I first heard about a Storybook Pumpkin Patch from Cari Young on her blog The Centered School Library.  I thought this would be a fun way to celebrate books, and possibly start a new tradition at our school as well.       I sent home a letter in mid-October to give the kids…

     As a teacher and a librarian, I spend a lot of time discussing how when you read, your brain needs to be actually DOING something, not just reading the words (although that part is important as well).      I had previously found this Brain Hat late one night as a teacher and thought this would be…

     I like to do small “mini-events” with my PreK, Kinder, ELE, and ICAP classes toward the beginning of the year, to help get them excited about the library.  I usually use the book from Jumpstart’s Read for the Record but unfortunately, there were schedule conflicts that prevented me from getting everything ready by their October…

     Just like with the younger grades, when October begins, I start getting into the more “meatier” lessons, like on book genres, with 3rd-5th grade as well.  These lessons are often taught during one or two library lessons, but will also carry on throughout the entire year.          The first of these “meatier”…

Making a book to talk about the parts of a book!      Whew!  I always forget how quickly the first part of the school year goes, and we sure have been BUSY!  September has been filled with teaching and/or reviewing with students on how to check their own books in/out on the computer, how…