Pet-Palooza & Fall Frolics at the Bridgewater Library. Museum Day, Festivals and More Around Our Community plus Research on the Value of Reading.

 

Having trouble viewing this email?  Read it online.
(You will also find links to great websites for families there.)

Pets Aloud! (Ages 4-10) Saturday, September 26, 2015. 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM. Registration is required and begins September 12th. Join us for a pet themed storytime and craft - then visit some furry friends in the lobby! Courtesy of the Somerset Regional Animal Shelter!

Pet-Palooza Adoption Celebration! (All Ages) No registration required. Held in the lobby. Saturday, September 26, 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM. Meet some cool cats who need loving homes! And learn more about the work of the Somerset Regional Animal Shelter!

Fall Frolics-Crayon Rubbings (Ages 3-9) Monday, September 28, 2015 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM  Registration is required. Celebrate the season with a story and craft. Have some favorite leaves? Preserve their shapes forever!

Storytimes (Tues. 10 & 1:30), Toddler Times (Wed. & Fri. 10), and Baby Times (Thur. 9:30) continue through Oct. 16th. No registration required.

OCTOBER PROGRAMS: Click HERE to register.

 

Click HERE to register for October Programs.

Around the Community:

Dozens of area museums are participating – click here for venues.

www.statemuseum.nj.gov

Special Event: Smithsonian Magazine's

Museum Day Live!

Sept. 26, all day * Museum-wide

Mark your calendar! The New Jersey State Museum will open its doors free of charge on Saturday, September 26, 2015, as part of Smithsonian Magazine's Museum Day Live! The Museum will offer free planetarium shows all day and variety of free, family-friendly programs. To get your FREE ticket, click here. 

Visitors can also bring their natural history specimens for identification and we'll have a food truck on-site for visitor convenience. 

Schedule of events

9:00 - 4:00pm Paleo Lab

Stop by to visit & ask questions with paleontologists at work on ancient turtles, crocodiles and dinosaurs.

9:00 - 4:00 pm Meet the Scientist & Artifact Identification

Resident expert geologist and paleontologist David Parris will be available to identify your specimens and walk you through the highlights of our Natural History collections. Dave's encyclopedic knowledge will amaze and astound you. You will never look at the dirt in your backyard the same again!

11:00 am & 2:00 pm Meet the Scientist: The Big Horn Basin Dinosaur Project, Auditorium

Paleontologist Jason Schein is back from Montana and Wyoming to present to you this year's exciting dinosaur discoveries!

1:00 & 3:00 pm Curator Talk - New Jersey's Original People, Lower Level

Go on a journey to explore the story of the migration of Paleoindians across New Jersey 13,000 years ago then learn the story of the Lenape in New Jersey.

Planetarium schedule:

12 noon - Rusty Rocket's Last Blast, for families with young children
1:00 pm - Laser Space Chase, for general audiences
2:00 pm - To Space & Back, for general audiences
3:00 pm - Black Holes, for general audiences

For complete event details and Planetarium descriptions click here.

ANNUAL RIVERFEST IN BOUND BROOK THIS SATURDAY

An Imagination Celebration!   REALLY ROSIE

Book and Lyrics by Maurice Sendak

Music by Carole King

October 2 – 18, 2015

Fridays at 7:30PM

Saturdays and Sundays at 4:00PM

Rosie, the sassiest kid on her block of Brooklyn’s Avenue P, entertains herself and her friends by acting out show biz fantasies, notably directing and starring in an Oscar winning movie. Written by the author and illustrator of Where the Wild Things Are and other popular children’s books, Really Rosie is a jewel for children and adults. Author, Maurice Sendak, is a winner of a Caldecott Medal, National Book Award, and a National Medal of the Arts. Composer, Carole King, is a winner of a National Academy of Songwriters Lifetime Achievement Award, a Grammy Trustees Award, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Library of Congress’s Gershwin Award for Popular Song.   Age Recommendation: Pre-K through Adult  PURCHASE TICKETS

Pick-Your-Own Apples in NJ

Get outside at these pick-your-own apple farms this fall for a great family-bonding experience.

