by Karen

Since I have been working at the library I am amazed at all the technology for children and teens. There are computers designed for kids to play games. The games provide fun and education at the same time. I think this is great for kids because it teaches many things. One of the most important things is to teach a child is to read.  Reading is not only fun but is educational at the same time. You can learn about people, places and things. Reading skills are a very important part of life. As long as parents read to their children then their children will keep doing the same thing with their children. It will be an important tool in life.

When the teens volunteer or get involved with programs at the library I think this is great. This gives them the opportunity to know other teens and help the kids with the computers when they need it. It gives them the chance to make a difference to someone and gives them good people skills.

by Mrs. Clark

Have you noticed the horse in Young People’s? Many of the children coming into or going out of YP notice the horse. Several times a day the horse is greeted with a pat or a hug. This is a well-loved horse. I thought a little history about our horse might be fitting.

Our horse was one of a herd of 30 horses who came to live in Terre Haute in 2007. The horses were part of a public art exhibit entitled “Horsing Around in Terre Haute”. The colts sporting vibrant, varied designs and themes were a fundraising project of the Swope Art Museum. Area businesses were invited to sponsor a colt which they could then decorate. For an additional fee the Swope would provide an artist to do the painting. Each colt was 4 ½ feet tall, 4 feet long, 11 inches wide and made of fiberglass. A plague is attached to each colt indicating the sponsor. Horse sculptures were on display in various locations around town from June 1 until the end of Colts Training Camp. Following the completion of the 2007 Indianapolis Colts Training Camp the colts were auctioned off.

The YP colt was sponsored by ST Construction, Inc. We are very thankful to Bill and Alice Wertz who donated the colt you see to the Young People’s Department.

by Miss Hillary

Breathe in, breathe out. Imagine yourself in a relaxing place. Repeat a positive phrase. Make yourself as comfortable as possible. Do you ever get the chance to have quiet time to yourself? As a busy adult, especially with children, you probably don’t get a lot of time to just sit back and relax. You really should, though.

Just 15 to 30 minutes of quiet reflection time is shown to help your brain reset and your mood recover. Taking time to think calming thoughts each day can reduce anxiety and depression, and just think of what it could do to your relationships with the people you love.

We all know that having children and a busy life can be stressful. Quiet reflection or meditation time can help!

Check out this article about a stressed mom, her toddler’s tantrums, and a Buddhist meditation class!

by Mrs. Clark

What is your favorite children’s book? Do you have a favorite author?

If you had asked me as a child I probably would have said I liked A.A. Milne’s Winnie—the—Pooh best. Vigo County Library has a variety of Pooh offerings from Disney DVDs to the classic chapter books by Milne in our Juvenile Fiction collection. We also have Pooh in book on CD format and as an electronic resource downloadable from Indiana Digital Media. I will always love Pooh and all his friends in the 100 Acre Wood, but there are so many more children’s books and children’s authors to choose from today.

Today, as an adult, I would include authors like Cynthia Rylant and Rosemary Wells. Cynthia Rylant writes Juvenile Easy Readers which are engaging and fun but also good for beginning readers. Rosemary Wells’ books can be found both in the Juvenile Easy Readers and also in the Picture Book area. I love her characters Max and Ruby. Ruby is always trying to help younger brother Max. My allegiance sways back and forth between them. One page I am cheering for Ruby who has good organizational skills and good ideas and then I find myself rooting for Max whose plans are so unplanned and fun.

Stop by the Young People’s Department sometime this September and maybe you and your family will discover a new or familiar favorite of your own.

by Laraine

Labor Day always reminds me of my hometown of Ligonier, IN and the Marshmallow Festival that is held there every year. Now I have the Cory Apple Festival, Sullivan Corn Festival, Clay County Popcorn Festival, Paris Honeybee Festival, Dugger Coal Festival, Pottery Festival, Little Italy Festival and the Parke County Covered Bridge Festival to visit.

There’s nothing like visiting a local festival or fair to help me tap into a sense of community and history.

Check out the Indiana Festival Guide for festivals you might want to attend!

by Laraine

Normally, humans blink about 18 times a minute, but studies show we blink half that often while using computers and other digital screen devices, whether for work or play.

• 94 percent of American families with children have a computer in the home with access to the Internet.
• The amount of time children ages 8 to 18 devote to entertainment media (including computer and video games) each day has increased from 6.19 hours in 1999 to 7.38 hours in 2009. In 2009, 29 percent of American children ages 8 to 18 had their own laptop computer, and kids in grades 7 through 12 reported spending an average of more than 90 minutes a day sending or receiving texts on their cell phones.
• Many pediatric eye doctors believe that heavy computer use among children puts them at risk for early myopia. Recent research appears to confirm that fear. A large study conducted by the National Eye Institute and published in the December 2009 issue of Archives of Ophthalmology found that the prevalence of nearsightedness among Americans has increased from 25 percent to 41.6 percent of the population over the past 30 years — an increase of more than 66 percent.

Tips To Reduce the Risk of Computer Vision Syndrome in Children

1. Have your child's vision checked. Before starting school, every child should have a comprehensive eye exam, including near-point (computer and reading) and distance testing.
2. Limit the amount of time your child spends at the computer without a break. Every 20 minutes, encourage your child to shift their eyes to look at an object at least 20 feet away, for at least 20 seconds: the "20-20-20" rule. This exercise reduces the risk of their eyes' focusing ability to "lock up" (a condition called accommodative spasm) after prolonged computer work.
3. Check the ergonomics of the workstation. For young and small children, make sure the computer workstation is adjusted to their body size. The recommended distance between the monitor and the eye for children is 18 to 28 inches.
4. Check the lighting. To reduce glare, windows and other light sources should not be directly visible when sitting in front of the monitor. Reduce the amount of lighting in the room to match the computer screen.
5. Post a note that says "Blink!" on the computer as a reminder.

