Teens Who Like to Write

There are many teens and tweens who are self-proclaimed authors. We should encourage these creative individuals to hone in on their craft and continue writing stories.
Here's a fun book that is full of ideas for novice teen writers or for those adults who are interested in writing for young adult, written by the infamous Ally Carter, author of the The Gallagher Girl Series and many more. Enjoy!

Books by Ally Carter 

Get Smart on Art for Tweens

Hello all,
Here's a new idea for a fun art program for tweens. It can be scaled up for high school students or scaled down for the young ones as well.
Host a Get Smart on Art Program featuring the abstract art of Wassily Kandinsky and have student create their own impression of Squares with Concentric Circles 1913.

Art for Children and Tweens

Supplies needed:
1. A simple biography book on the artist
2. Large colored construction paper
3. Construction paper circles cut out in advance.
4. Crayons, paint, and/ or colored pencils.

Describe the artist and talk about the elements of art, which include:
1. Line
2. Form
3. Shape
4. Texture
5. Color
6. Value
7. Space

Draw out a sample of how these elements are used in art and print out pictures of work by Kandinsky to demonstrate how he may have used these elements in his work. Then, allow tweens to create their own masterpiece! Voila!

Summer Teen Volunteers

Good morning everyone! Happy 3rd of July ( hence all libraries are closed on the 4th) I want to share with you some fun tips to deal with summer volunteers, the benefits of having your teen volunteer, and what volunteering entails:
1. Volunteering at a library enhances the teens social skills for the workplace. They learn how to gain confidence, public speaking skills, and also how to deal with random questions from the public.

2. Why not volunteer someone cool with central air during the summer heat?

3. They learn to give back to their community.

4. They learn to be role models for children and teens their age.

5. Scheduling your teen volunteers and having a consequence for " no shows" is a must.

6. Teach your teens about the library and how things are organized to help them improve skills needed for school and college.

Here is a 4th of July craft our teens helped us prepare at the library: