Currently May and Better Library Shelf Signs

It sounds so terrible to say it ... but I think they have been successful because I don't get So. Many. Questions.

#inserthappydance

Does it sound terrible? You know what I mean. I want to help. I do! But kids and teachers that can be more independent finding topics and books they are looking for? Not having 50 people asking me all at once "Where do I find ..." all at once? To my sanity? Priceless.



It's just like 30 asking me at once now.

Maybe when we get some functional computers in the library that can actually go online and look up books in the catalog in less than ten minutes it will go down to like maybe 10?

I can do 10. 50 was driving me insane.


And for Farley's Currently ...

Not very interesting.
New MB album! Love the duet with Reese Witherspoon.
Seriously. No one else "gets" it but MAJOR weeding. When I thought I couldn't do any more I did. The shelves look so nice.
But I come home so tired. The AC doesn't seem to be working cause it's been SO HOT everywhere in the library but right beneath the vent.
Being hot makes me tired.
I miss when I was skinny and in shape. :/
BOOKADAY! (See Twitter and The Book Whisperer if you don't know what that means). Cause new house the end of summer/first part of fall. WITH A WALL OF BOOKSHELVES.



Spring Festival is tonight. Fun for kids. Less fun for grownups but #thethingswedo.
MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU!

Finally Friday (or maybe Thursday night) Pins May 3

Do you know what Saturday is? DO YOU KNOW?


I think this is kind of cool. Don't know how to run the reports to get this info, though.


Learn somethin' new every day!






I did finally give in to some of the peeps who said that more boards that were more tightly thematic were helpful. So anything Harry Potter or Owl related now have their own boards. And if you didn't notice I divided up Tech and iDevice specific things a while back.

Busting Myths

Great possibilities for a project with a 5th grade class today. Execution ... not as much.

Taking what was called "urban legends or old wives' tales", researching background information, then actually experimenting to prove/disprove these myths.

1) Why must all the background knowledge be obtained in one 50 minute session? Pretty hard to do in one session.
2) Why can kiddos, no matter what you say, not think to do anything but go to google and ask "Will soda dissolve a steak?" or "Does exercising at night make it hard to sleep?" or "Will crossing your eyes make them stick that way?" Or may favorite "Does dropping a utensil mean a guest will be visiting?"

I didn't have any idea of what they would be specifically researching until about 20 minutes before they got there.

Is that why I am frustrated? Cause it was vaguely planned idea from the get go? So many hours spent on can kiddos bubble in a test ... and yet when push comes to shove they haven't a clue how to problem solve. Look up "digestion" or "eyesight"? I just wanted to help because this teacher had never asked for anything before.

Also it was SO HOT in the library today. I probably sweated off 10 pounds. I hope the book bugs don't come back. #causethatwasgross




What a grump. More fun ...

I have been weeding like CRAZY. Teachers and parents think I'm nuts. They don't realize that as they go to the shelves and things are less crowded and more orderly they are finding things much more quickly and easily. We may not have one specific book ... but what we do have looks nice. And we are rearranging our everybody section a bit. The non-fic was separate but in Dewey order. We separated them and I made some shelf labels that we'll see if it helps the kids find things more independently (also maybe help with time spent reshelving). What I can't decide is how to "label" the books so we don't have to redecide every time "we put that in transportation and community helpers" or "we put that in space and our planet." I also pulled all of the "reader" type books (think tall and skinny, if nothing else) and put them in a browsing cart. All day kids thought it was full of new books (even though hello, some of them look decidedly already much loved). How to label those as well, when they're not on a shelf in alpha order? The browsing cart has 6 different compartments on top and bottom.

#WAYRM April 29 & #shelfchallenge

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys. It is a great way to recap what you read the previous week and to plan out your reading for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading.

Our Kid Lit to YA version is hosted by Teach Mentor Texts.
GREAT IDEA! Check out all of the What Are You Reading? participants for title ideas.




Not a whole lot. Was still fighting some sort of bug for a lot of the week. Hopefully the next week will be better!

My #shelfchallenge was the LO picture book shelf ... mostly Arnold Lobel and Jonathan London, with a few others thrown in. So far? About two thirds of the way through. So not exactly finishing on schedule but considering two weeks of feeling rotten and just wanting to sleep whenever I was home not terrible, either. Arnold Lobel really did write some cool stuff. I TOTALLY HEART the Frog and Toad Cookies story. Now the Froggy books. I do still like them, don't get me wrong. But the next time I let kids get me to read an entire shelf? Make sure it's not full of a series. Cause ... it's getting a little old, I must admit.

I have to finish Dark Triumph before it is due on Wednesday (well ... I may end up paying a couple days worth of overdue fines #badexample).

Then on to some E-ARCS. Unless, of course, more books come in from hold requests at the public library. Or our last order of bond money books comes in.

I have two professional books coming this month.