Computer Use and Physical Development in Children

There is also concern that excessive computer use during childhood may have adverse effects on a child's physical development. Recently, researchers in Australia and at the University of Washington (Seattle, Wash.) and the Harvard School of Public Health (Boston, Mass.) reviewed the current scientific literature about this and published a number of guidelines for parents to help their children attain appropriate physical development. These guidelines include:

1. Encourage a mix of tasks throughout the day. Performing sedentary tasks using electronic media (computer use, watching TV, texting, etc.) should be limited to less than two hours per day.
2. Encourage the use of proper postures when working at a desktop computer. Feet should be able to rest comfortably on the floor; desk height should at elbow height; document holders should be used to position paper materials near the computer screen; the top of the computer screen should be at eye level; the screen should be positioned and angled to avoid glare.
3. Encourage appropriate behaviors when using and transporting notebook computers, including using appropriate alternative postures for variety and using a backpack with dual shoulder straps for carrying the computer to and from classes.
4. Teach your child computing skills, including how to touch-type with minimum force and how to use keyboard shortcuts to reduce mouse use.
5. Teach your child to respond appropriately to discomfort during computer use, including taking more frequent breaks and, if symptoms persist, seeking advice from a health care professional.

For additional information on computer usage, eyestrain, and how it may affect your child, visit EyeSmart and All About Vision. Information from these sites was used in this article.

by Mrs. Clark

One of my favorite memories of my mom was when she read to my brother and me. I am thinking not of pictures books at bedtime when I was a preschooler. I am remembering mom reading to us when we were elementary school children. I would snuggle up close to her on the couch, my brother on the other side of her. She read chapter books aloud to us during the summer. It was a time to let my mind take in the story and become part of it. Certainly, both my brother and I could read chapter books but this activity allowed for a more fluid reading. Listening to her read is also one of my fondest memories of my mother.

Is today a good day to share a book with someone you love?

by Miss Holly

The 4th of July! What a perfect summer holiday! I love the fireworks, the warm weather, and the great excuse to eat too much picnic food! There is one 4th of July I will never forget. In 2004, we were living in Germany, and my husband was deployed to Iraq with the 1st Armored Division. He had been gone nearly 15 months, and the projected date for his homecoming kept getting pushed back. Finally, around the first of July, we received confirmation that we could, indeed, expect to be reunited with our soldiers by the middle of the month! You can imagine the excitement in the neighborhood!

The Base Support Battalion put together a fantastic Fourth of July celebration for the spouses and children living in Germany, who were waiting patiently for their loved ones to return. We had hot dogs, sodas, live music, and of course, plenty of fireworks! Watching the colors fill the night sky, my heart swelled with appreciation for the service members and their families who were making sacrifices for our freedom, and those who had done so throughout our nation's history. Independence Day is a time to recognize the privileges the Declaration of Independence afforded us… and it is a great time for a barbecue!

To learn more about the history of Independence Day and July 4th celebrations, visit July 4th on History.

By Cindy Rider

"The research is clear that children who don't read during the summer can lose up to three months of reading progress and that loss has a cumulative, long-term effect." The website on which this quote appears, Summer Reading Resources: Reading Rockets, has several good suggestions for making reading fun this summer and links to reading lists, articles and research on summer reading and summer loss.

The library is promoting "free reading" for pleasure this summer. By reading self-selected books, many children "not only maintain their skills, but actually make reading gains," according to Anne McGill-Franzen and Richard Allington, authors of Bridging the Summer Reading Gap on Scholastic.com.

Another important aspect of VCPL’s Summer Reading Club is setting goals. When children set their own goals for the number of books they plan to read (or have read to them) this summer, they learn to organize their time as they progress toward their goal. They will take pride in achieving their goals, which can raise their self-confidence as they recognize their own abilities and competence. Goal setting is used by top-level athletes, successful business people and achievers in all fields, so why not our kids? Come on down and sign up your kids from birth to grade 12 for VCPL’s Summer Reading Club!

by Miss Alicia

Singing songs and rhymes to children is not only fun, but educational in many ways. Children need good language skills to be successful in school and singing songs and rhymes consistently with your child starting from birth is a great way to build your child’s vocabulary. Children add new words to their vocabulary each time they sing a new song. You may not know it, but when you sing nursery rhymes with a young child, you are teaching them early reading skills. Rhymes help children to identify phonemes (individual unit of sound). Recognizing phonemes helps children acquire the skills needed for reading. If you’re looking for a bonding activity to do with your child, then singing is something you can do with your child starting at birth. Children cherish the time they get to spend interacting with their parents. Singing with your child sends feelings of love, happiness, security, and will create good memories to look back on as your children grow older. Coordination and motor skills are also important for your child to develop. The rhythmic gestures and clapping that go along with rhymes and songs also can help children develop coordination and fine motor skills. Singing songs with large movements like "Ring Around the Rosie" and "Head and Shoulders" is a good way to work on your child’s gross motor skills. Oh, the benefits of singing. Who knew that when you sing with a child, you are actually teaching them!