Hoosier Hills Literacy League

Ever wonder if you have what it takes to help someone imporve their basic skills?  If you have 60-90 minutes a week, love people, and love to learn, chances are you do have what it takes!  What you don’t have, we will supply in our next tutor training workshop.  This will be a very practical session – Thursday, March 11, 2010, at the Lawrenceburg Public Library, from 6:00-7:30.  Those who attend will learn what resources are available for adult learners, through the Literacy League, the Lawrenceburg Public Library, and on the Internet, and how to use them to help learners meet their goals.  New and experienced tutors are welcome — there will be time to share ideas, encourage and get to know one another over light refreshments! 

We are continually getting requests from people in the community — help us reach those who are ready to learn!

Thursday, March 11, 2010, 6:00 – 7:30, Lawrenceburg Public Library

Call Laura Priebe at 812-584-8516 for more information or to register!

Congratulations to our two newest GED graduates – Sharon Briones and Jennifer Jarrett!  Both took the test in November, and both received word that they passed before the end of 2009!  We are proud of you!

Think you’re reay to take the GED?  Want to get an idea what it’s like?  Come take the official GED practice test at the library for free!  The test will be administered on Thursday, Jan. 28, 5-7, Saturday, Jan. 30, 10-12, and Thursday, Feb. 4, 5-7.  You must choose 2 testing times to attend, since the test takes 4 hours total.   Call us to reserve your spot today!  812-584-8516.

When parents hear about their children getting a free book every month, and when kids hear about getting mail of their very own, eveyone want to know “how do I sign up?”  Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library makes it happen.  The program is administered by the HHLL, and we currently have funding for 800 children to be enrolled at any one time.  We reached that maximum in October, and again in November.  Children are eligible for the program until they reach their fifth birthday, which enables more children to become enrolled.  So far, children have only been on the waiting list for a few weeks until the next group graduates.

The next exciting news is that we’ve just received word that the program is almost completly funded for 2010.  The Lawrenceburg Public Library District Foundation has awarded us a grant of $12,184, and the Dearborn Community Foundation has awarded us a $10,000 grant through the City of Lawrenceburg Youth Grant.  This will help enable us to continue offering this wonderful program to the children of Dearborn County throughout 2010.

To enroll your child, you must reside in Dearborn County (Ohio County has their own administrator through the public library), and your child must be under 5 years old.  Pick up a registration form at any library in Dearborn County, or sign up on-line at www.imaginationlibrary.com.

To celebrate Literacy Awareness Month, the children of St. John’s in Aurora had an afternoon of fun called “Make a Move for LIteracy” on September 30.

Using current brain research and her passion for improving reading skills, Laura Priebe developed a live version of the popular scrabble-type game “Bananagrams.” The game incorporates large motor activities, communication and teamwork, and made for an afternoon of fun in the school gymnasium. In the live adaption, students used large letter cards instead of small tiles to build words in an interlocking puzzle. The whole school, including Pre-K – 8^th grade, played in multi-age teams to see who could use the most letters to form properly spelled words. All the students enjoyed a candy treat of “smarties” or “runts” after each round.  Jacob Neuendorf, a sixth grader at St. John’s commented, “I liked scrambling around and making words.”

School Bell

HHLL’s after school tutoring program, “After the Bell” begins on Tuesday, September 15.  We will be meeting at the Dearborn Adult Center from 3:00 – 4:30 to help local children with school work, give them a healthy snack and a quiet place to learn.  Any children from PK – 8th grade can attend this free program.   Volunteer tutors are also needed!

International Literacy Day, traditionally observed annually on September 8, focuses attention on worldwide literacy needs. More than 780 million of the world’s adults (nearly two-thirds of whom are women) do not know how to read or write, and between 94 and 115 million children lack access to education.

Here in Dearborn County, we will be observing “Literacy Awareness Month” during the entire month of September.  Laura Priebe, HHLL’s Literacy Administrator will visit with some local students to read one of her favorite books with Lawrenceburg students at the Primary school, and will listen while they share their favorites.

In the counties we serve here in Southeastern Indiana, there are more than 5,000 functionally illiterate adults.  Join with us as we try to imrpove this statistic!

Hello, everyone!  I’d like to take a minute to introduce myslef — I’m Laura Priebe, the new Literacy Administrator for the Hoosier Hills Literacy League.  I’m  honored to be walking in the footsteps of Dianna Wissinger, a dear friend of mine, and extrememly grateful to Cindy DiBiase for her very thorough training, and to Margie Kleier for her patience as I learn my way around.

I have been a lifelong lover of libraries and books, and I’m excited to share that love of learning with others!

If you have the same desire, or know anyone else who does, we’re always interested in more tutors.  We’re working on planning a training session before the end of the year.

If you would like to sharpen your skills or maybe works towards getting that GED, check out our programs!  Also, be sure to tell friends who have preschoolers about Imagination Library.

We are proud of the work we do — tell others!

Hoosier Hills Literacy League presents Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library

Receive a FREE Book in the mail every month!

Thanks to the Hoosier Hills Literacy League, all of the preschoolers in Dearborn County can now have their own Imagination Library. Just think, a book mailed to your child each month until their 5th birthday, at no cost to you!

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