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Tutoring Programs at Evergreen
We have many tutoring programs available at the Evergreen Branch Library starting January 2013. All programs are free and are run by our very active volunteers.
Volunteer Manuel Beronilla will provide tutoring in Algebra, Geometry, Calculus, Physics and Statistics for high schoolers. This program will be every Thursday (starting January 17) in Group Study Room A at 4:00 p.m. Please drop in, no registration required.
Volunteer Siri Balusu provides tutoring in Math and Science for kids in grades 3-6 every Tuesday and Wednesday starting at 5:00 p.m. in Group Study Room B. Registration is not required.
Volunteer Urvi Gupta will begin her OneInMath program at 4:30 p.m. in the Community Room on Tuesday, January 15. Kids in grades K-2 will learn simple ways to add and subtract. This will help them understand math concepts quickly. Video instructions and face-to-face tutoring will be provided. This program is also offered at the Berryessa and Hillview libraries. Registration is required, so please sign up online at the OneInMath website.
Tutoring for all grade levels is also provided online through tutor.com. All you need is your valid Library card number and pin number.
OneInMath Program for K-2 Children Resumes at EV and BB
New OneInMath session for children in K-2 grades will be resuming at Berryessa and Evergreen SJPL branches in January, 2013.
Our wonderful volunteer Urvi Gupta, who is currently a junior at Harker School, trained a group of Evergreen and Berryessa area high school students to help her to conduct this program in both branch libraries.
The program teaches the kids to master simple addition and subtraction skills that will help them to succeed in math and science classes later on. Face-to-face tutoring and video instructions will be provided.
To register for the session, please go to OneInMath online web page. Classes will be conducted weekly on Saturdays, starting 1/19 at Berryessa and weekly on Tuesdays, starting 1/15 at Evergreen.
Months of the Year
Would you like to teach your child or children the months of the year? Any time is a good time to start; however, January is an especially good time.
Here are some fun picture books to help them learn the about months of the year.
A Kitten's Year, written by Nancy Raines Day, and illustrated by Anne Mortimer shows a gray and white kitten participating in various activities throughout the month, growing with each beautifully illustrated page. This book is also available in Chinese.
Parade Day: Marching Through the Calendar Year, written and illustrated by Bob Barner shows parades for each month of the year. The back of the book has information about the months of the year as well as some holidays during each month. There are also directions how to create and decorate a calendar out of paper.
Snowy Flowy Blowy: a Twelve Months Rhyme, written and illustrated by Nancy Tafuri shows a word for each month accompanied by seasonal scenery. This is a great book for chidren learning about rhyming words.
Game On! Wii at the East San José Carnegie Library
Looking for something entertaining with your friends after school?
Are you under the age of 18 and enjoy playing video games?
Well then, come join us for a Wii game or two with your friends at the East San José Carnegie Branch Library on Fridays, from 4:00 -5:00 PM.
This is a fun way to spend the afternoon hanging out at the library with your friends challenging each in an interactive Wii game in the library's community room.
Geocaching - Modern Day Treasure Hunting!
Are you looking for a fun way to get your family or a group of friends outside for fun and some exercise? Go geocaching! Geocaching has been around for a little over a decade. Using a GPS unit or smartphone, you are given the hidden container’s coordinates, or the "X" marks the spot, and you are off on a new adventure. The fun is in finding the "treasure" but for kids it might be all about trading the goodies in the box with a small trinket brought from home. The idea is if you take something from the cache you should replace it with something you brought of equal or greater value. The cache typically has a log for you to record the date and your name or alias and a collection of miscellaneous items. Geocaches are located all over the world but the San Francisco Bay Area, in particular, has loads of hidden caches just waiting to be discovered!
To get you started, you can find more information about geocaching before you head out in the San Jose Public Library collections.
Other Resources
Geocaching.com – comprehensive site with information about geocaching, GPS coordinates of cache locations as well as upcoming events.
Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (MROSD) – offers beginning classes to introduce you to geocaching. They also have a passport program, the Preserve Circuit Geo-challenge, where you locate the MROSD’s hidden caches in a number of their preserves, stamp your passport with the official stamp then turn the completed passport into the district office for a limited custom District cache tag (while supplies last).
Winter Activity Ideas
Has the winter weather and shorter daylight hours created more indoor time for your family? This is the perfect opportunity to capture the moment with winter-themed activities. Young children can learn a little bit about hibernation, elementary-school aged kids can conduct cool winter-themed science projects and kids of all ages can enjoy making snowflakes for all occasions.
Here are a few titles to help you get started.
Under the Snow
This beautifully illustrated book provides an interesting look at how animals adapt to living in winter conditions. Author Melissa Stewart, an award-winning science writer, captures the quiet and calm of winter days. This is a perfect read-aloud for young, budding scientists.
Explore Winter: 25 Great Ways to Learn about Winter
Aimed at elementary school-aged children, this book is chockful of experiments that can be conducted at home with common household items. Science concepts are introduced, vocabulary defined, and simple activities are provided that emphasize the subject. There are also fun facts and jokes interspersed throughout the book that kids enjoy.
Snowflakes for All Seasons
Tired of the same old snowflakes patterns? This book has an abundance of ideas to craft one of their distinctive snowflakes. You can also learn different techniques for creating your own unique snowflake for different occasions. Who knew you could have so much fun with just a pair of scissors and paper?
