March - Item of the Month

Glitter Glue

We are always in need of such items as:

• Construction Paper (All Colors)
• Glue Sticks
• White Glue (ex. Elmers)
• Packaged Snacks (Goldfish Crackers etc.)
• Bottled Juice

You don't need to wait to donate materials to us! Please call the Youth Services Department (717) 396-9313 x 124 if you have any questions or would like to donate some other item that is not on this list.

March Programs

Our online calendar is on the fritz at the moment so, in the mean time, we thought we'd post our list of programs for March here.

Preschool Playdate Tuesdays @ 10:30 am
March 4 - Snowkids
March 11 - Found It!
March 18 - Green
March 25 - Bunnies

Music and Stories with Lucie Wednesdays @ 1pm
March 5
March 12
March 19
March 26

Lapsit Storytime Wednesdays @ 10:30 am
March 5 - Dr. Seuss Celebration
March 12 - Apples
March 19 - Circus Fun
March 26 - Bunnies

Preschool Storytime Thursdays @ 10:30 am
March 6 - Birds
March 13 - Morning
March 20 - Rabbits
March 27 - Fairy Tales

Sing, Sign and Storytime Mondays @ 10:30 am
March 3
March 10
March 17
March 24
March 31

Teen Interest: current.com

One of the things that I love about meeting new people, is the exchange of new information. While talking with someone today they told me about a really neat website called Current . They describe themselves on the website which I've pasted below.

Since its inception in 2005, Emmy award-winning Current TV has been the world's leading peer-to-peer news and information network. Current is the only 24/7 cable and satellite television network and Internet site produced and programmed in collaboration with its audience. Current connects young adults with what is going on in their world, from their perspective, in their own voices.

With the launch of Current.com, the first fully integrated web and TV platform users can participate in shaping an ongoing stream of news and information that is compelling, authentic and relevant to them.

Current pioneered the television industry's leading model of interactive viewer created content (VC2). Comprising roughly one-third of Current's on-air broadcast, this content is submitted via short-form, non-fiction video "pods". Viewer Created Ad Messages (VCAMs) are also open to viewer's participation.

Current's programming ranges from daily pop culture coverage to political satire in "SuperNews," unprecedented music journalism in "The Current Fix," and unique insights into global stories through Vanguard and Citizen Journalism.

Current is now viewed in the U.S. and U.K. in more than 51 million households through distribution partners Comcast (Channel 107 nationwide), Time Warner (nationwide), DirecTV (channel 366 nationwide), Dish Network (channel 196 nationwide), Sky (channel 193) and Virgin Media Cable (channel 155).

So check it out! And maybe I'll see your clip on TV next!

February - Item of the Month

Construction Paper

We didn't recieve any last time so we're still in need!

We are always in need of such items as:

• Construction Paper (All Colors)
• Glue Sticks
• White Glue (ex. Elmers)
• Packaged Snacks (Goldfish Crackers etc.)
• Bottled Juice

You don't need to wait to donate materials to us!

Please call the Youth Services Department (717) 396-9313 x 124 if you have any questions or would like to donate some other item that is not on this list.

Chinese New Year - February 7, 2008 marks the beginning of the Year of the Rat

Get ready to celebrate The Chinese New Year on February 7 and welcome the Year of the Rat. According to World Book Online Reference Center (which you can use at Power Library through our website ), "the Chinese New Year is the most important festival of the Chinese calendar. The date of the Chinese New Year is based on the cycles of the moon." Spending time with family is a big part of this holiday. "Places are set at the table for absent family members to symbolize the unity of the family. Special foods that symbolize good fortune for the new year are served. For example, rice cakes, called nian gao, are a popular food for New Year’s Eve dinners. The Chinese word nian means year, and gao means high. This food signifies achievement in the new year. Children bow to their parents and grandparents to wish them a long life. Gifts of money in red envelopes are given to children to wish them luck and wealth in the new year." Another popular part of the holiday includes special dances with dragon costumes as well as parades in many Chinese communities.

Chen, Tung-Ling Li. "Chinese New Year." World Book Online Reference Center. 2008. [Place of access.] 3 Feb. 2008

We have a variety of picture books, fiction and non-fiction books about Chinese New Year and the Chinese Culture. You can even find out more about rats. Check out our online card catalog to reserve a book or stop by Youth Services and we'd be happy to help you find some great reads about this exciting holiday. Have a prosperous New Year!

Here are a few links about this holiday and the Chinese calendar.
http://www.educ.uvic.ca/faculty/mroth/438/CHINA/chinese_new_year.html

http://webexhibits.org/calendars/calendar-chinese.html

Lapsit Grows!

The Lapsit Storytime Program is off to a great start! Each week, I have been so lucky to meet new children and parents/caregivers. We will be singing and reading about things that go 'round this week so spin on up to the Kid's Department. Don't be shy, stop in and join the fun.
Ms. Jen

Flat Stanley Has Come to Visit Lancaster

We recieved the coolest letter today. Flat Stanley has come to visit us here in Lancaster, PA the whole way from Vinita, OK. That's over 1,156 miles!

If you haven't read the book, it's about a child named Stanley who gets flattened when a bulletin board falls on him. He's okay though, just very very flat. The story goes on to tell about all the fun things he can do now that he's so very flat, including putting himself in an envelope and mailing himself to California!

This time, Flat Stanley has decided to mail himself to Pennsylvania, and needs our help to catalogue his vacation...we need to take pictures of Flat Stanley doing things around town and at the library to send back to his class at Kings Kids Christian School. If you would like to be in a picture with him, or have a good idea of fun things Stanley could do, let us know.

For more information on this fun project visit:

http://www.flatstanley.com/

Cool Website Tool

While looking for information on Bushbabys for a patron I came across this very cool website. This just struck me as a possible tool for homeschooling families, as well as further fun/education for everyone.

Backyard Jungle is a PBS kids based website. It was created by a group of people "who like to explore the outdoors, to see what beautiful and scary things live there, and see cool stuff from others all around the world." Backyard Jungle was created and is produced by staff at Forum One Communications. Backyard Jungle was funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Check out some other cool sites that CPB funded, too!


Below is the "about us" information on their webstie.

Backyard jungle is a sophisticated, free, kid-friendly website where users around the world can load photos, drawings, and descriptions about the natural surroundings where they live, their "backyard." Users manage and map their own information, share it with other people who visit the website, and visit and comment on the backyards of other users as well. With other people worldwide users can explore and answer the question, "What's out there?" All the content (information, photos, and drawings) on the website is loaded by users themselves.

Backyard Jungle is organized around three types of information that users load into the website: "Members", "Backyards", and "Discoveries." Anyone can view this information. Only people who join as Members can load in information, map their Backyard, and put Discoveries into the website. Members also get to vote on each others materials, earn points, and get featured on the home page and other parts of the website when they load in something super cool or beautiful. Members leave their computer, explore their surroundings (yards, neighborhoods, parks, wildlands), and return to load descriptions and photos and drawings into the website.