Children's Book Week Activities

I didn't get to plan much like previous, but we've been having fun in the library. We have read Andrew's Loose Tooth by Robert Munsch. Afterwards, each child got a paper plate (our copiers are being changed out) and on one side they wrote a story about when they lost a tooth. On the other side, they drew a picture of themselves missing a tooth. Mrs. Burn's class read Tadpole Promise and the students used the paper plates to draw the life cycle of a frog or butterfly. Ms. Beasley's first graders listened to an Elephant & Piggie book by Mo Willems and then filled in blank speaking bubbles on a preprinted sheet! Some were very interesting! Pre-k and Kinder heard Pete the Cat: Rocking in my school shoes by Eric Litwin. Next, we sang a song about Pete's four groovy buttons. Last, they worked on a color by number paper! Tomorrow we will have a Storybook Parade!

TLA Convention

I recently attended the 2013 Texas Library Association Convention. There were many sessions, authors, and book vendors to visit. I was able to hear Jack Gantos speak. He is a very entertaining speaker. I enjoyed hearing about his life, but I cannot imagine being a parent to the child he was. Starting in 5th grade, he wrote down everything. Even his parents arguments!

The First Day of School

Ah, the first day has come and gone. It was great to see returning students and a few new ones. In the library, we got started on my goals for the students. We are working on setting goals in reading. I'm sure the students were surprised to hear about this, but a few are really excited. I discussed how I set a goal of 111 books to read in one year. You could hear the shock ripple through the room! Next, I explained that I read easy books and chapter books so my goal has been easy to attain so far.

For the next few weeks the students will put their goal into writing, read from different genres, and work on reaching a goal they have set for themselves. This will be an exciting year for everyone as we strive to become life-long readers at Hodges!

Family Night

I won a grant for my campus so I will be having a Family Reading Night to work with parents and students. I used the money I was given and purchased many new books. As they've come in I have tried to read them. I am very excited about the new books and I believe the students will love them. One that I really enjoyed was If You're A Monster And You Know It by Rebecca Emberly and Pop!The Invention of Bubble Gum by Meghan McCarthy. I try to read books that involve movement or lots of laughter when I read to Pre-K and this Friday I will read If You're A Monster and You Know It. The students will have so much fun participating by stomping their paws and snapping their claws!

Next week I will be at the Texas Library Association's annual convention. I look forward to hearing about new ideas and techniques that I can bring back to my campus. I will try to blog about each session and provide links.

Reading, Reading, and more Reading

I am still working on my goal of reading 111 books this year. I am now up to 42. The only reason I have been able to read so many is that I read lots of children's books. I just received new books and have started reading! Spring break is next week and I hope to read a few chapter books such as The Dreamer by Pam Munoz Ryan, Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine, and A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly.

A Look at Our Future?

I just viewed a youtube video that really impressed me. It is about future technologies that are probably not to far off. It is sponsored by Corning. The video is about 5 minutes long but worth the time. Follow this link to be amazed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Cf7IL_eZ38

A Must Read

I just finished reading Dirty Little Secrets by Omololu. It was a great book and perfect for young adults. It is about a 16 year old girl that doesn't let anyone come over to her house because her mother is a hoarder. One day she discovers her mother is dead after finding her buried under a pile of National Geographic magazines. The ending surprised me a little. If you have time this book is worth reading.

I am also reading Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. It is an easy to read self help book. I am hoping to follow his advice and become debt free to the point that I can purchase everything with cash including future cars!