Homeschool Open House

Are you a family that homeschools?  Spend an afternoon at the library for fun and education.  Learn some catalog search tips, then go on a scavenger hunt in the Children's Room.  Stay for a special social time and a resource swap!  Bring books and curriculum resources you are finished with to share with other families. 

Homeschoolers of all ages are welcome to attend on Friday March 18, 2016, 1:30-4 p.m. in the Puett Room.  The library wants to be your resource to help you meet your homeschooling needs!

Back to School With Seuss!

What time is it?  It's Seuss Time! (And back to school time too!) Join in the back to school fun by inspiring your child’s curiosity. Help your kids continue to be enthusiastic about learning with some Seuss-inspired activities from Seussville.  How about making some pinwheel sandwiches for your child's school lunch?  Or some Big Chrunch-err-oo's for an after school snack?  Check out the Seussville Back to School with Dr. Seuss! page for some more school related activities.  It will be Seuss-tastic!

Pacific Northwest Exhibit

Looking for special local history outing for the family?  The Oregon State Library is opened a new exhibit called “The Early Exploration of the Pacific Northwest, 1778 – 1843.” Using books from the State Library’s Special Collections this exhibit highlights many early expeditions in the Pacific Northwest, starting with the 1778 Oregon Coast explorations by James Cook of England to the United States Exploring Expedition led by Charles Wilkes in 1843. The exhibit will display many other key materials from persons and places such as Robert Gray, George Vancouver, Lewis and Clark, and Astoria.

Oregon State Library’s Special Collections houses manuscripts, photographs, older Oregon documents, Oregon maps, and books and periodicals on numerous Oregon-related topics. Many items in the collection require special handling or protection because they are rare or fragile. Apart from Special Collections, the State Library has an extensive collection of materials on Oregon-related topics including public documents from Oregon government agencies. The Oregon Documents Depository Program ensures continuing access to public documents, as state agencies are required by statute to provide the State Library with copies of their public documents for distribution.

The exhibit is located in the 2nd floor lobby of the State Library, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The Oregon State Library is located at 250 Winter St. NE, Salem, OR 97301-3950

Learn More About Homeschooling in Oregon

Do you want to know more about homeschooling?  Join us for a FREE presentation by the Oregon Home Education Network, featuring a panel of experienced homeschoolers.  Panelists will provide an overview of homeschooling in Oregon and answer questions.  Participants will receive a handout with a list of homeschooling resources.  Join us in the Puett Room on Tuesday October 23rd from 7 to 8:30 p.m.  This event is open to adults only.

Meet the Collection Mondays: Juvenile DVDs

Our very popular Juvenile DVD collection contains educational, informational and feature titles for children up to age twelve. The collection consists of a varied selection of feature films including current movies and family classics, as well as collections of children’s programs such as Scooby-Doo, Dora the Explorer, Sesame Street and other popular offerings. Non-fiction titles include well-loved subjects such as animals, trucks and other vehicles, languages, music, sports and dance. One important difference between books and DVDs is that DVDs only check out for ONE week instead of three. So come on in and borrow some movies for FREE...but don't forget to bring them back on time!

Meet the Collection Mondays: Juvenile Magazines

Our collection of 30+ magazines for children and parents, housed together to the right of the Alphabet Chair in the Juvenile Fiction area, includes titles to support the recreational, developmental, and informational needs of children 0-11 years of age and their parents/caregivers. One of our selections, American Girl, has been the most popular magazine in the whole library for the past several years! Other great titles include Discovery Kids, Babybug, and Sports Illustrated for Kids. Magazines for parents and teachers include Familyfun, Working Mother, and Book Links. Current issues are displayed in protective covers and don't circulate until the next month’s issue is received and processed.  Back issues of the current and previous years circulate for three weeks, just like books. Mosey back to the corner marked "Periodicals" and check out some magazines today!

State and Country Reports

You may be able to tell from the number of blog posts (3 so far, this will be the 4th!), but we librarians LOVE CultureGrams.

As state reports and country reports come up, CultureGrams is a must-use resource. You will need your library card number to log in. Click on States Edition or World Edition. The database has info on history, people, customs, life in general, geography, and government among many other topics. You can even print out the state or country flag and get recipes! It also tells you how to cite CultureGrams as a resource.

