City of Ames, IA Well Read, 6 Mar 2014

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From YouTube: Well Read

Description

Learn about the upcoming Step Into Story Books program on March 29th.

A

Welcome to well read a program about a little bit of this and a little bit of that at your ames public library.

A

I'm jerry, hyde, youth services manager at the ames public library here to tell you and share with you some of the hats that I wear in our community, but all of them have a common thread and that common thread is early literacy and literacy and the importance of reading the protection and the safe keeping of your children in our community, as well as your child as um and what you can do as a parent and help empower that child in their school life and in their future and in our community and today is no different.

A

We april is the upcoming month of april, is month of the young child, we're starting some of our programs a little bit earlier this year.

A

The program that we're going to talk about today, step into storybooks, is at the end of of march, but but all of it is about celebrating your child and what you can do with your child, and our focus this year with uh step into storybooks is is science and those activities that you can combine those books and things with um your child, even the little wee ones, and today I have two experts with me, and one is mona from the brazing readers in story county, which is one of the hats that I also wear is a member of raising readers in story county and the program is also sponsored by ames morning, rotary and rotary in general, which I'm also a member, and then, of course, the library and there's a couple.

A

Others too, mona that I don't happen to be wearing any of those hats. Can you explain the other partners in our our wonderful program that we're having in march well.

B

Most definitely, we have two new partners for our sixth annual step into storybooks event, and one of our partners is the ames community preschool center, also known as acpc.

B

They are hosting the event in their new building on carroll, the old wilson burcher elementary school, and then our other partner is the ames laboratory employees and last year they provided a donation for raising readers to purchase science-related books for infants dollars and school-age children. And so we are really grateful for um the ames lab, employee donation and so for this event, we're able to provide the first 300 children who come will receive a book to take home. And we appreciate that from the ames lab and.

A

As a librarian and wearing that hat, you.

B

Never can have too many books.

A

In your personal library, after all, you know this is our personal library right here and we have thousands of books that we have access to, but having that that always ready and not have to worry about fines or any of those things at home. Those personal books are very, very important as well and now I understand that we also have another partner um in our expertise here and sarah. Can you tell us a little bit about us are about you sure about us.

B

And you can analyze.

C

This, no I'm very happy to be here, I'm very thankful to work with everyone. Here I worked at the science center of iowa for a while, and then I taught first and third grade and now I teach the literacy and the science methods at iowa state university, and so this has been a really fun experience for me to learn more about raising readers and the programs at the library too.

A

So it's a great combination, a great partnership.

C

A

Always try um that that is one of the things that we do at the library as well is try to partner with um our our community groups that we have um and you because you can't do it all. I mean we can't.

C

A

It all we have to have our friends in the community and what wonderful friends and partners that we have so mona. We, you mentioned it's our sixth annual step into storybooks event, and this is going to have a little difference as far as you know. Typically, we've been in another location, um and this year we are going to take advantage of the new acpc building and kind of highlight that they've always been having a boost, but tell us a little bit about what the focus is this year or step into storybook.

B

This year, the step in storybooks, our theme is exploring science through books and it's providing hands-on activities for children to work with stem activities.

B

And so we have three main goals for organizing the event, and the first goal is to feature a children's books and to show how you can take a child, a children's book and then enrich have enrichment learning activities from that book and especially with science. Adults may feel a little uncomfortable that they have to be a science expert, especially parents, where maybe science wasn't their favorite topic at school and so and even early childhood professionals, kind of shy away from science.

B

But people seem to be very comfortable with children's books. So it's a model for us and for the community to show you know. Here we have a book about, sounds and so at each station we'll have a guest reader who will read sections of a book like, for example, the sound book, and then there will be hands-on interactive activities for infants and toddlers and preschoolers to engage in different ways of making sounds.

B

We have it's called as a tube phone, where it's a long, clear, tube and there's funnels at both ends, and you can whisper on one end and then the child can hear you know on the other end, so making it play base and interactive and for children to use all their senses as well, and so that way adults can see what okay. You know, this isn't so bad or I could use a book and then from there use what I have in my home.

B

You don't have to go out and buy expensive toys and we're trying to model too, with with using things that parents could find at home um or at least adapt what they see at step into storybooks and then feel more comfortable, and then that way they can explore with their child at home. And then the second goal um is just to bring the community together and so um again we are a community of of readers and then just emphasize that for parents and then just get to know about the different resources. Too.

B

Especially, you know the library and raising readers and what we'll provide for people who attend. They can visit the raising readers website and there will be some handouts about different science activities.

A

As well, I believe now, in your conversation here, you.

