2017 Daniel Island Duck Race

Mobile Library Grant Beneficiary for 2017 Duck Race

BCLS Mobile Library M.O.R.E. is a beneficiary for 2017 Duck Race

The BCLS mobile library was a grant beneficiary for the 2017 Duck Race. This is the third time BCLS has been a recipient of this grant, the first of which provided the seed money to start funding the mobile library, a service that had not been available in the county for over 25 years.

A portion of the funds will be used to expand the mobile library’s Playaway collection. Playaways are an alternative to traditional audio books that cater to reluctant readers, visually impaired readers, readers who cannot access electronic audio books and other readers that prefer the audio book format. For example, Timberland High School students are enjoying the Playaway format and are becoming more engaged teens. Playaways benefit students who do not have internet access to download an audio book and who no longer have CD players at home.

2017 Daniel Island Duck Race

Daniel Island Rotary president Todd Musheff, Duck Race Chair
George Jucha and Barbara McLaughlin, BCLS Director Gene
Brunson and Outreach Coordinator Barbara Ash along with ALL
of the grant recipients from the 2017 Rotary Charity Duck Race.

About the Duck Race

Established by the Rotary Club of Daniel Island in 2007, this fundraising event has grown each year since and now includes six other Rotary Clubs in the greater Charleston area: Johns Island; Mt. Pleasant; North Charleston Breakfast; North Charleston; St. Andrews (West Ashley); and Summerville. The proceeds from this event are used to fund Rotary community service programs locally and around the world. Each of the participating Rotary clubs is designating one or more Lowcountry charities as named beneficiaries of the duck race. These charities represent a wide selection of local nonprofit organizations focused on health, food and nutrition, housing, children and families, and literacy. Over the past 10 years, this event has raised over $1,000,000 for local beneficiaries and Rotary projects worldwide.

BCLS Gets An Enhanced Tumble Book Library: Great Resources for Kids

Struggling to get your little one more engaged with reading? What could be more fun than digital flip books? If you have not already, then you need to try out Tumble Book Library, now with even more amazing features!

We are excited about this enhanced version of Tumblebooks and the changes to the access structure that it will bring. The access structure change will be particularly helpful for teachers and families who homeschool. The enhanced version of Tumbebooks is considered the premium version which includes: over 1,100 titles; resources for K-6; lesson plans for teachers; animated talking picture books; chapter books; National Geographic videos; both fiction and non-fiction materials; graphic novels; books in English, French, and Spanish; and many other resources. – Plus it is FREE with your BCLS Library Card. (Click here to get a free 30 day card to test it yourself if you are not a current BCLS library card holder).

Use it for independent reading, group activities, story time, lessons, and more! And, as a digital library of animated talking picture books, it has the added bonus of being accessible – 24/7 – from any device with an internet connection.

The collection partners well with school library and serve to enhance and support your collection of physical books. And from home, TumbleBooks provides your students with a huge
library of books at their fingertips, anytime they want. Best of all, because the collection is digital, there is an unlimited number of copies of each title. Books are never checked-out, never on hold, never damaged, and NEVER have apple juice spilled on them!

At Home: Exchange after-school cartoons with after-school TumbleBooks! Quiet time before bed! You can even use TumbleBooks on road trips! TumbleBooks is a great way to enhance family literacy and at-home reading.

LEARNING NEW THINGS: TumbleBooks diverse collection connects to curriculum topics and supports what children are learning in class. In addition, they have the freedom of choice and can select titles on subjects that interest them. There are MANY regular nonfiction titles about science, geography, mathematics, history, and more. (Premium subscribers have a large selection of Math stories too!) In addition, there are lots of non-fiction-inspired story books, as well as books which teach valuable life lessons. Students can find new interests or stoke the fire of current interests by browsing our site. TumbleBooks’ Story Books can be a great and accessible way to introduce new ideas and information.

ESL STUDENTS: With the large list of Spanish, French, and bilingual TumbleBooks, the site can be used in ESL and second-language classes for story time, independent study, and for Comprehensive language learning.

You can also visit them directly using these URLS:
Spanish: www.BibliotecaTumble.com
French: www.BiblioEnfants.com

SPECIAL NEEDS: TumbleBooks’ open nature lets children of all levels, interests, and abilities read and interact with titles at any level. The titles are accessible and enjoyable for special needs children and they help facilitate their class participation alongside the rest of the class.

MATH, HISTORY, SOCIAL STUDIES, AND GEOGRAPHY LESSONS: Just as with Social Studies, Reading, and Language Arts classes, TumbleBooks’ extensive and varied nonfiction sections can be utilized in classes you might not normally associate with picture books! TumbleBooks’ picture books are both entertaining AND educational, and they help teach children new and complex concepts that might be difficult to grasp in regular nonfiction books.

ONE-ON-ONE TUTORING: TumbleBooks is not only great for classroom story time, but it’s also an invaluable tool for one-on-one teaching. Our teachers have told us how they’ll sit with a child and read a book together… pausing to discuss vocabulary words and concepts along the way. Not only that, but they’ve also used it for Buddy Reading where a younger student is paired with an older classmate.

ENCOURAGING RELUCTANT READERS: TumbleBooks’ format attracts readers of all abilities and interests. Teachers have told us how students with little interest in picking up a physical book will spend hours reading TumbleBooks for FUN as well as for class time!