And apparently Book Love is another must read? Also Note and Notice? Anyone read either? (Yes, the shame. I ordered from Amazon. #needtosupportmoresmallbusinesses)


The house is coming along. I am sad to report that the Potter's Nook is no longer to be. I guess I had unrealistic expectations. I thought the stairs would be a good 6 inches higher up than they are. That bit of headspace made all the difference in my mind between cozy and claustrophobic. So maybe the nieces and nephews will still like it. Just won't catch ME in there with them. :/

I saw 42 on Friday afternoon. It earns the PG13 rating for language ... but the story is so amazing! Makes me want to go read more about Jackie Robinson.

I am working on some baseball stuff. Next year the campus will be using baseball as a common language for measuring "effort." This is just my start to have the library on board with this.

The signs are for choosing books. I actually am working on a couple different ones ... one for free choice and one for "teacher choice." Lately I've been hearing a lot of "no graphic novels, no drawing books, only chapter books" in the library and it's driving me nuts. Not sure how to address it. Yes, IN the classroom teachers are welcome to make requirements. Important for student learning. But if a child wants to take home an origami book to use on their own time? I AM HAPPY TO PROVIDE IT FOR THEM and get frustrated when the teacher tells them they "can't" check that out. Don't use it in the classroom? Sure. Don't get it at all? How can I address this? Not cool to do in front of the kids. Son't want to seem like I'm attacking anyone ... but this really bothers me. Suggestions?

Then there's just a simple reading log. Color in different parts of the picture for reading different things.

Finally Friday Pins April 26 on Thurs April 25

Hooray for random and strange city holidays ... I've got the DAY OFF tomorrow!
Never mind that I wasn't at school last Friday, either. I was home. Asleep. Not feeling well. Now I'm sneezing but enjoying the day.
And Saturday morning I get to play with my nephew. Expect pics. I just looked on my phone and realized I don't have any recent ones. His momma is a photographer so hers always look better. ;)


Um, hello. Owls and Books. They will be mine.



Super well done. Can they tweak a couple things to include more elementary examples? Or do I need to make my own. #summerproject #ohwaitImbuildingahousethissummer #wellnotpersonallybutyougetheidea


46 repins in the space of like an hour, all of 'em. Or most. A lot, anyway. Apparently we all like PB&Chocolate. ;)


If I could get this with a diet soda (sigh, I know ... so not good for you) I would SO GET IT.








I am off to get some books to read with my nephew. He's only 18 months old but he loves "books."


PS And if I was super creative I would have come up with something fabulously fun for the library for next Friday and railroaded everyone into participating. Would have been a day early but we're not in school on Saturday. The spring festival is Friday night so it will be a long day already. Can I throw something together in time? #shouldhavethoughtahead #doyouknowwhatdayitwillbe? #andnoImnotmistakeninmydatesandtalkingaboutcincodemayo

L is for ...

Testing + a cold/ allergies = no fun. MAYBE picking out kitchen cabinets on Friday (randomly strange city holiday!) = fun. Maybe.

R. L. LaFevers
Have I mentioned how much we like Theodosia around our library? It took some convincing as kiddos don't always gravitate to historical fiction ... still trying to figure out why this hasn't helped them to try other titles ... but at least they love these books! But we held a book club based on her and the word got out.

Her YA series His Fair Assassin is turning out to be fun. I am excited to read the galley of number 2.

Eric Litwin
Egads are the kiddos cuckoo for Pete the Cat and his songs. I don't even like cats or kiddie music ... but this one has grown on me. The kids LOVE him. And myself? I could stand to really internalize "Does Ms. O worry? Goodness no! She keeps walking along and singing her song because It's All Good."
(On a side note ... I understand that the artist James Dean totally has the write to use his creation as he sees fit. But the "other" Pete books not associated with Mr. Eric? Just. Not. As. Catchy.


LIBRARY. The word is LIBRARY. Not media center or learning center or learning commons. We'll just expand and make sure everyone understands that libraries are not dusty places where all the librarian does is shush and stamp books and snark at people. Well. Unless they continually continually continually forget to send their books down in the morning and then stand there with an entire class wanting us to hurry and check in 90 books while answering questions and helping kids to find new titles at the same time. Then we might snark ... a little bit.

Just an extra pin ahead of Friday. Fun, fun, fun. At least they look like it from the outside. Maybe actually working there is strange.
The library at my first middle school (6-7 ... then we moved)? It was a huge cylinder. Open in the middle. Two levels ... with stairs up to the fiction books at the top. I've often wondered what that would have been like for the librarian! Keeping tabs on the kids upstairs (I mean, yes, we were very visible ... IF you had your head kinked up). Also ... shelving? There must have been like a little dumbwaiter.

Finally Friday April 19

So much craziness this week. Sadness. Heroes. Loss. Bravery. Crazy.


I have a cold. Seems lame to complain about it but it bites. :P






We are rolling out iPads next year. Three to a classroom. I wish ... well. I want it to work well. But so far the amount of time put on the calendar for useful PD? Not gonna cut it. You can't expect teachers to figure out everything on their own.






I hope everyone has this available at their school!