Boyd County Public Library » Children http://thebookplace.org Tue, 19 May 2015 21:12:03 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.2 A record-breaking summer! http://thebookplace.org/a-record-breaking-summer/ http://thebookplace.org/a-record-breaking-summer/#comments Thu, 08 Aug 2013 16:30:06 +0000 http://thebookplace.org/?p=14649 Continue reading ]]> There is no such thing as the “summer brain drain” at Boyd County Public Library! We just finished a record year in terms of participation in our summer reading programs for youth and teens. And we couldn’t be happier.summer reading sun

We are happy knowing that the 1100-plus students who participated in the youth program, “Dig Into Reading,” and the teen one, “Beneath the Surface,” are better prepared as they re-enter the classroom this month.

That’s because they logged a total of 29,546 reading hours with us in June and July. Wow!! Pretty amazing! Studies show that kids who read at least a few books in the summer are less likely to lose the skills they learned the previous year.

A total of 1005 kids (12 and under) and 111 teens took part in Boyd County Public Library’s summer reading program this year. That’s an 8 percent increase in participation over last summer.

Here is the amazing breakdown of the amazing total:

  • In the 12 and under category, the kids read a total of 21,188 hours as part of Dig Into Reading. That’s 1,500 hours more than last summer – an 8 percent increase!
  • In “Beneath the Surface,” 111 teens read a total of 8,358 hours. Even though that is fewer participants than last year, they read about 700 more hours. Can I just saw AWESOME? Ok, I will.

A few of those teens deserve special recognition for the number of hours they spent reading this summer: Kendra Berry, Sarah Bond, and Kaitlyn Bowling read between 300 and 399 hours; Aryssa Damron, between 400 and 499 hours; Tumi  Odukoya, between 500 and 599 hours; and Haley Brown, more than 600 hours. Fantastic!

The top teen readers were entered into a drawing for an iPad, which went to Misty Hanauer. The youth program grand prize was a Kindle Fire – won by Gracie Dalton. Congratulations to both of them!

All along the way, kids and teens earned cool rewards for the hours they spent reading, and had fun at weekly programs – maybe even learned a few things, too. Their summer reading trip ended with a party at the Kyova Branch on July 27.

Teens who read at least 25 hours and attended at least one program were invited to a lock-in at the Kyova Branch. Nineteen teens met that requirement, and they had a ball going to see “RIPD” at the Kyova 10 Theatre, and then back to the branch, where we stayed up all night playing video games, board games and, of course, eating.

The summer reading program for adults, called “Groundbreaking Reads,” continues through Labor Day. Adults keep track of the number of books read, and write brief reviews. Rewards are given for 5, 10, 20, 25 and 30 books. Each review also serves as an entry in the grand prize drawing for a tablet computer to be awarded at the finale party on Sept. 6. So far, 149 adults have written 886 reviews.

 

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Check out the museum! http://thebookplace.org/check-out-the-museum/ http://thebookplace.org/check-out-the-museum/#comments Fri, 08 Mar 2013 20:18:07 +0000 http://thebookplace.org/?p=14050 Continue reading ]]> BCPL card holders can now use that powerful piece of plastic to visit the Highlands Museum & Discovery Center – free of charge.

highlands logo

We recently added family museum memberships to the extensive list of items that cardholders can check out. The family pass (a $75 value) can be checked out for 21 days, just like a book, and can be renewed one time.

It’s a great way to explore the wonderful museum, located at 1620 Winchester Ave., just a couple blocks away from the Main Branch.

It’s actually two great venues in one. The Highlands Museum features displays on our region’s past. Step into a 19th century school room, or enter a medical world where house calls were made on horseback and payment was in chickens. Immerse yourself in the culture of Eastern Kentucky music, and even create your own music in the Karaoke Korner. Salute those who served during the wars of the 20th century, and see Hitler’s last telephone.

The Discovery Center includes many areas of interactive exploration. There’s a special place for toddlers, and a flight simulation for pilots of all ages. Walk into the Ohio River town of Poage’s Landing and navigate Little Joe, an actual towboat. Learn about the natural world in the tree house exhibit. Rest a while on the front porch while you enjoy games or puzzles.

There are also many revolving exhibits that showcase sports, regional art, textiles and quilts. Current special exhibits include “Votes for Women: From Seneca Falls to the 19th Amendment,” a look at the history of the suffrage movement, from the 1840s to 1920; and “The Victorian Era: The Queen’s Way,” a display of women’s gowns and accessories worn from 1837 through 1900.

The museum has been around since 1984, when it was organized as the Kentucky Highlands Museum, and housed in the historical Mayo Mansion on Bath Avenue. In 1994, it took up residence in the former C.H. Parsons Department store (its current home), occupying the basement, first floor and mezzanine levels.

