By Dispatch staff

April 30, 2012

York County Libraries has announced activities for the month of May. Call the individual libraries for more information.

Arthur Hufnagel Public Library of Glen Rock, 32 Main St., Glen Rock; 235-1127

– Preschool Story Time and Craft,
11 a.m. Thursdays in May
For ages 3-5, caregivers must stay with children. Registration not necessary.

– Book and Bake Sale,
9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, May 5, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Sunday, May 6
Features a huge selection of books for both young and old … all priced to sell. Books will remain on sale through the month of May. All proceeds directly benefit the library.

– Music Night at the Huff
6:30-9 p.m. Friday, May 11
This evening will be an open mic format – a casual and inviting atmosphere to encourage all musicians – both young and old-with all levels of experience – to enjoy music. This will be for acoustic (no drums) and percussion-like instruments. Each participant will be given an opportunity to play up to three tunes in a coffee-house styled environment. Light refreshments will be provided. Registration not necessary.

– Dads and Donuts Open House
9-11 a.m. Saturday, May 19
Dads – grab a donut, book and find a cozy spot to sit and read to your child. Make it a special morning … show your child how important they are to you. We provide the donuts and the books, you do the rest. No fee required. Registration requested.

Collinsville Community Library, 2632 Delta Road, Brogue; 927-9014

By Dispatch staff

April 18, 2012

Dan the baboon sits in front of a computer screen. The letters BRRU pop up. With a quick and almost dismissive tap, the monkey signals it’s not a word. Correct. Next comes, ITCS. Again, not a word.

Finally KITE comes up.

Dora the baboon studies a screen close up during a reading experiment in France. (AP Photo/Joel Fagot)

He pauses and hits a green button to show it’s a word. In the space of just a few seconds, Dan has demonstrated a form of pre-reading and walks away rewarded with a treat of dried wheat.

Dan the baboon is part of new research that shows he and his kind are able to pick up the first step in reading — seeing patterns and understanding which four-letter combinations are words and which are just “gobbledygook.”

The study shows that reading’s early steps are far more instinctive than scientists first thought and it also suggests that non-human primates may be smarter than we give them credit for.

“They’ve got the hang of this thing,” said Jonathan Grainger, a French scientist and lead author of the research.

Baboons and other monkeys are good pattern finders and what they are doing may be what we first do in recognizing words.

It’s still a far cry from real reading, so no a monkey can’t read better than you. They don’t know what these words mean, and are just breaking them down into parts, said Grainger.

In 300,000 tests, the six baboons distinguished between real and fake words about three-out-of-four times, according to the study published in Thursday’s journal Science.

The 4-year-old Dan, the star of the bunch and about the equivalent age of a human teenager, got 80 percent of the words right and learned 308 four-letter words.

The baboons are rewarded with food when they press the right spot on the screen: A blue plus sign for bogus combos or a green oval for real words.

Even though the experiments were done in France, the researchers used English words because it is the language of science, Grainger said.

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Online:

Science: http://www.sciencemag.org

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Reported by SETH BORENSTEIN of the Associated Press from WASHINGTON, D.C. He can be followed at http://twitter.com/borenbears

By Dispatch staff

April 4, 2012

On Friday, March 23, York Country Day’s Lower School celebrated the end of their 50-day reading challenge, as Lower School students paraded their 1,869 link “reading chain” through the Middle and Upper Schools. Beginning in mid-January, students undertook the challenge to read enough books to build a paper chain that would wrap around both wings of the Lower School. For each book they finished, students were allowed to add one link to the paper chain.

Chrissa May, Lower School librarian and creator of the challenge, said that teachers hoped it would make reading a regular activity for students, based on the scientific evidence that it takes 30 days to develop a habit. Students took to the challenge immediately, turning in their paper links daily. Teachers attached up to 85 links in a single school day. Ms. May says that the challenge has definitely inspired students to read more often. She recalls a student after the parade who told her proudly: “I’m still reading!”

Reading chain at York Country Day School

By Dispatch staff

March 30, 2012

April is packed with activities for children at the East Berlin Community Library, 105 Locust St.

April 3: Read to therapy dogs from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Children love that the dogs are not judging their reading, they are just listening. Call for a 15 minute time slot.

April 12: Bedtime stories, 6:30 p.m. Children of all ages are welcome to attend in their jammies to enjoy stories and then have cookies and milk. No sign up is required.

April 13: Homeschool event, 1 p.m. Miss Sherry will introduce this year’s summer reading theme, Dream Big Read. This event is for children in kindergarten through Grade 6 and space is limited so pre-registration is required.

April 17: American Girl Night, 6:30 p.m. For girls ages 7-11 to discuss the 2011 American Girl of the Year, Kanani. We will talke about her life in Hawaii and participate in some activities that she would take part in and share the Aloha spirit! Space is limited so pre-registration is required.

April 26: Kindergarten Here I Come, 6:30 p.m. Children who will be going into kindergarten at Bermudian Springs Elementary School in the fall may attend this evening of stories, readiness activities and meeting kindergarten teachers and new friends. This will be a great opportunity for children to meet other children they may be in class with and teachers they may have and for parents to meet other parents and get to know the teachers as well.

For more information or to pre-register, call 259-9000.

By Dispatch staff

March 28, 2012

York County Libraries has announced the April activities schedule. Call the individual libraries for more information.

Arthur Hufnagel Public Library, 32 Main St., Glen Rock; 235-1127.

– Easter Card Creations
6:30-8 p.m. Wednesday, April 4
Tap into your creative side and help us make homemade Easter cards for area shut-ins.All materials provided – just bring your imagination! Registration not necessary.

– Preschool Story Time and Craft
11 a.m. Thursday, April 5, 12, 19, 26
Ages 3-5, Caregivers must stay with children, Registration not necessary

– Healthy Living Fair
9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, April 14
Please join us as we host area businesses to promote fitness, green living, and healthy mind, body & spirit. Free demonstrations include zumba, yoga, benefits of grass-fed beef, backyard composting, home juicing, and more. Businesses represented will be Swissland Acres, Spoutwood Farm, Horn Farm Center and Potosi Sheep Farm as well as professionals such as a massage therapist, nutritionist, personal trainer, and yoga instructor. This a free event that requires no registration.