students to help and motivate each other, offering small rewards for students who show progress and having students celebrate their successes at the end of each week.

You can also share your program successes with others across the country. Consider submitting your story!  

The ReCharge! program addresses several national standards including National Health Education Standards, the Guidelines for Physical Activity for Children 5-12 and the National Standards for Parent/Family Involvement. The program also addresses the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and Best Practice Criteria for School-Based Nutrition and Physical Activity Programs developed by Action for Healthy Kids.

For more detailed information on how ReCharge! reinforces these standards, see National Education Standards.