I’ve mentioned previously that many years ago when my eldest was in middle school, I had the opportunity to teach ‘Military Miniatures and Table Top Gaming’ as part of an after-school enrichment program in local school system. I thought the war-toys would be a pariah, but to my surprise the response was so overwhelming from both administration and students I went on offer classes twice a week in two schools for four years. And opened up a Gaming room next to my then commercially-located studio/store in downtown Hyannis.
I had a good run. Not only did I get paid to play with toy soldiers, but I meet lots of good folks, good parents, dealt with good kids who went on to be great young adults. Alas, eventually the kids graduated, the school budget shrank, and I went back to the occasional game night with my contemporaries. The world turns.
Recently however, I received a surprise: an invitation to be a part of the after-school program at a local private school. (I know someone who knows someone who told them about what I used to do…it’s all very arcane.) In fact tomorrow, the project coordinator is coming over to get specifics and discuss the curriculum. So, here’s to the chance to invest in the community and hopefully impart a love of toy soldiers into some kids. Wish me luck.
I’m leaving up our recent WW II set up by way of example. Here’s some shots:
STALKER7 
Nice. That sounds like a potentially rather rewarding way to spend some time on.
I hope that you document the types of games that you get up to (number of players, rulesets used etc). I am always interested in seeing what systems people find work well in a group environment.
Will do. I’m now scheduled to do a 10-minute Power Point and run a demo game the first week of December. Rules-wise – experience taught me kids want fast, fun and simple. Something that fits on one or two sheets of paper.
Sounds like a worthwhile occupation and I hope the kids get interested. What about SAGA? Or even cheaper and simpler Songs of Blades and Heroes? Both are quick to learn, but give people a good idea about how wargaming works. Furthermore, if they don’t want to paint much, a skirmish force is better than painting up 250 miniatures.
I always steered the sessions towards 28mm skirmish games, along with painting and terrain building, so SoBH is a great idea. Only problem is the class might go one of three ways: WW2, Sci Fi or Fantasy. Can’t finalize a rule set until I poll the interest. Sorry to say I don’t know SAGA at all. Think it’ll work for middle schoolers?