Oodles and oodles of doodles!

Last night's program featured scribbles, scraggles, and drawings!  As a group, we took a look at some droodles (doodle riddles, that is), listened to read alouds of The Pencil by Allan Ahlberg and Art by Patrick McDonald.

They doodled in new drawing pads they received thanks to a grant from United Way with ideas they pulled from the drawing jar!  The residents learned about their public libraries in Lancaster and York, ate some yummy home-baked cookies, and played a silly doodle droodle game where they had to make art from their neighbors squiggles!  It was a ton of fun!

Bringing Bill Behind Bars

Bill Shakespeare that is.  Or as most of you know him, William.

That's right, last week I hosted the Shakespeare program with the students at the YIC.  We kicked off the night with a Shakespeare trivia game to get some facts down about Bill's life, work, and time.  Smarties were the prize for the winner... 'cause the winner had to be pretty smart to get those answers right!

Next, the teens played a homemade version of Nine Men's Morris, a checkers-like game Shakespeare himself may have played in the Elizabethan Era.  The game board, authentically, looks like this.

But the teens played a paper version with swedish fish and m&ms as their game pieces!

We watched a video clip from the lovely Reduced Shakespeare Company.  These guys ROCK and the teens were laughing SO HARD.  See for yourself!



The teens lastly got a taste of acting themselves, learned about their public libraries in Lancaster, and learned how to use the library in the center.

Native Americans

Last visit to the center we looked at Native American culture.  Residents played a Native American stick game and learned about the Spokane Indian Reservation in Washington.  This all to prepare for the read aloud The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie.  The students really enjoyed this story - we read the first three chapters out loud together.  The drawings inside induced many giggles!

This book makes a great read aloud.  The YIC Library was fortunate enough to have 2 available copies plus a copy of Sherman Alexie's The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven.  All 3 of these books were "checked out" by the end of the program.

Success!

Stay tuned.  I know there was much delay (which I apologize for) but the latest 2 issues of What's Up? magazine will be showcased here on the web VERY soon!

Science Fiction and reality? Yep!

Why is science fiction important?

Tonight at the YIC, we will be exploring the world of science fiction.  I will lead a discussion with the residents about the characteristics we find in science fiction and how they all relate to reality...  yes, reality.

We're going to talk about change and society's fear of change, society's fear of technology, and the consequences that come along with the rapidly approaching future.  We will discuss issues like what happens with an altered brain and an oppressive/fear-inducing government?  How does that effect man?  How does that effect the world?  Words like like "Utopia" and "Dystopia" will be defined and discussed.  Then, I am going to read snippets from the inside covers of various contemporary young adult science fiction books and discuss their stories with the residents.  I will read a significant portion from Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games, a thrilling science fiction novel!

Books discussed tonight will include:

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary Pearson

The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

1984 by George Orwell

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins &
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

The Giver by Lois Lowry

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Happy St. Patty's Day with What's Up?!

At my program at the YIC tonight, the residents will learn about folktales from various cultures. In particular we will read aloud the Caldecott Honor book Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe and an old Irish folktale about a Leprechaun. We will play Mancala, a simple chess-like game originating from Ethiopia, and an Irish memory game where we will learn about Irish culture and Saint Patrick's Day fun!

Residents will receive copies of the latest issue of What's Up? magazine and will be given the opportunity to look through library books on folktales and Ireland. We will eat a treat together as I answer any and all library questions!

Black & White

I am getting ready to head to the Lancaster County Youth Intervention Center where we will read snippets from Paul Volponi's Black and White.

For an ice breaker, we will start off with two truths and a lie (how appropriate!). For fun, we will play Balderdash (the classic bluffing game, great!). Then we will read parts from Black and White and talk about the characters.

Black and White is about two star high school basketball players, one black and one white. They experience the justice system differently after committing a crime together and getting caught.

We will discuss integrity... what it means, who do we know that has integrity, how do people of integrity influence the world... What happens when someone does not have integrity? Have we seen this happen in history? etc.

We'll take time to write and look through library books about being a successful teen. Each resident will get the latest copy of What's Up? Magazine and a yummy snack. Residents will be free to ask any and all library questions and I will do my absolute best to give them great answers!

Preparing for a positive future

During my last visit at the Lancaster County Youth Intervention Center (YIC), I started the residents off with an ice breaker about what they want to be when they grow up! Many inspiring answers were in the mix, from an RN to a scientist!

We talked a little about getting to that point... making plans... setting goals. Then, residents wrote letters to themselves for one year now. They wrote about where they hope to be at that point, how they plan to get there, and the struggles they are facing in their current situations.

