Stories from Southeast

Welcome to the Youth Services department of the Southeast Branch Library, part of SJCPLS. Check out what we having coming up, and view photos from our previous program!s Hardy Pigs / Teen Programs / Kids Programs Awesome Apps / Brilliant Bricks / Storytime Themes

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[southeastlibrary]

Yoga for Kids!

Only two weeks remain of our Yoga for Kids program at Southeast, don't miss out!

This coming Thursday, July 31st and then August 7th at 11am - join Miss Alex for some rest, relaxation, fun, and exercise! All ages are welcome! After all the excitement, we wind down with a healthy snack!

[southeastlibrary]

Art Lab: Mexican Murals!

At this week's Art Lab we studied Mexian Mural Art.  We saw how murals originated and continued their tradition into our current time.

Our fabulous volunteens, Russell and Evelyn, sketched out a mural for us on a drop cloth, and our Art Lab kids got to fill it in with washable acrylic paint!  Shoes off, aprons on! We got a little messy at this week's art lab, but it was nothing that a few wet wipes couldn't fix. Check out the fun below!

Our mural is currently hanging in the Children's Department amphitheater at Southeast! Come in and check it out!

Join us at our last Art Lab of the Summer, where we uncover the mysteries of Jackson Pollock's Splatter Painting!

Thursday, July 31st at 2pm!! We look forward to seeing you then!

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Reading: It’s good for their health.

The facts illustrated on this WHY READING AT A YOUNG AGE MATTERS graphic, paints only a small picture of what books can do for your little one.

Download a printable version of this infographic HERE.

[southeastlibrary]

Wacky Wednesday: Florida Public Archaeology Network

Sarah Miller, from our Northeast division of the Florida Public Archaeology Network joined us for Wacky Wednesday this past week. We got to learn all about artifacts and fossils that are found right here, in our region of Florida!

We were taught how to detect what time period an artifact was made based on it's texture and the material it is made of.

We listened to a clip of Timucuan natives, and then got a chance to touch and investigate some artifacts. Some of the artifacts were up to 3,000 years old!!!

We also got to play with Cherokee pottery making paddles, as well as design our own! We made our own coil pots, and experienced how natives gave their own pottery texture using corncobs, shells, leaves, and other bits of nature.

Please join us next week for our very last Wacky Wednesday of the summer: a Mad Science inspired Magic Show featuring Mark Alan!

Wednesday, July 30th at 2pm!

Don't forget to bring your reading logs!!

[southeastlibrary]

Nature Detectives!

We got batty with the Garden Club of St. Augustine last week, when they came to our library to share their knowledge about bats!

We read, Stellaluna by Janell Cannon.

After, we all got our very own detective notebooks, so we could keep a log of our environmental findings. We made bats and got to pot our own plants!

[southeastlibrary]

Teen Cooking: Southwestern Style

For our latest installment of Teen Cooking: Meals in Mugs, we whipped up some southwestern dishes!

We had a decadent time, and we also got to celebrate a very special Birthday for one of our teens, Jaime!  It was her Sweet 16, and she was sweet enough to bring in cupcakes to share with everyone (not made in mugs)!

Below is our go-to book for meals in mugs, with 250 recipes we can always make just what we're craving!

250 Best Meals in a Mug by Camilla V. Saulsbury.

Our next teen cooking session will be in September.  We will be posting about the precise date soon, so keep checking back with us!

[southeastlibrary]

Wacky Wenesday: the 4-H Visits!

Last week, Abby and her volunteers from the St. Johns County 4-H group came to share some information about how to grow plants and maintain them!

We made and decorated self-watering planters out of 2 liter soda bottles (she recommended green bottles).  These planters are so cool because you can put your water in the bottom and leave them until the water has dried up!  Check out our photos below!

What you need to make your own planter:

One 2 liter bottle (of the green variety)

An 8" by 8" square of fabric (cutting an old T-shirt works great!)

Potting soil

Your plant/herb of choice

Decorations for your planter

Directions: Cut your bottle all the way around (1/4 from the bottom).  Then, flip the top - so the spout sits nicely in the bottom. Now, you can pull your T-shirt fabric through the spout.  You'll want to spread it out evenly around the inside of the bottle, with just enough sticking out the bottom (the t-shirt is going to suck the water from the bottom and feed the plant on top).  Next, fill your bottle with potting soil (about 3/4 to the top), and put your plant in.  Make sure more potting soil is put over your plant, so the roots aren't exposed (but don't drown your plant in soil either).  Now, you can lift the top of your bottle out and just add water to the bottom! Yay! You did it!  Don't forget to refill the water reservoir whenever it gets dry!

[southeastlibrary]

Art Lab: Maori Face Painting

Last Thursday's installment of Art Lab, we painted our own faces to imitate the Maori people from New Zealand.  We learned that the Maori people actually tattooed their faces with different patterns! These tattoos symbolized status and identity among the people.

