Countdown to the Big Break!!

I think the staff are just as anxious to get out for the holiday break as the students are. On the days it snows, the kids are WILD and on top of colds and the flu and all other sorts of set backs, I think it is safe to say we are ready for a break :)

One of my favorite weeks of the whole year is the week before Christmas break. A wonderful local church brings every student and staff member a gift. Over 500 gifts come pouring in and the students light up! They make the staff a wonderful lunch, which this year was soup and salad and the best gingerbread cookies I have ever tasted! I like to end the week on a cheery note so I save "The Night Before Christmas" by Clement Clark Moore for very last. There are several different copies out there but there is even an online copy on getepic.com that is so fun to use.

I love this site SO much. It gives a different view of reading books to our students and if we don't have something in our library, I can usually find something on Epic!

There are so many great books and not quite enough time but we were able to squeeze in Dr. Seuss "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and the cartoon before we leave. 

Many other great Winter holiday titles we featured this month in our library are shown below. We are so grateful for the diversity at our school and all the cultures we get to experience. Wishing you the happiest holidays now please excuse me while I countdown the hours until the break... ;)

December is here!

One of my favorite times of the year...December. All around, things change shape. Snow falls, lights glow and we all seem to care a little bit more. I have been looking at my collection since November, trying to figure out what books I can read in the three and a half weeks before we get out for the break!

This week, we did "A Cookie for Santa" by Stephen Shaw. The story is about a super cookie who helps save Christmas and becomes a friend to Santa instead of a treat! Once again, another fun rhyming book that the kids adore!

"The Last Christmas Tree" by Stephen Krensky is so sweet and the illustrations by Pascal Campion are darling!! The kids are very sweet and take a liking to the little tree right away even though no one else does in the story. In the end, the little tree ends up finding the best home of all.... at the North Pole!

I wish it offered more images online so I could show you the art inside the book, but I guess that just means you will need to read it and find out for yourself - you won't be disappointed! 

Getting into Giving Thanks

This month is cut a week short for the Thanksgiving holiday break so I have three perfect books to read to get your kids in the Turkey Day spirit.

Thanksgiving for Emily Ann by Teresa Johnston is SO cute! It's about a little girl who is not liking having to share her home when family comes to stay for the holiday, so she gets a little mischievous.

I'm no Turkey by Hans Wilhelm is such an easy read but the kids love the silliness each page holds!

This Is the Turkey by Abby Levine is the picture perfect traditional Thanksgiving until something goes wrong and the turkey that has been cooking all day slips off the plate!

The moral of this story is that we are grateful for everything we have and even if we don't have everything we wanted or expected, there is still plenty to be thankful for. 

We get out tomorrow for a lovely week-long holiday vacation and want to wish you all the Happiest Thanksgiving! 

The Snatchabook and The Gruffalo

This week was recovery week from the book fair and of course our school was used as a voting site for election day so I was out another day for library this week. With in-class library and trying to get back on schedule, I picked two AMAZING favorites.

The Snatchabook is an adorable mystery by Helen and Thomas Docherty. Someone is stealing all the bedtime stories and it must come to a stop! Read along to find out who's the culprit and if the stories ever get returned to their rightful owners.

And of course, more Julia Donaldson splendor with The Gruffalo. Most of the kids had already read it but they didn't mind another round and Netflix also has a beautiful cartoon to go along with this one! In true librarian's fashion, we read the book first and then watch the 'toon! 

You cannot help but love this little brown mouse and the humor and picture are so delightful!

Happy Halloween Books

I have been totally slacking and I apologize. This month has been very hectic and I am now in the middle of my school's book fair so the chaos continues! 

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays so whenever I see a fun Halloween book, I must have it! This year we read some new and old classics.

My absolute favorite from Julia Donaldson is Room on the Broom.

Netflix has the BEST cartoon to go along with this story - it is adorable!

Crankenstein by Samantha Berger shows how all little children become a Crankenstein every once in a while. I let the kids make sound effects and they love the grumpy pictures.

Shivery Shades of Halloween by Mary McKenna Siddals has every creepy, crawly description of all things spooky. While I may have left out some words like bloody and snotty, the kids didn't seem to mind!

