That First Week Back....

Oh man, we start back (teachers) on Monday.  I am NOT looking forward to getting up at 6am!  Other than that, I'm excited!  I've already been at work in the library (did I ever really leave this summer?  Not sure) with lesson plans for each grade.  I am that weird individual that I don't like to repeat lessons (unless they're really good ones!) if I can make them better.  Besides, I'm always adding new books to share!

So, last year, I introduced a QR Code Hunt for my 4th and 5th graders to re-orient themselves with the library.  They watched videos from Animoto and Powtoons (there's also a YouTube version as well) and answered questions.  It was such a big hit, it's going to be repeated this year!

For my 2nd and 3rd graders, I decided to do a Survivor type activity that I saw suggested in a book, but after looking through my picture books for a great "survivor" type story, I realized I didn't have any!  So, using Old Crump by Laurie Lawlor, which tells the true story of a trip out west in the covered wagon days (Old Crump being an ox), my "survivor" turned into a western/desert theme!

Now, knowing that everyone's library is different, I decided to upload it to Teachers Notebook and Teachers Pay Teachers as a Powerpoint so buyers could edit.  It's the first time I've done this for a paid product, and I'm a bit leery only because I used clipart I purchased on there.  I'm hoping it will be okay!  I'm excited for my "veteran" 2nd and 3rd graders to explore the library and answer questions like the older ones, but at a more basic level!  My now 2nd graders were just introduced to the different parts of the library in the spring, so I'm hoping this will also help them find the graphic novels and craft books they are always searching for!  So, if you're interested in seeing more, please click {Teachers Pay Teachers} or {Teacher's Notebook}.

You can also check out my updated QR Code Hunt (alternate version without YouTube) where I fixed a few flaws in the videos and added some hints as well to some of the harder questions!

It's a SUPER Day in the Library!

We had our Superhero/Supervillain Day in the Library this week!  There are so many movies and TV shows now related to "supers" that I thought it would be fun to celebrate both sides!  That, and I had a superhero day last year which was pretty successful, but didn't want to repeat too much.  Well, next week is a repeat - Minecraft - but that's by popular demand!

I just can't believe how fast the summer is going by!  We got our teacher back to school letters yesterday!  Yikes!  Our teachers report back August 1 and kids start August 10.  As I told one person, it's not that I dread teaching or the kids coming back, it's the getting up at 6am every day!  I am NOT a morning person!!!!  I hope you enjoy the pics!  Most of my ideas came from Pinterest, of course!  It was nice, though, that most of what I used are things I had around anyway - electrical tape for the "laser maze", hoops for the obstacle course, the "Disk Drop" game and the bean bag toss...the kids really enjoyed themselves! I think the top two were the Super Strength, Agility, and Obstacle Course!

Virginia Readers Choice!

I was so excited to see some of the books that I ordered and loved this year made the list!  I mean, how funny is a book about a dog being swallowed by the book???  So, since I had some of the books and hit up the Green Valley Book Fair for most of the others (I found all but 2 of the Primary and I'm still missing one from the Elementary list), I decided to go ahead and work on lesson plans, even though it's still summer (but it seems not much longer!  Yikes!).

We've spent part of the summer coming into the library for the high speed Internet to help my 15 yr old make it through summer school.  Algebra I.  Yeah, it's as bad as it sounds.  15 days, 3 days a week, from 8-2:30, he has to go to school to JUST do Algebra.  On a good note, it's a computer-based program, so it's at his own pace.  Bad note - he gets easily distracted and bored.  So, since he didn't make it through during the year, we're doing it now.  The deal is - one hour working with his program on Algebra, the rest of the time he can play to his heart's content and watch videos.  It's helped with the motivation!  It also helps, I think, to have someone sitting with him and helping him.  Being 15 and a boy, of course he won't ask for help in class :(

But, I digress.  You're not here to hear about Algebra.  Sorry if it brought up any bad memories!  Hah ;)

I'm excited to share my packet again this year!  Like last year, there are bookmarks, videos, AR quiz numbers, memory books, lesson plans....this year, I added a last minute addition I did this Spring with my kids.  You know those sudden inspirations you get that just work really well?  I did a March madness type bracket when I started reading the books to my K-2 group in January.  It really helped them to see the covers on the poster, as well as vote along the way so we had two semi-finalists.  They got really excited about it!

For Elementary, my 4th and 5th graders who read at least 5 out of the 10 books, get invited to an ice cream sundae social, where I presented the brackets and they voted on the ones that they had read.  It was a fun way to come up with a winner!  For the students who read all 10 books, I had books I had purchased from the book fair and let them choose a brand new book to keep!  It was a big hit.  I'm excited because I had almost a whole 4th grade class come to the party, so I hope they keep motivated for 5th grade!  Some of my 3rd graders last year started looking at the books in my special area in the library and started reading them!  I'm hoping to have a HUGE turnout with student readers this year!

Another thing I did this year, at the end of the year, was go through my shelves and label all past Virginia Readers Choice books.  I tell students that they're the "best of the best", and they've enjoyed reading some from the past.  I have several students who like to read books together, so it's nice the multiple copies still come in handy!

I also had the opportunity to order some of this year's books and getting them in before the end of the year, so I already have students who are working on reading them!  The Lion Who Stole My Arm has been a BIG hit with my boys!

