School libraries are like crockpots

Yesterday my school system was dismissed 2 hours early due to excessive heat - in September!  Being blessed enough to work in a school with air conditioning, I was able to work a full day and complete some in library tasks that otherwise may have involved staying after school to do.  I also thought I would make a lovely homemade dinner for my fellas. Then I left school and promptly changed my mind.  It was HOT outside so we were grilling (and by we, I mean my husband) and having salads.

So this morning I arose from my slumber earlier than usual, proving how much I love those fellas ('cause nothin' says lovin' like a home cooked meal - thank you Grandma Perry for that bit of old fashioned but true wisdom), and put together a crockpot lasagna recipe that I saw on Pinterest (of course!).  As I was assembling the ingredients, I thought...

MY LIBRARY IS LIKE A CROCKPOT

 

 

Don't worry, the surprising heat has not affected my brain.  (But if it had, would I really know it?  I guess that is a blog for another time.) 

 

When I use my crockpot, which I often do on school days to help ensure we are not eating takeout or frozen food on late nights (and it just is nice to come home to a house that smells like I have been cooking all day), I toss a bunch of raw ingredients, set the timer and walk away.  Then, presto chango, a few hours later, we have a delicious meal.  I just have to add a few small items to round it out but most of the work is done for me.  If I put the right ingredients in, I will know because of the way my family will react.  (This is especially true for a new recipe like tonight.  I will follow it exactly and then decide if I need to keep it, discard it or tweak it.)

 

The library is a lot like that.  I have a lot of raw ingredients - books, technology, furniture, posters, curriculum, student work and displays.  When I put them all together, they hopefully make a very satisfying experience.  When I take the time to prep everything carefully (rules, routines, expectations and lesson materials), the end result is usually something delicious and wonderful that runs itself. I try a new lesson in the curriculum and then tweak it to fit my needs and what works best with my students. I stir it occasionally to make sure all the ingredients are incorporated. 

 

But for the most part, it does it's thing and I like that. I like knowing that I can leave my library for a meeting or illness or whatever reason and it will keep on running - just like my crockpot keeps cooking on my kitchen counter while I am at work.   I like that my library fills the senses and satisfies my school population's hunger for knowledge.  It makes me feel like I've done a good job and shown some lovin'.