Cindy's Presentation
Library Conference
April 10, 2008
According to statistics, there are approx. 2 million homeschoolers in the U.S. today and that number is growing every year. Homeschoolers come in many different shapes and sizes. Therefore, it can be difficult to plan programming for them. I have been working with homeschoolers for about 20 years and have tried many different things. In our library in Coffeyville we have a special Homeschool Day. Each Friday morning I have about 15 to 20 homeschoolers ranging in age from preschool to high school. These students are usually very polite and many are very intelligent. Homeschooling has been a controversial subject in the years past but over those years has proved itself to be beneficial in many ways. They are scoring high marks on their S.A.T.’s and A.C.T.’s and annual achievement tests. Many go on to college and even receive upper graduate degrees.
So, how do you, as a children’s librarian meet the needs of this very special group? Today, we are going to talk about several fun and exciting things to do with your homeschool programming.
Over the years we have done many successful things in our group. Upstart has a Patch Club program that challenges students to read in different genres to receive stickers and patches, such as these. The new catalog has new patches that I haven’t purchased yet but I checked and the older ones are still available on the website at upstartpromotions.com. This program was very helpful with reluctant readers and a few have read enough they have received all the patches!
Other projects have included learning about genealogy where we had a genealogist come in and talk to them about their family history. I got the idea from Book-A-Tivities which is full of tons of reading activities. We put together a library time capsule in 1998 and will open it this year. We made a video of the kids talking about where they thought they would be and what they would be doing in 10 years. We put some grocery ads and pictures, etc. in it as well. I put all the students names and their parents contact info. on the top of the capsule and I will try and contact all of them to come back for the opening of the capsule, which will take place in Dec. of 2008.
Library Sparks magazine has a handy monthly calendar in the center of each issue. The calendar is geared, of course to libraries and events that happen, etc. We have had each family choose an event or happening for that month and we take all month for the families to do a project or presentation. They use the library for a lot of the research and standing in front of their peers and the parents presenting something is good experience for them as well.
Right now the homeschoolers are working on career projects. They have each chosen a career that they are interested in and are researching it by getting background, asking questions to someone in that field, etc. Some have even arranged to have a person in their chosen field come in and speak to the group on Homeschool Day.
Now, I want to tell you about some of the most successful things we have done with the homeschoolers. Making learning fun has been a goal of mine since I started working at the library just over 20 years ago. I took popular T.V. game shows and adapted them for the library. We have Friendly Feud where groups of 6 are chosen by families and they compete much like the game show Family Feud. I have handouts with the rules for each of the games we talk about today. Also, we play Library Squares, based on the game Hollywood Squares and Who Wants to be a Librarian…no explanation needed there. Today we are going to play a little of Library Squares and Who wants to be a Librarian?
FRIENDLY FEUD
OFFICIAL RULES
GROUPS OF 6 ARE CHOSEN BY FAMILY AND OR AGES.
EACH GROUP CHOOSES A LEADER.
THE FEUD BEGINS WITH THE EMCEE ASKING A QUESTION AND THE LEADERS THEN TRY AND BE THE FIRST TO RING THE BELL AND ANSWER THE QUESTION.
WHICHEVER TEAM IS FIRST THEN PROCEEDS TO FINISH GIVING ALL THE ANSWERS TO THAT QUESTION.
EACH TEAM WILL HAVE 3 STRIKES. IF ALL STRIKES ARE USED THE OTHER TEAM HAS A CHANCE TO GET THE REMAINING POINTS.
POINTS ARE SCORED ACCORDING TO HOW MANY POSSIBLE ANSWERS THERE ARE TO A QUESTION. FOR INSTANCE, IF THERE ARE 5 POSSIBLE ANSWERS THEN THE NUMBER ONE ANSWER WOULD BE 50 POINTS, NUMBER 2, 40 POINTS AND SO ON.
THE FIRST TEAM TO REACH 500 POINTS IS THE WINNER.
THE EMCEE WILL BE THE ONE TO DETERMINE WHETHER AN ANSWER IS SIMILAR ENOUGH TO BE COUNTED.
LIBRARY SQUARES
THIS GAME CONSISTS OF 9 PLAYER SQUARES, 2 CONTESTANTS, (ONE X AND ONE O), AND A HOST. EACH PLAYER AND CONTESTANT WILL RECEIVE 100 PTS.TO START THE GAME. THE CONTESTANTS TAKE TURNS CHOOSING A PLAYER SQUARE. THE HOST ASKS THAT SQUARE A QUESTION AND THE PLAYER SQUARE ANSWERS IT. THE CONTESTANT THEN HAS TO AGREE OR DISAGREE WITH THE PLAYER SQUARE. IF THE CONTESTANT IS RIGHT THEY GET TO PUT AN X OR O ON THAT SQUARE. TO WIN, THE CONTESTANT MUST GET A TIC-TAC-TOE UP & DOWN, ACROSS OR DIAGONAL. THE WINNING CONTESTANT IS THEN AWARDED AN ADDITIONAL 100 PTS. AND MAY CONTINUE ON TO THE NEXT ROUND. AT THE END OF THE SESSION, PLAYERS AND CONTESTANTS MAY CASH IN THEIR POINTS FOR PRIZES.