Monster Mash by David Catrow is word for word the lyrics from the song. Since I totally ran out of time, I didn't get the chance to play the song and follow along in the book with the kids, but that just means I'll get to use it next year!

Happy Halloween!!

Mother Bruce & Are You My Mother?

I thought about saving these titles for Mother's Day but once I started flipping through the pages, I couldn't help myself and had to read them this week! 

Mother Bruce by Ryan T. Higgins is absolutely adorable and one of my favorites to read. It's about a bear who was preparing some eggs to eat on the stove when the eggs hatch, mistaking Bruce the bear as their mother. It does have some funny comments about being organic and other little quirks that are more for the adults, but the kids look right past it and see nothing but silly babies and a big black bear!

Most days the kids are wiggly and chatty but they were so into the books this week! They were laughing and having a great time.

And can you believe that Are You My Mother was published in 1960?! Can you believe that a book without bright coloring and new pictures can still be loved and enjoyed by kids today! Well beeeeelieve it! 

The kids were cracking up when they heard all the animals and the airplane and the SNORT! being asked if they were the mother to this baby bird! The mistaken motherly identities of these two go hand in hand.

All About Man's Best Friend

Last week we read about dogs! The kids love to talk about whether they own a dog, or a cat, or sometimes a magical unicorn that they rode to school... so they could definitely relate to the books this week!

Aaron Meshon shows comparisons of what the best day ever looks like between a dog and his girl! 

When I saw this one at the book fair last year, I had to have it! It is a short one but tricks the reader a time or two. An easy and enjoyable read for littles!

How Do You Hug a Porcupine & Cuddle

I didn't realize until after the kids had gone, but they all greeted me with hugs today on the same day I had planned books about hugs! Is there a more perfect way to start the day?

When I read these to the kids today, they immediately began to hug their neighbors! It was so precious and they loved the books! I have a hard time not laughing too loud at some of the silly things they do and say sometimes. After a really crummy day yesterday, the innocence of hugging and silly sayings was just what I needed! 

This story, by Laurie Isop, is all about discovering how to hug a prickly creature! It gives lots of examples of animals we can hug. After reading about chicks, one of the sweetest little boys in the class raised his hand and said that he got to babysit some baby chicks and that he read them a bedtime story before bed. I just about melted to the floor! 

This book, by Beth Shoshan, is about hugging or "cuddling" too. It also gives animal examples as well, so the two went perfectly together! It does say some funny things like a tiger would bite your head off haha but the kids loved it! 

Monsters Love Underpants

Bright colored monsters and frilly, silly underpants this week! The book Monsters Love Underpants by Claire Freedman and Ben Cort is great for readers of all ages. The school I work at has a variety of nationalities and languages spoken in it. In one particular class, there is a student who spoke zero English but was intrigued by the great pictures and fun story line. We all laugh in the same language! 

 

The second book we read to go along with our "monster" week was A Monster is Coming by David L. Harrison. Is there such thing as a monster book with no monster in it? Read to find out! 

Give a hoooooot for good books!

I know some of us hate the end of summer. It means back to school, less barbecue's, less pool time and less sunshine. For me, it means pretty colors on the trees, cooler temperatures (sometimes) and PUMPKINS, PUMPKINS, PUMPKINS. I am arguably one of the biggest reasons for all those pumpkin spice memes you are seeing all over the place right now!

Today at school we are jumping into Autumn and while I know the official first day of fall isn't until September 22, I like to get a head start. :) We are reading Good-night, Owl by Pat Hutchins and The Little White Owl by Tracey Corderoy and Jane Chapman. While it may seem the only thing these two titles have in common are owls, they both have something to learn about. One is silly with owls munching on toast and jam and teaches about acceptance. The other is fun in teaching about the animals that keep owl up in the day time until the night falls and the owl is the only one awake because he is nocturnal!

I  am always shocked to find out how much kinders know. I am looking forward to seeing how many already know what nocturnal means! It is a perfect time to focus on changing in the seasons, animal habitats and upcoming holidays! 

Frog on a Log? & Count the Monkeys

This week was a bit more controlled and we had our first student check outs. I am a bit nervous but most of the kids seem excited and I have great back up from teachers on library policies. This week we are reading Frog on a Log? by Kes Gray and Jim Field and Count the Monkeys by Mac Barnett and Kevin Cornell. 

