It was another wonderfully active winter break at West End House. Every day there was something new and exciting for our youth to experience. All week long we had different themed days including carnival, PJ and mix match day, there were also daily field trips throughout Boston, fun and engaging enrichment programs, and of course delicious and nutritious meals and snacks.

To start the week off hot we hosted our Carnival Extravaganza complete with a blow-up obstacle course. Our young people and staff had a blast racing each other through the course. Fun was had with hula hoops, jump ropes, bean bag toss and more. There were even glitter tattoos, a favorite among our younger youth.

All of our young people also had the opportunity to venture off site and attend field trips to local Boston spots throughout the week. On Tuesday our teens went indoor rock climbing at Brooklyn Boulders with our friends from Elevate Youth. On Wednesday our younger members visited the North End Library where they participated in an indoor winter scavenger hunt. Youth were excited to receive model magic as their prize for completing the hunt. One of our youth even brought some library books to return and also checked out some new ones. Thursday our middle school aged youth attended the Boston Common’s annual Winter Festival. Everyone had a blast racing through the funhouse maze, sliding down the inflatable winter slide, and playing Connect Four, Skee Ball, cornhole and other hands-on games. The group ended the trip with some yummy Italian sausage, complete with all the fixings.

Back at the Club, youth participated in different programs throughout the day, spanning all program areas. Activities included beat making, hydro dipping and spray painting, and group games in the gym. Youth also had a chance to vibe out and play various board games and other group games including trivia and Jeopardy. There was also time for youth to hone their culinary skills with our Cooking with STEM program.

Other activities included daily scavenger hunts. Each hub went around the neighborhood finding the items on the list. Once found, they had to take a picture as a group. The group that found the most items plus, had the largest youth participation was declared the winner. It was a tie between the Games Room and High School Lounge.

We also continued to celebrate Black History Month throughout the week with afternoon announcements highlighting a different black leader each day. You can read more about our Black History Month Celebration here.

Although the week was cut short by a snowstorm, everyone had a blast and we can’t wait to start planning out April Vacation Week!