Build a Little Free Library

My Experience Optimism post today comes from a sister service club - Kiwanis - and while this charming little house was built by the Kiwanis Club of Fircrest, Washington, any service club can do it.

What is it? A small lending library.

Sitting on the corner of Fircrest Park, this cute little house encourages readers to take a book and leave a book as often as they wish.

While you may not need to affiliate in order to create a library in your community, this lending library is a chartered member of the Little Free Libary.  By affiliating with the organization, you get your name on the online map plus the support and ideas of other neighborhood libraries around the world. They will also send you $150 worth of free books to help you get started.

I like this project because it impacts local neighborhoods directly and provides a great way to keep real books in our hands. It's not terribly hard to build and maintain; you can find some plans here for building your Little Free Library and tips for marketing your library once it is established. There are also suggestions for working with your local park, neighborhood association, or other venues for locating your Little Free Library.

I'm going to encourage my Optimist Club to build one at the next meeting. Why don't you?

Digital natives and the Optimist Club

According to @Blackboard and @Jess3, the contemporary student is an active learner. As digital natives, they are constantly connected to the internet and seek information on the fly, from ever-growing and accessible sources around the world. So while they may be seen as inattentive to the world around them, in fact, we might consider youths to be even more aware, culturally, socially, and technologically as they learn on their handheld electronic devices.

 
The Voice of the Active Learner by Blackboard and JESS3 from JESS3 on Vimeo.

As our Optimist Clubs seek to attract students to participate in programs and competitions, they must be aware of the new normal. Technology is not a luxury, it is a necessity, and one that the students of today will only improve upon in the future. It's time for our programs to offer a digital and sharable component.

JOOI of Reading: Seuss on the Loose

Read-aloud programs are some of my favorite activities, especially when the readers are young Optimist Club members. 

As an end-of-the-year school activity at Vision Charter School in Caldwell Idaho, the JOOI students, part of the Middleton Area Optimist Club, coordinated a read-aloud program for grades kindergarten through second grade.

Focusing only on books written by Dr. Seuss, the read-aloud program was called "Seuss on the Loose."  The young students, anxious to be dismissed for the summer, were enthralled with the freshman and sophomore readers as they sat in small groups around the soccer field.

Some students  acted out parts of the stories, changed their voices, and tried out other storytelling tricks to keep the younger students engaged.

All enjoyed so much that they hated to hear the bell ring that dismissed them not only from the activity, but also from school that day. 

Annually, JOOI (Junior Optimist Octagon International) promotes literacy through the JOOI of Reading. As with any Optimist Club program, the club is encouraged to make it their own. 

About 150 students participated in the Seuss on the Loose program. They did a great job and plan to do something similar again next year.

The coordinating group and readers are shown to the left. 

Christmas trees for childhood literacy

This year marks the 57th year that the Optimist Club of Austin, Texas has offered charitable Christmas Trees for sale. This year they are located at the corner of San Gabriel and North Lamar and they offer five different types of trees, Noble Fir, Fraser Fir, Grand Fir, Scotch Pine and Natural Douglas Firs.

I think that kind of history and selection makes them an expert in their community. And of course the Austin Optimist Club is also the expert on bringing out the best in children for proceeds from the tree sales fund projects throughout the year like the Junior Golf Program, Optimist International programs, and local community organizations including, among other things, the Texan/Texanne Scholarships.

The Austin Optimist Club is also involved in childhood literacy programs and they encourage their patrons to bring a new or gently used book to the tree lot to donate to bookspring, a community effort to help children develop the love of reading.

Heading home from the Austin Optimist
 Club Christmas Tree lot. 

Optimist Club members do so many wonderful things throughout the year. Please take this opportunity to support them by purchasing a charitable Christmas Tree.

The JOOI of Reading

This month, Junior Optimist and Octagon Clubs (JOOI Clubs) have been celebrating the JOOI of reading.  Ideas are available online to help students plan events in their community.  As I was looking, I stumbled upon this idea called "Catch and Release." I imagine, like me, you thought of fishing; but what a great idea for sharing books: leave them around public places and encourage other students to pick them up, take them home and read them. 

I imagine that it would take a book drive to gather enough literature to spread around, a great number of signs, and perhaps even some students to demonstrate that it is a good thing to help yourself to some reading material. But don't wonder about what it takes to start the project; please find out online here: JOOI of Reading. 

This project is truly ageless. Adult Optimist Clubs can participate too. Choose a month, make a plan, and share the JOOI of Reading in your community. 

Sharing the JOOI of Reading

The Junior Optimist Club from the Plainfield Middle School in Plainfield, Indiana shared the joy of reading recently with the school district's developmental preschool. 

They visited the school to deliver blankets made with a community grant that promotes Youth as Resources and while there they played games and read to the younger kids and helped them with an impromptu slumber party. 

