It's December

It's December and everyone is in the mad holiday rush to get decorations up, gifts wrapped, special foods made, party attire ready and the list goes on and on.  Add to that sick kiddos, sick teachers, worn-out-need-a-break-when-will-this-end feelings far and wide and you have the perfect storm for a whole lot of bahumbugs and very little fa la la which results in grumpy teachers and sad students.

So here is my list of why December is off to a good start:

1. The library is decorated (and so is my house-mostly!)and some kids actually realized that my tree was supposed to be the Abominable Snowman.
2. My collection was uploaded with 100% accuracy so I am ready to have it analyzed and get my allotment to spend on books. (I already have a super duper list of can't wait books!)
3) I received an Education Foundation Grant for a project I want to do with 3rd, 4th and 5th graders (choosing to focus on the positive instead of the WHAT HAVE I DONE?!)
4) Next week is the Winter Concert! <3 any assembly in the month of December!
5) It's HOUR OF CODE week.  I LOVE this week.  My kiddos LOVE this week.  Teachers LOVE this week (Indoor recess activities that Mrs. Bixby has already taught them to use and will keep them engaged.  That is what I call a win-win because it really makes me look good!)

And how about you? Are you feeling Grinchy?  Can I make a suggestion?  LIGHTEN UP!  Read that again.  I'll write it bigger and bolder for you to see:

LIGHTEN UP!

It will be okay if you don't make 48 types of different cookies.  The world will not end if you don't fold your napkins into Christmas tree shapes. (Have you seen this video???) It's ok to keep teaching your curriculum to minimize the craziness and it is okay to step out and, GASP, read a book to settle your kids down (even those big 5th graders who act so tough like to have a picture book read aloud to them from time to time). 

Elementary school teachers/librarians get a tremendous gift at this time of year.  We get to see little people who are excited and filled with magic and wonder.  Let's embrace that and remember it.

Ways to make your December get back on track:

1) Watch a cartoon holiday show.  My favorite, in case you need a suggestion, is "The Year Without A Santa Claus"  In fact, this is my ringtone every Christmas. Turn your cellphone off. Grab a cup of cocoa.  Stop the distractions and just enjoy the cheesy timelessness of it all!





2) Watch a classic holiday movie.  Pick your favorite.  I'll suggest my favorites (I have a tie!) - "White Christmas" and "Miracle on 34th Street" (the original version)  Again, turn off the computer and phone!!! 

3) Read a book.  It can be your favorite children's story or adult one or one you haven't read in quite some time.  Remember reading "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry for the first time?  No.  Read it again.  How about "The Little Matchgirl" by Hans Christian Andersen? When was the last time you READ "Twas' the Night Before Christmas" by Clement C. Moore or "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens? Want something lighter?  Try "Auntie Claus" by Elise Primavera or "Santa Kid" by James Patterson (LOVE THIS!) or "Herschel and the Hanukkah Goblins" by Eric Kimmel. 

4) Eat a cookie! or some fruitcake or drink some eggnog!  You are only going to get grumpy if you try to be the food martyr.

5) Drive around and look at the Christmas lights with the music blaring in the car.  Sing along.  No one can hear you except the people who already know what you sound like.

6) Wear the stupid light up pin, jingle bell necklace, goofy sock/ties or ugly sweater to school.  The kids will only be distracted for a few minutes and their smiles will be worth it.

Feel free to share out some ways to deGrinch.  I promise to read them after I bake my cookies, wrap the presents, grade the projects, buy the holiday party White Elephant gift, make an appetizer...maybe I need to reread this post. 

A Tale From the Library Shelves

This past Friday was elementary school conference day.  This is a great day for me to work on straightening, weeding and planning for upcoming lessons and units.

As I was working, I found some books that told a unique story.  Read with me :-)


Once upon a time, a dead president (and I don't mean the kind you can spend to buy cool shoes) was still alive and well on my bookshelf.

 

 

 

He set out with a group of the most highly trained, cutting edge astronauts in the universe.

They were headed to the furthest planet from the sun.

They were hoping to finally find some answers to the most pressing questions of our time - specifically #65.

 

 

 

 

Sigh...just when you think you are doing so well. 

Where's Mrs. Bixby? (aka Where's Waldo library style)

I love playing the "Where's Mrs. Bixby?" game!  I consider it a success each time it happens.

Remember Waldo?  He's that loveable little fellow in the striped shirt that is always hiding.

 

 

 

My library is large and open and beautiful but this game could be played in any library.  Here's how it works.

 

 

1. Begin your lesson.  Set the objective for the day and give some general directions.

2. Set the students free to work independently or in small groups.  They should be able to creatively choose their seating.  (This is crucial to the success of the game. Get them out of those seats and on the floor, in other chairs and all mixed up everywhere!)

3. Move freely about the library to monitor and assist as needed. 

4. While working, students can also pause to do independent book check out.

5. Now here's the fun part.  (You never know when the game will be played so you have to be ready all the time.) Get on the floor with a student or group of students.  Pull up a chair next to them. Sit on the story steps.  Go to the stacks and help them find a book. Just BE with the kids.  (You can't be at YOUR desk or the front of the room.)

6. Wait for a grown up to come in, look around and say, "Where's Mrs. Bixby?"

7. Pop up and say, "Here I am!" or wait for little voices to point you out (or if you are feeling particularly saucy, wait a bit and let the grown up wander and look and think you have neglected your teaching duties) 

 

I love this game and  I bet you will too!