C

A

A couple things one of them was an acronym stem. Can either one of you speak to what s-t-e-m means. You.

C

B

It means science, technology, engineering at mathematics and you know: there's stem for elementary school high school college graduate school, and so um some people shy away to think that stem is not.

C

B

For early childhood, but I mean when you think about it: children are born natural scientists. You know they want to explore they're into a problem. Solving and testing of you know, for example, an infant with a rattle or a ball. You know shaking it just being involved with that and so for early childhood stem.

B

It's not teaching scientific facts, it's more of building upon children's interests and what's appropriate for their age and for early childhood, it's being active, physically active with open-ended questions and also providing activities where children use all their senses, not just sight but touch, feel and sound, and so.

A

Forth and I can't help but think about we've been doing um on thursday nights a program called milk and bookies that.

C

We've been featuring.

A

Some of the stem activities and.

C

A

And the song that I'm using this week is um about making a a sound with your cheeks. You know.

C

We're you know.

A

Defining what our face you know, what our eyes do so we're blinking and experiencing that.

C

A

The the one favorite and that's what I keep telling everybody all week long and now, I'm gonna do it on tv, so we'll see how that but.

C

A

Pop up your cheeks, you know you feel like full of air and then you, you know you make the sound and you're here and up.

C

There you know.

A

Just just that experience and see the delight in the child and- and that is just you know at its simplest form- a very wonderful way of experiencing sound and the vibration. That's in your mouth and filling that space up with air um and then asking you know and talking about that experience.

C

And and that's.

A

All we're talking about.

B

You know because.

A

That was the second part of my.

B

A

Was you know infants and toddlers and preschoolers and science, and you know all I can you know as an adult that didn't necessarily like chemistry and that's what I I go to and so tell us some more about some of the other activities that we might be doing and well.

C

And the one thing, if you don't mind me adding is sometimes when we say engineering, it can be a little confusing when.

B

C

In but a lot of times, I'll just explain it to people as we present them with a problem, and they come up with an answer such as you need to get from here to there to build a bridge or something out of materials. How are you going to do that and how will that help solve a problem? So that's one of the ways we kind of yeah.

A

So it's not actually going out and building that bridge and doing the mathematics and the geometry. And you know that part.

C

A

Actually, thinking through and having that basis.

C

Yeah trying to solve a problem and using some of the science that you know and the math that you know and the technology to help help solve that problem.

A

And and like you mentioned too, you know, science is all about observation and.

B

And that's what we kind of want to highlight. Sarah.

A

I can talk a little bit about.

B

um The scientific inquiry, because, with all of this we're putting it integrating it into what stations that we do have we have 13 inner active stations and so with young children.

B

You can help them kind of think, like scientists and it's more of a process they're not again memorizing facts or it's not skills, but children learn based on their interests and again open-ended materials and so for infants. It's just that observation and exploration, so we'll have a baby play zone where there'll be materials with different textures.

C

B

Just filling something smooth or rough that helps also with classification, which is one of the scientific scientists use when they go through solving a problem, and we, when we talk about science, it's just science is learning about the world around us and so and for children, it's in their natural environment and so for infants. When they're exploring different objects, we can also build their language development. That's a real focus with any topic that you're learning about you can integrate the early literacy skills.

C

B

So you can think about it as science, literacy or science vocabulary, but words, like you, know, smooth or rough, the different textures children, our infants, are learning about the different characteristics of objects and that's part of physical sciences, which we have different stations that step into storybooks, and it's also looking at changes, and that seems to be common um on the three areas that we'll focus on is the physical sciences, the life sciences and earth and space sciences. It's interacting with materials to know about the different properties, the materials properties and characteristics like size.

B

Is it bigger or smaller? Is it heavy or light? And so those are things that children naturally explore while they're playing and then also looking at any changes that they? When sarah was talking about engineering, it's taking a shoe box and a piece of cardboard and making a ramp and then putting your balls or cars down and seeing you know, how can I change the incline to make.

C

B

Or slower, and so it's you know, changing materials in that respect, and so um other sarah like to talk a little bit more about sure the science inquiry practices.

C

Yeah when we talk about inquiry, we usually talk about asking and answering a question and then conducting an investigation and then presenting those results to others so making it public, and so these are some of the inquiry practices on our very nice poster, and um so you know observing and exploring, and those are things that young children are just they're just excellent at asking all those why questions and then helping them connect.

