Tuesday Slice: I'm not ready!

The students arrive in a week, close to 1100 of them at last count.  That number is about 150 more than last year's beginning of school enrollment.  We've added four more classes over the past two weeks.

My vision for the library schedule this year included two flexible mornings with no regular library visits, so that we have room in the week for longer lessons when requested, author visits, presentations, and rescheduled classes.  But as my "single slot" teachers--kindergartens and first grades--fill in their preferred times for library visits, I am thinking that some of that flex time might become fixed visit time.  My upper grades will often double up classes for their slots, but there's only so much time in the week!

I have no control over the size of our student population, so I've spent the last week on tasks within my control:  ordering books, scheduling author visits, rearranging shelves, laminating new signage, subscribing to our local online newspaper, meeting with the new teachers.  I'm working on the orientation lesson (using iPads this year!) and scheduling meetings with teams to go over read-alouds and lesson topics.

The library looks messy, the circulation desk is cluttered, the shelves are not done, signage is not up, the new badge printer is not plugged in.  I'm not ready for school to start yet!

But yesterday, in the office to see if my academic year wall calendar had arrived (it is the best tool EVER for this librarian!), there was a mom enrolling her two children.  When I introduced myself as the librarian, she immediately asked me about reading incentive programs in our school.  They had just moved from another state, and she felt their previous school was not big on encouraging reading (!).  As I explained our Bluebonnet reading program, read-alouds, regular library visits, and genre challenges offered by many of our teachers, her eyes lit up.  Her son and daughter came up to the front desk to hear the details, smiles on their faces.  

I'm not ready, but they are.  I'd better get cracking at that to-do list!