Hi friends! Are you about ready for a break from school? Some time to recharge and connect with friends and family over a Thanksgiving feast? I know I am! But first, I want to share the gratitude with my students! Here’s what I’ll do. Read Aloud I’ll read Thanksgiving at the Tappletons to my kindergarten…
Are you ready for the last week in October? Here’s what we’ll be up to in our library this week. Monster Book Reviews Monster book reviews: your students will write about their favorite book, color their monster, and voila! You’ve got peer book recommendations for your students AND decorations for your library learning space! All…
Hi friends! Ellison Education gave me a great opportunity to try out their SuperStar die cut machine! I’ll tell you how much fun it was, and I’ll tell you how you can win one for YOUR school library! Personal Die Cutter You probably already have a big ole Ellison die cut machine in your teacher…
Hi friends! Have you seen the Pinterest project where you grow pumpkin plants inside a pumpkin shell? I thought it looked like fun, but some of the teachers at my school said the pumpkin would rot before the seeds could grow. Hmm…that made the science teacher in me very curious. And I wanted to share…
Hi friends! At the beginning of each year, every student in our district studies digital citizenship, from kindergarten through twelfth grade. I’m in the midst of teaching those lessons right now. I use the curriculum developed by our district. If I didn’t have that, I would use the free curriculum from Common Sense Media. As you…
Hi friends! I’ve joined with two of my favorite colleagues, Carolyn Vibbert at Risking Failure and Jess Lodge at Mrs. Lodge’s Library, to bring you Found Friday! We’re sharing the best ideas we’ve found (typically on Pinterest) for our library plans for next year. I hope you’ll join us! Today my Found Friday post will focus…
Hi friends! Many of you have asked me how I “manage” my library centers. I sense that you’re a little disappointed when I say that I don’t really “manage” them. I allow for free choice within the occupancy limit of each center. And that works for me. For those of you who crave more structure,…
Who’s ready to set up Christmas Library Centers? After Thanksgiving, our thoughts and decor turn to Christmas and other winter holidays. I’ve shared before about how I decorate with a holiday-neutral candy theme, how I rotate the winter and Christmas picture books, and how I created a “gingerbread house” for students to read in. In…
Hi friends! I went simple for my Thanksgiving library center this year. If you are in school this week, you are welcome to share this on your school campus. I stretched yellow butcher paper across the table, added a cup of markers, and put up this sign (it’s a free download from my Google Drive). It…
Hi friends! I’ve had a few questions about how I organize my library center “stuff.” It’s an ongoing process, but here are a few strategies that work for me. I use this monthly file folder organizer from Scholastic. This organizer has a cute, colorful file folder for each month, and a sturdy cardboard box to…
Hi friends! I stole borrowed an idea from our music teacher, and I love it! You know that I’m always looking for a good way to encourage students to return their books, right? And I don’t want to spend a lot of money, because I’d rather spend our budget on MORE BOOKS. So, here’s what’s working…
Hi friends!My turtle arrived today! He was bigger than I expected, and livelier too! Yesterday I collected all of our turtle books, fiction and non-fiction. I’ll display these next to the turtle’s tank, and replace them as students check them out. Then I wrote a prompt on butcher paper, and put it on the table,…