Junior Optimist Clubs are part of the Junior Optimist Octagon International JOOI program with Optimist International.  One of their signature programs is the JOOI of Reading. 

Photos courtesy of the Flyer Group. 

Book drive prepares for National Reading Month

Another Optimist Club is promoting literacy as they gear up for National Reading Month. The Auburn Hills Optimist Club and the City of Auburn Hills, MI have partnered up for a book drive to benefit the Will Rogers Elementary School.

They are collecting new and gently used books from residents and businesses to be given away during March.  Many schools promote March as National Reading Month with special events and activities aimed at literacy and reading. 

According to Karrie Waarala, Library Director of the Auburn Hills Public Library and a member of the Noon Optimist Club, the groups are collecting the books in February so they can distribute them to the students and interact with them in March.  She explained, “The books are sure to get the kids excited about reading, which is our ultimate goal.”

Optimist Clubs are well known for their active work with children.  Sharing the joy of reading promotes an activity that is both useful and fulfilling throughout their adult lives.

Mad Hatters Optimist Club promotes literacy

I saw this promotion for Tom Clancy's book Shadow Watch:

"This book has been released into the wild by the Mad Hatters Optimist Club of Las Cruces. PROMOTE LITERACY!! Let a child catch YOU reading!!"

I have no idea what it means for this book to be "released into the wild" by this Optimist Club, but I do know that reading is a good thing.  Helping children to discover the joy of reading is an even better thing.

The Mad Hatters Optimist Club of Las Cruces, NM has been involved in literacy programs since being chartered in 2007.  They have held book drives; they promote the Optimist International Essay Contest, and have a lot of fun celebrating Lewis Carroll's birthday, tea party and all. 

Adults, children and reading.  What a great mix.

Students learn about the library in Good Reader Program

The Optimist Club of Coralville, Iowa has been teaching literacy skills to elementary schools for twenty-nine years.  They have also been teaching students to catalogue the books they read and creating competions for them to report and share their learning experiences.  The students design bookmarks, write book reports and earn the praise and support of the Optimist Club members for all of their effort. 

About 2,400 third and fourth grade students will participate in the program this year. Chairperson Mary Larew beleives that the program is important.  She explained,  “Particularly now in the days of all the Internet and the gaming, we still want to see kids enjoy reading and make it a habit. It’s something you’ll have with you all of your life, to pick up a book and enjoy it.”

Thanks to the Coralville Optimist Club for sharing the Good Reader Program with us.

Helping students achieve more in school

The Santa Rosa Education Foundation in Gulf Breeze, Florida has partnered with the Gulf Breeze Optimist Club, Mediacom Communications and Gulf Power Foundation to provide grants for teachers that will assist them in supporting student engagement and achievement.

Fifteen teachers in Gulf Breeze received awards and 134 teachers in the county shared the $33,500 treasure.

Helping students achieve success in schools is just one way that Optimist Clubs members bring out the best in children. 

Students receive dictionaries from the Optimist Club

Students at the Mountain Bay Elementary School in Everest, California received dictionaries courtesy of the Optimist Club of Everest.  The gift went to all third grade students in the school district.  According to Optimist Club member David Kryshank, the children enjoy books and having a book of their own that they can take home is even more appreciated. 



The program is part of the National Dictionary Project that has given away more than 10 million books. 

Optimist Club helps with childhood literacy effort

The Optimist Club of Carrollton, Georgia recently came together with the Ferst Foundation, Carroll County Schools and others interested in increasing childhood literacy to support early reading skills.  Through fund raising efforts the Foundation brings books to the community by offering annual subscriptions.  For an annual investment of $36, a child will receive one new book per month. 

Parents say that receiving the book is like opening a present and the children can't wait to read them, often together with their parents.  And that is just what the organizers want to hear, but to make it happen, it takes a lot of support from the community.

First of all, the books have to be purchased; the subscriptions have to be sold or donated; and then the books have to be delivered.  The community contributes at all levels, with much happening at the Burgers, Bands and Books Festival.  Families are entertained, silent auctions take place, books are sold, donations are given, and families sign up for the service while those that can't afford it are matched with sponsors willing to help.  In the four years that the activity has been held, the Carroll County Schools have tracked the results and claim that children participating in the program are reporting higher scores than others who have not.

So what does the Optimist Club do? On the day of the event, they work to bring out the best in kids offering a putt-putt course while parent shop.  Other activities are face painting, storytelling, performances from local bands and food.  After the event, the Optimist Club is one of many civic organizations that donate to the cause.  "I'm here for the kids and it's just a lot of fun," said Optimist Club member Bob Myers. 

Not only is it fun, it is a valuable community asset.  Keep it up!