After Opps is an after school/after work program offering a wide variety of activities that are developed in collaboration with the Warrior participants. Program activities are embedded with a focus on peer leadership, health and wellness, social interaction and community connections.
Warriors had another fun-filled After Opps session in Fall 1! Check it out!
Mondays:
The Flag Football group enjoyed some fall weather by tossing the pigskin at nearby Washington Park. Sessions included drills like punt, pass, kick and friendly scrimmages.
In Spelling Bee, Warriors practiced some spelling words, played name games and made name poems. We did some Halloween words with bingo and crossword puzzles. We also listened to music that spelled out words in the songs.
In Warrior Women Art, Warriors drew inspiration from famous female painters to create their own masterpieces. For example, they made artwork inspired by Georgia O’Keefe’s painting “Ladder to the Moon” and learned about Frida Khalo and painted self-portraits inspired by her own self-portraits. One week, we also had a group of neighborhood kids from Knocktoberfest come in and we helped them create posters for their OK fundraiser.
Wednesday:
In Community Opps, Warriors continued to serve their community. We made t-shirt bags for the Park District of Oak Park Frank Lloyd Wright Races and prepped and decorated for the RFCC Halloween Party. We also did research on community organizations to support in future sessions.
With the help of OK volunteer Jean, the Centerstage theater group used different theater warmups to learn about improv and worked as a team to create music and stories and did lots of different exercises to work on rhythm and beats. We used instruments and different dances to work together.
In Martial Arts, Warriors traveled to Ferrara Pan Fitness Factory for some boxing training sessions! Shoutout to our friend Nello Ferrara for setting us up and our awesome trainers Reggie, Lanel, and Monette for the great workouts!
Warriors in It’s Fall Y’all celebrated the change of seasons with fun and creative fall-related activities including making Halloween characters out of popsicle sticks and outdoor leaf walks and leaf crafts. We made Fall Mason Jars by making leaf shapes in the paper before painting them. Next, we poured rocks into the jar and placed a LED candle inside.
Fridays:
Our Friday hobby groups had something for everybody. The cooking group’s theme this session was I Feel Like Chicken Tonight and each week we learned a new technique and style for cooking chicken by frying, simmering, stewing, braising, and more.
Warriors in the Farming group planted garlic and onions and harvested radishes and helped close down the farm for the season. On a bad weather day, we carved pumpkins!
The Pinewood Derby group built and painted their own wooden race cars. They also made banners and raced on the last session day. Warriors won trophies for fastest car, best design, and more! Thanks to Boy Scout Troop 16 for loaning us an awesome track!
Peer Led Warriors worked with OK staff to plan a diverse array of creative programs for the Fall 2 session including Fitness Frenzy (Sonya and Kareem), Music Magic (Eliza and Lizzie), Holiday Movie Trivia (Georgia and Andre), and Hoops (Matt and Mike).
Special Events
We had several special guests and events during After Opps this session.
First, Chicago Marathon runners from Team Opportunity Knocks came in for a family pasta dinner prior to their big weekend of running. THANK YOU to the 6 runners who raised nearly $6,000 for the Warriors! Jenny, Clare, Lauren, Allison, Meg, and Tarah…you’re the best!
We also had several supportive neighborhood kids and families come in to create signs for their annual OK Knocktoberfest fundraiser! Big SHOUTOUT to Paige, Kate, and all the “Knockstars” for raising more than 10k for the mission!
Lastly, we had a blast at the annual RFCC Halloween Party! Community Opps helped plan and decorate for the party, sponsored 10 kids from Hepzibah, and ran the photo booth and dance floor during the festivities. Warrior Catering Company also cooked and served food for attendees. Click for more Halloween pics.
Warrior Quotes:
“I liked it’s Fall Y’all because I liked the crafts we did with leaves and pumpkins.” | Sarah C.
“My favorite was flag football with Thomas. He tried to steal my flag!” | Lorenzo D.
“I loved the Halloween Party because we got to play games, eat good food, and dance. I was a princess!” | Ally W.
“I liked flag football because I got to run around and be outside.” | Aparecido B.
“I liked pinewood derby. And I did love exercise and eating tacos and dancing.” | Andrew E.
“I liked Spelling Bee because we played fun games with words and letters.” | Ryan G.
“Boxing was good! I punched and hung out with my friends. I drank a lot of water. The trainers were nice! Thank you for all your help!” | Sonya T.
“We did boxing, it was good! It was my first time trying it. It was a good workout. Thank you for teaching me to box!” | Eddie S.
GET IN ON THE ACTION
Thanks for a great Fall 1 session, Warriors! We are already having a blast in Fall session 2 with Puppets, Around the World, Drum Circle, Community Fitness, Stewpendous, Night on the Town, Botanics, Basketball, Community Opps, Peer-Led Music Magic, Peer-Led Fitness Frenzy, & Peer-Led Holiday Movie Trivia!
Please contact Dan Scherer-Emunds, dan@opportunityknocksnow.org with any inquiries about the After Opps program.
Click here to view more photos and videos from After Opps Fall Session 1.
