Author: librarian

One Thousand Books Before Kindergarten

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Too big to fit in one picture!!  Our race track is busy with more waiting to get in the race!

The only rules we have is for you to document how many books have been read to your child and that your child is not yet in kindergarten. Any and everyone can read to your preschooler and all you have to do is make a tally mark on the bright green paper. Once there are 100 tallies, bring the paper in to the Library to move the car down the track and your child picks a prize. You can read 1,000 different books or one book 1,000 times. Remember, those tally marks are verification, so don’t forget to bring in some proof of how many books you’ve read! Get everyone involved! Sign up today, it will go a lot faster than you think!

Just how long does it take to read 1,000 books? Well, someone, somewhere figured it out for us: 1 book per day for 3 years = 1,000 books; 10 books per week for 2 years = 1,040 books; 3 books per day for 1 year = 1,095 books. So, not long at all!

Want to learn more about the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten Foundation? Click on the picture below for information and advice to boost your child’s learning.

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2016 ADULT READING CHALLENGE: PASSPORT TO AMERICA

united-states-text-map-michael-tompsettThe end is here! We started the year celebrating 5 states

and we are going to end the year busing out 5 states!

* Oklahoma * New Mexico * Arizona * Alaska * Hawaii *

You can find books about these states on our display rack.

The adult summer reading theme is, “Exercise Your Mind, Read!

We’ve had TWO patrons finish reading about ALL 50 states!!  Congratulations!

We are offering this challenge so you can exercise your mind and read beyond your favorite genre.

                  We have compiled a list of books from each of the 50 United States. There are fiction and non-fiction alike. The book may just be set in a particular state or there may be many locations and facts mentioned. Read as many or as few as you like. Each patron accepting the challenge will be given a U.S. map that can be kept at the library. Each time a book is read we can make a mark on that state. You will have from January 1 through December 31 to finish the challenge. We will be promoting the states in order of their statehood dates. January we will feature Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Georgia. Of course we are throwing Kansas in this month because Kansas will celebrate 155 years as a state on January 29. Each month from then on will have four more states to read about. In December we will promote the last five of the United States. If you want to read about Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico that would be considered bonus work.

Interested? We hope so. Think this sounds just daunting? Relax, you can read as many as you like. There is no test and no grade. We aren’t saying you have to like the book, you just have to read it. At the end you will have exercised your mind and left your reading comfort zone. For those of you who like bragging rights we have established some different reading levels:

The Weekend Traveler – read up to 10 state books.

The Vagabond – read up to 30 books.

The Adventurer – Read up to 49 books.

First Class Passenger -Read all 50 books.

 

Ask the librarians how to get started. Happy Trails!

 

Getting Started with Flipster!

 

flipster_web_banner_rectangleGETTING STARTED WITH FLIPSTER

Patrons of Seneca Free Library can now access their favorite digital magazines using Flipster® from EBSCO Information Services.

Flipster is a next-generation magazine service that allows people to browse digital versions of the latest issues of  popular magazines, courtesy of the library.

Our patrons have access through Flipster for magazines such Fortune, Time, People, Scientific
American, Sports Illustrated, Us Weekly and more so you have the option of accessing the content at
the library or remotely. Magazines can be downloaded to Android™ phones and tablets, Apple® phones
and tables, and Kindle Fire tablets for offline reading anytime, anywhere.

Flipster offers an easy, browse-able reading experience. Users can browse magazines by category as well
as perform searches for specific periodicals. An online newsstand provides a carousel of the most recent
issues, as well as a carousel of all issues allowing for quick access to magazines. The table of contents
contains links for quick access to articles of interest and hotlinks within magazines are hyperlinked,
opening in separate tabs when clicked. In addition, there is an option to zoom in and out for better readability.

Any current NExpress patron can use the service by going to http://catalog.nexpresslibrary.org in their
browser (on their computer or mobile device) and logging into the catalog with their library user name
and PIN. From there, you will find “Access Flipster” under the Digital Resources links on the left side of
the screen. That one click will get you directly to the magazines available through NExpress.

This is new as of May 1. More titles will be added in time, as individual libraries have time to shop for magazines.

Science * Technology * Engineering * Math

STEMThe April STEM meeting will be the last session during this school term. We will begin our summer hours in June.

Complete details about summer programs will be available beginning May 31 during Summer Reading Sign-up.

Thank you for allowing us to share this time with your children, it has been a great experience for all of us.

Our new STEM Science Club meets the 4th Wednesday of the month.

This program is for students in grades 4~6. We have to limit the number of participants each month.

The slots fill up fast when we announce enrollment is open. You don’t know until you call whether there is room for your student!

SQUISHY CIRCUITS April STEM Meeting

STEM April 2016 004
Supplies ready for making our own squishy circuits using two types of homemade dough, conductive dough and insulating dough and our re-purposed battery pack.                              
STEM April 2016 002
Household items-conductors or            insulators?                                         

 

 

 

STEM April 2016 001
Making ooey gooey dough.
STEM April 2016 007
My own squishy      circuit.                                                       

STEM April 2016 006
Squishy Circuits help us understand electrical circuitry.
STEM April 2016 008
Parallel circuit with 3 LED lights. Too bad you can’t see better that the lights are on and working on this circuit!

 

STEM April 2016 010
A series circuit was needing more”juice” than 3AAA batteries could muster.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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March STEM Meeting

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PLAYING WITH POLYMERS February STEM meeting

FebSTEM3
What would you suppose Spaghetti and linked paper clips have in common? In one way they give us a glimpse in a seeable way what the molecules of a POLYMER may look like.
FebSTEM6
Before hands-on-polymer-making, we learned what POLYMER molecules are why they are different than other molecules.

 

FebSTEM5
Lab stations were prepared ahead for all participants.
FebSTEM2
Ethylene molecules above will link together and make chains then called poly(many) ethylene.
FebSTEM7
Polyethylene creates plastics and if you look closely at a piece of trash bag plastic you can discover the presence of a chain-like structure.
FebSTEM8
The young scientists created silly putty and glow-in-the-dark bouncy balls.
FebSTEM1
The linking of the moiecular chains would be like a glob of spaghetti. The air pockets created in this type of structure is similar to the air pockets in a water-absorbing polymer.
FebSTEM9
Thus, this gummy bear soaked in water over night has more than doubled its size. For those who were brave enough to taste it, agreed the manufacturer has the recipe right. We ended the meeting by making our own gumdrops! Science AND a snack! Can’t beat that!

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January STEM meeting: Hydraulic Systems

At our first meeting in January the students created simple individual hydraulic systems.

Sounds impressive, right? The quote of the day: “This is more fun than computer games!”

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This picture shows an enclosed system. And a very happy boy.
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It moves! another picture of 1/3 of the claw completed. She looks happy too, doesn’t she?
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This is also an enclosed system. If I remember correctly, she is the only one in the bunch to complete her system before leaving that day! Congratulations!
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It is important to read ALL of the instructions. This is 1/3 of the claw complete and it worked!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Gerald wanted to get a closer look at the contraption on display. He was very impressed!