This is a MUST USE resource for state and country reports in addition to the books you can get from the library.

Volcanoes, Mold and Seeds

Ah, science fair time. Those fun projects that kids research and develop to share with their friends. For me, it's the time to panic about how many scientific terms sound like foreign words to me. And time to help parents and students find something (because all of the related books are checked out!) to help with their projects.

Enter the fantastic world of Science Online. This resource is available to you 24/7 and it's even student-friendly in its search system. Unlike the Internet, all of the articles, terms and topics are completely accurate and up-to-date. You can search a specific idea or explore general concepts. There are even some experiments available through the site. All you need is your library card number and you and your student can start searching!

Books at Home

You know we love it when you check out plenty of books and other things here at the library. But it's also great to have books on hand at home, for those times when you want something familiar to read. I always like to have a few paperbacks on hand for trips and waiting rooms, that can be forgotten without the fear of a fine! That's why the Friends of the Library Book Sale is such a fantastic thing! This Friday, Oct. 8 from 9-5 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 9 from 9-3 p.m. you can load up on lots of inexpensive books at the sale, held in the Community Room. Expand your at home library without having to expand your expenses.

School's Back!

School's started, which means homework is right around the corner. In addition to the wonderful resources available in your library (books and librarians, of course), don't forget the awesome resources available from your online library (ebooks, magazine and journal articles, encyclopedia and more).  There are databases about countries and states (CultureGrams), science experiments (Science Online) and current events (Kids InfoBits). Unlike the Internet, these are all updated, fact-checked, accurate resources for your student to use. And as always, your librarians would be glad to give you or your student a quick how-to for these homework helpers.

A Serious Subject

Over the last few years, I have run across many books for children about the Holocaust. You as parents need to decide when it is appropriate to teach your children about this horrific time in history. Here are some books that can help you with that, and some books for older kids who are interested in what it was like to live and die during that time:

Non-Fiction

• Hana's Suitcase: A True Story, by Karen Levine

• The Champion of Children: The Story of Janusz Korczak, by Tomek Bogacki
  

• The Grand Mosque of Paris: A Story of How Muslims Rescued Jews During the Holocaust, by Karen Gray Ruelle and Deborah Durland DeSaix
  


• Anne Frank: Her Life in Words and Pictures from the Archives of the Anne Frank House, by Menno Metselaar

Fiction

• The Cats in Krasinski Square, by Karen Hesse (Picture Book)


• The Boy in the Striped Pajamas: A Fable, by John Boyne (Juvenile Chapter Book)
  

• Number the Stars, by Lois Lowry (Juvenile Chapter Book)
  


• The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak (Young Adult Book)
  

Attention All Homeschoolers

I was lucky enough to get to attend the national conference of the Public Library Association which just happened to be in Portland this year, and got to attend a session on Homeschooling. Thanks to Lisa Way and Susie Hetzel of the Mid-Continent Public Library in Kansas City, MO and Adrienne Furness of the Webster Public Library in Webster, NY for this information which I am posting word for word. For those of you parents teaching your kids at home, here are some websites you might try:

• NASA For Students The ultimate space science resource geared just for kids


• Olga's Gallery Loads of rolyalty free pictures of masterpieces from great artists throughout the centuries


• dso Kids Lots of games, lesson plans, and musical sound bites sponsored by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra


• Easy Fun School Great program starters with dozens of themes and free lesson plans in a range of subjects


• Extreme Science Great multimedia source for everything science...just for kids!


• Owl & Mouse Megamaps Great maps for lessons in geography, world cultures and cartography
  

Crafty with a Modern Twist

I'm always on the lookout for new craft books, especially ones that feature simple crafts, inexpensive supplies and awesome design. Todd Oldham's Kid Made Modern takes it's cues from modern artists*, interpreting their style into kid-friendly designs. From bubble wrap printing (genius!) to paint sample tiles, these are innovative and exciting crafts perfect for 7 year olds up to teens. With a few supplies and a little free time, you and yours can easily make any of these 52 projects.


*I only wish some of the modern artists original works were shown in the book. Oh well.