C

Maybe a word that goes with some of the things that they're feeling seeing or doing is is a great way for a parent to help out asking questions which they're always good at and then what what we always talk about with early childhood science, too, is: if they ask that question then, following that up and getting an answer, and you don't necessarily have to give them the answer, but just ask them: what do you think, and why do you think that, and then that leads into good good science inquiry practices predicting using tools and instruments, and then the planning investigations, and they can be very simple- they don't have to be elaborate.

C

Just what, if I do this or this two different things, and then that's great, I'm recording what happens, and I always laugh because you always talk about well, they don't really know how to write words, but we would record maybe with a smiley face if it worked out or a frowny face. If it didn't so there's different ways, you can use pictures to record and then interpreting results and usually what I have teachers do or parents do is I'll say, ask your child to say.

C

I think this and then because so they're making a claim and then they're following it up with evidence based on whatever results they got and then they're also, then communicating and sharing ideas and just learning how to use that language in science and then that language can get tied to books or writing, or you know other things too. So those are some of the things. Thank you.

B

Sarah and then how to tie this all together with step into storybooks, is we have a um earthworm station and.

C

The national I apologize.

B

To this agency, if I get their name wrong, the national laboratory of agriculture and renewable energy, I believe.

C

B

Maybe I got that wrong. I apologize they're bringing they do, earthworm studies because their specialty is soil, and so in combining all of the scientific inquiry. Children are able to observe they're able to explore to touch the earthworms and then also to use it using the tools or instruments. They can use a magnifying glass to get a closer look and then also um providing children with information. Because when you look at an earthworm, you don't know where the head or the tail is. So we.

C

B

Have a poster there that shows the the anatomy of the worm, which is usually it's the head and then the tail that they refer to it as the anus and then there's different segments, which um that you know that children could see.

C

B

Worms there there's that comparison of there's, there's small worms or short worms or long worms, and then children will have a piece of paper where they can draw a picture of the worm, a worm that they see and then they they could have the adult dictate what they.

A

B

Say about what they saw, the worm or how the worm felt or what the worm was doing so again, it's bringing that all together and for the child to practice this scientific inquiry and.

A

As I'm thinking of that I'm thinking of several parents, that would go yes, so they could also record the parent's reaction.

B

And that's a common thing too, and I think my nephew, who is three years old. He taught me this where there we were visiting and there was a spider in the room and my two older nieces were screaming. Like oh get it away and he said wait, spiders are important. They eat insects.

B

You know here, a three-year-old was just reassuring people that insects are important. Spiders are important and um you know it's all about the world, so I was like. Oh, he has a really good early childhood.

C

Science teacher.

A

He's only free.

B

And people you know- and that's important too, for parents to and adults who work with young children is to model that things aren't. You know yucky bugs or icky bugs, but you.

C

May just say.

B

Well, you know I prefer not to touch the book because.

C

B

Having the iowa state insect zoo there as well right.

A

B

That might be more of the observation of the different insects, or there might be a chance to um you know, see the bugs I think they're bringing.

A

Back someone thinks about a cockroach. You.

B

Know like no thank you, but again your child is looking for you to kind of take the.

A

C

B

You know, okay, I don't feel comfortable with cockroaches I'll stand here, but we can go and you can explore right or even if we did have a big python snake. You know it's okay, you could touch it, but I know I don't prefer not to touch it. So it's it's, not discouraging children, but to encourage what they're interested in who wouldn't want to touch a cockroach.

B

A

The first time iowa state insect um group was at the library um the the person didn't have a partner and he they got sick. And so here I need.

B

A

This is a hissing cockroach, and do you want to feel it? I'm feeling it.

B

Right now you know and talking well, you know in that emotional.

C

A

All those things come but, but I think it's very important for us to talk. You know to say this isn't doing worksheets. No, no. This is exploring and then drawing pictures or telling a story and recording that. um But it isn't that you know I watch this. Do this like we would do in a school setting. You know that that is a a different type of.

C

A

Science and stem activities, and in that type of process, this is again kind of building those skills. Yes, I mean we don't teach reading for a preschooler or a toddler, but we provide them with those skills and opportunities to learn those skills so that they're better prepared to read. So it's.

C

A

Much similar to that well.

C

I think too what'll be great. Is that they'll get these concrete experiences that then help them make sense of the text it gives.

B

C

Something to base it on and that's what's so.

B

C

About the science stations that you have set up so.

B

Yeah and one thing about using children's books is that it's recommended that you share science books that have accurate information.

C

B

You can also share books like picture books like board books about, for example, for life sciences, learning about your body parts and so there's interactive, lift of flat board books for infants. Where you know peekaboo, I see your eyes and so then you can have that interaction. And still it's not considered a factual science book. But it is accurate because children do have eyes.

