Foolproofing

In my fantasies, I have tried to design an Absolutely Foolproof Summer Reading Sign Up Card. Futile, I know too well. One tries to make something as simple as possible to make it quick because there are times when many people are trying to sign up for summer reading all at once and it needs to move smoothly. Also, people are reluctant to have to write out too much information.

At the moment, the State Library just wants numbers - how many sign up and finish - but the software requires a username, password, first and last name. We like to keep track of which library signed them up and we try to put the names of the ones that finished in the newspaper, listing them by school. I personally am interested in how the summer reading program fares by grade levels.

Last year I was able to graph how the various schools did in signing up as well as completing the program. I already knew how they had finished out in years before. I had used that information to goad one school into doing better ... and they did! It is now interesting to see what schools have more children sign up, but they don't finish for whatever reason. Then you can try to puzzle out why that would be. 

I suppose I could just explain all of that to people and hand them a blank sheet of paper, but instead I set up a card for them to fill out with minimal effort and for me to transcribe to the program with the same minimal effort. Last year I put things in the wrong order on the card which confused me when time came for data entry.

So, how hard can this be? You'd be surprised how things can get confused.

Last year I let them circle the library and patrons circled their closest library. This year I did that work for them, by providing each branch with the branch name marked. They crossed it out and marked the branch they usually went to or was closest to them. This can be a nuisance because we do all the data entry at the main branch. If each branch did their own data entry (and I try not to overtax them because they are often there alone ... and I have trouble letting go of the responsibility), it wouldn't be an issue. I'm not sure why parents would drive to the main branch instead of their local one to sign up for summer reading. Perhaps they think they wouldn't be able to attend our programs if they didn't. Perhaps their kid has already read all the books at the branch.

They also seem to be unclear about what constitutes a "school." I know you tell your child that Sunshine Tot Sanctuary is their "school" - but it's not. It's a daycare. "School" starts at K-5 statewide. These are the kids that are at risk of losing skills during the summer. Some schools have K-4, so I added that in. But, for kids younger than that, they are Pre-School. Preschool has changed in definition since our state instituted universal kindergarten. I know there are divisions below that. There are infants, toddlers, as well as preschoolers. Instead of confusing that issue, I put them all under one heading. But it confused the issue anyway.

At the other end, well, our purview only goes as far as fifth grade. Anyone going to sixth grade can go to the programs and hang out in the Teen Center. However, some prefer to do our program and they put down 6th grade, which isn't a choice on my pulldown menu. I created an "other" category in the pulldown menu for those.

Now, after making a big deal out of how I want the grade the kid will be in in the fall, why would they put down the school they're currently in? Two of our branches are in a school district with a primary as well as an elementary school. So, if they try to tell me that the kid will be in third grade but is in the primary school - well, gah!

It makes me want to pull my hair out, even though I know the patron can't possibly know what's going on in my head. But I don't want the card to get all busy with text as in the example above. Besides, it looks sarcastic and condescending. So, my choices are: keep redesigning the card to be elegant but foolresistant or just give up on statistics. [Weighs them by flailing hands in the air.]

Gah.

Just Casing the Joint

Find the children's room!

I'm sure the architect thought that it would be easy to tell the children's room from the rest of the library from the enormous decals on the glass that separates the children's room from the rest of the downstairs. Well, take it from me, it doesn't work.

It seems as if every day someone wanders down into the children's room, having no idea where they are. "Oh, is this the children's room?" is the response to my "This is the children's room. May I help you?" The children's room is a clean, spacious area with interesting features that I'm always pointing out to the unwary who blunder into my arena. But it looks just the same as the rest of the library.

Today I've had two people who just wandered in and claimed they didn't need any help, walked around, and then walked out again. They both said they were "Just looking." All within about ten minutes of each other. Between interactions with people looking for books, I wonder about what they thought they were doing. What does "Just looking" mean?

