Over the last four years, I’ve developed a tradition of visiting the younger grades as the “Book Fairy” on the first day of school, and then visiting 3rd-5th as the “Library Goddess” on the second day of school. I quickly pop into all the classrooms after the announcements, and just do a quick introduction of myself, and let them know that they will visit me in the library every week starting next week. (Feel free to chuckle at my costumes here.)
Things went pretty smoothly on both days, and I even had bling still on my shirt by the end of the day! (I learned my lesson and hot glued them on in the morning before heading out into the halls to greet the ever-so-eager youngsters!) I have to admit, though…I did have on a pink feathered boa as the “Book Fairy”, but I had to toss it early on in the day. I guess I wouldn’t have made a very successful saloon girl….those boas get HOT!
On a cute note…. I overheard two kinder students talking outside the library door on their way to class this morning. Their conversation went as follows:
Student 1: That’s the library! That’s where the Book Fairy lives!
Student 2: Do you think she’s in there now?
Student 1: No…I think she’s flying around the school looking for lost kids like she did with me yesterday!
Student 2: I love the Book Fairy!
Things went pretty smoothly on both days, and I even had bling still on my shirt by the end of the day! (I learned my lesson and hot glued them on in the morning before heading out into the halls to greet the ever-so-eager youngsters!) I have to admit, though…I did have on a pink feathered boa as the “Book Fairy”, but I had to toss it early on in the day. I guess I wouldn’t have made a very successful saloon girl….those boas get HOT!
On a cute note…. I overheard two kinder students talking outside the library door on their way to class this morning. Their conversation went as follows:
Student 1: That’s the library! That’s where the Book Fairy lives!
Student 2: Do you think she’s in there now?
Student 1: No…I think she’s flying around the school looking for lost kids like she did with me yesterday!
Student 2: I love the Book Fairy!
And there you have it folks! That’s the reason I do the things I do! 🙂
Now that the visits have been done, I can start getting things ready for my first week of lessons. Since we don’t have school on Monday for Labor Day, I’ll be pulling those classes this Friday, which means I need to get myself organized!
One activity that I did last year that I plan on doing again this year was using “Practice Library Books” with Pre-K and Kinder. Here’s what I did….
I have a stash of paperback books that are leftover from when I taught 3rd grade (and some that have been donated by kids over the years). They include Fiction chapter books, Everybody books, and Non-Fiction books. When a student has an overdue book, they are not able to check out a new library book, but they are given the option to take a paperback book home. This paperback also serves as a reminder to them to bring their library book back WITH their paperback the next day.
Last year, I decided to use the paperbacks as a “stepping stone” for my Pre-K and Kindergarten students. We reviewed how to take care of their library book, and to keep it safe in their backpack. (*You can read more about that lesson here.) Then I handed them a paperback with the note attached that explained how this was their “Practice Library Book”. If they remembered to keep it safe and bring it back the following week, they would graduate and be able to check out a REAL library book!
They were so excited carrying their practice books out of the library, and some of them were even holding their book like a baby, promising to take good care of it!
Almost every student remembered to bring their paperback book back to school the following week! I think it really helped them to understand that bringing their books back every week is important.
In case you don’t have paperback books in your library to give to students, I also created a mini booklet that you can copy and hand out to the students instead. There’s a color version as well as a black and white version.
Since I’m at a bilingual school, I’ve also included Spanish versions of all pages.
If you’d like this to use with your students, stop by my store at TpT.
Hope this helps!
Sandy
Hi! I love this idea but I have two questions…how do you keep track of the books that they take (do they have barcodes?) and what happens if they do not return the book?
Sandy,
Thank you for taking the time to share your fabulous ideas! You put so much work into your plans! It shows your passion for the library and students! I am the librarian at an all PK campus and I absolutely LOVE this idea! We have a LOT of paperbacks that aren't part of the library so it would be easy to do this. I love the option to take home a paperback when they have an overdue book! Do you attach a note to it when it goes home with them? I'm imagine that some don't come back…..do you just count them as a loss? We have plenty so I don't think it'd be to bad. I'm just wondering if you try to retrieve them as well? Thanks so much for your insight! 🙂
When I first start this with Kinder and Pre-K, I do attach the note home with them so their parents understand what the book is and why it's coming home. After that, when they forget their book, I just have them pick out a paperback and I tell them that this book is their reminder to find their Real Library Book (aka: hardback book) and put it in their backpack. If they forget their book again the next week, their book is officially "overdue" in our Destiny Catalog System, so I print out a copy of their screen. It shows their name, the book's title, when it was checked out, when it was due, and how much the book costs. I stamp the notice with the message "Please return your lost library books or pay the replacement cost listed on the notice." (see my blog post about this here http://thebookfairygoddess.blogspot.com/2013/07/lost-books-in-library.html)
I encourage them to bring BOTH books back (their paperback AND their library book) but as long as it helps them bring back their library book I'm happy. We do a paperback round up at the end of each 9 weeks and I remind them to go home and search for them. I usually take a picture at the beginning of the year of our paperback bookcase and use that picture at the end of the year to remind them of what we HAD to start off with. But I feel like I can replace those books a lot easier (Half Price books, garage sales, etc.) After 6 years of doing this, I also get some kids and families that donate paperbacks that they no longer want. I hope this helps!
Sandy
I do not have barcodes on my paperbacks but they do have stickers on the spine that say the name of our library so they are easily recognizable. When students take a paperback, it's on their honor to remember to return them. They are used more as a reminder to bring their actual library books back, and as long as their library book comes back I'm happy. We usually do an "all-call" for paperbacks at the end of each 9 weeks and then again at the end of the year to try and get our bookcase filled up again. I also look for replacements at Half Price books and go to garage sales for good buys. I hope this helps!
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Thanks for the book to use with the Kinders. When I used them last year, I have them take them home and they have barcodes so they can check them out and in. That way they know what happens with their “real” books. Also on the book I have a brief note that they must pay for lost “real” books and that books may be on many reading levels since they are just learning to use language so their books may not be on their reading level. This helps with the teacher and parent who get upset when they can’t read their books since it is “not on their level.” I have never understood how Kinders are supposed to have a reading level when they are just learning their letters!
I
What a cool idea to have barcodes on them! LOL Love it!
Does anyone have a letter home to share?
Thanks
Yvonne
Hi Yvonne,
If you are sending home an actual paperback book, then you can tape the note that’s included on the top cover of the book. That way, parents understand why the paperback is coming home, and that it needs to be returned. If you are making copies of the “practice book” then the letter explaining things to parents is on the back page. I hope this helps! 🙂