Next, the residents took an assessment of their personalities to find out what jobs might be interesting to them. Some of the answers (of course) were a wee bit outlandish, but others were right on target with their current hopes and dreams! Some results gave inspiring options and (I believe) may have opened some doors of thought!

We looked at resumes and talked about what makes them successful. The residents performed a few silly "what not to do" interviewing skits, and then one very fine young gentleman showed the group "how it's done."

We ate a snack together and I let the residents pummel me with questions about their local public libraries in Lancaster County. It was a very successful evening, and I hope they enjoyed the experience as much as I did!

Issue 4 Hits the YIC Tonight!

That's right!! Issue 4 of What's Up? Magazine is printed and ready to be distributed this evening to the residents at the Lancaster County Youth Intervention Center! I am so excited to show this to my program tonight. The cover design looks fantastic - done by William "Mickey" Beck of Columbia, PA (local graphic artist) who so generously volunteered his talents for several issues of the magazine. I hope you are excited to take a look at this!! It will be up on the blog here soon!

Tonight's program is a bit of a release! The title: Oodles of Doodles. It's precisely that! We're going to draw and look at drawings, play games with drawings, do brainteasers that involve drawings. I think it will be a lot of fun! We will even do a read aloud about drawing!

That's not all! Tonight marks the end of the latest contest that What's Up with the Library? has hosted at the Youth Intervention Center. This was in honor of Teen Read Week. A contestant was pulled out of the drawing and they will receive a HUGE basket of goodies thanks to Renee Christiansen, Youth Services, Library System of Lancaster County. Thanks Renee!! The basket includes notepads, writing materials, snacks, a calculator, a t-shirt, kazoo, and coupons to ISAAC's! Neato! Thanks to all who have participated!

Jay's Magical Recap

Jay was fantastic during his visit! He began his presentation with a story about his childhood and a magical wallet that ALWAYS had $50! Honestly, this trick had us ALL amazed!!! After we picked up our dropped jaws, Jay impressed the residents with some of his tricks; he passed out some supplies and allowed the kids to make their own with his careful instructions! They were practicing on each other and the staff. They seemed to really enjoy it!

Thank you, Jay, for being such an avid library supporter. During his presentation, he reminded the residents of his childhood trips to the library to pick out magic books filled with tricks. Jay learned from the books and traveled to birthday parties to put on his own magic shows!

If you are interested in finding some magic books at a public library in Lancaster County, check out our Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) here.

"What's Up?" Welcomes Jay Sterling for a Visit!

Wednesday, September 2nd the Youth Intervention Center and "What's up with the library?" welcomes Jay Sterling (international speaker, professional motivator, award-winning entertainer), to visit with the residents and show off his tricks!




Dr. Jay Sterling will share tricks and magic in a presentation filled with "art, science, and illusion." We are thoroughly excited to see what he has in store for the evening! I will post back after the program to share some of the details!! Be sure to check in!

Don't forget to check out Jay's website: http://www.imagicorp.com And see what he can do!





Video from http://www.imagicorp.com/entertainer.htm

Mimi Shapiro tonight!

Tonight is a fantastic program by MIMI SHAPIRO, a local artist!! She makes beautiful "altered books" and will be sharing her art and talents with the residents this evening, who will be presented with the opportunity to make their very own altered books from old bookmobile library books.

Mimi is also a WRITER! She writes beautiful poetry that she incorporates in her artistic books.

Mimi has received prestigious honors and awards around the world. We are blessed to have her visit the Youth Intervention Center and help us reach out to at-risk teens.

This beautiful picture featuring Mimi's art is from her web page. Please view her gallery, read her poetry, and check out her biography by visiting her at: http://www.mimiartz.com/

This program is happening in BIG thanks to the Library System of Lancaster County's Youth Services Department, Renee Christiansen, in celebration of the 2009 Summer Reading Program "Be Creative-" and "Express Yourself-" where? "@ the library!"

Creative Career Building program!

Tonight I will be visiting the YIC for a creative program that focuses on the future! We will do an icebreaker where each resident puts a "dream job" in the bookmobile bag, we'll pull them out one at a time and guess which job belongs with who! Then we will do an exciting writing activity called "Letter to myself" from MacGregor's Teambuilding with teens: Activities for leadership, decision making, & group success book. The residents will write about where they wish to be one year from today. One year from today, the letters will be mailed to their homes! After this activity, we will take a short peronality type assessment... a quick quiz from Farr & Shatkin's 50 best jobs for your personality that will show the residents the kinds of careers they might be interested in according to their personality type. Next, we'll learn about resumes and interviewing for a job. The night will conclude with an explanation of how the library can help individuals prepare for careers, create resumes, and successfully interview for a new position. We will introduce the new Live Homework Help available through their public library's subscription! We'll browse books with helpful tips and snack together.

