It's Wednesday! What's happening in the AME Library?

 We have Armadillo Voting going on this week!

Kindergarteners, first graders, and second graders are getting a quick review of our Armadillo books (we've been reading them since August!) and then voting for their favorite one.  Ms Margocs will announce class and campus winners next week.

PreK is learning about all the ways we experience water in its many forms, with Hey, Water! by Antoinette Portis.  So far, water in the pool seems to be our scholars' favorite.

Third through fifth graders are checking out books this week.  Speaking of checking out...this is the last week for our scholars to check out library books!  All books are due back on May 6th, so Ms Margocs can start chasing down what's missing and billing for lost and damaged books.  

If you have overdue books, be sure to REALLY look for them; we've had several scholars find books waaaayyyy back in their desks, behind bookcases, and on classroom library shelves.

Ms Muneer's class had fun with flashlight checkout today!

We will have a special event in the library next week for all of our scholars--don't worry about having something to read for the last few weeks of school!

It's Monday! What are you reading?

I have stuck with my commitment to read at least a chapter each night of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone!  I had forgotten just how easy it was for me to read Rowling's prose.  Her storytelling is direct and leaves the reader always wanting to know what will happen next.  Her chapters are short enough that I can manage to finish one before nodding off at night.

Teachers are already making summer learning plans, and I've signed up for a couple of book studies.  I've already received one through intercampus mail!  I'll start reading it this week.

It's Monday, and I'm halfway through with the first book of the Harry Potter series already!  Do you set a daily reading goal for yourself?  When is the best time of day for you to read?  What are you reading for personal learning?

It's Wednesday! What's happening in the AME Library?

 We started our week off with a belated flashlight checkout session for Ms Burnett's class!

PreK through first grades have read-alouds this week:

PreK is learning about different kinds of nests with Mama Built a Little Nest by Jennifer Ward. 

Kindergarteners are thinking about when to be quiet and when to speak up with Speak Up by Miranda Paul, a Texas 2x2 book.

First graders are exploring wants versus needs with Saturday by Oge Mora, an Armadillo Readers' Choice book.

Kindergarten through second grade will be voting for their favorite Armadillo Readers' Choice book next week!

Ms Margocs is raising butterflies on her back porch...so we're displaying books about butterflies and bees to celebrate spring!

Second through fifth grades are helping Ms Margocs improve our library program by filling out a survey.  The questions cover library visits, overall feelings about the library, book preferences, lesson relevance, and constructive criticism/ ideas for improvement.

We will be on a serious hunt for overdue and missing books from now until the end of the school year.  Please check your account by logging into the online catalog.  If you have overdue books and aren't sure where to find them, here are some possible hiding places:

• Classroom bookshelves
• Home bookshelves
• Under your bed
• At the back of your desk
• In your car
• At grandma's house
• In a sibling's room
• In your book box

Overdue notices are automatically sent to student emails.  We will be sending home paper copies of notices next week.   If the books aren't returned by mid-May, we will bill the students for the cost of replacement.

Clear your accounts, Dillo Readers--there will be prize drawings at the end of the year!  You'll be eligible if all of your books are turned in.

It's Monday! What are you reading?

I decided to get a jump start on a summer reading goal:  revisiting the Harry Potter series.  I pulled the first book off the shelf this past week, dove into the first couple of chapters...but then a book bundle I'd ordered got delivered.  I set Harry aside for a grownup mystery novel--Quiet in Her Bones by Nalini Singh, definitely for adults, and very easy to get hooked on its twists and turns.  After an unexpected but satisfying ending to the mystery novel, I returned to Privet Drive yesterday, and I'm committing myself to a chapter a night until I finish.

It's Monday, and I'm revisiting old friends by re-reading a popular series.  What are the books you return to, and why?

It's Wednesday! What's happening in the AME Library?

We are entering the wind-down-for-the-school-year time; April will be our last month for regular visits and checkouts...but there are exciting events to come in May, so stay tuned!

This week, first through fifth grades have checkout time for their library visits.  Several classes earned flashlight time this week!

PreK is listening to a story about seasons and connecting colors with them, with the beautifully illustrated Green on Green by Dianne White, pictures by Felicita Sala.

Kindergarteners are making their own "I am" statements after listening to I Am Every Good Thing by Derrick Barnes.

We got "new" wobble stools in the library!  They will eventually be used at our tables when we rearrange our furniture.

We are still celebrating National School Library Month! Be sure to ask your scholar about their library activity, what lessons or read-alouds they participated in, what books they checked out.  Every class at AME comes to the library every week.

It's Monday! What are you reading?

I read a grown-up book last week, picked up from the book swap at our most recent librarians' meeting:

The Lost Apothecary is one of those stories that goes back and forth from past to present, leading the reader to glean the threads that start to weave the two parallel plots together.  I read every page for the first half of the book, then had to scan the following chapters because I was in a hurry to see what would happen next--and it was way past my bedtime!  I love stories about the beginnings of medicine pulled from ancient wisdom, and the power of women who use that knowledge to help others.  The modern day half of the plot shows how easily one can fall under the spell of gaslighting in the guise of love.

It's Monday, and I scanned a book to hurry to the end! Have you ever done that with a really good story?

It's Wednesday! What's happening in the AME Library?

 

Thank you so much for all the notes and gifts of appreciation

for National School Librarians Day on Monday!

Our Dillo Readers' Advisory Club pulled some books for this month's display:

It was their last club meeting, so we wrapped up with some feedback on their experience:

Last week, the library was the venue for the admin team's baby shower for Mrs McKnight:

And this week, Mrs Saenz's class was the first to reach fifty Dillo Tickets in the library and earned a flashlight checkout!

This week's read-alouds and lessons:

PreK is discussing the importance of teamwork after we read Boxitects by Kim Smith, a Texas 2x2 book.

Kindergarteners are considering wants versus needs, and how to handle our emotions when our wants are not met, with Oge Mora's Saturday, an Armadillo Readers' Choice Book.

First graders figure out that it takes time to cool down after an argument with a friend in Rita and Ralph's Rotten Day, another Armadillo Readers' Choice book.

And second graders are learning some new animal facts from the informational text (and Armadillo book) Baby Animals With Their Families.

Third graders are working in groups for a quick matchup game of url domains and websites.  

Fourth and fifth graders are reading metaphor poems and drawing pictures of what they think the poems are describing.

We are just one month away from our last checkouts of the year!  Please be sure to hunt down any overdue books and get them turned in as soon as possible.

See you in the stacks, Dillo Readers!

It's Monday! What are you reading?

Well, I fell into a book reading slump again last week, friends.  But that doesn't mean I didn't read--in fact, I was reading a LOT of blog posts and poetry written by fellow educators!  Three hundred of us wrapped up our participation in the annual Slice of Life Story Challenge, sponsored by the Two Writing Teachers site, on March 31st, writing every day for a month and reading each other's stories along the way.  Then several of us jumped over to ethicalela's "Verselove"--daily poetry writing prompts during the month of April.

It's Monday, and most of my reading has been online this week.  Do you do a lot of reading online?  Do you read for information, enjoyment, or both?