Yoga Update

A big thank you to Julie Gillespie from Yoga Scripts for a fabulous program last night! Julie specializes in yoga for kids, teens, seniors, folks with chronic conditions like fibromyalgia, etc. She ran a nice group of teens through a basic yoga class. I really wish I could have participated in this one, but once again I was relegated to taking pics and running to get stuff. After watching this class, though I 'm seriously thinking about either signing up for a class, or checking out some DVDs. Yoga is great for core strength training, flexibility, and stress management. I could use some help with all three. The kids who came loved it. I'm working out the details to bring Julie back in the fall, so watch for that. If you missed this one, some pics below.

Photo Editing Program

A big thank you goes out to Marjaneh Talebi-Qarooni, the PhotoShop instructor at Harrisburg Area Community College, for starting out summer programs off with a bang. We had a great turnout - 24 kids - for our first program of the summer, an intro to photo editing. I wasn't able to sit in on much of it (unfortunately, with pprogram growth and success comes additional administrative nonsense that needs to be dealt with) but I found myself thinking, "Oh, cool!" during the parts that I was able to catch. I wish I had more time to play with things like photo editing. (Those of you who see the pics that I post from programs probably wish I had the time to learn more, too! Sorry!) Kids were staying to ask her additional questions afterwards, too, so great program!

Weekly Challenge #2 June 14-19

Here's the next Weekly Challenge so you can be planning ahead. To solve it for the ladies at the Info Desk, either draw what you'd be moving, on a print copy of the challenge (double click in the middle of the fish and you'll be able to just print the challenge), or, if using manipulatives will make it easier for you (and probably them) they will have some toothpicks that you can use to demonstrate.

What Mrs N's Been Reading - Malice

Just finished Chris Wooding's Malice. Very cool! It's easy to find on the shelf, with the red cover and the 3-D front with the sinister looking guy, literally popping out at you. The story takes place in England, where rumors are circulating among young people about a comic book, called Malice. If you assemble some required materials and burn them while reciting a chant the correct number of times, a villain named Tall Jake may come at some time (generally within a day or so, but not necessarily) and take you away to the world of Malice. Kids are disappearing, and later their likenesses are seen in characters in future editions of Malice. The explanation given by adults is that the artist is using faces of missing kids that he's seen on posters. The artist is unknown and untraceable. When Luke disappears and is later seen in the comic by his friend Seth, Seth is determined to go after him and try to help him. The author did something very cool, and original. It reads like a regular novel for a while, then he'll throw in 16 pages in comic format, then go back to novel format, etc. Nice to see something truly original. The story moves along well, especially once Seth gets to Malice. Malice is a world that alternates between beauty and horror, with mechanical creatures roaming and attacking. Plenty of plot twists and action, and I liked the main characters. Suitable for middle schoolers, but quite entertaining for high school students as well. There's a sequel scheduled for release in the fall. I'll definitely be picking it up for the collection.

Enjoy

What Mrs N's Been Reading - The Reformed Vampire Support Group

Just finished Catherine Jinks' The Reformed Vampire Support Group. Loved it! It had me from the cover art - reminds me of the old Addams Family cartoons in the New Yorker. It's sort of an anti-vampire book. So if you turn your nose up at the typical vampire books that there is currently a glut of, you'll probably like this one. The main character, Nina, became a vampire as a teenager back in the 70's when she was fanged against her will after a party. So she's in her 50's but is, for all intends and purposes, still the teenager she was when she was bitten, since vampires don't age. But you come to find out that most of the other things that you think you know about vampires is a lot nonsense. Nina belongs to a support group made up of other vampires that were also fanged either by the same vampire she was, or by someone he had fanged, and run by a kindly local priest. One member of the group is a doctor, who has developed enzymes, that if taken regularly, can allow a vampire to survive without human blood. They still need some nourishment, and it needs to be fresh blood, so another member of the group raises guinea pigs for that purpose. So take your enzymes and fang a guinea pig every evening when you get up (don't forget to clean the bathroom afterwards, 'cause it gets pretty messy) and you're not really fine (rather weak actually) but you'll survive without needing to fang humans. The characters are all, well, characters. Delightfully weird. Essentially a very bizarre, highly dysfunctional family-like group. When the vampire who originally fanged most of them is killed, they're afraid that there may be a vampire slayer on the loose who may know where they live. Adventure follows as they try to plan to find the man they think it is and reason with him. Not remotely close!

Not laugh out loud funny, but always amusing, and the characters are very likable. A great light read, with nothing objectionable for middle schoolers, but fun for high school kids as well.

Enjoy!