• "I just wandered a bit too far and now I'm trying to save face by pretending I just want a look 'round."
• "I was looking for another part of the library, which doesn't seem to be down here, but I'm not going to ask you about it so I don't look stupid."
• "I was supposed to meet a friend here but I'm not sure where."
• "I'm scoping out fire exits in case of an emergency."
• "I'm scoping out possible 'drops' for hiding drugs/money/stolen articles/national secrets for someone else to pick up."
• "I'm the advance for a library terrorism ring trying to find out how many of us will be needed to keep the victims from escaping when we come in guns blazing. You sure have a lot of doors down here."

It doesn't pay to let the mind wander on a quiet (thus far) Sunday.

PTDHS

We used colored card stock for the sliders and very thin duct tape on the ends.

 

 

 

I am suffering from Post Tongue Depressor Harmonica Syndrome after today's Homeschooler's program. This was an easy craft to do, made needlessly complicated by adding live music played by my brother-in-law, Bear, on the library's Yamaha and all the rhythm instruments we use in storytime. Everyone was successful at making their harmonica - many danced, using the rhythm scarves and the streamers I had put out.
But I am exhausted.
It's barely 2 o'clock and I don't know how I made it this far. I can't even work up enough energy to complain about it. So, here's Bear playing something he played here today. I think.

The Crayon Connection

Hardly any kids came to our afterschool program this past week.  That's not so surprising as we just started them and it may take a while to catch on.  The ones who came, however, drew a bit with a pencil but could not be encouraged to color in with crayon.  I started thinking about this.  Maybe at a certain age they would prefer to work with markers, which deliver a more saturated color.  Then up in the forefront of my mind popped the image of coloring programs on the computer. No problems keeping within the lines, color even and vibrant - not to mention fast.  Kids might not be finding the same joy in drawing and coloring that we did because it's not living up to what they've seen can be done (not that they're actually doing it - actually "coloring") on a computer.  They're just clicking on a space.

True, it requires use of fine motor skills to use a mouse, as anyone like me who has had to learn to do this later in life knows, but I keep thinking they need to be using their hands more.  I have even been asked by a kid, full of energy otherwise, to cut something out for him because cutting was making his hand hurt.   Watching kids of school age who are unable to do simple tasks with pencils, scissors, and tape dispensers worries me.  This story kept edging its way into the mix.  This man lost his ability to read from a stroke, but was able to work around his loss by tracing the letters he was looking at with his finger and then later with his tongue on the roof of his mouth.  Yes, it was slower - but he had not lost that part of the skill.  There is a clear link between the motor skills used to write with the ability to decode the printed word inside the brain.  This was only reiterated to me when I read this blogpost.

Computers are an integral part of our present and future, but we are already past the point where mouse use is a vital skill in computers.  We are now using just our fingertips (those of us - not me yet - who have the phones and tablet computers that do this).  Computers can now obey commands we vocalize.  We are running right past Star Trek science in some categories - even the more recent Star Trek versions.  We don't need to teach skills that are already on their way out.  And if I can learn to use computers at my age (I started after age 30 when you actually needed a huge manual and classes to figure out how to print a letter), these kids don't need to be saturated with those skills. 

Kids will learn to read better if they can connect the movements of their hands with the shapes of the letters. They need to be coloring, which teaches them to control their hands (and used to be deeply satisfying), as a pre-literacy skill.  They need to be writing and drawing with a tool in their hands to learn letters and to learn creativity.  We aren't just killing literacy with computers, but we are killing creativity.

Now, I spend way too much time on computers and I, too, get cramping in my hand trying to write a letter to someone.  I have also seen a great deal of creativity online, but most of this from people who already possess the skills from decades of writing and coloring - people who are already artists.  They aren't creating textures this beautiful with a mouse:

Virtual gown and avatar skin with hand-painted textures.

Let the children use the computers - but for limited amounts of time.  [And, while you're at it, make me get away from mine.  I am only too aware that this is not going to be an easy task.]  Make sure they get access to lots of paper, crayons, scissors, and quiet time.  Maybe you can share that time doing some writing or drawing of your own.  Try it.  It's a skill worth cultivating.  It has more value than you'd think.

201.01.10 - Updated to give a better link. Video no longer available, but NPR story still there.