It's fall, which means it is time to hit one of NJ's great farms and pick-your-own apples with the family. Here are some of the best spots across the state to go apple picking.

Let Your Fingers do More Walking:

Today is Elephant Appreciation Day, a day to celebrate all the cool things about elephants -- including some amazing numbers behind those big gray bodies. First, there's that amazing trunk, which has no bones but has 40,000 muscles! The trunk can suck up 10 gallons of water per minute. It also has two "fingers" at the tip that can grab and lift objects as heavy as 770 pounds. Then there are those giant feet: the distance around one foot is about 1/2 the elephant's height. So if you measure a big footprint in the mud, you'll know the size of the elephant was who made it! And finally even their toes are interesting: they have 5 toes on each foot, but on African elephants only 3 or 4 of those have toenails. Next time you see an elephant, check them out -- but since elephants can weigh up to 6 tons, just make sure you don't get stepped on. 

Wee ones: Elephant tusks can grow up to 10 feet long! Who's taller, you or that tusk? (Find out your height in feet!)

Little kids: If an elephant can suck up 10 gallons of water per minute, how much can it drink in 4 minutes? Count up by 10s!  Bonus: African elephants have 4 toenails on each front foot and 3 on each back foot. But Asian elephants have 5 on each front foot, 4 on each back foot. How many more toenails does an Asian elephant have?
Big kids: An elephant's teeth include 12 premolars, 12 molars, and 2 tusks, which count as teeth too. How many teeth is that in total?  Bonus: An elephant can weigh up to 6 tons. That's the same as how many 4,000-pound cars? (Reminder if needed: A ton equals 2,000 pounds.)

The sky's the limit: If some people and some African elephants take a walk, and together they have 58 toenails, how many of each creature are walking? (Reminder: African elephants have 4 toenails per front foot and 3 per back foot. For the humans, count only their toenails, not fingernails.)

Answers (and more questions) here.

Science Friday: The Science of Story Time

Children reading, from Shutterstock

The ritual of bedtime reading isn’t just about getting junior to (finally) go to sleep. Studies show reading with kids has positive effects ranging from increased vocabulary to greater success reading independently. What is it about Goodnight, Moon and If You Give a Moose a Muffin that boosts children’s literacy? Psychologist Jessica Montag says it might have to do with the words that kids’ books contain. She walks Ira through her recent study in Psychological Science.

And if you’re looking for a great book to share with the child in your life, why not make it a great science book? Brain Pickings editor Maria Popova and kids’ book author Jacob Berkowitz join Ira to help compile a reading list for science-curious kids.  Read or listen to this story here.

What Does Watching TV vs. Reading a Good Book Do to Your Brain?  Katie Medlock 

… If you’re like most of America, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2014 report, people over 15 watch an average of 2.5 hours of TV per day during the workweek, while only reading for leisure about a half hour.

… it’s estimated that 42 percent of college graduates will never read another book after they finish their degrees.

… A Japanese study earlier this year found that TV watching actually can alter the composition of your brain. Studying 276 children and teens led to the discovery that higher amounts of time in front of the tube increased frontal lobe grey matter, yet lowered verbal IQ.

Another study, however, discovered lasting positive results from reading a novel. They performed MRIs to college students before, during and after reading a novel and found increased connectivity in the parts of the brain responsible for language receptivity—so much so that the heightened connectivity was retained days later, much like “muscle memory.”

Dr. Gregory Berns, of the Emory University study, stated, “At a minimum, we can say that reading stories—especially those with strong narrative arcs—reconfigures brain networks for at least a few days. It shows how stories can stay with us. This may have profound implications for children and the role of reading in shaping their brains.” Pretty profound, indeed.

