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American Girl book club is just one of many youth center activities
By SUNDAE HORN
The American Girl Book Club recently enjoyed a colonial-style tea
party at Deepwater Theater. One of the Ocracoke Youth Center’s
fall programs, the American Girl Book Club meets after school on
Wednesdays with OYC director Karen Lovejoy. The American Girl books are
historical fiction chapter books that bring the past to life in stories
that girls of today can read and understand. Lovejoy read the books
aloud with the Book Club members and also taught them crafts and
activities from the time periods.
The first book they read was “Meet Josefina,” which takes
place in New Mexico in 1824. The girls painted ceramic pots, learned to
dance La Vaquera, and husked corn, just like Josefina does. Paula
Schramel taught the girls to card wool, another useful skill for girls
in 1824.
Next they read about Felicity, who is a colonial girl in 1774, just
before the Revolutionary War. The girls learned to curtsey, and how to
dance the “Molin.” Book Club member Stacy O’Neal
volunteered her mom, Shirley Schoelkopf, to demonstrate whistling
through her fingers like Felicity does. The girls learned about
colonial dress, especially the corsets, and they made their own mob
caps just like Felicity’s. When the girls arrived at the tea
party, a surprise was waiting for them – Lovejoy gave each of
their dolls a homemade mob cap so they could all match. The girls
didn’t actually drink any tea at their party. Like Felicity, they
chose to be patriots and boycott it. They refused the offer with a
polite “Thank you, I shall take no tea” and had hot
chocolate instead. Following the tea party, the girls watched the movie
“Felicity: An American Girl.”
For the month of December, the girls will be reading
“Kirsten’s Surprise,” a Christmas story set in
Minnesota in 1854. They’ll learn pioneer games and holiday
traditions and add another book to their collection. Lovejoy would like
to thank Ocracoke Friends of the Library for their “generous
donation,” which purchased the American Girl books for each Book
Club member.
The American Girl Book Club is one of many programs the Ocracoke Youth
Center has offered this fall. Big Kids Club for grade K – 2 meets
Monday through Thursday after school at the OYC building. Janet Baker
is the lead teacher, and her assistants are high school students
Katelyn Gaskill and Sandy Lukefahr.
Russ Chesson led a sports camp for grade 3 – 5 after school on
Thursdays, which will continue until Christmas break. He and Lovejoy
also coordinated Fall Soccer for grades 6 and up on Sunday afternoons.
OYC would like to thank the Island Inn for allowing them to use their
lawn for the sports camp and soccer.
OYC also helps Kitty Mitchell and Lou Castro with the School Music Club
for grades 3 – 5 and with the middle school Pep Band.
Chesson leads Teen Night events and took the 13-and-up kids on a
two-night camping trip to the North Carolina State Fair in October.
Lovejoy coordinates two playgroups each week for Ocracoke’s
youngest residents. On Friday, the toddler playgroup meets at 9 a.m.
(call for location), and on Saturday, the newborn – age 2
playgroup meets at 9:30 a.m. at the Methodist Church Nursery.
OYC hosts a Kids’ Cinema at Deepwater Theater once a month using
the projector equipment they purchased with a grant from the Outer
Banks Community Foundation. These movie nights, appropriate for all
ages, are fundraisers for OYC. Admission is free, but snacks and drinks
are available for purchase. In addition, Chesson hosts a movie night
for kids in grade 6 and up once a month.
For more information, please call Karen Lovejoy or Russ Chesson at the Ocracoke Youth Center, 928-2855.
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