It's Monday! What are you reading?

I finished my kid lit book this weekend:  The Art of Flying, by Judy Hoffman.

This book could easily be made into a Studio Ghibli-style animated movie, with witches living among humans, anthropomorphized animals--and animals transformed into humans.  The acceptance of magic as real is lightly touched on, but not delved into too deeply.  The scene where everyone is flying--birds and humans alike--took me back to my childhood dreams of flight, when I would wake up disappointed at being landbound.  And we can all relate to the theme of giving up what we want for the greater good of another.  

It's almost the end of the month, and I'm still working on my reading goals, trying to finish my self-improvement and professional reading.  How is your progress toward your reading goal?  Has setting the goal helped you read more?

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

 It's Bluebonnet Voting week in our library for third through fifth grades!

Thirteen scholars get to vote for their favorite Bluebonnet Award Nominee this week.  Next step?  Tryouts for our campus team, to compete in our district Battle of the Bluebonnets!

New books will be hitting the shelves soon.  Here's a peek at some of the titles:

We are increasing the diversity in our collection as well as striving to keep our average publication within ten years--a district guideline.  This does not mean we get rid of favorite classics that our students still enjoy--we get newer editions of those.

Continuing with our display of Black authors and illustrators for Black History Month--the amazing art of Jerry Pinkney:

Ms Margocs is supporting fifth grade scholars with their IB Exhibition projects through research lessons and group appointments to help them find the information they need.

PreK through second grades have read-alouds this week:

PreK scholars are learning how to name feelings in class, so we are learning about the many feelings Theo is having about a new baby in the house in Theo's Mood by Maryann Cocca-Leffler.

Kindergarten through second grade classes are becoming acquainted with scientists who were curious as kids as we read What's In Your Pocket? Collecting Nature's Treasures by Heather L. Montgomery, illustrated by Maribel Lechuga.  It's one of our Armadillo Readers' Choice books.

See you in the library, 'Dillo Readers!  We've done some rearranging, so take some time to explore when looking for your next book to read.

It's Monday! What are you reading?

 I set a reading goal of three to four books a month for 2023, to whittle away at my to-read piles as well as keep up with kidlit and professional reading.  I finished my just-for-fun book this weekend--Jim Butcher's Turncoat from the Harry Dresden series.  I was so engaged with a supernatural battle scene that I stayed up way past my bedtime last Thursday to see how it would turn out!  Butcher is also really good at wrapping up a story at the book's end...but leaving a door wide open for another book in the series.  (If you are a student reading this, remember--this series is for high school-on-up readers!)

I only have a week to wrap up my other three books:  The Art of Flying (kidlit), The Gifts of Imperfection (personal learning), and Mindful School Libraries (professional learning).  I will be increasing my daily reading time to meet my goal.  A few other books have been calling to me...it's hard sometimes to focus when there are so many good stories to read!

It's Monday, and I'm going to have to fight my scanning tendencies to focus on my monthly reading goal.  Do you get distracted by other titles?  Does it keep you from finishing books?  How does this make you feel?

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

 In honor of MLK Day, we are starting our Black History Month displays this week.  We're featuring historical figures as well as Black authors, illustrators, and Black fictional characters.  Representation matters!

We also received two books from the LBJ Foundation to add to our collection--key players in the Civil Rights Movement as well.

This is a week of deadlines for our Dillo Readers:

All Waves of Pages reading needed to be logged by this past Monday; the logs are due in to teachers by this Friday so Ms Margocs can get them entered and submitted to Schlitterbahn for those free tickets!

Third through fifth grades:  All 22-23 Bluebonnet Nominee reading needs to be recorded online by Sunday night!  Ms Margocs will be tabulating the results and making the list of voters on Monday; voting starts with Tuesday classes!  Look for this button on the library website to record your reading (only available via student's district-given email):

First through fifth grades are checking out this week.

PreK and Kindergarten have read-alouds and checkout:

PreK is exploring imagination with the book Something Extraordinary by Ben Clanton.

Kindergarten is taking a walk and wondering with the characters in Wonder Walkers, a Caldecott Award winner by Micha Archer.

We'll be starting a school-wide reading project soon, thanks to our grant from RRISD's Partners in Education.  Here's a hint: I hope you like stickers, 'Dillo Readers!

It's Monday! What are you reading?

I am still going strong with the four books I'm reading this month!

Professional reading:

Self-improvement reading:

My kidlit book is The Art of Flying by Judy Hoffman, and my just-for-fun book is Turncoat by Jim Butcher.

It's Monday, and I'm reading a little each morning and night--sometimes learning something new, and sometimes just having fun getting lost in a story.  Scheduling time helps me make progress in each of the books!

