Wow!

These students are amazing!!!

Cup Stacker!

 Happy 1st day back to those of you who begin after Labor Day! Just wanted to share a lesson with ya'll that I did with 3rd & 4th graders. So when I taught Kindergarten I saw a video by Mr. Smith on Teacher Tipster . com about using bathroom cups for stacking. He suggested putting sight words or addition facts on the bottom of the cups and storing them in a pringles can. I took this idea and went with it!


   1) I started with dividing the class into 6 teams or 7 teams of three kids each. Then they were given a list of authors and they had to alphabetize them on our whiteboard wall... yes you heard right! Whiteboard WALL (the wall was painted with whiteboard paint and it's amazing)

2) Then after everyone had a turn, I gave the teams a stack of paper bathroom cups and they had to sort them alphabetically as well. Once the group finished they could try a couple arrangements of stacking ups.

3) Last I tested their skills by giving them each a book (in the Fiction section) to file back on the shelf. They did awesome! So many of the students would jump in and say to each other "no no no Anderson goes AFTER Anders.. otherwise we'll NEVER find it". I love that they feel a sense of ownership about our library!

Oh and I can't resist sharing these pictures!!!

    

When I have a minute... or two...

 Here are a few fun craft ideas I'd LOVE to do and put around the library! I'm not a fan of just putting up posters to cover the walls, but rather make it feel like home. I'll let the books advertise themselves and I'll focus on making children AND adults want to come into the space.

1) Melted crayon art!  (so many tutorials available on Pinterest)

2) Crayon sign - I want to make 4 different ones that spell out READ

3) Paper Wreaths - this year I will be conducting a huge weeding session... what to do with some of the books? Go green!

4)  Book Topiaries by the entrance:

Pinterest... go there... but beware- hours will slip by before you know it!

Right now!

  I forgot to watch my annual teachertube video! Good thing this video is inspirational and motivating year round :) Feel free to take a peak and hope it helps you realize just how important your job is even if others don't know it.

The cutest alphabet... The cutest alphabet... I ever saw... I ever saw...

 So being out of a grade level classroom and into a specials position I knew there would be some adjustments. I have been making myself walk around the building and peak into classrooms to say hello. I had been with the same rockin' team for a few years and it is time for me to make some new partnerships. I was walking past a 2nd grade room and stopped to chit chat when the teacher pointed out her alphabet strip to me... and my jaw was dragging on the floor! She had found the idea on proteacher to make a book character alphabet. How cute... how fun... how PERFECT for our new library! SO I got to work and am excited to change it up each year with a few new book characters.

The sign first:

Alphabet Sign



And somehow A-C disappeared when I uploaded it on scribd... I'll try to look into what happened and change the link a little later...


Storybook Alphabet

Mr. Dewey himself!

     Oh how I love and loathe the Dewey Decimal system all at once... oh gosh I may have JUST broken a cardinal rule of librarianship...


     Most elementary school students and plenty of teachers do not fully understand how to use this system so I made some posters (regular paper size for each) to hang in the library for reference. Yes they could use the computer cataloging system, but it is always best to put information out in many different mediums! I have already had great feedback from some co-workers on using these to help them just browse for topics at random! WOO SUCCESS!


Dewey Decimal Signs


(type A coming out again... I glued each sheet to black construction paper then laminated... I needed the border since it just looked wrong with out it!)



 Oh and you just have to watch this video.... This guy is just ridiculous but I have a feeling he'll hold children's attention.

Planner!

  Before I dive into what my planner consists of, I wanted to give some background info real quick:

1) I am JUST starting my masters in library sciences... so I WILL make mistakes.. please point them out kindly :)
2) Our library just finished up a renovation during the summer which included paint, carpet, trenching the floor with outlets, knocking out a wall, and loads of technology (pictures to come soon).
3) Everything I do this year is a work in progress so even though this is my planner now... who knows come February!


My cover is my schedule for the day and I rotate them back as the days change:

Schedule


Planner Pages



Next comes the Library's scope and sequence:

     I am using a mixture of different people's S&S for my first year. Since I did not create them myself, I do not want to post them on here with out the author's permission. Feel free to use google or Proteacher because there are plenty templates and ideas out there for library skills.


Then in goes my state's standards of learning:
    
       I live in Virginia and figured I wouldn't bore the rest of you out there! You get the jist!



Viola! A planner! I can be slightly type A at times and I organize my planner with clear protective sheets. I have my current week's plans in one protector, previous weeks plans in another protector, and then blank planning sheets in a third sleeve.