C

B

Mouths and then also using non-fiction books or wonderful, um a wonderful way to provide children, especially with that vocabulary, and they may be a little more advanced than what parents may be used to in sharing books with priests, say, for example, preschoolers. But you can just any book. You can treat it as a as a wordless picture book and especially if there's um really enriched illustrations that you can just talk about the pictures, even though it may be written for a higher reading level or grade level.

B

There's so much that's happening in the pictures with science books that you can pick and choose what you want to focus on. But yet the vocabulary is there to share with your child right and especially if your child is like fascinated with astronauts or rockets, I mean you. Can I think it's. The dk publishing has more advanced books, but it's more the facts right.

A

It's like, I would check those out. I witnessed books.

C

And exactly I like.

A

To share those with parents as well.

C

A

You can become an expert very quickly for your toddler.

B

A

Preschooler to look at the book and then to um you know, point to the pictures and talking and- and I think the the publishers have been doing- a wonderful job.

C

A

More of the early leaders or the early non-fiction books.

C

A

We now have an easy to read: non-fiction section that we didn't used to have because of the opportunities that are out there, that they have simplified.

C

A

But the text is even written differently than a story. I mean it definitely is a non-fiction book versus a fiction book, yeah.

B

It doesn't have that exposure is a good that you're used to, but the language is different and it's an enriched language and then also using because technology is part.

C

B

Is using like at the internet to go to different websites that are tailored for children? There's the national geographic has a kids website.

C

Where you can learn more.

B

You know about earthworms, and that gives you different, like a photo um just different photos of the the anatomy of an earthworm or you can use. There's apps out there that talk about the different animals and especially for toddlers a mama bear with a ba. You know baby bear.

A

Now the noises the.

B

Noises and so forth, yeah, so there's a variety and then even magazines aren't usually maybe becoming obsolete, but like ranger rick or my big backyard. Those are still excellent resources and I know that the ames public library does have.

A

And they do refer to different websites which.

B

A

I mean the internet is full of lots of um inaccurate information and.

C

A

Information and the using those those uh references and stuff are directs you to a more accurate place and instead of the whole world, you.

B

Know you can have a focused area.

A

B

That's reassuring for parents or adults who work with young children, because it's okay to say I don't know and then, but I know how we can find out that information and then that's you know being being able to be a self-learner. I mean that's a life skill of being resourceful and and.

A

That's what we're trying to.

B

A

Because that's what makes a better community as well and.

B

A

Successful community so so remind us again when our sixth annual step into storybooks event is.

B

It is saturday march 29th at acpc and from 10 to noon and then all the books that you see here these are the gift books that children can choose from that are provided by the ames laboratory um employees, employee donations,.

A

So there's a variety.

B

A

Something the first 300 children will get a choice of the you know, one book to take home with them, so we have some board books and then picture books and non-fiction books that they can take home as well as exploring those 13 stations sponsored.

C

By different agencies.

A

In the community, um and so much like, as always, has been for our families that have you know attended before, but it's in a different location. This year at acpc on carroll street 920.

B

Carroll avenue.

A

B

If you'd like to visit the raising readers website at raisinghyphenreaders.org, if there is a step into storybooks, you'll, see the cat in the hat.

C

B

The home page, you click on there and it'll provide you with more information about step into storybooks. The program will be there. What stations will be in.

C

B

Parents would like to see what the feature books are and then also we will have four handouts, one about scientific inquiry. What's appropriate for infants, toddlers and preschoolers. One will be about earth science about what children can do to explore properties and materials about the earth like soil and rocks and water, and then changes um like the moon and and the sun. You know and connecting that to their own life of bedtime and and um and so forth, and then there'll be a handout for physical science and then for um life.

B

Science as well, and those.

A

Will be available on the website, in which I have to say that the website has many many many more opportunities.

C

A

Not visited the raising readers website, you should access that, because that is a wonderful portal of information of so many different things.

C

A

Free and we are very lucky in our community to have the raising readers in story county um and, and you can access that with again. The website is.

B

Raisinghyphenreaders.Org and so.

A

Please visit that um and we have publicity out for the the event as well um and if not, you can come to the library and ask and we'll be sure to tell you where it's at and how what's going to go on and help you get to that website as well.

A

We also there there are apps too, that we are working on at the library, um as so, if you're a pinterest person, you can go to our pinterest or our our um facebook page and find some of those informat that information out too. So. Thank you. Sarah.

C

Thank you, jonah for.

A

Visiting with us today, and I hope to see you again and I know I'll see you at step into storybooks. So thank you, viewers for watching and again until next time, happy reading.