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We also have limited space where we can do programs in private. Most of our programs are conducted on the floor where it is open with the public. Our problems occur when we are doing programs for older kids such as tweens and parents insist their 3 years will be OK participating with the older kids. That may be all well and good, but 13 year olds will not come back to a program for fear there will be too many little kids. So we tried to make the programs "difficult" and "dangerous" so parents of toddlers wouldn't think they were appropriate for their youngsters. Like our Danger Club! The little girl above was testing her taste buds. It works pretty well. 
here children could dig for bugs. When not in use, we put the covers on. The children learned about the concepts of over, under, and through with our "mole house", tunnel, and balance beam. Our library was filled with little miners! How appropriate 
for our coal mining region.
What a treasure ! Will Hillenbrand and two of his friends.
Laureen M. Maloney
Head of Children's Services
Lackawanna County Children's Library
520 Vine Street
Scranton, PA. 18509
570-348-3000 ext. 3027
www.albright.org/childrens
Dr. Jill Stamm was the keynote speaker at the Best Practices in Early Learning luncheon on April 14. Her presentation was based on years of research in early brain development after her first daughter was born prematurely at five months. Babies this early don't usually survive but Dr. Stamm's daughter did with a lot of help. As her daughter was growing, Dr. Stamm heard a lot of nevers. She is never going to talk, never walk, never read. Dr. Stamm never gave up! As a fifth grade teacher, she knew what to do. She introduced concepts to her daughter and consistently reintroduced them until her daughter was able to grasp them as best she could. As a result of working with her daughter, Dr. Stamm began to investigate the way a child's brain develops and how we can nurture and stimulate a baby's developing mind.
The book provides useful ideas for activities for babies and toddlers which include brief explanations of the purpose of the activity and the science behind it. Dr. Stamm's presentation and book validates what we are doing in our programs with language, literacy, modeling and play with a purpose. That we as libraries play an important role in brain development. My new slogan for the library is “Wiring brains every day.”
years. Children's attention spans are shorter and kids are more easily distracted with the introduction of video, computers, gaming systems and now hand held devices. A child's brain gets used to a short attention so it gets wired that way. All these devices contribute to a child's brain being trained to scan and shift rather that to pay attention. It's stop and go and on to something new.
Hi All,
The other book I read non-stop was Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey. I have read all the Twilight books and was always left with a feeling of anxiety and annoyance. The yin and yang of Bella and Edward's relationship. Not a comfortable feeling. I had the Dark Side home for a week before I was "allowed" to read it. My 12 year old daughter Maggie claimed it as hers. She read it twice I read it once. I really enjoyed this book. It was a fun read with all the teenage angst and hormones, human and vampire. Lucius is Jessica's Henry Higgins. Can he transform Jessica from a Pa farm girl who mucks out stalls to a Romanian vampire princess? Maggie and I thought Lucius' letters to his uncle in Roumania were well written and funny in a sarcastic way. A royal vampire's impressions of teenage life in rural PA. Maggie took the book back for a third read and now wants her own copy. Maggie also wondered if Beth's last name was her real name. It looks so much like "fantasy".
Not being a crafty person, I found that these sites have a lot to offer. I was searching for the perfect dryer lint play dough. I found it, made it, and it was the most disgusting thing I have ever made! Luckily I tried it out at home before making at the library. It was cold, slimy and had pet hair in it. I couldn't in good conscience allow the the library kids to make it! My daughter said it looked like, "cat yaak." So we made colorful, smelly, sparkly, Kool-Aid dough! This site has it all. Including dryer lint dough ... if you are feeling daring!http://www.justkidsrecipes.com/inxkcl.html
Association Annual Conference in Lancaster, October 24-27. The books have met the following eligibility requirements: the author or illustrator was a Pennsylvania resident at the time of publication, the book carries a 2009 copyright date, and the book has as its potential audience children from preschool through sixteen years of age.
$195.) Friday, 9-5. Have you ever found yourself worrying about how best to address critical but sensitive adolescent topics through your teen services and collection? Topics like sexuality, abuse, privacy and others can be difficult for librarians to address with teens &/or their parents and caregivers. Hear from experts in the field of adolescent development, along with authors and librarians, about how they have managed to successfully maneuver this difficult landscape. Explore strategies for collection development, services and programming relating to these sensitive issues. Authors participating: Ben Saenz, Laurie Halse Anderson, Nina LaCour, David Levithan, and Ellen Hopkins.
collection. Librarians, reporters, and academics will explore teens' daily use of technology and the interaction of digital and print reading channels, including fan fiction and gaming. YA authors will discuss leveraging readership through social networking channels. Authors participating: Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl, Malinda Lo, John Green, David Levithan.
but my favorite part is the part not ever shown, the Grammy Award for the best children's album. There were some really great performers up for a Grammy this year. Ziggy Marley, Cathy & Marcy and my personal favorites that I use all the time, Greg & Steve. It is always gratifying when the artists are actually children's performing artists, not cross-overs who are just trying to capitalize on the explosion of music for children.
Cathy & Marcy With Special Guest Christyle Bacon. 
wesome responsibility. This initial communication is the hardest to make. After this it will be easier. As I tell my staff, "baby steps". One of the reasons I haven't sent anything out until now is that I am going through "the binder". I need to understand how the division functions and it's role and responsibilities in PalA. I'm beginning to understand!
