Healthy Microwave Meals Vol. I is a cookbook developed by HFH’s Culinary Education team filled with easy, affordable, kid-friendly recipes. The project was designed to provide healthy snack and meal options for families at HFH, many of whom use the microwave as their primary cooking appliance.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve expedited the distribution of Healthy Microwave Meals Vol. 1, so that our families can explore new recipes while they are staying at home together. Healthy Microwave Meals also features plenty of options, like turkey & vegetable soup, baked apples, and vegetable curry, for celebrating National Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Month this June.

In addition to breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack recipes, Healthy Microwave Meals Vol. 1 a section on quick tips and an explanation of how the microwave, a versatile and nutritious kitchen appliance, works.

We’ve encouraged our families to try the recipes out for themselves, and will be sharing videos, photos, and testimonials of our residents making memories with their microwaves over the next several weeks.

Adadoma Bediako, an oral storyteller, visited Prospect Early Childhood Education Center for an interactive lesson on African folktales. The storytelling show formed a part of the children’s Black History Month celebrations, which also included lessons on black inventors like Garrett Morgan, inventor of the traffic light.

Bediako began the lesson with a folktale from Angola, which she pointed to on a globe. Bediako used a stuffed turtle as a stand-in for the story’s star, much to the delight of the children present. They eagerly pointed out a turtle on their classroom rug as Bediako asked the children about their knowledge of the animal.

Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky

For Bediako’s second folktale, she directed the children’s attention to Nigeria. This story offered an explanation for why the sun and moon live in the sky. The story originated with the Efik, an ethnic group primarily located in southeastern Nigeria. To illustrate the story, Bediako made use of a felt board with felt characters and props.

The story begins with a friendship between the Sun and the Water, co-existing on Earth. When the Sun invites the Water to his home, the Water explains that the Sun’s house is not big enough to host him and his creatures. Undeterred, the Sun returns home to his wife, the Moon, and the two set to work expanding their home. Upon completion, the Sun beckons his friend, the Water, to visit.

“The Sun said, ‘Come in, my friend. Come in!'” narrated Bediako. She urged the children to echo the Sun’s sentiment. “Come in, my friend. Come in!”

Students Benefit from Interactive Storytelling

As the Water flowed into the Sun’s home, he brought with him a bevy of sea creatures — sharks, crabs, octopuses, starfish, and more. As Bediako piled the felt animals into the Sun and the Moon’s home, she and Kim Thurman, Director of Childcare, took the opportunity to offer the children a min-lesson in marine biology.

“What is this animal called?” she asked, holding up a relatively large dark blue toy.

“A whale!” one student volunteered.

“And this one?” she continued, this time with a small red toy.

“A lobster!” another student responded.

As the Sun welcomed more and more of Bediako’s animals into his home, the children quickly caught on to their role in the story.

“Come in, my friend,” they exclaimed. “Come in!”

As the Water flooded the home with his creatures, the Sun and the Moon were forced on their roof. Bediako perched them on the top of their felt house. Soon, Bediako noted, the roof too became submerged, and the Sun and the Moon were forced into the sky where they’ve remained ever since.

Celebrating a Rich Oral Storytelling Tradition

African and African American culture contain a rich and vast oral storytelling tradition. African folktales like those that Bediako shared are typically told through the oral tradition and tend to include interactive elements. This made Bediako’s folktales especially well-suited for Prospect’s young learners, who are always eager to participate and learn from new visitors.

Following the African folktales, Bediako explained to the children that she had just one more activity for them in their lesson — a song in Swahili. She introduced the song by explaining the origins of Swahili as a trade language. She then explained the song’s meaning.

“The song I’m going to teach you is a song for when you’re leaving. But it’s not a goodbye song, because the meaning of the song is until we meet again,” she said, noting that she might see the children again during another lesson or at the flea market or on the subway.

“Tutaonana, until we meet again,” she sang the students. “Will you sing that with me?”

“Tutaonana, until we meet again,” they chorused.