Biography Resource Center

You may have seen Anna's post in January about some great online resources that the kids can use to help with their homework. Another one is the Biography Resource Center. I've seen a lot of kids asking for biographies lately, and I always make sure to tell them about this great resource. It's actually a database made for grown-ups, but there is a ton of great biographical information that kids can also use. I strongly recommend using it when working on a biography assignment.

Reports, Reports, Reports

With school back in full swing, it's report time. Luckily, the library subscribes to several online resources to help your child with their homework. Accessible from home with your library card or in any Washington County Library, you can help develop your child's research skills without the frantic rush to find the one book everyone's checked out!

For country and state reports, CultureGrams is packed with information in an easy to use format. With state symbols, recipes, and, of course, population, geography and history information, it's all there in a click.

For magazine and newspaper articles, as well as graphs and pictures, Kids InfoBits puts it all together for your child to search. I especially like their "Related Subjects" which helps kids think about how to develop their searches (think "Pioneers" or "Explorers" or "Settlers").

There are plenty more as well, including some great ones for grownups at the WCCLS main page.

How Do You Say...?

If you're like me you studied a language in high school or college. Now, I'm lucky if I can remember a few words, much less grammar, sentences and verbs. 

Maybe you want to learn Italian for trip, or Spanish for work. Maybe your youngster has asked about other languages and wants to try it out.

You're in luck because the library now offers Mango Languages. With twelve languages to choose from, you'll learn grammar, vocabulary, and verbs through listening and written exercises.  Best of all...it's free (we've already paid for it!). You can even create an account to track your progress over time.

Mango Languages is one of the online resources brought to you through Washington County Cooperative Library Services.

The Shape of Things

Letter Knowledge • One of the first steps of learning the letters is understanding shapes, since shapes make up letters. Notice shapes around you.

Scavenger Hunt •Pick a shape (circle, square, triangle). Hunt through your house for things with that shape. Count them as you go. If you can, take a picture of each item and make a shape book with your photos.

Creeping Caterpillars! •Caterpillars change their shape. Cut several circles out a plain paper. Have your child color them. Glue the circles together to make a caterpillar.

Books with Shape

So Many Circles, So Many Square by Tana Hoban

Color Zoo by Lois Ehlert

It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles Shaw

Dogs & Tales

Do you have a child who could use a helping "paw" with reading? The library's Dogs & Tales program starts again on September 9th. What's Dogs & Tales you ask? Every Wednesday evening from 6-7:30 two pet therapy teams come to the library so that kids in Kindergarten through 5th grade have a chance to read to a dog! Did you know dogs are non-judgemental, kind and attentive listeners? Yup, and ours sure love books, and kids too. If you are interested in signing your child up for a 20-minute time slot, or you just want to know more about this cool program, please call 503-684-6537 and ask for the Children's department. We register up to two weeks in advance. To quote one of our seven-year-old Dogs & Tales regulars: "When I have to read in class at school and I get nervous, I just pretend that I am reading to one of the dogs and I feel better!"

When Science Explodes

Any book that tells you how to make a Frankenstein hand, burning ice, a CD hovercraft and blubber is pretty much a good bet with kids. Throw in the fact that it's got cool pictures, easy instructions and great "Take Care" notes sure to satisfy anxious parents and it rises to the level of an awesome book for anyone. The book in question is The Book of Totally Irresponsible Science: 64 Daring Experiments for Young Scientists by Sean Connolly, a sure bet to get kids and parents creating some super educational fun.

Each experiment features a mini intro, a handy list of supplies (most of which are household items), step-by-step instructions and yep, the "scientific excuse" behind the trick. A little bit magic, a little bit science, a lot of fun!

Cross-posted on the Tigard Teen Blog.

Resource for English Teachers

Do you work in a school, library, preschool, child development center, or teach English to your kids at home? I just learned about a great resource that connects teachers in an online social network: The English Companion Ning. Within the Ning there are groups of teachers sharing their ideas and challenges on such topics as teaching with technology and teaching writing. If you find this resource useful, you may want to check out our parenting collection as well. We have lots of books and videos for homeschool teachers, and parents who are helping their children learn to love books!