Summer Tutoring Begins this Week!

Tutoring program quick updates and reminders...

Reminder to those who have registered for Summer tutoring that tomorrow will be the first day! We ask that you arrive 10 minutes early to give yourself time to park. All students under 13 MUST be escorted into the building and signed in in the Banks room (2nd floor). DO NOT send your student ahead while you park. All students under 13 will also have to be signed out at the end of tutoring. Parents, siblings and friends are welcome to hang out in the Arnow reading room while they wait for a student or feel free to run leave for the hour, but prompt pick up is required.

While registration for the summer is closed, we will begin taking school year tutoring sign-ups on Monday, July 14th. Feel free to call for more information on this program or for referrals for the summer.

We hope to see you soon!

~warmly~
Katherine

Family Fun and Learning Night: Summer Kick-Off!

The Carnegie Center staff was thrilled to welcome 110 people for Family Fun and Learning Night on Tuesday. This was also the grand opening of our new Family Learning Center. Come by and check it out.
This event was the grand kick-off of our summer youth programming, Minds in Motion. Here are some of the highlights.

Some of the staff pose for a quick picture!
So many people came to check out the new space.

Putting his own leaf on the Giving Tree!
Enjoying the reading cornor!
Craft time!
Marcia Thorton Jones wonderful reading and presentation.

Getting a book signed by Marcia Thornton Jones. Each kid got a FREE signed copy to take home!

Now that the programming has begun, stop by the building and get involved! Tell us what you are reading, post it on the Arnow room wall to make our train grow. Read eight books this summer and we can sign for you to get a free smoothie from Smoothie King!

Happy reading!
~warmly~
Katherine

Five Books to Take on Vacation

This past Thursday was the latest installment of our "Five Books" series. Jill Heink and Sandra Tiegreen led a group discussion on the five books to take on vacation.

Here's what Jill thought...
What could be more fun while you’re on vacation than to read about Other People’s Vacations??

1) Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen – Sweet, teen-aged, novel-reading Catherine Morland jumps at the chance to take a vacation from her quiet country home to the dazzling city of Bath, and the comedy ensues.

Memorable quote: “Friendship is certainly the finest balm for the pangs of disappointed love.”

2) A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson – Even if you’re camping on your vacation, it it won’t be as bad as Bryson’s camping experience while hiking the Appalachian Trail with “Katz,” a woefully out-of-shape buddy.

Memorable quote: “So Gatlinburg is appalling. But that’s OK. After eight days on the trail, we were ready to be appalled, eager to be appalled.”

3) The History of Love by Nicole Krauss – we (try to) follow the twisting and fascinating path through time and several continents of a book entitled The History of Love and get caught up in the intertwined stories of an elderly man, a teen aged girl, her mother, her brother, and numerous other characters, each with his/her own history of love.

Memorable quote: “When people spoke to him, he heard less and less of what they were saying, and more and more of what they were not.”

4) Glitz by Elmore Leonard – Lt. Vincent Mora travels to Atlantic City to solve a murder. This book features some great dialogue and a truly nasty, NASTY villain.

Memorable quote: “He told DeLeon he was waiting to hear from the county police, find out if they’d got a lead on Teddy and where his mother lived. DeLeon said, ‘You look in the phone book?’”

5) Authentic Happiness by Martin Seligman – The author prefaces the book with the observation that throughout its organized history, psychology has focused pretty much solely on mental illness and has come up with some ways to treat variations of this illness. Seligman thinks there’s a lot more to be done – namely, help people enjoy a life of deep, sustained happiness.

Memorable quote: “I do not believe that you should you should devote overly much effort to correcting your weaknesses. Rather, I believe that the highest success in living and the deepest emotional satisfaction comes from building and using your signature strengths.”

Stay tuned for Sandra's suggestions...

Happy Reading!

~warmly~

Katherine

World Environment Day

Did you know...?
Today is World Environment Day an observance sponsored by the United Nations to generate awareness about environmental issues in the hopes of spurring political action. This year's theme is Kick the Habit! Towards a Low Carbon Economy.

Do your part! Find out what others are doing around the world. Help celebrate today by ditching your car and walking---or swing by the Carnegie Center and use one of our yellow bikes.

~warmly~
Katherine

You're Invited!

IT'S A PARTY!