What Mrs N's Been Reading - Leviathan

I've been swamped with prep for summer reading (Speaking of which, registration starts June 1. Use the link to the right.) so haven't gotten around to posting on this one. In fact, the book just perked to the top of a pile on my desk - I had forgotten about it. It's Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan. I've liked just about all of the Westerfelds that I've read. This one's no exception, but I thought it was written quite differently than his other ones. This one falls under the steampunk category. It takes place just as WWI is breaking out, but in an alternate Europe. Science has progressed a bit differently than it did in our world. Europe is split between the Darwinists, who have harnessed the secrets of DNA and crossed the DNA of very different species to get new altered species that are used for things like travel, and the Clankers who rely on machines. The story is told from 2 alternating points of view. The first is Prince Alex of Austria, who's parents have just been assassinated and he is being whisked off into hiding by men loyal to his late father. The Austrians are Clankers. The other is Deryn, a young girl disguised as boy to try to join the British Air Service. The British are Darwinists. Deryn ends up on a giant airship/beast called Leviathan. It is composed of primarily whale DNA, with other things mixed in that allow it to produce hydrogen from the food it eats and use that to levitate and fly. Passengers can ride in a gondola attached to the beast, or actually crawl around inside it. That seems to gross out some folks who hear about this book, but it didn't faze me. Of course the 2 main characters paths intersect, just as war is breaking out. I liked it a lot. I'll warn you that it ends screaming for a sequel, and one is in the works. I'll be getting that as soon as it's available. It's a cool alternate look at both science and history. Nothing objectionable for middle school readers, but enough meat to keep high school students interested as well, especially if you're into the genre.

Enjoy!

Weekly Challenge #1 June 1-12

OK, here's the first Weekly Challenge. It will actually run for 2 weeks, until everyone's out of school. Remember to signup for the overall summer program, Summer @ the Fredricksen for Teens, first (use the link on the right). Then when you have the answer, see the nice, friendly folks at the Information Desk to get your ticket for the weekly prize drawing.

On every birthday since I was born, I have had a cake decorated with the appropriate number of candles.
I have blown out 210 candles so far.
How old am I?

Good luck!

Mother's Day Plaques

As usual, when I just go into the supply closet and bring out everything but the proverbial kitchen sink, and turn kids loose, they make much cooler stuff than when I give them detailed directions or too much guidance. Today's Mother's Day plaques were no exception. Check out a few examples below. Great job guys! And an extra thanks to Grace and Rebekah for some big cleanup help! Happy Mother's Day to any moms out there!

What Mrs. N's Been Reading - The Foreshadowing

Actually finished this one a week or so ago, but in all of the zaniness of getting ready for summer programs, school visits, etc., the book got buried under a pile on my desk and just now resurfaced as a reminder to post. I've liked all of books by Marcus Sedgwick that I've read before, and The Foreshadowing is no exception. His stuff has just the right edge of creepiness to keep to turning the pages, but not enough to keep you from sleeping at night. I like that! This one takes place in England, just as WWI is breaking out. 17-year-old Sasha, is the daughter of a doctor, who just wants her to act like a lady and marry someone of the proper social standing. Sasha wants to be more useful, and wants to become a nurse. Her 2 brothers are polar opposites. Edgar is the tough guy, eager to enlist in the military as the war starts. Tom is a gentle-spirited soul who wants to become a doctor and help, not hurt people. Sasha had a premonition of a playmate's death back when she was just 5 years old, suddenly simply blurting out "Why does Clare have to die?" All of the adults within earshot were aghast, and she really frightened poor Clare. But shortly after that, Clare came down with tuberculosis and did, in fact, die. This became an episode that simply wasn't ever mentioned again. Until the premonitions start again at the age of seventeen. Her family still doesn't want to talk about it, and refuses to believe that Sasha is actually having premonitions. After accurately predicting Edgar's death, when Sasha foresees Tom's, she sets out to try to stop the premonition from coming true.
There are some grisly, but not overly graphic, descriptions of war injuries, and lots of talk about death, so not for the really weak-stomached. But other than that, there is nothing objectionable for older middle-school students, and fine for high school students. A good read that gives you a look at the WWI era and how the war affected everyday people, especially those who went off expecting glory, not the unprecedented amount of death and destruction.
Check it out!

What Mrs N's Been Reading - The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

Just finished E. Lockhart's The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks. I've really liked anything I've read that Lockhart has written, and this one was no exception. In fact a co-worker and I were just talking about this book earlier this morning, and we both thought it was fantastic to find a female character, in a teen book, that is as strong and independent as Frankie. Frankie attends an elite boarding school, where, in her freshman year, she was more part of the geek group. She blossoms during the summer before her sophomore year, and at the beginning of the school year, attracts the attention of the most popular senior guy at the school and starts dating him. She finds out that Matthew, her boyfriend, is the current leader of a decades-old, all-male secret society at the school. Her father had been a member back when he attended the same school, and the members use the connections made there to full advantage for the rest of their lives. As Frankie tries to sort out in her own mind, why society tolerates this sort of discriminatory behavior, she starts to question a lot of other things as well. This leads her to take on a misleading online identity, which she uses to get the members of the secret society to pull all sorts of elaborate pranks, that she is masterminding. As various things are brought to light, as all of this plays out, the book really gets you thinking about all sorts of societal issues like sexism, elitism, societal rules in general, security and it's effects on freedom, etc. As I was reading, I found myself mentally cheering Frankie with "you go girl!" No surprise to anyone who knows me, since since I have the "Things to Do Today" poster which includes "shake things up" and "cause a scene" hanging in my office. The book starts a little slow, but hang in there. Once it gets going it's great. There's mention of some drinking and making out, but it's pretty cursory, and definitely not explicit. Even with that said, though, I'd recommend this one more for high school students, only because younger kids just won't really take away what they should from this one, simply due to lack of life experience.

Enjoy!