The museum’s capital campaign in 2003-04 helped fund upgrades and renovations to the building in 2005. Today, the museum continues to work on renovations to the mezzanine spaces.

In 2012, the boards of Boyd County Public Library and the museum signed a partnership agreement, designed to take advantage of the resources of both organizations, and to make the community more aware of all the great services the two groups provide.

Providing family passes for BCPL patrons to check out is just one of the ways we are partnering with the museum. We also use the Winchester Avenue windows to display library programs and services, and hold some library programs in the museum.

We will be having our annual Community Fair at the museum on Saturday, April 13, and will also be holding some special programs there in conjunction with our 2013 summer reading program: Dig Into Reading.

The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday. The phone number there is 606.329.8888. To find out more, click here.

 

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Tales to Tails http://thebookplace.org/tales-to-tails/ http://thebookplace.org/tales-to-tails/#comments Fri, 28 Sep 2012 20:00:11 +0000 http://gotwp.com/?p=12759 Continue reading ]]> October has become the month when we at the library like to celebrate with our furry friends, and invite patrons to do the same.

For five years now, we have set aside a Saturday afternoon for Barktober, an event where pets and their humans can take part in pageants, parades and fun. This year it’s on Saturday, Oct. 6, starting at 2 p.m. at the Kyova Branch.

We do this because we understand the importance of dogs and other pets in people’s lives. They make us smile and laugh, they comfort us and, in some cases, they force us to exercise.

But did you know that pets – dogs in particular – can also help us become better readers?

Studies show that reading to dogs can help children improve their reading fluency – by as much as 30 percent.

“Kids have to practice, practice, practice to be good readers,” Francine Alexander, chief academic officer at Scholastic, said in a recent interview with ABC News. “And yet when you’re practicing, if you make a mistake, it can feel risky and uncomfortable. But if you’re practicing with a dog, you don’t mind making a mistake.”

As lovers of books and literacy, we at BCPL are encouraged by anything that might help someone become a better reader, and develop those lifelong reading habits. So, we are excited to be adding Tales to Tails to our October lineup of programs.

Tales to Tails will be on two Saturdays in October – the 20th and 27th – at the Main Branch, 1740 Central Ave., starting at 2 p.m. Kids can spend 15 minutes reading to a volunteer dog – bring your favorite book, or borrow one from the library shelves. Advance registration is not required.

The dogs are all very calm, and many have spent time with patients at Hospice, where staff and family members say they are a tremendous help.

Tales to Tails is designed for children 12 and under, but older kids will not be turned away. If the program proves popular in October, we hope to continue it on a monthly basis.

Many animal organizations have had programs in place for years allowing children to read to dogs, but until recently, the evidence that the practice improved reading skills was largely anecdotal. In 2010, the University of California released the results of a study that showed young students who read out loud to dogs improved their reading skills by 12 percent over the course of a 10-week program, while children in the same study who did not read to dogs showed no improvement.

The fluency rate in home-schooled students who participated in the same study went up by 30 percent. Reading speeds also increased by up to 30 words per minute.

“The dogs, in contrast to a human, don’t judge the individual, aren’t grading the individual, and hopefully that allows the children to build some confidence in their reading skills,” said Martin Smith, the lead researcher in the study.

One child told the researchers, “I feel relaxed when I am reading to a dog because I am having fun.”

Another said, “The dogs don’t care if you read really, really bad so you just keep going.”

Parents of the kids in the study were interviewed several months later, and 75 percent of them reported that their kids were reading aloud more frequently and with more confidence.

That’s what we like to hear!!

 

 

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New story time hours! http://thebookplace.org/new-story-time-hours/ http://thebookplace.org/new-story-time-hours/#comments Tue, 21 Aug 2012 13:20:42 +0000 http://gotwp.com/?p=12546 Continue reading ]]> At the Library, we are huge believers in the importance of developing reading skills in children, at an early an age as possible. The more children read – or are read to – the better readers they will become. Plain and simple.

That’s why BCPL places such an emphasis on early reading programs. We offer a  Toddler Time program at all three branches, and a Preschool Story Time at both Main and Kyova. And now we’re trying to make it easier for parents to remember to bring their little ones to the library – by setting a uniform time of 1:30 p.m. for all of our story time programs (starting in September).

Toddler Time, which consists of short books, singing and dancing for those just starting to walk through age 3, will be at Catlettsburg on Mondays, Main on Wednesdays, and Kyova on Fridays.

Preschool Story Time, a slightly longer program for kids ages 3-5 featuring books, songs and games, is at Kyova on Tuesdays, and Main on Thursdays.

What time? 1:30 p.m. Which ones? All of them.

How easy is that?

As a parent, one of the best things you can do to give your child a lifelong love of reading is read to them, or with them. The more they enjoy reading, the more they will stick with it and develop the reading skills they need in their later lives. Studies show that accomplished readers will do better in high school, score higher on their SATs, and have an easier time in college than others.