You’re invited to the Grand Opening of the Carnegie Center’s Family Learning Center. Even if you’ve already taken advantage of this new learning space, please join us to officially open the center to all students and families. The event begins at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 10th.

Afterwards, stick around for our Family Fun and Learning Night summer program kick-off featuring a reading by bestselling children’s book author Marcia Thornton Jones, co-creator of The Bailey School Kids series, as well as book giveaways, crafts, learning activities, and dinner are part of the fun. Register in advance at (859) 254-4175 (Note: pre-registration is required).

We hope to see you there!

~warmly~
Katherine

Summer Tutoring Registration Ends this Week

Reminder to those that have or plan on signing up for our summer tutoring program:

All registrations AND payment must be received no later than 5 pm on Friday, June 6th. Any students that have not paid will lose their space and we will begin taking those on the waiting lists.

As always, feel free to pay over the phone via credit card or you can stop by or mail in cash or check as well.

Please call if you have further questions!

~warmly~
Katherine

Marcia Thornton Jones here!

Marcia Thornton Jones, best selling author, will be at the Carnegie Center on
Tuesday, June 10^th at 5:30 pm for our

Family Summer Programming Kick-Off!

FREE dinner and activities for the whole family!

Sign up now!

Marcia in her own words…

I live in Lexington, Kentucky with my husband Stephen and our cats Coco and Calli. I was born in Joliet, Illinois.

I have been an elementary school teacher of First and Third grades, Computer Lab, Writing and Reading, and Gifted & Talented. Whew! I've done a lot of teaching! Now I spend all my time writing new children's books.

I like to write a lot, but I also enjoy fun activities like beading crafts, hiking, reading good books, and traveling around the country. I live in Kentucky but I frequently visit schools in other states, sometimes even in different countries! I have also been to Germany and Belgium.

Marcia Thornton Jones has written many books including:

The Bailey School Kids series, The Ghostville Elementary series, The Triplet Trouble series, and many more!

Visit her website at www.marciatjones.com

Book Donations for Summer Kick-Off

On Tuesday, June 10th we will have our kick-off for summer programming! This includes sending each student that attends home with a book. So, we need your help to stock up on new or gently used children and young adult books!

Studies show that reading just 5 books over the summer, helps students maintain their reading grade level. Did you know that among low income families, on average every other household contains only one book? The Carnegie Center wants to change that!

Share the gift of reading and donate* your books today!
New or Gently Used Children, Young Adult and Adult Books accepted (Please, no textbooks.)

*The Carnegie Center is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and all donations are tax-deductible.

Let us know if you have more questions (859.254.4175 or kgreene@carnegieliteracy.org)!

Thanks for all that you do to make the Carnegie Center such a special place.

~warmly~
Katherine

Class Registration Begins Today!

Class registration for our summer session begins today. Feel free to sign up via our website or give us a call (859.254.4175) to register over the phone. We'd be happy to tell you about scholarship opportunities or to answer any questions.

The summer tutoring program continues to take registrations, though space is increasingly limited. Registration will close in early June, so be sure to get signed up and reserve your spot with payment.

The full version of our brochure is available on the website and will be mailed to homes very soon! If you do not have computer access and you'd like to take a peak and register from our front desk hard copy, stop by the front reception desk anytime.

Happy registering!

~warmly~
Katherine

Closed for Memorial Day

The Carnegie Center will close today at 5 pm for the Memorial Day holiday weekend. We will reopen at 9 am on Tuesday, May 27th to begin taking registrations for our Summer season.

Happy holiday weekend! Let the summer fun begin!

~warmly~
Katherine

Summer Schedule Up on the Web

Our 2008 Summer schedule is now up on the web. We are so excited about many of our new offerings for adults, youth and families. Registration will begin next Tuesday, May 27th. Call, stop by or email to reserve your spot!

Brochures will begin arriving to homes next week.

Please let us know if you'd like to be added to our mailing list or our Friends email list!

~warmly~
Katherine

May Early Learner Book Club

May Early Learner Book Club!

This Saturday, May 17th 10:30 AM
taught by Esther Edwards
3-5 year olds

For those of you that like to read along at home, this month's Early Learner Book Club book is Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann.


If you would like to join ELBC for Saturday's session, call to reserve your spot and ensure your student's FREE book. Space is very limited!

We hope that you can join us!

