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by Kristen  One of the things I struggle with most is MINDFULNESS. I am always thinking about 10,000 things - even when I am having fun and enjoying myself, I still have my internal monologue reminding me of what I need to accomplish or a conversation I had three years ago. Mindfulness has a lot of benefits for our overall mental health. However, figuring out how to be mindful is different for everyone - there is no “one size fits all” approach. Some use apps, some do yoga, others color - it really just depends what helps a person be focused on the moment. One thing I like to do to help with mindfulness is Zentangle. Zentangling is easy - you just draw random designs, while remaining focused on what you’re doing. You don’t have to be great at drawing in order to do it. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you practice mindfulness through Zentangling. If you make a Zentangle, share it with us in the comments below! And don't miss our Teen-made DIY tutorials here. Remember, you can submit your own tutorials through our submission portal. Happy doodling!
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By Stephanie H.  SPRAGUE TEEN SQUAD 2020 Stephanie Hi! I am Stephanie, Sprague’s Teen Services Librarian. I am so excited to be working with my Teen Squad crew this year. I am so impressed with how invested they are in their community and know that SLC has a bright future with them around!
Thanks for reading! You can find more information about some of these projects by going to our Teen Squad page. Check back next Friday to meet the Teen Squad volunteers from our Glendale Branch! by Meagan   Meagan is the Sweet branch’s Teen Librarian and Teen Squad Supervisor. Aside from being a librarian, Meagan loves buying and looking at plants (she currently owns over 70), Star Wars, cooking, Studio Ghibli films, dyeing her hair, tea, her cat, being outside, traveling, and eating. She has spent quarantine going vegan, learning to photograph local wildlife, rewatching Bob's Burgers and Steven Universe, and running around her island in Animal Crossing for more hours than she cares to admit. Sweet’s Teen Squad projects fortuitously almost all can work together to make a super project! Team Lead Morgan proposed writing book reviews for teens that can live on the website so other teens can see exactly what the Teen Squad liked about the book, and from there the group came up with the genres we wanted to highlight, author biographies of favorite authors on the list, and a Zoom book club that will happen later this summer. One of our teens is also a writer, so he is focusing on writing a story that will be posted on our blog in weekly installments, so keep an eye out for that! Introducing the Sweet Branch Teen Squad!   My name is Morgan. I am a Teen Squad volunteer at the Sweet branch. I am 14 and I will be a 9th grader at Highland this year. I like violin, hockey, and gymnastics. I absolutely love reading, especially Fantasy and Fiction. My project was writing an author spotlight on Shannon Hale. I love all her books, and think she is an amazing writer which is why I chose her. I think it is fun to learn about the authors who write your favorite books. Fun Fact: My great grandmother was one of Shannon Hale’s elementary school teachers.   Hello! I am Eli Hatton a member of Teen Squad at the Sweet Library Branch. I am 14 years old, and I love to Read, Write, Watch Movies, Play Games, Write Code, and Play Basketball. I am going into 8th grade and my favorite subjects are Science Math, and Debate. For my Teen Squad project I am writing a story that will be released in weekly chapters on the SLCPL website.   Hi! My name is Kamryn, I am 14 years old and I am doing Teen Squad this summer! I love to read, hike, ski and bake! I will be going to Salt Lake City School for Science this fall. And I will be in 9th grade My project that I am working on is doing a book club for teens this summer. The reason that I chose this project is because during the summer I don’t read as much as I want to and I wanted to give all teens the opportunity to read this summer!  My name is Ansel. I'm 13 years old. I love to climb. One of my favorite things to do is cook. I am full time of energy and excitement.
Thanks for reading about our Sweet Branch Teen Squad volunteers! Next week we'll feature volunteers from the Sprague-Firehouse Branch. Stay tuned! by Becca  Hey there! I’m Becca, the Teen Librarian at the Main Library. Today’s DIY activity is making super easy butterfly origami. I love making origami, and I’m often caught doing so with paper I’m supposed to be taking notes on during meetings, or with napkins at a restaurant while I wait for my food. That’s what I love about origami, all you need is a piece of paper and your hands! My family comes from Japan and when I was a little kid, my grandma and I embarked on the journey of folding senbazuru (one thousand paper cranes). We only made it to 33, but I still have them and cherish them. Here’s a photo of them today! (Pro tip: Make time to create things with the people you love.)  Senbazuru (千羽鶴) is simply one thousand paper cranes held together by string. These bundles are often made and given to those who are suffering from illness in hopes that they will have a speedy recovery. This is a photo I took at the Children’s Peace Monument in Hiroshima, Japan. The monument commemorates the thousands of children who were killed by the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during WWII. Cranes are a symbol of peace in Japanese culture. Aren’t they beautiful?  Well, anyway, we’re going to try something much easier. Let’s get started! I’m going to show you how to make this awesome little butterfly!  For most origami, you will need to start out with a perfectly square piece of paper. You can get packs of origami paper at most supermarkets or craft stores, but there is really no need to buy fancy paper. You can take any sheet of regular paper and make a perfect square from it. Draw and color on one side of the paper to help you distinguish between the front and back. I do this a lot and any pattern looks great once it’s folded! However, for this DIY video, I did want some fancy paper for a change. I stopped by a craft store and got this piece of scrapbook paper for just 54 cents. It’s a little thicker than origami paper, but for easy patterns it works great! Follow along and pause the video whenever you need to so you can catch up. がんばって! Good luck! So, how did it go? Post a picture of your butterfly origami in the comments! I would love to see your designs. What other origami DIY videos would you like to see in the future? Let me know!