The face paint we used was home-made, non-permanent, and very easy to replicate.  All it consisted of was a big dollop of lotion (the kind that you can put on your face, unscented and without color), washable water color concentrate, and a spoonful of cornstarch.  Mix it all together, use q-tips for application, and that's it!  Easy, right?

We had a wonderful time using mirrors to paint our own faces, painting each other's faces, and even painting on mom!  Miss Alex participated in the fun and did some face painting, too!

Stay tuned for an update on our Art Lab featuring Mural painting!

[southeastlibrary]

Dyno-mite Storytime!

At storytime this week we traveled back in time - to the days of the dinosaur! We got to see exactly how big a triceratops foot was! We fit almost 26 of our own shoes in just one foot print! That's a BIG foot!

We read:

Prehistoric Actual Size by Steve Jenkins

Dinosaur Countdown by Nicholas Oldland

Dinosaur Kisses by David Ezra Stein

Edwina: The Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct by Mo Willems

Then, we used pasta and coffee grounds to make an excavation site!

We all got to take home our own "fossils"!

Join us next week at our last summer storytime before we come back in September!

[southeastlibrary]

Kids Yoga has been extended by a week! Join us through August 7th for stretching and relaxation, great for all ages!

[southeastlibrary]

A Storytime that Grows!

Growing was the theme of this week's storytime!  We read these books:

E-I-E-I-O: How Old MacDonald Got His Farm by Judy Sierra An Island Grows by Lola M. Schaefer My Garden by Kevin Henkes Big Yellow Sunflower by Frances Barry

 Then, we made an awesome edible sunflower craft. YUM!

If you want to recreate our craft here is what you'll need:

Ricecakes (the larger ones) Peanut butter/Nutella/Icing (something you can spread on your ricecake so the sunflower seeds stick) Bananas (sliced to make flat circles) Sunflower seeds (de-shelled) Plate

Put your spread on your ricecake and place it in the center of your plate, sticky side up! Then, place your sliced bananas all around the outside of the ricecake (those are your sunflower petals). Next, sprinkle your sunflower seeds all over the ricecake. Now you're ready to enjoy your delicious treat!

Join us next week for a DINO theme!

[southeastlibrary]

Art Lab: Chinese Ink Wash

Chinese ink wash painting was the topic of last week's art lab!

We used black watercolor mixed with different amounts of water to develop our shading technique. We fastened our aprons, sketched our pictures, then painted them! We had such a great time, and it was a wonderful reprieve from such a dreary, rainy day! 

[southeastlibrary]

Teen Coffeehouse

Every month we hold a Teen Coffeehouse, where our Southeast Branch Teens can interact with each other, learn something new, have fun, and (of course) enjoy some warm beverages!

This month our teens were fascinated by our french press coffee!

Come join us at our next coffeehouse on Saturday, August 23rd @ 2pm!

[southeastlibrary]

Wacky Wednesday: Georgia Aquarium

At Wacky Wednesday last week, the ladies of the Georgia Aquarium Conservation Field Team based out of Marineland came to speak with us about aquatic animals!

We learned all about dolphins, and how to help and protect them!  We found out that dolphins don't have a sense of smell!  They base what they eat on what they see, so a dolphin may not know that a piece of trash isn't food.  We identified parts of their body, like their blowhole and dorsal fin.   Then, we found out how the Conservation team retrieves a hurt dolphin!   Afterward we made fun dolphin crafts!

We learned so much, and had fun to boot!

[southeastlibrary]

Storytime Catch Up!

With all the hustle and bustle this summer, we have gotten a little behind in our Storytime posts!  We're so sorry!

However, we are going to get you up to speed on what we have been reading this summer!

At our July 2nd Storytime we focused on "things that go", since we were preparing for our Red Cross, St. Johns County Firefighters and St. Augustine Police Department visit!

We read:

Pugs in a Bug by Carolyn Crimi Fire Engine Man by Andrea Zimmerman & David Clemesha Moo! by David LaRochelle Huff and Puff by Tish Rabe

At our July 10th Storytime we honed in on Aquatic Life, as the Georgia Aquarium at Marineland was coming to speak with us about aquatic life protection and conservation!

We read:

If a Dolphin Were a Fish by Loran Wlodarski My First Trip to the Aquarium by Katie Kawa The Pout-Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen Peanut Butter and Jellyfish by Jarrett Krosozcka Star of the Sea by Janet Halfmann

We hope you enjoy these books as much as we did!

[southeastlibrary]

Martial Arts--at the library?!

Mr. Jim from All American Martial Arts is giving a free series (you read that right, FREE) at the Southeast Branch Library! This series is aimed at Children/Teens from 5 to 15, and you must attend all the programs in order to get your white belt at the end of the series.

The programs are being held on:

Fridays - July 11th, July 18th, July 25th, and August 1st.

The program is divided by age: Children 8 and under begin at 2:00 Children/Teens 9 and over begin at 2:40

We had great fun at the first session, and if you can make it in today - you can still participate and earn your white belt!

See you there!