~warmly~
Katherine

May FFLN Pictures

Over 60 people attended Tuesday's Family Fun and Learning Night, Game Night and Read-in. Some wonderful pictures to share...




Join us for our next FFLN on June 10th. It will kick off all of our summer programming! Call today to reserve your space, as pre-registration is required.

~warmly~
Katherine

Most of your Read the Paper Online

Poll Update:

While not particularly surprising from blog readers, most of you (over 50%) read the newspaper online.

~warmly~
Katherine

"I read the newspaper avidly. It is my one form of continuous fiction."
~A. C. Benson~

It's National Children's Book Week!

Stop by the Carnegie Center this week to enjoy activities surrounding National Children's Book Week! Great children's books are on display to be read within the building. We have crafts and activities from your favorite books throughout the building. Come check out our recommended reading lists for great ideas for summer reading fun!

As always, we invite you to come take home one of our FREE kid's or adult books, too.

Thanks for sharing with us!

~warmly~
Katherine

Summer Youth and Family Programming Preview Packet Now Available

Our summer brochure will be out soon! A quick preview of exciting youth and family programs for the summer! Call for more details. Registration will begin May 27th!

Summer 2008: Minds in Motion

***Art and Poetry for Elementary Students (Grades 1-5)

***Life on Stage (13-15 year olds)

***Brain Busters; 2 sessions (elementary school)

***Youth and Family Storytelling Workshop (all ages welcome)

***Elementary Age Reading Group (Grades 2-5)

***Math Game Nights (all ages)

***Storybooking: Write and Illustrate your Own Book (elementary school)

***Kids Community Garden (all ages)

***Hands-on Reading Group (Grades 2-5)

***Early Learner Book Club; select Saturdays and Thursdays (3-5 year olds)

***Personal Universe: Writing for Kids (Grades 3-6)

***English as a Foreign Language for Kids (K-4th grade)

Plus, Family Fun and Learning Nights and Camp Carnegie (rising 6-8th graders)

A detailed packet of these programs can be picked up at the Carnegie Center's front desk. Join us for an exciting summer! Get your mind in motion!

~warmly~
Katherine

Summer Tutoring Registration has Begun!

Registration for our summer tutoring program began on May 1st and we are continuing to take registrations. Several of our time slots are close to capping, so be sure to contact us quickly to reserve your space. Students can register to receive one hour of small group tutoring per week for $10. The program will run from June 17-July 31---that's seven weeks---and we're also encouraging our families to participate in other programs to supplement the hour of tutoring instruction (more info on those programs to come!).

Tutoring times are based on the grade that the student will be in this fall. These are the available time slots:

	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY
10:00-11:00 AM	GRADES K-2	GRADES 6-8	GRADES K-2
11:00-12:00 PM	GRADES 3-5	GRADES 9-12	GRADES 3-5
2:00-3:00 PM	GRADES 6-8	GRADES K-2	GRADES 6-8
3:00-4:00 PM	GRADES 9-12	GRADES 3-5	GRADES 9-12
6:00-7:00 PM	ALL (K-12)	ALL (K-12)	NO TUTORING

We hope to hear from you soon!

~warmly~
Katherine

Check out our latest poll!

Be sure to check out all of our latest polls, links and pictures!

Enjoy!

~warmly~
Katherine

Derby Recap

Looks like most voters were planning on watching the Derby (66% to be exact). I hope that your Derby weekend was a lot of fun! We certainly had wonderful luck with the weather.

Thanks for all of your wonderful horse names. It's so fun to hear what others come up with!

With the Derby now over, I know that summer is definitely getting close. Stay tuned for our upcoming summer schedule due out in mid-May. It should be available on the website prior to its arrival in mailboxes. www.carnegieliteracy.org

Have a wonderful week!

~warmly~
Katherine

KY Derby Horse Names

In honor of the Kentucky Derby (and my dog by the same name), something fun for all you creative and writerly types...

Post your favorite KY Derby horse name.

These are the rules for naming your thoroughbred:

1. Can't be a name of a past Derby runner.
2. No names ending in "filly," "colt," "stud," "mare," "stallion," or any similar horse-related term
3. No names contain a number unless spelled out
4. No names of race tracks or graded stakes races
5. No names clearly having commercial significance, such as trade names
6. Nothing in poor taste!
7. Something creative and wonderful

Have fun! Happy Derby!

~warmly~
Katherine