Summer 2017

21 / 28

SUMMER 2017 HOMESCHOOL IOWA 21
It all began with a vision to help new homeschooling fam-
ilies and needy families who want to homeschool but are
low on financial resources - the CHALK Lending Library.
CHALK ( Christian Homeschool Activities and Learning for
Kids), a Quad-Cities area Homeschool Co-op sponsors this
curriculum library. Natalie Schnecklotch, NICHE Region 11
Representative and homeschool mom, remembers that it
was the generosity of for-
mer homeschoolers that
helpedher to successfully
homeschool her children
and wants to be a bless-
ing to others through
the ministry of the Cur-
riculum Library. “My hus-
band and I went through
some very hard financial
times and yet, somehow,
God always provided
curriculum for our edu-
cational needs. I wanted
to be able to do the same
for other families. The
hopes and vision for this
library is to not only lift
some financial burdens
off of families, but have
a means of equipping
the huge influx of new homeschoolers in our area. Many
of them are coming out of the public schools and have no
idea what a curriculum even looks like or which ones to
pick.” Additionally, Natalie hopes that the library will help
area homeschool families network with each other and will
allow experienced homeschoolers to mentor new home-
schoolers - providing them with encouragement, support,
and the tools necessary to be successful. “I want the library
to be a way to speak hope and life into their situation, be
a means of finding friendship and comradery, and even a
means for us, as Christians, to share the gospel or pray with
those that truly need the ultimate hope going forward in
homeschooling and in life, a relationship with Jesus Christ.”
The library was blessed with an influx of books in its
beginning when a local private school closed down and
a church purchased the premises, discovering that many
books had been left behind. They donated those books
to the library, and CHALK members sorted through the
books, adding what they needed to the library and selling
the rest as a fundraiser. The collection has been added to
by many generous homeschooling families, and the library
is currently searching for a permanent residence. In the
meantime, Natalie has made room in her home for these
materials. For more information about the library or to talk
to Natalie about starting a similar library in your region,
please reach out to her by email at region11@homeschoo-
.
Filling a Need
Quad Cities Homeschool Co-Op
Starts Curriculum Lending Library
One shelf of curriculum sorted
and ready for check-out at the
CHALK Lending Library
“Libraries allow children to ask questions about
the world and find the answers. And the wonderful
thing is that once a child learns to use a library, the
doors to learning are always open.”
– Laura Bush
ever, a new feature is the use of geolocation, which will use
your computer’s location to “log in” to the appropriate library
for your use. This should make the log-in process less cumber-
some for many, as it will not require you to remember a library
card number. Gale has specific collections to browse or search,
including agriculture, books & authors, business, environment,
science, health reference, fine arts/music, home improvement,
psychology, history, and vocations/careers. These searchable
databases will provide you with PDF documents of various ar-
ticles and appropriate bibliographic information for citation.
Gale also provides Kids Infobits collection, which is pertinent
K-5 content for use by that age group. By partnering with Gale,
the Chilton Reference Library (auto maintenance manuals) is
available as well, which historically has been too expensive for
many libraries to provide. The new database package also in-
cludes access to Transparent Languages, which offers language
learning as native English speakers, but also for many other lan-
guage speakers to learn English. Many libraries will be changing
website information and creating brochures or hand-outs to help
patrons learn how to use these great new tools!
Also through your library, there is access to Learning Express
Library, which is a fantastic resource for jobs and adult learn-
ing. There are eight “courses” to choose from, including working
toward GED/HiSET testing, basic computer skills, college prep,
resources in Spanish, and others. Each of the eight courses have
many options to use in exploring those topic areas, including
practice ACT or SAT testing, career path readiness and explora-
tion, and reading or writing tools. Patrons can create an account
to monitor progress as well. Often ACT or SAT prep manuals
change from year to year, and career readiness tests may also
change as well; Learning Express makes regular updates to
these areas in order to maintain the most up-to-date informa-
tion, tests, and tips possible!
Depending on the size of your local library, other online da-
tabases may be offered. Freegal is an online music download
database that many libraries subscribe to; Zinio is often used for
online magazine subscriptions. Other libraries have searchable
databases of their own for genealogy resources, including digi-
tized local newspapers or references books of local family his-
tory. Some offer Wifi hotspots, e-readers, or iPads for checkout.
With any of these services, libraries have a list or links on the
homepage of their website, or under the online resources page,
with log-in and usage instructions. Library staff love to visit with
patrons, though, so never worry about asking questions on
these services or other gems your local library may offer!
Mandy Grimm is the director of the Columbus Junction Public
Library in rural southeast Iowa; prior to working at the library, she
was in social work, which surprisingly coincides with library work
quite well. Her perfect day would involve hot chocolate, a blanket,
some snow outside, and a pile of books. She lives on a farmwith her
husband, son, and daughter, but only operates the fork lift, shuttles
people to and from equipment, or bakes pies. When she’s not coach-
ing baseball or taking kids to activities, she likes to crochet, binge-
watch Netflix, or practice yoga.
I