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

Ms Margocs attended the monthly district librarians' meeting on Monday, where we discussed our personal reading lives, budget concerns, our upcoming statewide conference, learning opportunities, our summer reading program (yes, we plan THAT far ahead!), and the Battle of the Bluebonnets.  We also Zoomed with a Gale representative to learn about more bells and whistles in our Gale resources, and dug into the diversity of our campus collections to work towards more accurate representation of our learning community. 

We are on our regular schedule this week, with lessons and read-alouds!

PreK is exploring the feeling of being scared--and not being scared--with Todd Parr's The I'm Not Scared Book.

Kindergarten through second grades are thinking about units of measurement after listening to I Am the Longest Dog, an Armadillo Readers' Choice book by Avery Monsen.   Should we use a paper clip to measure Lucy?  A foot-long ruler, a yardstick...or is there a better unit of measurement to use?  Lucy is a pretty long dog...

Third through fifth grades are going back to the basics of writing--capitalization, punctuation, spelling, grammar, and legibility--starting with why we write (communication!) and looking at some mentor texts.

Fifth grade is also diving back into research for their IB Exhibition with support from Ms Margocs in their classrooms. This week, we're reviewing Google folders for organization, digital and print resources, and citation.

Important dates:

January 16th--last day to log Waves of Pages reading

January 20th--Waves of Pages reading logs due 

January 24th--Bluebonnet voting begins for eligible 3rd-5th graders

TBD--campus Battle of the Bluebonnet team tryouts

TBD--Bluebonnet Grab-n-Go Donuts for eligible 3rd-5th graders

February 28th--District Battle of the Bluebonnets

March 20-24--Spring Scholastic Book Fair

See you in the stacks, 'Dillo Readers!

It's Monday! What are you reading?

One week into the New Year, and I'm working on my reading goals already!

I am  focusing on four books a month (three, when I am giving myself a break from professional reading), to keep my "scanning" at a minimum--if I can help it, because books are always grabbing my attention!  I already own most of these, which have been languishing on to-be-read piles, or half-read, for awhile.

The four areas are self-improvement/ inspiration, professional, kidlit, and just-for-fun reading.  This month, I'm finishing up the book on mindful libraries, learning about courage and wholeheartedness with Brene Brown, enjoying a kidlit book where birds become people--but can still fly, and reconnecting with Harry Dresden, one of my favorite characters.

It's Monday, and I've planned a year of reading.  Do you have a pile of books to get you through the year?  Are you intentional in choosing what you'll read, leaving room for recommendations? 

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

Welcome back from Winter Break, Dillo Readers!  I hope it was safe, relaxing, and that you were able to read some fun books!  Check out my Monday blog post to see what I read over the break.

Not sure what to read next?  The new books we received before Winter Break are on display...and we just got a new shipment in today, that will be on the shelves soon!

And here are some scholars' reviews of one of the 22-23 Bluebonnet Award Nominees, Stella:

This week's goal for all classes is to review library expectations and shelf marker use.  We are talking about the school-wide expectations of being safe, respectful, and responsible.  What does that look like?  Why does it matter?  Why is it important for EVERYONE to feel safe and respected in the library--staff and students alike?

Parents and teachers, ask your scholars about the purpose of using shelf markers in the library.  (Hint:  they make it easier to find the books we want to read.)

(pics of shelf marker)

We have a busy January ahead--read-alouds, research support, lessons on writing, and Bluebonnet voting!  Here's a look back at our December:

See you in the stacks, Dillo Readers!

It's Monday! What are you reading?

Teachers are back to work today--scholars, you're up next, on Wednesday!  So what did you read over Winter Break?  I read one novel, started another, and read a dear-to-me picture book that combines my love of Christmas and owls.

First, the novel I finished--a grownup book called The Woman in the Library, by Sulari Gentill.  

Four strangers meet in a Boston public library, and are forever connected by a murder that occurs while they are sitting in the reading room together.  This is a mystery that reads like it's being written chapter by chapter before our eyes, critiqued in letters from a fan of the author who  is also an aspiring writer. The content of the end-of-chapter letters becomes more and more macabre as the story being told twists and turns. I was surprised by the ending!

The novel I started is one from our school library shelves:

Fortuna is called to the home of the Baldwin sisters to help them fix a problem:  they've turned a bird into a boy (which is against the rules), and now he doesn't want to turn back.  Fortuna's task: talk the boy into becoming a bird again.  This is easier said than done, as nefarious forces are at play, and Martin is stubbornly stuck in his desire to remain human.  I love books with magic, and this story has such a different take on the theme.

The picture book that made me smile this past week:  the story of the saw-whet owl that was trapped in the Christmas tree destined for Rockefeller Center.

We are back from Winter Break this week!  I hope you had fun reading at home and away.  Have you made your 2023 reading plans?  I have, and I'll share them next week.