A student at Saratoga was chosen to participate in Writopia Lab’s 11 Annual Worldwide Plays Festival. Chrystel wrote her original play, Kidnapping, as a participant in Writopia Lab‘s creative writing workshops at Saratoga Afterschool. As a participant in the Worldwide Plays Festival, Chrystel will work with New York City theater professionals over the course of several months to bring her Kidnapping from the page to the stage during a performance at off-Broadway venue The Tank in early May.

The theme of this year’s Worldwide Plays Festival is Heroes and Monsters: Plays Against Fear, which Writopia Lab describes on its website as a challenge to its participants to, “…Write towards the monsters — be they internal, external, systemic, real or imaginary — and vanquish them.”

In addition to their workshops with Saratoga Afterschool, Writopia Lab partners with HFH Early Childhood Education Centers to help young learners express themselves creatively by writing and starring in their own short films.

Read more about Writopia Lab’s Worldwide Plays Festival on their website.

“Inspiration, through all forms of art, encourages our students to express their inner selves and gain the confidence to show others who they really are. Their art expresses their lives, their feelings, their relationships with others, and their future lives that they wish to see. Inspiration encourages our students to break away from their fears and let the light guide them, not only through their art, but through their everyday lives. We are a community, a family, and we work together to encourage each other to be better, happier.”

The Williamsbridge Wolverines have debuted the first edition of their very own monthly magazine called Inspiration: The Art of the Williamsbridge Wolverines. The artists and writers featured in the magazine are all students and staff from Williamsbridge’s K-12 Recreation and Early Childhood Education programs. Inspiration’s Editor-in-Chief, Stephanie Guzman, also serves as Williamsbridge’s Education Coordinator.

Student Artists Range in Age from Toddlers to Teens

Inspiration showcases the diversity of interests, talents, hobbies, ages, and even languages represented amongst students in Williamsbridge education programming. From toddlers to teens, the students found the means for expressing themselves through art and literature, with the support and encouragement of program staff.

One page was reserved for students in Williamsbridge’s Early Childhood Education program. Haiven, age 2, contributed a depiction of herself, her classmate, and their teacher, Ms. Veronica. Yelvin, age 2, was the artist behind another submission titled “Yo pinta,” a collection of abstract scribbles in pinks, reds, oranges, and yellows.

Rosa, age 14, was the oldest student to contribute, demonstrated her penchant for a writing with a fairy tale published in both Spanish and English. The first installment of “The Moon Princess” tells the story of a King and Queen who’ve just become new parents. The story ends in suspense with the discovery that the royal child and her family all have some sort of superpower followed immediately by Rosa’s insertion of the line “TO BE CONTINUED.”

If Everything Was One Color… & Other Themes

In many places, the students’ work was guided by a common theme or concept. In one section, Elisha, age 7, and Larian, age 9, both wrote and illustrated a piece in response to the prompt, “If everything was one color.” Elisha opted for red (it’s his favorite color), but illustrated himself with multi-colored hair because, as he explains, he “always wanted colorful hair.” Larian preferred blue, which is her and her mother’s favorite color, and accompanied her description with blue hearts and a rainbow in varying shades of blue.

In another section, Jasmin Vaughan, Recreation Assistant at Williamsbridge, described what she would wish for if granted three wishes by a genie. Vaughan shared a page with Jenea, age 11, who enumerated in detail the reasons behind her wish to travel to Italy:

“If I could go anywhere in the world, I would love to go to Italy to try their food and to enjoy the art at the Uiffizi Gallery. I would also want to discover the Roman Forum. Italy’s nickname is “Bel Pases,” which means Beautiful Country. Rome is the capital city and was founded in 753 BC. Italian cheese balls are made from buffalo milk. Italian is a Romance language and derives from Latin.”

Providing Families with Parent-Child Inspiration

Williamsbridge staff contributing to Inspiration placed a special emphasis on new programming and updates for parent. In one section, Bobby Valentin, Education Specialist at Williamsbridge, wrote about a nail tech class she taught to older students at Williamsbridge Recreation.

