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

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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.

Bear Bonanza @ Your Library

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Getting Your Student Ready for Kindergarten

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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

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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

Free Movies Under the Stars Returns to Moncks Corner Recreation Complex this Spring

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Moncks Corner, SC – The Berkeley County Library System and the town of Moncks Corner are pleased to partner once again to host another round of free outdoor movies at the town of Moncks Corner’s regional recreation complex.

The Town and the Library first partnered in the spring of 2016 to test the program in at the Town’s new Regional Recreation Complex, which had just opened a few weeks prior to the first movie event. The first event drew close to 800 people and cemented the program as a value to the community.

“The partnership with the Berkley County Library to make the movie nights possible is a perfect example of what can be done when local governments work together for the benefit of the constituents they share. Events like these are what bring us together as a community and our recreation complex works so well for them because of its location and design.” Moncks Corner Mayor Lockliear comments.

“The partnership of the two organizations has worked beautifully with the Library assisting with the equipment, set up, and licensing of the movie, and the Town assisting with the venue, staff support, and promotion; however it is with great appreciation to the community sponsors who have stepped up to help fund these events, that has really made this program a possibility” said Berkeley County Library’s Marketing Coordinator, Kristen Lanier. “We don’t have to look far or hard to find a local business to help fund these events. We often have them calling us wanting to participate. They are so excited to give back to the community. I love it.”

The spring movies begin with Disney Pixar’s “Finding Dory” on Friday, March 31 sponsored by Atlantis Heating & Air.

The second movie is Disney’s “Moana” on Friday, April 28th sponsored by Moncks Corner’s newest restaurant, DIG 17A, who will be serving as the food vendor for the event to introduce some of their favorite menu items to the community.

The last of the movies is Illumination’s “SING” on Friday, May 19th sponsored by Berkeley Community Mental Health Center in recognition of May as Mental Health Month.

All movies are free! Just bring a lawn chair or blanket and come enjoy a family-friendly movie at no cost. Gates will open at 7 pm and the movie will begin promptly at dark. We kindly request you not to bring in outside food or drinks. There will be food trucks and movie concessions available for purchase.

In case of bad weather:

Last spring’s events were often rescheduled due to weather. For this reason, all the movies this year are scheduled for a Friday, with that Saturday reserved for the rain date. Follow the Town of Moncks Corner’s or the Library’s Facebook accounts for updates if you have any concerns about weather cancellations. Notices will be posted no later than 3 pm on the date of the events.

2017 South Carolina Book Awards Announced

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Greenville, SC, March 24, 2016: The 2017 South Carolina Book Award Winners were announced this Friday to attendees of the 42nd Annual South Carolina Association of School Librarians conference held at the Hyatt Regency Greenville.

The students of South Carolina have chosen:

 Picture Book Award: Rags: Hero Dog of WWI: A True Story by Margot Theis Raven, published by Sleeping Bear Press

 Children’s Book Award: El Deafo by CeCe Bell, published by Harry N. Abrams

 Junior Book Award: The Swap by Megan Shull, published by Katherine Tegen Books

 Young Adult Book Award: The Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard, published by HarperTeen

Since 1976 when sixteen schools participated, the book award program has been expanded to include more than 500 schools and more than 60,000 students participating in the program. The South Carolina Book Award Program includes a vetting process for each of the four levels of books. Committees composed of school librarians, public librarians, teachers, parents, and students read hundreds of books to create a list of 20 books for each level. Students who have read a minimum of three books for each of the YABA or JBA levels and a minimum of five books for the PBA or CBA levels vote in February for the book they feel is the best.

The winning authors are honored at the association’s annual conference held each March. The South Carolina Book Award Program was honored for its impact on literacy by the South Carolina Center for Children’s Books and Literacy at the University of South Carolina in 2012, when the program was named a Literacy Leader. The South Carolina Association of School Librarians provides an advocacy voice for the school library profession, working to provide decision makers with information that reinforces the impact of school library programs as significant factors in students’ academic achievements.