Storytimes ~ Cuentos ~ East San José Carnegie Library ~ Biblioteca East San José Carnegie
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Starting on January 2013, Storytimes at the East San José Carnegie Branch Library will resume again!
Our first Family Storytime with Stay and Play activity is scheduled on Wednesday, January 2, 2013 at 6pm. And our first Inclusive Storytime for 2013 will occur on Wednesday, January 16th at 6pm.
Storytime Schedule at the East San José Carnegie Library:
- Bilingual (English/Spanish) Family Storytime with Stay and Play activity - Wednesdays (weekly) - 6pm- 7pm
- Inclusive Storytime with Stay and Play activity - 3rd Wednesday of the month - 6pm-7pm
For more information, please call us at 1-408-808-3075.
¡A partir de enero del 2013, la Hora de Cuentos en la Biblioteca East San José Carnegie se reanudará de nuevo!
Nuestro primer Hora de Cuentos para Familias con la actividad Quédate a Jugar está programada para el miércoles, 2 de enero 2013 a las 6pm. Además, nuestra proxima Hora de Cuentos Inclusivo con la actividad Quédate a Jugar será el miércoles, 16 de enero a las 6pm.
El horario de cuentos en la Biblioteca East San José Carnegie:
- Hora de Cuentos Bilingüe Para Familias con Quédate a Jugar va ser los miércoles de 6pm hasta 7pm (cada semana)
- Hora de Cuentos Inclusivo con Quédate a Jugar tomará lugar el tercer miércoles de cada mes de 6pm hasta 7pm.
Para más información, favor de llama al 1-408-808-3075.
A Book is the Best Present
Are you trying to squeeze in some last minute gift-shopping for a child in your life? I may be biased since I'm a librarian but the best gift you could give a child is a really great book.
On Christmas Eve, my family always exchanged gifts and when I was 9, I was given a copy of Stuart Little by E.B. White. I spent most of the next day curled up on the couch immersed in the world of that little mouse who was adopted by a family and went on some great adventures. What a wonderful memory for me.
All children should have books of their own to keep and to read over and over. According to research studies, the number of books in the home is one of several factors directly connected to reading achievement in kindergarteners. Books to own don't have to be expensive. Many schools have programs for purchasing inexpensive paperback copies of books. And the Friends of the Library always have lots of gently used books at great prices for children of any reading level.
If you need help selecting a great book for a child, check in with us at the Library and ask for some recommendations.
Aside from Stuart Little - which is about at third grade level, here are a couple more of my favorites. Can't You Sleep Little Bear? - by Martin Waddell and Barbara Firth is a sweet book for a preschool aged child about a little bear who needs a very special night light.
I Will Surprise My Friend! by Mo Willems is a beginning to read book so hilarious, you'll be laughing out loud the whole time you read it. Elephant and Piggie are an unlikely pair of best friends, but they are so much alike and so very silly.
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen is a book that will grab the attention of any middle-schooler no matter how much they say they don't like to read. A boy is the sole survivor of a plane crash and must make it on his own in the wilderness. This book is short and the story is so compelling, you can't put it down!
So even if you've finished your holiday shopping, get one more present for the child in your life - make it a book - and make it a holiday tradition!
Helping Kids Cope with Tragedy
Here are some resources to help you and your families cope with the recent tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary. I hope you can find comfort in a good book... I've been hugging my toddler even more than usual this past week.
- ZERO TO THREE: the National Center for Infants, Toddlers and Families has created an excellent resource of practical tips, and links to additional online resources.
- The Fred Rogers Company offers insights from Mr. Rogers - with specifics on how to talk about confusing images and how to comfort kids.
- The Indianpolis Public Library created a page with tips, resources, and suggested books and the Washington, D.C. Public Library also has a page with resources and books on helping kids through tragic events.
Please share any tips in the comments - what's your go-to book when things are looking grim in the world outside?
Do You Have Enough?
Do you have enough things in your life? Do you have too many things, or do you need more? How do you know when you have too much? During this season of giving and any time, it might be interesting to consider reducing the amount of stuff you have and consume, and giving it to others. The Power of Half by the father/daughter team of Kevin and Hannah Salwen describes their family's journey from having a lot of stuff that they thought they really needed to their group decision to get rid of a lot of it. They chose as a family to downsize by half and give the proceeds to charity.
The Salwens changed many things about the way the live when one day co-author Hannah Salwen noticed a homeless man looking for food and other help at a busy city intersection and the expensive luxury car that was stopped in front of them. She asked her dad what would happen if the driver in front of them didn't have such a nice car. Would the homeless man then be able to eat? As a result, the family started having weekly, in-depth discussions about what they needed to live comfortably as opposed to what they wanted. Soon the discussions turned to whether they should sell their large house and get rid of a lot of the things in it that they had collected. They soon discovered that much of the stuff that they had invested in was holding them back. They barely missed it at all.
This award-winning video from Hannah's brother, Joseph shows what they gave up and what they gained. It describes the family's desire to help people in a small village in Africa while keeping in mind the homeless man they had seen at the intersection.
It's a very interesting story. While you're reading it, you might want to think about how you could make a significant difference, or even a small difference, by giving back to your community. You don't have to sell your house to help others. Each chapter ends with suggestions from Hannah about activities that families can do together to give back.
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