“After learning about proper application of gel polish using an LED lamp, I decided to bring the practice into afterschool. Originally it was a way for the older girls and I to bond, but it soon became a mini-lesson on nail techniques. You never know, we may have future nail techs in afterschool!”

In a Parents’ section on the back page of the magazine, families had access to important dates and upcoming events, plus information on registering for Williamsbridge education programs and for HFH Summer Camps 2020 season. Staff also provided families with a suggested Parent-Child At-Home Activity: a make-your-own bubble solution using household items.

For the Prospect Lions, every afternoon boasts the perfect blend of consistency and novelty. Weekly afterschool classes in dance, nutrition, and yoga help build off of prior lessons and form a sense of stability for students. Monthly or bi-monthly lessons in topics like health, financial literacy, and college preparation likewise form a key part of the after-school curriculum. Meanwhile, special events and activities complement ongoing lessons and offer students unique learning opportunities.

Every day at afterschool is built around the same schedule. Afterschool begins with snack time followed by homework help with Prospect staff. After homework help, staff keep students of all ages engaged with daily activities until dinnertime and dismissal. In late November, we chronicled a week in the life with the Prospect Lions:

A Week in the Life with the Prospect Lions

On Monday, students celebrated Native American Heritage Month. Staff at Prospect taught children about different Native American tribes, including their name origins and history. They also completed an arts & crafts project intended to reinforce the lesson.

On Tuesday, students learned about consent and personal space during a bi-monthly Healthy Chats lesson. Healthy Chats provides a safe and welcoming space for children to talk about important topics like hygiene, bullying, an respect. During their lesson, students watched a video about the importance personal space and the phrase No means no. They also practiced recognizing one another’s personal space and exercising consent. Afterwards, they created boards illustrating what personal space, consent, and social etiquette means to them.

On Wednesday, the Prospect Lions took a field trip to the Graduate Business School of Columbia University for the school’s annual Holiday Party. Volunteers from Columbia spent time helping the Afterschool students decorate cookies and play games like corn hole and pin-the-nose-on-the-snowman. The students also created their own holiday cards during an arts & crafts project.

On Thursday, volunteers from Healthify  visited Prospect Afterschool for a Turkey Arts & Crafts project and a special dinner.

On Friday, staff invited parents at Prospect for a Thankful Dinner for residents only. Parents and children alike enjoyed painting fall-themed scenes on canvases, inspired by the same rendition of two falling leaves. The families also sipped apple cider and ate fresh pastries while they painted.

On Saturday, students had the chance to further flex their painting skills with a field trip to Paint with a Twist. The students listened carefully to an instructor who guided them in painting their own turkeys.

A group of volunteers from Lufthansa embodied the spirit of corporate social responsibility during a visit to Saratoga Afterschool. Employees from the international airline spent the afternoon teaching students about aviation and global cultures.

Saratoga Family Residence is located close to John F. Kennedy International Airport. Therefore, Saratoga Afterschool provided the perfect landing spot for an airplane-themed lesson. The Lufthansa volunteers began by speaking with the children about their airline. They explained the ways that planes operated and built excitement about flying.

Then, they helped students take a virtual flight for themselves. Since Lufthansa is an international airline, their employee base is extremely culturally diverse. Recognizing this, the Lufthansa volunteers got global with their lesson at Saratoga. The volunteers chose to represent various countries, from Bulgaria to Pakistan. They created posters with facts about their countries and other educational props. They then encouraged children at Saratoga to ‘fly’ between the countries, expanding their global education along the way.

In the Dominican Republic, students learned about Merengue and traditional dishes. In the Czech Republic, students learned about the invention of sugar cubes and contact lenses. In the United Kingdom, they learned about Queen Elizabeth II and the linguistic nuances of British English. Other countries featured included Pakistan, Bulgaria, Italy, and Mexico. Each station also provided young travelers with a country-specific stickers.

Another activity allowed children to take flight into their own hands with a classic paper craft. Colorful paper airplanes soon filled the lesson space, allowing students to guide their own journeys. They also served as a souvenir to remind students of their day of aviation and global travel.