For more Do It Yourself tutorials, visit our Teen DIY page on BiblioBoard! by Claire    Claire is the Anderson-Foothill Teen Squad Supervisor. She is lucky enough to work at the library she went to as a child and a teenager. She likes pandas, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, musicals, and puppies and costumes, has more tutus and crowns than most adults, and likes to do the unexpected. She is often surprised that she is paid because she likes being a Teen Librarian so much.  Purple Team’s project is to become library ambassadors at Highland High School. Right now, they are working on letting students know about the resources and materials that the library has to offer as well as ways to get teenagers more involved in the library. Their main goal is to let teens know that the library offers so much more than books! They hope to encourage the use of all of the amazing programs the library has to offer during summer and the school year!   Hi, I’m Elayna! This is my fourth year volunteering at the library! I will be a junior at Highland High School this year. I enjoy playing tennis and playing my violin. You can often find me reading, baking, or watching Hallmark movies. I love to hike, spend time with friends, and play board games with my family. I’m excited about the ability to be on Teen Squad this year and can’t wait to help people connect with the library!   Hi, my name is Avery Smith. I am 16 years old and will be a junior at Highland High School this fall. I taught myself how to read before I was 4 years old and have loved reading ever since!! I am a competitive swimmer, and I love to play tennis. I also play the piano and am a part of my school's orchestra. I love math, journaling, spending time with friends, and camping. I am so excited to be a part of Teen Squad this summer and to help others fully experience the amazing things that the library has to offer!!   Hi! My name is Janie Lambert. This is my 3rd year volunteering at the library. I love tacos and pasta. My favorite animal is a buffalo. I like to dance and play tennis. I also love hanging out with my friends and family. I love playing with my dog and the neighbors’ dogs too!  Blue Team’s goal for this summer is to introduce the world of mythology to kids and teens. They will be doing this through around 2-3 weeks of content, including DIY videos for crafts and fun online games, for a few different types of mythologies. They will be kicking it off with Greek mythology, which they have already started working on. After that, they will have a couple of weeks of content for Egyptian, Norse, and other lesser-known mythologies.   Hi, my name is Paul Florence and I am 16 years old and going into my Junior year at Judge Memorial. For this summer, I am the Blue Team leader for Teen Squad at the Anderson-Foothill Branch. I am a huge fan of all things Marvel and especially of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, although I have to admit I’m becoming more comics tolerant. I really like hiking, trail running, and sometimes mountain biking. I am on my school’s Cross Country and Track teams. When you can’t find me outdoors, you can find me reading, drawing, and watching movies or TV shows. I have been a part of Judge’s theater productions and also love acting. I have loved volunteering at the library for the past few summers and am enjoying the opportunity to lead my team virtually this summer.   My name is Grace Silge! This is my 3rd year as a Teen Squad volunteer, and I am so excited to be part of this program. I am 14 years old and will be starting school at West High next year. I enjoy watching TV, crafting, reading, as well as rock climbing and acting. I have two pet cats: Hermione Granger and General Leia Organa.   Hi, my name is Gabe Hulse and this is my second year volunteering at the Anderson-Foothill branch as a member of the Teen Squad. I am going into my first year of high school at East High and am really excited to help out the library. I love helping others and doing ceramic projects as well as swimming year-round.  Yellow Team’s project is a safe pen pal project for teens in a friendly environment. Yellow Team’s members understand that it's hard to find people with the same interests in books as you, especially as a teenager, so their project aims to combat this dilemma by helping teens connect with those who have similar interests as them.   My name is Amrita and I'm part of the Teen Squad at the Anderson-Foothill Library. I currently attend West High School. In my free time, I enjoy cross-country running, debate, reading (obviously), and watching a mind-blowing amount of television.   My name is Wivi. I am 12 years old. I like to go on short hikes with my sister, play in the pool, read (and reread) books, as well as write speeches and books. I also love to hang out with my pet dove Pearl, my African grey parrot, and my sister's pet baby cockatiel, Coco.   Hi, I’m Myra Hicks. I’m 14 and will be attending Highland High school this year. I am obsessed with listening to Broadway soundtracks (Dear Evan Hansen, Beetlejuice, Six, and Hamilton are some of my favorites). I love to ski at Snowbird with my family, cuddle my dog, and stay up till 4 a.m. with my friends. I am super excited to work with the library again this year and have the opportunity to contribute to the community.  Orange Team’s project is creating a QuaranTime Magazine. In essence, our magazine is intended to document people's experiences during social distancing as well as provide entertainment by including socially distant, community-engaging games and featuring local artists. Additionally, we have created an Instagram page to feature some of our interviewees and their responses to our quarantine interview questions.   Hello! My name is Diya Rao and I will be a senior at West High School next year. I moved to Salt Lake City from India five years ago. I love being a part of my tennis and ultimate frisbee teams, am passionate about playing the piano, and enjoy participating in Model United Nations and Debate competitions. This is my fourth year volunteering with the library and I am honored to be the Foothill Teen Squad Branch Leader as well as the Orange Team Leader. I enjoy volunteering as it helps me to be socially useful while sharing my talents and learning from others.   Hi! My name is Anika Rao. I am 14 and will be a sophomore at West High School. I enjoy participating in Model United Nations and Debate tournaments, reading, writing, playing the piano, and swimming. I am excited to volunteer with the library for the third year this year!   My name is Elena. I am 13 years old and I go to Clayton Middle School. My hobbies include dancing, running, playing soccer, baking, and playing the piano. I love to travel with my family and I have been to some awesome places like Lima, Peru, Venice, Italy, Victoria, Canada, and France. My favorite subject in school is Language Arts.
Thank you for reading! By the end of the summer you will be able to find these projects on our City Library Teens blog, BiblioBoard, and at your local library branch. Our next Teen Squad post will feature volunteers from the Sweet Branch. Stay Tuned! |
