The Next Chapter Book Club is a program that welcomes adolescents and adults with Down syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy and other intellectual and developmental disabilities to participate in reading and discussing books together in a fun and informal social setting. It is the largest community-based book club program of its kind in the world with hundreds of clubs meeting weekly in North America, Australia and Europe. The Chester County Library and Henrietta Hankin Branch became an affiliate in 2019 and Henrietta Hankin Library has been hosting a club that has been meeting since June 4th, 2019.
As we approach our Next Chapter Book Club’s one-year anniversary, we find ourselves adjusting to the times and have begun meeting virtually via Zoom from 5:00-6:00pm on Wednesdays. We are always open to accepting new members as well as volunteers to help co-facilitate. This June is a particularly opportune time to join in the fun, as we are in the process of selecting our next long book which we hope to begin reading in July. For more information or to sign up, please contact Henrietta Hankin Branch librarian, Claire Michelle Viola at cviola@ccls.org. For more information on the Next Chapter Book Club program, check out their website at https://www.nextchapterbookclub.org/.
Formatting your journal for aesthetics or for function.
Welcome to our second installment in our series about journaling. In this post, we’ll be talking about Bullet Journaling.
The Bullet Journal was invented by Ryder Carroll, a digital designer, as a method of organizing his life. The thought process went as follows: Many of us have multiple different journals, although we might not think of them as such. From planners and calendars to bill planners and budget spreadsheets to sticky notes with grocery lists and movies to watch – all of these in some combination of physical and digital forms – many people have the information of their life spread out everywhere, and thus can find nothing when they need it. Carroll’s Bullet Journaling system combines all of these into one.
Now, his system for doing this is quite rigid. On his website, the link to which you can find below, he outlines exactly how you should format your journal to match his method. But since it’s inception, the Bullet Journaling system adopted by many people has expanded to fit the needs of the individual. So in essence, the Bullet Journal boils down to this:
A Bullet Journal is just an empty journal, preferably dotted or grid, that you can do whatever you want with. It sounds vague, and I hear you saying “isn’t that just any normal journal?” But what makes Bullet Journaling special is that it is all about these things called “spreads.” The basic concept of a spread is that it is a formatted page that you draw out for yourself. Some spreads are calendars – yearly, monthly, weekly, or daily – that you draw out freehand and fill in with tasks, goals, events, or accomplishment. Some are mood trackers, where you mark down how you felt each day – good for keeping on top of your mental health. Some are habit trackers that are designed so that you can keep up with good habits or attempt to break bad ones. To-do Lists, Finance Trackers, Expense Trackers, Gratitude Logs, Brain Dumps, Mind Maps, Bucket Lists, Book/Reading Trackers, Watch Lists, Weight Loss Trackers – all are examples of different spreads that people who keep bullet journals utilize in order to cut down their many journals into one.
There are tons of ideas floating around on the internet, from web pages listing various spread ideas to try to Pinterest photos of the most beautiful, aesthetically pleasing spreads you’ll ever see in your life. The fun part is that all these spreads are designed by you for you. It can be as creative or as minimalist or as practical as you want it to be. And, even better, all of the journals that we’ll be discussing throughout this journaling series can be formatted as a spread in a Bullet Journal, if you’re up for giving it a try.
Resources & Inspiration:
Ryder Carroll’s website (the Learn page that talks about his system)
As long as you’re not talking computers, a cookie is a small sweet cake, typically round, flat, and crisp. Like we didn’t know that already! You might be surprised, though, at how many different kinds there are. If you’d like to try your hand at baking something delicious, visit these sites for recipes — Cookie Recipes at Cooks Recipes or All Recipes All Recipes – Cookie Recipes. You won’t know which to try first!
You can visit the Statue of Liberty like never before with a Virtual Tour inside and outside the great American symbol. Last year, architect Paul Davidson spent ten nights inside the Statue of Liberty. He and his team carried out a first-of-its-kind laser scan of Lady Liberty, capturing the statue’s interior during the hours when it wasn’t full of tourists — 6:00 pm to 7:00 am. His scans have been turned into a virtual tour. You can see inside the crown and the torch, and even climb Lady Liberty’s arm! The most difficult part of the project was taking the scans in a statue that’s always moving! It was build with a flexible support system that’s meant to sway in the wind (It was designed by Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel who’s famous tower also sways in the wind). Davidson has noted that it was something like being on a boat.
When “Liberty Enlightening the World” was dedicated in 1886, it was the highest structure in all of New York City. Now you can see it in a whole new way — Statue of Liberty Virtual Tour.
The Hankin Whodunits Mystery Book Club will meet via Zoom on Thursday, June 18 at 1:00 pm. Please join us to discuss The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie.
Agatha Christie is regarded by critics and fans alike as one of the masters of the mystery novel. This classic manor-house mystery introduces Christie’s much beloved character, the detective Hercule Poirot.
You can download this Always Available eBook here.
TeensHealth.org focuses on giving you the information and the confidence to better understand your health questions and concerns. Nemours, a nonprofit children’s health system, offers doctor-reviewed advice on hundreds of physical, emotional and behavioral subjects. You will find easy-to-follow articles, slideshows, and videos all aimed to educate and empower teens to make the best health choices.
With the school year wrapping up for the summer, maybe it’s time to consider some fun family travel ideas that are in the Philadelphia area. BeyondtheNest.com has about 100 of these suggestions. Local areas to hike, learn some history, get wet, connect with wildlife, admire a waterfall, or put your toes in the sand are all possibilities.
Check before you head out to determine the opening schedules since some of these options will be open before others.
Although J.K. Rowling came up with the idea for The Ickabog a long time ago and planned to publish it after Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, it some how wound up in her attic! She decided to release it as an on-line serial for free to help kids read during the COVID-19 emergency. Once you’ve read the story, Ms. Rowling has created a competition. She wants YOU to illustrate the story. You can read The Ickabog and submit your illustrations at The Ickabog.
The Chester County Commissioners have launched RestoreChesterCounty.org, a comprehensive online toolkit that offers guidelines specifically designed for Chester County’s 15,000-plus businesses and 525,000 residents as they move from the red phase to the yellow phase on June 5.
RestoreChesterCounty.org provides direct access to guidelines that are broken down by 20 different business and organization sectors here in Chester County.
Visitors to RestoreChesterCounty.org will immediately be presented with access to a Business & Org Toolkit, as well as Resident Toolkit. The Business & Org Toolkit lists guidelines that span industries, including a checklist for knowing if your business is ready, how to get it to that point, and how to find resources for obtaining personal protective equipment. Business and organizational leaders can then drill deeper by accessing 20 different business and organization sectors, including everything from agriculture and office settings to restaurants, personal care, schools, religious organizations, and more.
Restore Chester County is an initiative launched by the county’s COVID-19 Business Task Force, a collaborative of business, economic, education, and government leaders formed by the Chester County Commissioners last month to focus on reopening and restoring Chester County’s economy affected by COVID-19.
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