I found this at the Scholastic warehouse sale last year and KNEW it would be a hit! Pretty pictures, bright colors and it was cheap, too! It gives funny rhyming examples and I am a sucker for rhyming books.... due to Julia Donaldson and all her splendor! 
http://www.scholastic.com/bookfairs/books/book-trailers/frog-log
Click the link to watch the adorable book trailer from Scholastic!

And when I found Count the Monkeys in my library last year, I felt it would be a perfect read aloud for the younger grades. It keeps you surprised from page one and is fun for both the audience and reader to enjoy! 

You will face many obstacles along the way, but the ending is worth waiting for!

First Day Kinders - "Read It, Don't Eat It!"

When I hear people say trying to teach new kindergarten children is like trying to herd cats, I completely agree. Tiny, precious littles all over the place crawling, blurting and exploring every moment of every day! 

A book was gifted to me this summer that was meant for the first day of library with little learners. It is called "Read it, Don't Eat It!" by Ian Schoenherr. Before I could explain the procedures and how we treat our books, there was licking, there was picking, there was lots and lots of "ick-ing."  

The book goes about showing the way we treat our books with silly scenarios, bright pictures and fun animals. We finished class with a coloring page and may read this a few more times until we can complete class time without any tongue-to-book contact...

Harry Potter Classroom Tour

This will probably be one of my favorite posts because I am a total Potter fanatic! At a district meeting today, we were talking about how everyone has something they "nerd out" about....well that's Harry Potter for me! I wanted to do a fun theme this year and what's more fun than magic broomsticks and silly flavored jellybeans? I have been busy working on getting my room decorated before the kids come to school and it is starting to come together. Take a look and see details below!


                        


One of my favorite details is for sure the library doors as the Platform 9 3/4. I used four sheets of butcher paper and hand-stamped the bricks from a mixture of red and brown paint with a sponge. The sign 9 3/4 is from a poster that I ordered off Amazon. 

I didn't feature this cutie in the video, but I took this idea from Pinterest and just sort of made it my own since I wanted to keep the time and expenses low. The stickers I used really made it come to life, and while the directions may not completely be true, it is the perfect detail to the entry of my room.

This is definitely one of the coolest parts of the library! Every year I have a new quote on the counter and rather than a character's quote, this one by J.K. Rowling set the tone. I couldn't imagine a better thought to inspire young minds to want to read and create!

P.S. PROUD MOMENT - YES, I PAINTED THAT! :)

Since I am doing the first book as a read aloud with my upper grades, 4th - 6th, I wanted to involve them in Hogwarts activities to play along with. Each week, they will get a point to add to one of the Hogwarts houses. Red would mean they did excellent, blue well, yellow average, and green needs improvement. At the end of each quarter, I have a reward for each classroom, depending on how they scored in the houses. If Gryffindor wins, they get to have a "potions lesson" after checkout. I have several ideas brewing, but Pinterest also has many examples that I want to try as well. If Ravenclaw wins, they get to play "Potter Games" which consist of my Harry Potter classroom Kahootz game and the Harry Potter Scholastic site. If Hufflepuff wins, they get to have a "Butterbeer Float Party". You can find the recipe here. If Slytherin wins, they get to bring a treat from home to eat during class. I tried to make it the least fun so that they would be motivated to act responsibly and respectfully to earn the best reward!

In the video, you will see that in my "Potter Shoppe" I have Bertie Botts Beans, licorice wands, plastic Harry Potter glasses, Olivander's wands, soon -to-be-made chocolate frogs, Potter Pins (HP collectors pins), bookmarks and other Hogsmeade items. In the video, you will also see that I have a Gringott's container full of gold coins aka galleons. For perfect behavior, I will give out a galleon to the students and they can purchase those goodies from me. 

Example: Licorice Wand: 2 Galleons - Potter Pin: 5 Galleons, etc. making the less desired items less expensive and the higher interest items must be saved up and worked for.

Lastly, these are just a few fun details that help set the stage for a magical adventure as we set out for Hogwarts this week!