Reading to toddlers also helps them advance their verbal communication skills. Even though they don’t yet understand the words, toddlers do absorb something. Reading to toddlers enhances the development of their spoken language skills, and their ability to express themselves verbally.

If you want to raise a child who appreciates books, then start reading to them now. Or bring them to the Library, and let us read to them. Helping a child to become a reader is one of the greatest gifts a parent can give. It’s a gift that continues to pay off throughout a child’s life.

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Way to go, Dreamers (Readers)! http://thebookplace.org/way-to-go-dreamers-readers/ http://thebookplace.org/way-to-go-dreamers-readers/#comments Fri, 03 Aug 2012 18:19:00 +0000 http://gotwp.com/?p=12455 Continue reading ]]> Of the thousands of students throughout the region getting ready to go back to school this month (or are already back), more than 1,000 of them are better prepared for the upcoming academic year because of the time they spent reading with us this summer.
A total of 897 kids (12 and under) and 138 teens took part in Boyd County Public Library’s summer reading program. Studies show that kids who read at least a few books in the summer are less likely to lose the skills they learned the previous year.
And these kids read more than just a few books! Here are the amazing numbers:
•    In the 12 and under category, the kids read a total of 19,688 hours as part of the “Dream Big: READ” program. The totals represent a 26 percent increase in participation over last year, and a 33 percent increase in the number of reading hours!
•    In “Own the Night,” 138 teens read a total of 7,682 hours. That is an 84 percent increase in the number of teens who took part, compared with the 2011 program; and a 19 percent increase in reading hours. Fantastic!
And, 28 of those teens read between 100 and 199 hours this summer. Five teens (Holli Arthur, Aryssa Damron, Misty Hanauer, Tolu Odukoya and Tomi Odukoya) read between 200 and 299 hours.
A few teens recorded amazing reading hours: Alisa Graham read 310 hours; Haley Brown read 466, and Michelle Anderson read a whopping 575 hours during June and July!
The top teen readers were entered into a drawing for eReaders. Heather Donnelly won the grand prize of a Kindle Fire. The runner-up was Haley Brown, who won a Sony eReader.
Temi Odukoya won the top prize in Dream Big: READ – a telescope and constellations guide.
All along the way, kids and teens earned cool rewards for the hours they spent reading, and got stamps in their dream journals as they attended fun weekly programs. Their summer reading trip ended with a Pajama Party at the Kyova Mall on July 28.
Teens who read at least 25 hours and attended at least one program were invited to a lock-in at the Kyova Branch. There were 18 teens who met that requirement, and they had a ball going to see “The Dark Knight Rises” and staying up all night, playing xBox, cards and, of course, eating.
The summer reading program for adults, called “Between the Covers,” continues through Labor Day. Adults keep track of the number of books read, and write brief reviews. Rewards are given for 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 books. Each review also serves as an entry in the grand prize drawing for a Customized Night Out, to be awarded at the finale party, a Readers’ Night Out, on Sept. 7. So far, 128 adults have written 1,251 reviews. Registration takes place at www.thebookplace.org. All the reviews can be read there, too.

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A fresh look http://thebookplace.org/a-fresh-look/ http://thebookplace.org/a-fresh-look/#comments Mon, 02 Jul 2012 17:07:42 +0000 http://gotwp.com/?p=12159 Continue reading ]]> The final stage of the remodeling of the children’s department at the Main Branch is finished, giving the area a clean, colorful new look.

The room is full of new furniture on both sides (youngsters and young adults), complementing the colorful shelving and new carpet installed within the past two years.

The remodel also includes new computer stations for kids, an iPod and laptop area for the older set, and new puzzle and toy shelves that keep items more organized and easy to locate.

Still to arrive is a new aquarium – at least as large as the 250-gallon tank that has been a focal point for more than 25 years.

By early August, there will also be a new self checkout station in the department.

Director Debbie Cosper said she hopes patrons enjoy all the improvements, which are designed to make the department and everything in it more accessible to kids, and get them more exciting about reading and learning.

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Audiobookcloud http://thebookplace.org/audiobookcloud/ http://thebookplace.org/audiobookcloud/#comments Mon, 19 Mar 2012 18:57:27 +0000 http://gotwp.com/?p=1062 Continue reading ]]>

AudioBookCloud offers hundreds of full length streaming audiobooks for both adult and juvenile readers.  One great feature is their titles are always available.  This means that there is no checkout process and no additional software required.   Simply click on ‘listen online’ and the audiobook will start streaming to your PC or Mac computer.

There are many classic titles including Shakespeare, Mark Twain, Charles Dickens and many more.  Juvenile material includes Lucy Maud Montgomery, A.A. Milne and many others.  Several of the titles are also available in ebook form through the TumbleReadables database giving you access to both the ebook and the audiobook.