What else can reading do for the mind? A study at the University of Sussex found that participants who were stressed needed only six minutes of reading for their heart rates and muscle tension to subside. Six minutes! …

With most 15-19 year-olds only reading 9 minutes per day (compared to 2.6 hours of TV) and 75 and older folks reading an hour per day (yet, 4.4 daily hours of TV), perhaps tipping the scale toward paperbacks could make a big dent in our overall stress levels. Sure, unplugging from the day in front of the tube can feel like it’s just what we need, but what if we really unplugged and, instead, picked up a good book? With websites such as Good Reads and What Should I Read Next? on our sides, this can become a (non-virtual) reality. Read full article.

Come to the Friends of the Library Book Sale at the Bridgewater Library this Week. And check out the Princeton Children’s Book Festival and Storytelling Fest for all ages at Grounds for Sculpture this weekend.

 

Having trouble viewing this email?  Read it online.
(You will also find links to great websites for families there.)

TAKE HOME GREAT BOOKS FOR KEEPS -- BOOK SALE AT BRIDGEWATER LIBRARY

Note: if you know someone who works for a school or non-profit, they may take leftover books on Monday Sept 21st from 9:30-1. 
See details above.  Questions? Contact the Friends

 

Drop-in Craft: Door Hanger (All Ages) Saturday, September 19, 2015. 2:00 PM - 4:30 PM.  Keep out! Come in! Sleeping! There are so many things to say with your hanger. Drop into the library and design your own.

Pets Aloud! (Ages 4-10) Saturday, September 26, 2015. 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM. Registration is required and begins September 12th. Join us for a pet themed storytime and craft - then visit some furry friends in the lobby! Courtesy of the Somerset Regional Animal Shelter!

Pet-Palooza Adoption Celebration! (All Ages) No registration required. Held in the lobby. Saturday, September 26, 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM. Meet some cool cats who need loving homes! And learn more about the work of the Somerset Regional Animal Shelter!

Storytimes, Toddler Times, and Baby Times continue… for information on other programs, click here.

 

Around the Community:

Princeton Children’s Book Festival features more than 80 authors & illustrators this Saturday

23rd Annual New Jersey Storytelling Festival this Sunday

NJ Storytelling Festival  Grounds For Sculpture
Hamilton September 20 | Event Details

Celebrate the art of spoken word as wildly diverse stories are presented all afternoon on four different stages. Programs geared for adults, families, and general audiences will be performed in different corners of the park to give you music, poetry, laughter, and goose bumps you’ll remember for years to come!

The library has Museum Passes for Grounds for Sculpture, but if you can’t get one for that date, become a member of Jersey Arts (it’s free) and

TO REDEEM: Present your Jersey Arts Member Card at the gate to receive BOGO deal.

Teacher Workshop also available, see pg. 43 of the NJEA Review.

Pick-Your-Own Apples in NJ

Get outside at these pick-your-own apple farms this fall for a great family-bonding experience.

It's fall, which means it is time to hit one of NJ's great farms and pick-your-own apples with the family. Here are some of the best spots across the state to go apple picking.

Let Your Fingers do More Walking:

Sometimes restaurants that have a "kid menu" also give out crayons. The problem is, when kids leave those crayons behind, the restaurant can't give them to other kids, because that would pass around germs. Sadly, they have to throw out these crayons that have barely been used. One dad, Bryan Ware, figured out that between 45,000 and 75,000 pounds of new crayons go into landfills every year. So he started the Crayon Initiative: Restaurants and schools ship their leftover crayons to him, and he then melts them down, pours the wax into molds, and lets them cool to make thicker, triangle-shaped crayons. He gives them to kids in need and to children in hospitals. So he's stopping waste, helping kids, and making crayons that don't roll away! If your school or favorite restaurant is stuck with lots of crayons, you can tell them to check out the site, and you can help save some crayons, too.

Wee ones: How many sides does a triangle have?

Little kids: If you can fit 7 regular crayons in one hand but just 3 of the fat ones in the other, how many can you hold in total?  Bonus: How many more do you have in one hand than the other?