Express Yourself @ Your Library w/ YIC

The YIC will be celebrating this year's teen summer reading program with the "What's Up with the Library?" staff!










[Image (c) 2009 CSLP www.cslpreads.org]

After reading for 7 hours, teens fill out a form and receive a coupon for a free Rita's ice! Then, their entry form will be entered into a drawing for a tote full of library goodies!

Also in celebration of EXPRESSING OURSELVES, the "What's Up with the Library?" staff hosted the Oodles of Doodles (drawing) Program and the Kids as Writers (writing) Progam last month. The residents really enjoyed exercising their creativity!

Upcoming events include a visit from comic connoisseur Joe Miller and artist Mimi Shapiro!

Do you live in Lancaster County? If you are interested in participating in the 2009 summer reading program, please visit us online and find a local public library near you! Also, find out what special programs are going on now!

Joe, the comic guy, visits the YIC!

Tonight, Joe Miller will visit the Youth Intervention Center for a program. He will discuss the history of comics, how comics are made, give the residents their very own FREE comics, and even give them an opportunity to create their own comics!







We are so excited for Joe to come tonight!







If you would like more information about Joe and awesome job, The Comic Store, please be sure to check out his website: http://www.comicstorepa.com/

Visit from author Holly Payne!

Author Holly Payne visited the Youth Intervention Center on June 3rd to discuss the release of her latest book Kingdom of Simplicity on June 6th. As a former local of Lancaster County, she discussed her inspiration and the events in her life that led to this Amish story of forgiveness.

The bookmobile now has two copies of this fascinating novel and two more copies have been added to the Youth Intervention Center's library!

During the program, Holly shared a letter with the residents from a tragic past experience. She added that the letter and the writing of this novel led to her understanding of forgiveness. After passing around paper and pencils, the residents wrote adventure letters to their role models, and many of them shared! It was a very exciting program and the residents had many excited questions for the author. The evening ended, of course, with several autographs! :)

Thank you, Holly, for a fantastic visit!

Issue 2 & The Printz Award Program

Tonight we release Issue 2 of What's Up? Magazine!!!!!!!! We are really excited to see what everyone thinks. Check back to the blog here soon for a digital PDF copy!

Our new program this evening is called Excellence & Awards. The residents will learn about The Michael L. Printz Award in recognition of Children's Book Week. They will decorate character potatoes to be entered into the annual Potato Awards! This program will help everyone to start considering what skills and traits go into excellence. They will listen to a read aloud of Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta, the 2009 winner of the Printz award!

Kids as writers + submission deadline!

Hello folks. Tonight we are traveling to the YIC for the Kids as Writers program. We will make modpodged journals and participate in a creative writing activity. The residents will learn about publishing, hear a Teen Ink read aloud, and submit writings for the next issue of What's Up? magazine!

And that's right, today is the deadline for submissions! We can't wait to put Issue 2 together. It will be released on May 6, 2009 both in print and here on the blog. Be sure to check back.

Origami

Hello again!

We're bringing back an older program that we used when we first started visiting the YIC! It's a fun program filled with hands-on activities. At the start of this program, the teens will need to learn to work together in order to complete a group juggling ice breaker.

Some read alouds like One Red Dot by David A. Carter will show the residents the many amazing objects and designs, even 3-D ones, that can be made with paper! This book is too cool, see what's inside here.


After the read alouds, we're passing out origami "how to" books, pulling up chairs, and helping each other figure out how to make animals, water balloons, hearts, and many other fascinating objects from a single square sheet of paper! Residents will learn a bit about this Japenese art form and will listen to authentic Japanese music while folding.

Folktales & Cultures

Hello!

We are ready this week to introduce an improved version of an old program, Folktales & Cultures. On Wednesday, we will be visiting the Youth Intervention Center (YIC) to read Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters, an African tale by John Steptoe, and The Red-Ribbon Leprechaun, an Irish folktale. The residents will create and play Mancala, a traditional game that originated in ancient Ethiopia, with simple materials like egg cartons and stones. They will play an Irish memory game as a group that utilizes several Irish and Celtic symbols and their meanings. After learning a little about Saint Patrick and enjoying a treat, the group will look through some selected library books about cultures and their folktales.

I have already received a message from Bryan, the program coordinator at the YIC. Resident's have been submitting their writings for the upcoming issue of What's Up? magazine already! We look forward to reading them this week.

We want to encourage anyone interested to post their writings or upload their artwork onto the blog! Thank you!