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Tumblereadables http://thebookplace.org/tumblereadables/ http://thebookplace.org/tumblereadables/#comments Mon, 19 Mar 2012 18:52:39 +0000 http://gotwp.com/?p=1057 Continue reading ]]>  

Tumblereadables is an online collection of read-along titles for elementary, middle school, and high school students which features adjustable online text and complete audio narration. Sentences are highlighted as they are being read and the pages turn automatically. The collection features chapter books, early readers, graphic novels, YA/teen novels, high interest/low level books for both middle school and high school students, plus classics of American and English literature.

Read-Alongs are great for emergent, struggling, and reluctant readers, as well as being an excellent tool for ESL. They are also well received by strong and accomplished readers who are excited to follow along to the narration of their favorite books. Children, who are now growing up with e-mail, instant messaging, IPODs, and text messaging are early and willing adopters to this innovative online reading experience.

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Tumblebooks http://thebookplace.org/tumblebooks/ http://thebookplace.org/tumblebooks/#comments Mon, 19 Mar 2012 18:47:48 +0000 http://gotwp.com/?p=1047 Continue reading ]]>

TumbleBookLibrary is an online collection of TumbleBooks  animated, talking picture books which teach kids the joy of reading in a format they’ll love. TumbleBooks are created by adding animation, sound, music and narration to existing picture books in order to produce an electronic picture book which you can read, or have read to you.

The TumbleBookLibrary is a collection of licensed titles from children’s book publishers such as Simon & Schuster, Chronicle Books, Candlewick Press, Charlesbridge Press, Harcourt, Little Brown, Walker & Company, Lerner Books, and HarperCollins Publishers, amongst others.

The TumbleBookLibrary provides enrichment to students who are reading independently with a variety of high interest material. It also provides support to students who require skill building with a variety of exercises that can be matched with other areas of the curriculum. In general, TumbleBooks are a great addition to a reading program that can be worked on independently by each student or by the whole class. It has been exceptionally well received by ESL and Special Education teachers.

Story Books:
The TumbleBookLibrary has a selection of children’s favorite story books. Old time favorites such as “The Paper Bag Princess” by Robert Munsch, as well as favorite fairy tales such as “Jack and the Beanstalk” and “Old Mother Hubbard” come to life in an educational and interactive way. Other titles include: “Diary of a Worm,” “How I Became a Pirate,” “Miss Malarkey Doesn’t Live in Room 10,” “One Duck Stuck,” and “Tops and Bottoms.” Click to see a complete list of available titles.

Automatic/Manual Button: TumbleBooks are designed to be experienced in either automatic or manual mode. In automatic mode, the pages turn by themselves and are narrated; while in manual, the narration and animation continue but children turn the pages at their own speed. A flashing arrow appears at the end of each page prompting the reader to turn the page. The sound off/on button allows the student to mute the narration and read to themselves. The Pause Button: Both the student and teacher can use the pause button to stop the story at any time in order to practice story prediction, interpret pictures, discuss new vocabulary words, empathize with a character, discuss possible consequences of actions, encourage problem solving, or provide historical, geographical, or other perspectives.

Language Learning:
Our Language Learning Section includes a growing selection of books in Spanish and French. Many are bilingual titles which allow the user to read the book in two languages.

Read-Along Books:
Older students or more accomplished readers can read our collection of read-along chapter books. Read-along titles feature narration, sentence highlighting, and automatic page turning.

TumbleTV:
We’ve included pre-set playlists for your convenience which play various books in sequence! No need to choose books and add them to your favorites or playlist as we’ve already done this for you! Also, check out our TumbleTV episode which features a zany host introducing various TumbleBooks.

Non-fiction Books: 
Our non-fiction section allows young readers the opportunity to explore stories about real animals, people or places.

Puzzles and Games: 
A collection of puzzles and games accompany each book and reinforce concepts from the books, allowing for a fun and educational learning experience.

TumbleBookLibrary En Espanol and TumbleBookLibrary en Francais: 
Our language drop down menu allows users to view the entire website in Spanish or French. Instructions, news and descriptions of books are all in Spanish or French. Perfect for ESL, Bilingual, and French and Spanish programs.

TumbleSearch:
Our online search allows you to search by title, author, publisher, and language. In addition, you can search by reading levels in both Automatic and Manual modes as well as by subject.

MyPlaylist:
The TumblePlayer allows students, teachers, librarians and parents to preload a number of TumbleBooks in an online player in order to be played one after another.  The TumblePlayer works just like an online music player.

My Favorites:
Add your favorite title(s) to the My Favorites section for easy access any time. This feature is cookied onto individual computers.

TumbleMailer and Record-a-Book Feature
Kids and parents can send TumbleCards and TumbleBooks to friends and family through our TumbleMailer feature. They can also narrate and record their own TumbleBooks!

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