Big kids: If every 3 regular crayons can be melted to make 2 fat triangle ones, how many new crayons can he make from a dozen regular ones?  Bonus: If 20 restaurants in your town serve 100 kids a week and give 4 crayons to each, how many crayons could they save together each week?
The sky's the limit: Bryan pours the melted wax into molds that make 96 crayons at a time. If the 96 slots are in neat rows across and down, and there are at least 4 rows in each direction, how many pairs of numbers of rows across and down could there be? (You don't have to double-count the pairs where the numbers are the same but switched.)

Answers (and more fun math questions) HERE.

A Dad Turned All The Ridiculous Things He Ends Up Saying To His Kids Into A Book

“Honey, please don’t lick the toaster.” Nathan Ripperger, a video producer and graphic designer from Iowa, has been posting these pictures online for years, but they only began to go viral last year.

Nathan Ripperger / Via Ten Speed Press / Penguin Random House LLC

Bridgewater Library Blog: Back to School Edition–Check out Cool Chemistry this Saturday at the Children’s Museum. Fascinating New Research on Child Development.

 

Having trouble viewing this email?  Read it online.
(You will also find links to great websites for families there.)

@ the Library:

School Daze Singalong (All Ages) No registration required. Celebrate a new school year with fun songs! Saturday, September 12, 2015. 11:00 - 11:45 AM

If your child has special needs or would do better in a quieter, slower-paced setting, consider also coming to our Sensory Friendly School Daze Singalong (All Ages) on Sept. 12th at 10 a.m. Registration required. Celebrate a new school year with fun songs. A sensory friendly program for children in a judgment-free environment.

AfterSchool Adventure: Harold & the Purple Crayon Squiggle Pictures (Ages 4-9)  Tuesday, September 15, 2015 4:30 PM - 5:15 PM  Registration required. Join us as we read the story of a kid who can create just about anything with his magic purple crayon, then create your own amazing drawings.

 

Storytimes, Toddler Times, and Baby Times continue…for information on these and other programs, click here.

Around the Community:

 

Let Your Fingers Do MORE Walking…

The Research Behind Language Development

The soft coos and playful babbling of infants may sound like pleasant nonsense to a parent’s ear. But as babies make these noises, they are making important progress toward language development: they are literally finding their voice. How caregivers respond to their children’s babbling can have a major effect on language development.  Read MORE.


Fascinating new post:

The decline of play in preschoolers — and the rise in sensory issues  By Valerie Strauss

(iStock)  Check out this post from pediatric occupational therapist Angela Hanscom, author of  “Why so many kids can’t sit still in school today,” as well as “The right — and surprisingly wrong — ways to get kids to sit still in class” and “How schools ruined recess.” Hanscom is the founder of TimberNook, a nature-based development program designed to foster creativity and independent play outdoors in New England.

“…Research continues to point out that young children learn best through meaningful play experiences, yet many preschools are transitioning from play-based learning to becoming more academic in nature. …Ironically, it is through active free play outdoors where children start to build many of the foundational life skills they need in order to be successful for years to come.

In fact, it is before the age of 7 years — ages traditionally known as “pre-academic” — when children desperately need to have a multitude of whole-body sensory experiences on a daily basis in order to develop strong bodies and minds. This is best done outside where the senses are fully ignited and young bodies are challenged by the uneven and unpredictable, ever-changing terrain.”   Read MORE.

 

How Children Learn To Read

BY MARIA KONNIKOVA

PHOTOGRAPH BY SEAN GALLUP/GETTY

Why is it easy for some people to learn to read, and difficult for others? It’s a tough question with a long history. We know that it’s not just about raw intelligence, nor is it wholly about repetition and dogged persistence. We also know that there are some conditions that, effort aside, can hold a child back. Socioeconomic status, for instance, has been reliably linked to reading achievement. And, regardless of background, children with lower general verbal ability and those who have difficulty with phonetic processing seem to struggle. But what underlies those differences? How do we learn to translate abstract symbols into meaningful sounds in the first place, and why are some children better at it than others?  Read MORE.

 

N.J. schools make teens wake up too early, CDC says

Early school start times are preventing adolescents from eating enough sleep, according to the Centers for Disease Control. (Star-Ledger file photo)  By Adam Clark | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Read MORE.