Boys & Girls Club Blog

February 25, 2022

At the Boys & Girls Club of Oshkosh, our members have been learning helpful social and emotional skills through programming and individual meetings with Ms. Caitlyn, our Director of Social and Emotional Wellness.

Ms. Caitlyn is available to all club members and provides a variety of services ranging from individual and small group meetings focused on skill development, SEL program coordination, and referrals to additional mental health services. Through individual meetings, members have been learning how to identify emotions using the Zones of Regulation framework along with developing coping strategies to use when experiencing difficult emotions. In individual meetings, younger members immediately will come in and point to which “zone” they are in which has helped them to label their emotions. Following the Oshkosh Area School District, members also practice breathing strategies from Conscious Discipline which they are familiar with from school.

In addition to focused individual meetings, members of all ages have felt comfortable asking Ms. Caitlyn to come in and talk if they are struggling with a particular issue or just need a safe and non-judgmental space to vent and express their feelings.

Along with one-on-one meetings, club members have had social-emotional programming opportunities. For instance, programming has included fun lessons utilizing puppets for our younger members to learn about different parts of the brain which include the “Wise Owl” for our decision making, the “Elephant” for memory, and the “Guard Dog” for our emotional brain. Kindness has also been a theme in which Radford members have focused on and they created an interactive craft using Maya Angelou’s quote “Be a Rainbow In Someone Else’s Cloud”. Quest members also had a variety of programming such as anti-bullying, learning about important figures in Black History Month, and mindfulness to name a few. Future programming will focus on providing small groups on targeted topics for teens and middle school members.

Lastly, Ms. Caitlyn has been collaborating with parents of members she works closely with along with the Oshkosh Area School District to best support our club members.

If you have questions about our Mental Wellness programming contact Caitlyn Cheslock, Director of Social & Emotional Wellness at (920) 233-1414, ext. 123 or caitlync@bgcosh.org.