Sample Questions:
WALT DISNEY WAS THE CREATOR OF WHICH POPULAR ANIMATED CARTOON CHARACTER?
A. BETTY BOOP B. BUGS BUNNY
C. GARFIELD D. MICKEY MOUSE
WHO WAS JESSE JAMES?
A. A CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST B. A FAMOUS OUTLAW
C. AN OLYMPIC CHAMPION D. A LINEBACKER
WHAT ARE GO FISH, SOLITAIRE, AND WAR?
A. NAMES OF EMMY-WINNING TV SHOWS B. ROCK BANDS
C. POPULAR CARD GAMES D. NONE OF THE ABOVE
WHICH IS NOT ONE OF THE FIVE SENCES?
A. SIGHT B. TOUCH
C. SMELL D. SPEECH
IN THEY RHYME “BAA BAA BLACK SHEEP,” WHERE DID THE LITTLE BOY WHO WAS TO RECEIVE A BAG OF WOOL LIVE?
A. DOWN THE LANE B. UP THE STREET
C. AROUND THE CORNER D. IN THE HOOD
WHAT IS LEFT OF THE CHESHIRE CAT ONCE HE DISAPPEARS?
A. NOTHING B. HIS GRIN
C. HIS TAIL D. HIS EYES
WHO WANTS TO BE A LIBRARIAN
OFFICIAL RULES
A CONTESTANT WILL BE CHOSEN FROM THE GROUP OF STUDENTS BY DRAWING NAMES. AFTER BEING GIVEN A QUESTION AND FOUR POSSIBLE ANSWERS, THE CHOSEN CONTESTANT THEN ANSWERS THE QUESTIONS IN HIS OR HER AGE LEVEL TO ADVANCE IN POINTS. IF A CONTESTANT REACHES 1 MILLION POINTS THEY RECEIVE A GRAND PRIZE. THE CONTESTANT WILL HAVE 3 LIFELINES TO USE TO HELP THEM REACH THE HIGHEST LEVEL. THE LIFELINES WILL BE:
1. ASK A GROWNUP – YOU MAY USE AS MANY PEOPLE AS YOU CAN IN 2 MINUTES.
2. 50/50 – YOU MAY NARROW THE ANSWERS DOWN FROM 4 TO 2 CHOICES.
3. RESEARCH – YOU HAVE 5 MIN. TO RESEARCH THE ANSWER.
THE NUMBER OF POINTS EACH CONTESTANT RECIEVES DETERMINES THE PRIZE THEY MAY CHOOSE.
LEVELS OF POINTS
100 16,000
200 32,000
300 64,000
500 125,000
1,000 250,000
2,000 500,000
4,000 1,000,000
8,000
IMPORTANT HOMESCHOOL INFORMATION
KANSAS STATE HOMESCHOOL ORGANIZATIONS
1.CHRISTIAN HOME EDUCATORS CONFERENCE OF KANSAS (CHECK) (785)843-9207 http://www.kansashomeschool.org
2.TEACHING PARENTS ASSOCIATION (TPA)
(316) 945-0810 www.washtpa.org
3.KANSAS STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
(785) 296-3201
www.ksbe.state.ks.us/default.aspx?tabid=1684
4.HOMESCHOOL LEGAL DEFENSE ASSOCIATION (HSLDA)
(KANSAS HOMESCHOOL LAWS) www.hslda.org
5. THE CENTER FOR EDUCATION TESTING AND EVALUATION(KSDE)
CONTACT: DAVID BOWMAN
(785) 296-4349 dbowman@ksde.org
HOMESCHOOLING PERIODICALS
HOME EDUCATION MAGAZINE
P.O. BOX 1083, TONASKET, WA. 98855-1083
1-800-236-3278 http://www.homeedmag.com
HOMESCHOOLING TODAY
P.O. BOX 244, ABINGDON, VA. 24212
(276) 628-7730 http://www.homeschooltoday.com
THE LINK
741 LAKEFIELD RD. STE. J, WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA 91361 1-805-497-3311
PRACTICAL HOMESCHOOLING
P.O. BOX 1250, FENTON, MO 63026
1-800-346-6322
www.practicalhomeschooling.com
www.homeschooling.about.com/od/magazines/Magazines_and_Publications.htm
www.home-school.com
Resources
Patch Club
Upstart Catalog or www.upstartpromotions.com
Library Sparks Magazine
www.librarysparks.com
P.O. Box 565
Mt. Morris, IL 61054-7482
1-800-933-2089
Book-A-Tivities!
By Jan Grubb Philpot
Incentive Publications
ISBN: 0-86530-248-0
Learning About Books & Libraries
A Gold Mine of Games
By Carol K. Lee and Janet Langford
Alleyside Press
ISBN: 1-57950-051
Thank you for attending.
Cindy Powell
Coffeyville Public Library
Children's Department
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