Make your library the center of your school
A couple of weeks before Halloween, our school library was transformed into Hogwarts as our whole school celebrated Harry Potter Week! Over the past couple of years, I’ve teamed up with the music and physical education teachers in my building to integrate our subject areas around a theme for a week or so. Our Harry Potter Week has been our most exciting so far! This
Six teacher-librarian friends are teaming up to share some favorite library center resources in a “Love Those Library Centers!” blog hop and giveaway! Everyone will get some new ideas… and one lucky participant will receive a copy of all SIX featured library centers AND a $20 Amazon gift card! (Heads up – one of our library center resources is shown in two age versions. The
December is hitting my school library with the usual excitement of winter programs, parties, ski days, assemblies, gift making, and the unpredictability of schedules that can change at a moment’s notice! I do love this time of year, especially now that I make sure I have extra Christmas picture books on hand to read aloud with fun lessons and activities! This post contains some affiliate
This year is the 10 year anniversary of International Dot Day and the 15th anniversary of the publication of The Dot. People all around the world celebrate creative expression, inspired by Peter H. Reynolds’ picture book, The Dot. Every year, Dot Day falls on or near September 15. I’d like to share how I helped my K-2 students explore their own creativity this year for
Green Screen technology (or Chroma Key as it is known in more “techy” circles), used to be so complicated! I first tried the available technology with my fourth grade students about 20+ years ago. This post contains affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no cost to you. I remember setting up green bulletin board
I don’t read picture books to my upper elementary students very often, but I’ve found a pair of books that hold their attention and teach some valuable lessons about friendship and the role of technology in our lives and friendships. This post contains affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no cost to you. I
Mo Willems’ Elephant and Piggie series for early readers is popular with young children for a reason. They are fun, exciting, surprising, and full of genuine emotions! Although the final book in the series was just published in 2016, these engaging stories have already become a classic staple in elementary school libraries and kindergarten and first grade classrooms across the country! At my school, older
We’ve been celebrating “Screen-Free Week” (formerly known as “TV Turnoff Week”) at my school for over 10 years. During Screen Free Week we challenge the students to consider trying to go the whole week without using a screen for entertainment. Successful students fill out a contract and recording sheet, have it signed by an adult, and get 10 tickets to enter into raffles for fun
A friend shared a great idea with me for helping my fourth and fifth grade students focus on uplifting messages and positive thoughts using the quotes from the book 365 Days of Wonder: Mr. Brown’s Book of Precepts. She had torn out several pages from the book, let students choose one, and write a reflection on what the precept meant to them. I loved the
I started a Keyboarding Club for 4th and 5th grade students in my library because keyboarding wasn’t being taught at my school in those grades and I wanted to give students the option of sharpening their skills on the keys before they began the Smarter Balanced Tests in the Spring. I used free websites, and didn’t have my students create the free accounts offered,
