Catch up on reading & connect

Use the holiday season to catch up with your family and some good reads.  The Book Thief, The Hobbit, Divergent, and Catching Fire are recent movies in the theater, that are based on great books.  Read the book, discuss, see the movie, discuss!  Improve yourself with reading AND connect with your family and friends.....maybe even make some new friends (with similar tastes in books/movies) in the process!

Happy Holidays!

The snowmen have come to help us find some good books to get us through the cold winter!

Peacock Fanciness!

We read Limelight Larry by Leigh Hogkinson, then we were little show offs ourselves! The K5 students decorated their own peacock feather and Larry looked fabulous when we put them all together! 

New and ongoing bulletin board

Trying to drum up some reading excitement & encourage students to share what they love to read!

Library, month 3

We are having fun with authors and genres this month!

2nd grade is exploring the Fairy Tale genre and it's characteristics.  They really enjoyed The Three Ninja Pigs.  It was fun to compare this version to the original Three Little Pigs. We also had fun with writing our class fairy tale mad-lib.

1st grade is practicing their re-telling skills with the many versions of Lucille Colandro's "There Was an Old Lady" books.  We are also incorporating some art into our library time and creating our own little old bag ladies. Students can them re-tell the stories at home!

Kindergarten is reading books by author and illustrator Leigh Hodgkinson.  Her artwork is very engaging and her stories make the kids SMILE!  Check out our smiles!

October Fun!

I can't wait to try these fun spider glyphs with the kindergarten students.  We'll start by reading the two fun spider stories, then create and analyze the spider glyphs the next library class. I really want to display them (or at least take some pictures to post on the library web page), but not sure where I'll find room to hang close to 100 spiders!

 They turned out so very, very cute and the kindergarten students LOVED making them.  They also liked finding out who thought spiders were cool vs. creepy!

Library, month 1

After a month in a new school and new library (well, new to me), I need to take some time to reflect upon what I've learned and what I still need to learn!

Old favorites are a sure thing. The k5 classes loved to repeat the refrain and wrapped it up with a boisterous rendition of the ABC's song.

 

KISS (keep it simple silly)! I only have a half hour with each class, so directions and activities need to be simple and clear.

Watch the clock to allow time for book selection and checkout. It is impossible to rush children when picking out a book. They relish the chance to browse and choose for themselves.

Assist students in how to find a "just right" book, so that they can make good reading selection. Supporting good reading habits now helps to create avid readrs and life-long learners. 

It's also important to let them have one free choice too.  Sometimes a comfortable, old favorite is nice or selecting a fun picture book to read with a parent can be fun.

For the early finishers, have extra worksheets or activities available for students to work on independently. Make sure students know what their choices are when they finish early.

Library, week 2

Just kicked off week 2 with more book care for 5K and grade 1, and finding a "just right book" for grades 2 & 3!

Taco Salad, here I come!

First week in the library

Very exciting first couple of days of school.  The kids are enjoying their visits to the library. Several are thrilled that they get to actually take the book home with them!  Some have not set foot in a library, except at school.  So I want to make it special and teach them all about the wonders of this special space!

Here are the wonderful read alouds I shared with them this week.

Reading outdoors

I read an entire book yesterday. We are camping this Labor Day weekend and had wonderful weather on Saturday. So the Book Club gathered our chairs and reading materials (large print, YA, textbook for AP class, People magazines, and iPad)!  Book. Club is in session....with breaks for tastes snacks cooked over the fire!

Animoto

I've used this tool before and really like it. Students love adding their own pictures, selecting the perfect music and telling their stories with Animoto. I was looking for new ideas to start a new school year at a new school and ran across a library tour using Animoto. So, I've was just in to take a look at my new library and started taking pics. Here is a first draft of the tour I hope to share with students in two week:

Here's the link too: http://animoto.com/play/cdMIbkSlhlrLjDNulw0nfA

Relaxing out Back

Enjoying the sounds of the water fountain and the noise from the squirrel sneaking through the trees overhead!

Irish Fest Here I Come!

Talked with the para from my new library (she sounds awesome), grabbed a cup of coffee at Public Market again, reviewed some lesson plan ideas and compiled my list of things to do and questions for school, took a peek in the downtown library (beautiful architecture and just an awesome space.....a very cute child was playing with the puppets in the children's room), then headed for Brady street for lunch. I ended up at Cempazuchi for some Mexican food to get me ready for Irish Fest.

Veggie Tostadas - goat cheese, guacamole, sauted spinach, tomatoes and black beans.

More Pictures from Milwaukee

Cowboy cookie (oatmeal, peanut butter cups, chocolate chunks, m&m's.....Mmmmmm) and coffee; outside of the Public Market.

Get your $5 Friday tickets (4:00-5:30pm).....for Irish Fest!

Couple of pics from the trail along Lake Drive:

Pictures from Atwater Beach:

Reading in the Park

Hanging at the Lakefront again today. I relaxed with a cup of coffee at Public Market, had lunch at a cute little spot (it was nice enough to sit outside), walked the paths by Veteran's Park and along Brady street (scoping out where I'll grab a bite tomorrow), walked to Summerfest grounds to buy my $5 Friday night tickets to Irish Fest and now am relaxing (remembered to toss a chair in the trunk this morning) by the pond to blog and read. I have a book checked out through Overdrive and it expires today!  

My companions:

Just beautiful today:

Views from the Milwaukee lakefront

The weather was sometimes sunny, but mostly overcast and comfortably warm. I parked near Veteran's Park and then walked around. I took a blanket, so took a little time to read as well.

Public Market

Exploring Milwaukee a bit today. Having a quiche and cup of java at the Public Market and catching up on my sister's travels in Greece. 

Smells good here!

Lakefront in Milwaukee

A bit wet this morning, but nothing that a bunch of napkins can't mop up.  Just couldn't see sitting inside on a summer morning along the lake. Plus, there are these cute, daring little birds to watch. They are waiting for me to drop a couple of crumbs from my cranberry-pumpkin muffin!

My garden

Scene out of Hitchcock's "The Birds"

Thank goodness a truck drove by and they all took off.....never to return!  Seriously, must have been some good eats after the rain that attracted them.  There had to be over a hundred birds pecking away at the grass this morning.