SPEECH THERAPY: TumbleBooks story books are professionally narrated, and when combined with highlighted text for kids to follow along, they’re a great tool for speech therapists to use while helping children. The books let children hear a variety of voices, styles, pronunciations, and emotions through the narration – which serve as a great supplement to the therapist’s instruction.

PLAYLISTS: Our collection features over 100 pre-made playlists from which you can choose! Each Playlist includes 2 or more TumbleBooks: some are themed playlists, some are for certain reading levels, and some are just for fun! Are you in the mood for stories about animals? Is it the first day of school? Do your kids need some imagination inspiration? We have you covered!

PUZZLES AND GAMES: TumbleBookLibrary’s Puzzles and Games section provides entertaining and educational activities based on your kids’ favorite TumbleBooks. There are puzzles, memory games, crosswords, match-the-sentence games, and more!

COMMON CORE PORTAL: TumbleBooks exclusive Common Core Portal helps educators find specific lesson plans and TumbleBooks to help fulfill core level requirements.
Simply click on the Common Core link in the blue navigation bar to access the feature anytime!
The Common Core portal offers tabs for Reading: Literature, Reading: Informational, Texts, and Mathematics. Within each section, we list the levels for kindergarten through grade five.

TUMBLESEARCH: The top right corner of the site has a link to our TumbleSearch feature. TumbleSearch allows you to find JUST the right book for you: by subject, length, and reading levels!
In addition, our Search By Title and Author areas have an auto-fill function that help young readers find the titles they’re looking for, even if they might have a hard time spelling the words correctly. The Search By Title and Search By Author sections are great to use if you know exactly what you’re looking for. Were you reading a book called “Hello Sun” last week, but can’t
remember where to find it? Just enter the title and it’ll pop right up!

STORY BOOK OF THE DAY: Visit TumbleBookLibrary every day to see a new highlighted Story Book of the Day! We also highlight Graphic Novels, Non Fiction, Read Alongs, and Videos of the day! When you log in to TumbleBookLibrary, the Story Book of the Day slider is at the forefront of the home page, and it rotates between the other book categories every few seconds.
Inspiration can come from many places, and we hope that our Book of the Day feature may help you find your new favorite read! Help you revisit an old favorite! Most of all, we hope it will help you explore everything the site has to offer.

FAVORITES AND PLAYLISTS: Have you found a book you LOVE and want to come back to it again later? Add it to Favorites by clicking on the “Add to Favorites” button beneath the book cover.

#WhateverCon2017

Bear Bonanza @ Your Library

Getting Your Student Ready for Kindergarten

It’s that time of year again. Your child is entering kindergarten for the first time in just a month. In Berkeley County, we want your child to be reading-ready. This summer you can sign up your child for a free subscription to FancyAnts, a reading literacy program adaptable to your student’s needs. This opportunity, available from now until August 27th, is free to any Berkeley County School District student attending kindergarten during the 2017-18 school year. How is this possible? A partnership between your Berkeley County School District and Achieve3000.

SmartyAnts, a product from Achieve3000, is an engaging and exceptional way of learning. The software assesses the reading-readiness level of the student and offers an adaptable program perfect for his or her needs. The result? “Through engaging instruction and games, students develop essential literacy skills like phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension strategies,” according to Achieve3000’s website.

Parents and families can use the platform as a support tool as well. SmartyAnts offers a Teacher Dashboard, which lets you monitor the student’s level, growth, and time spent – and offers extra resources for additional learning.

All you need this year is a working device and internet access and your future student can be reading-ready. To sign up for your free subscription, call 877-235-2525 and use code SmartyBCSD or visit achieve3000.com/SmartyBCSD.

 

Written by Catie Turner, Marketing Intern

Spectacular Summer Shows and Stories

 

Every summer, kids attend countless camps, play in sports games, and visit the beach and the aquarium. After a few weeks, the cost builds up. That can be expensive for any family. That’s why the Berkeley County Library System is excited to bring back Bright Star Theatre and Savannah balloons for a run of free shows in July. It’s a great way to keep your kids cool and occupied.

First up this July is Savannah Balloons. Lynnae Weller, the owner of this Southern show, makes fantastic balloon creations for a variety of purposes, including weddings and corporate events. She also partners with libraries to put on balloon shows based on children’s stories to encourage children to read. Check out her showtimes below! Also, don’t forget to pick up your free tickets at the hosting library before you attend.

 

Thursday, July 20th, 3:30 – 4:30 pm | Daniel Island Library
Friday, July 21st, 10 – 11 am | St. Stephen Library
Friday, July 21st, 3 – 4 pm | Hanahan Library

 

Bright Star Theatre will be performing three plays at the end of July. This theater is known for high quality work coupled with a mission to bring plays and shows to kids who may not have an opportunity to see them otherwise. For over fifteen years, the company has traveled nationally and internationally. As of May, the Bright Star Theatre celebrated a total number 2.5 million audience members.

Alice in Wonderland | Friday, July 28th, 10:30 am | Berkeley County Administration Building (Next to the Moncks Corner Library on Highway 52)
Velveteen Rabbit | Friday, July 28th, 1:30 pm | Goose Creek Library*
Building Stories | Friday, July 28th, 4 pm | Sangaree Library*

*free tickets required. You can pick those up at the hosting library.

Two weeks and two fantastic run of shows from crowd-pleasing favorites. Encourage the love of reading and stories in your children this summer @ your library!

-Written by Catie Turner, Marketing Intern