So, here's some sneak peeks below of my packet.  If you're interested in seeing more, feel free to head over to TPT or Teacher's Notebook where it's listed.  Also, I put my past year's Virginia Reader's Choice packets on sale.  There are some great books from year's past you might have in your library and be able to use in a lesson!

Summer in the Library: STEAM Day

For our 2nd Wednesday in the Library, we focused on the STEAM concept.  What that meant for my students was that Mrs. Youel was opening up the Makerspace!  However, since these days are open up to anyone and everyone, it was a bit different, as some of the students told me ("Wow, I didn't know you had this many things!").   It was nice to show the parents, though, what the Makerspace actually is and that their donations go to good use!

I decided we would do structured stations with free play, if that makes ANY sense.

Building Station:  Students could use Legos (always a hit), Tinker Toys, Marble Runs, and PlayDoh to make things.

Art Station:  I brought out my binder of activities we've done this past year that I've kept the directions, opened up the "Fletcher's Creation Station" wiki page on a couple iPads, and set out different materials for those projects, as well as a few extra (like painting) so students could get their create on!







Take Apart Station:  ALWAYS a hit!  If you have a Makerspace, or are thinking of starting one, THIS is the big hit - almost bigger than Legos!  Students have a BLAST taking apart things to see how they work.  Since it's summer, I had a tape player and a CD/tape player that didn't work, and let me tell you - they took them down to bare bones!  However, the conversation that ensued about how they discovered a magnet in the speakers....and the fact the screwdriver they were using was magnetized after awhile....would've made any Science teacher happy!





Circuits/Coding:  On my iPads, I have a folder for "Hour of Code" apps, so I locked in a couple for play:  Lightbot, Scratch Jr, and Foos.  I also set out my Little Bits with some suggestion cards that I got on TPT as a freebie.  One set shows what to build, the other makes a suggestion.  I can't wait to use these next year with my kids - maybe they won't be as obsessed with the buzzers!  I was surprised this station didn't get more activity (I had about 1-2 kids check it out briefly, then moved on), but I'm finding that although the kids love to use tech in the library, hands-on wins hands down! (pun intended).



So, 4 simple stations, but the participants (including some parents) were engaged for the 2 hours and some were even reluctant to go (always a sign of a hit!), but of course, it was lunch time so they were also hungry!

It was a lot to set up, but it was a very hands-off activity, unlike the Amazing Race, where I was bouncing from here to there, helping out at stations (someone's got to ref the Kangaroo race!).  I hope you're able to use some of this in your library or classroom!  I ended up conversing with some of the parents who came, and totally forgot to get action pics! :(  Good thing I remembered my set up ones!

Summer Activities in the Library: Racing Around the World

So this week was my 2nd Wednesday of my "Summer in the Library" activities.  This is my 2nd year doing this program.  Last year, I skipped around days, not sure what day would be popular (and trying to fit everyone's schedule).  This year, I decided on Wednesdays, came up with some new themes, repeated a favorite (Minecraft), and voila!  here I am!

Because my summer life isn't as relaxing and time free as I wished, (massive house cleaning and ridding out things going on at home!), I'm blogging about my first two Wednesdays that already passed.  But, to give you a peek at what I'm talking about, this is the schedule I sent home with parents, advertise on Facebook, have on the school calendar, and when I can, the school Facebook page.  Note that I invite all - all ages, not necessarily have to be a student and, because where I live/work, we are surrounded by different counties, not necessarily a student in our district!  That way, it's also open to homeschooling families, cousins, family, neighbors, etc.  I've gotten a pretty good response so far, despite vacations, swim lessons, Vacation Bible School, Summer School, etc.

I saw the idea of an Amazing Race:  Library Edition from a public library and ran with it!  Because of size limitations, abilities, resources, etc, I adapted it to my school library.  I decided to go with continents, rather than countries/cities.  I also wasn't sure how long it would take each person to complete each task (it took about an hour for everyone to go "around the world" except for a few who wanted to go around and do it again).  Like the TV reality show, there were "Roadblocks" where you had to do the task and "Detours" where you had a choice.  I got very favorable feedback from kids (I even had some high school kids come!) and parents.  

Here are a few pictures from the day:

Africa:  Roadblock!  Students learned how to play Mancala and then created their own from egg cartons to take home and play!

North America:  Detour:  Match pictures of landmarks to their names OR create a family/personal totem (the papers explain what each animal represents), and they cut those out and glued to wood paint sticks

Asia:  Detour:  Create an origami butterfly OR using instruction sheets, learn to write in Chinese characters

Antarctica:  Detour:  Learn about penguins from a short video and then put them in order from smallest to largest OR migrate with the arctic tern (draw the migration route and then "fly" around the room/route)

South America:  Roadblock:  Students created a Mayan temple using wooden blocks (the Jenga pieces were perfect for this!) 

Creating totems

Chinese Writing (papers from Education.com)

Creating Mancala games

Mayan temple

Migrating with the Arctic Tern

Playing and creating Mancala in Africa

Mayan temple:

2 more Mayan temples (they loved I kept taking pictures!)

If you're interested in seeing more, click {here} for TPT and {here} for Teachers Notebook.