It's Monday! What are you reading?

February will be over after tomorrow, so I'm in a time crunch to get some reading done!  I haven't even touched my professional reading for the month (the ice storm and a round of COVID put a dent in my reading time, stamina, and motivation).  I am bound and determined to make up for it next month--especially over Spring Break!

Speaking of next month--March is Women's History Month, so I'll be highlighting some of our library's offerings over the next couple of weeks.  Here are our newest additions to stories of groundbreaking women, available for checkout:

It's Monday, and I'm looking forward to sharing some fantastic new biographies with my scholars in celebration of Women's History Month.  Have you read a great biography or autobiography of a woman?  

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

The library is being used for testing this week, so Tuesday and some Wednesday classes are being accommodated with quick visits later in the week, and an in-classroom read-aloud.  Thursday and Friday classes should be on a regular schedule, whew!

PreK is focusing on "waiting" as part of their curriculum this week, so Ms Margocs is reading ¡Esperar no es fácil! by Mo Willems.  (She practiced her Spanish read-aloud skills with Ms McClure in the office, so we should be good to go!)

Kindergarten is listening to Chez Bob by Bob Shea, one of our Armadillo Readers' Choice books.  We're spending a bit of time just analyzing the cover and discussing the silly aspects of the story to come.  If you were a bird, would you eat on top of an alligator's nose?  

First and second graders have checkout this week, with time to pick good-fit books!

Third through fifth graders are completing the district climate survey during their library visits, so they will need their charged computers.

Ms Margocs hosted her first Discovery Girls Scout meeting in the library this week!  We learned the Girl Scout Promise and Law, sang the "Brownie Smile" and "Make New Friends" songs, and learned how to make a friendship circle.  Discovery Girls is part of our after-school club program, and is supported by our local Girl Scout council.

Next week, we'll share some details of our upcoming Spring Scholastic Book Fair--it's right after Spring Break!

See you in the stacks, Dillo Readers! 

It's Monday! What are you reading?

 I am hosting two student book clubs--which means I'm reading two more books:

How to Steal a Dog by Barbara O'Connor is a heart-tugging story of a family in crisis.  Georgina and her mother and brother are living in their car after being evicted from their apartment.  Georgina has an idea to help them pay for a new home...but it's a bit more complicated than she planned.

Zane and the Hurricane: A Story of Katrina is a fictional account of our not-too-distant history--the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina and the survivors' struggles in the aftermath.  There will be lots of heart-tugging moments in this book, too!

For more personal reading this week--a friend recommended this book to me, after the loss of a grand old oak from our front yard during our recent ice storm:

It was all I could do to keep from crying as I read about Steve's similar fate.  We may not build a treehouse--most of our oak was hauled away--but I will be making use of two large logs that I just couldn't part with.

It's Monday, and it seems that sentimental and emotional books are the theme of the week!  Are you reading a book that evokes strong emotional responses?  

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

Ms Margocs is processing a PILE of new books! We are adding many titles to our Spanish language collection, updating nonfiction choices, and introducing a new series for our beginning chapter readers.

Several new cookbooks have arrived, too!

Annnndddd...the 23-24 Bluebonnet nominees are here!

They won't be put on the shelves until we compete in the Battle of the Bluebonnets.  Seven students have been invited to try out for our campus team; we'll know our top four scorers this week!  The district competition will be held virtually on February 28th.

Yesterday, our Bluebonnet readers of distinction stopped by the library for a Grab-and-Go Donut breakfast.  

This week's lessons and read-alouds:

PreK is counting luchadores wrestling on the bed with Nikko in The Great and Mighty Nikko:  A Bilingual Counting Book by Xavier Garza.

Kindergarteners are discovering the many jobs involved in building our infrastructure through Someone Builds the Dream, a Texas 2x2 book by Lisa Wheeler and Loren Long.

First and second graders are laughing through Bob Shea's Chez Bob, an Armadillo Readers' Choice nominee.  How would you advertise a restaurant for birds located on the nose of a hungry alligator?

Third graders will be drawing their best guesses of what metaphor poems are describing.

Fourth graders are following the spinning wheel to identify text features in nonfiction books.  Will the wheel land on glossary, caption, index, cutaway, diagram...?

Fifth graders are exploring themes in poetry using bilingual poems as well as song lyrics by Tupac and Pink.  (Don't worry, parents, Ms Margocs is using kid-appropriate verses!)

Next week, all third through fifth graders will be taking our district student climate survey during their library visits, so they will need charged computers.

Happy to see you in the stacks again, Dillo Readers!

It's Monday! What are you reading?

I'd like to say having time off from work the last couple of weeks led to a lot of reading...but I only read a little.  

Still, I made progress on my reading goals;  I finished Mindful School Libraries by Wendy Stephens and read a bit more of Brene Brown's The Gifts of Imperfection.  I've almost finished Her Majesty's Royal Coven (a grown-up book, NOT for kids!), and I'm revisiting one of my favorite books, Wintering by Katherine May. 

I've skipped ahead to the section entitled "February", to match the pace of the calendar.  May's description of our love-hate relationship with the icy weather of winter is relevant, given that we're still dealing with the aftermath of the ice storm that swept through Texas two weeks ago.

The other two books I'll be picking up this month are The Joy of Reading by Miller and Lesesne, and continuing Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

 It's Monday, and I've got my reading plan set for the month.  Are you trying a month-by-month reading plan this year, too?  What books have you chosen, and why?