Make America Great Again

If you know me in any format, you know that I am not very political.  I never share who I vote for but I have voted in every single election that I was eligible to vote in since the age of 18.  As an American, I believe it is not only a right and a responsibility but also a privilege.

Our President-elect ran on a platform of making America great again.  This morning there has been much discussion and "Monday Morning Quarterbacking" about yesterday's general election.  Tempers have flared, names have been called, feelings hurt, hopes crushed, bad behaviors displayed and a general feeling of disappointment throughout this election process in all party lines.

But that is not what I want to share.  I want to share that I am hopeful and excited even.  Why?  (Glad you asked!)

For many years, voter turnout has been low.  I breezed in and out of my polling place that was, at most, a 10 minute wait to vote because so few people were there.  The same was true for my husband and son - and we were all there at different times.  But this year, I had to wait almost 2 hrs. to cast my vote and I was ok with that.  The lines were there all day.  Some folks waited up to 3hrs. to vote. The point is not that there was a lack of scanners or incompetence or fraud.  The point is that they waited and waited and did so peacefully.

This thrilled me.  People are voting.  People once again, for whatever reason, believe that their vote matters and that they have a voice in our government and how it is run.  The apathy that has plagued American is waning.  And it wasn't just in my little corner of Maryland but all across America.  Voters turned out in record numbers.  I watched the TV moderators sharing the significant increase in state after state after state.

I also saw children, lots of children, coming to vote with their parents.  Children seeing their parents vote for the first time.  Children seeing democracy in action.  Again, so powerful.  We know that kids reflect what they see at home.  I have strong memories of stepping inside that curtained booth and watching my mother flick levers to vote.  I have beloved memories of doing the same with my own child.   Because I live and work in the same community, many of my students saw me voting yesterday as well.  (And they let me know it in the hallways today!)  The adults in the lives of these children sent a powerful message without ever saying a word.  They showed that this is important.  This is meaningful.  This is my privilege as an American and I value that.

We have a precious opportunity today and in the upcoming days, weeks, months and years.  We have the opportunity to build upon this momentum and keep engaging our students in the political process by making sure that they understand why our founding fathers chose a democracy for our country and making sure that they understand the importance of this and the role they play in it. 

We are grooming future adults who will be American citizens who will have the power to affect change with their vote or even by running for political office.

We have the opportunity to make America great again and it has nothing to do with Donald Trump or Hilary Clinton. It starts today with every educator, parent and adult reflecting civility, compromise and hope for the future of our country and our children.

Transformations

Once again this year, the Book Character Pumpkin Decorating Contest was a big success.  Check out the photos of our pumpkins here.

In the spirit of making old things new...check out my Genre Globe!  I am pretty proud of it and I think my kiddos are going to love it!

The idea behind that globe is that every time a child says, "I don't know what kind of book to get" I will have them spin the globe and  wherever their finger lands, that is the genre they have to pick a book from that day. I am hoping, even if just for the novelty of it, this will help some students branch out and try some new genres that they wouldn't naturally lean towards.

There are also two extra special spots on the globe:  Ask A Friend and Mrs. Bixby's Choice.  If they land on one of these, their fate is in someone else's hands (cue sinister laughter).

This will be a busy week because we will be electing a new President and having elementary conference day on Friday.  Two days closed in a week certainly can wreck havoc with a teacher's schedule.  And right before American Education Week.  Whew!

Missing in Action - Catching Up

I have been missing in action but that doesn't mean that the UnDeweying effort has diminished. 

I finished the school year with our big Patterson Grant celebration!  BCPSTV was here.  Representatives from the area office and Office of Digital Learning were here.  It was a great day.  Every student got a book to read, discuss in a cross grade level group and then take home.  Check out our Twitter @eeslibrary for some cool photos of that day. That same day, representatives from Follett came to visit and meet and learn about our school undeweying and created such a huge uptake in circulation. 

Then the Spring got even crazier.  I was nominated, by a fellow librarian, for Baltimore County Chamber of Commerce Excellence in Teaching and I WON!  What?!!

 

And then, as if that were not enough, I was nominated by our school's Pre-K teacher to be a Ravens Touchdown for Teachers candidate and I was one of 5 finalists.  I didn't win but I had a great day at the stadium and got my own personalized jersey and a cash prize to spend.  (I just spent it and as soon as I can share it with you I will!!)

 

And, as if that were not enough, I was unexpectedly invited to attend the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy 25th Anniversary celebration at the Library of Congress.  TOTAL LIBRARY GEEK LOVE! I got to meet Wonder Woman (Lynda Carter) and the then head of the Library of Congress.  What a spectacular evening.

 

 



 

Then the whirlwind year ended with a retirement dinner for 5 fellow coworkers that I helped plan and saying farewell to both my Principal, Assistant Principal and administrative secretary.

 

Needless to say, I was ready for a summer off and that is exactly what I had!

 

Back to school this fall with a new administration and a personal loss, my beloved Grandmother (who visited this time last year to see all the pumpkins in the library).

 

 

And the, out of the blue, these tweets appear (followed by emails).  Undeweying is still alive and well and spreading. People are talking at the School Library Journal conference in Washington DC!  I had considered submitting proposals, in the past year, to present at various conferences but assumed that those embracing the movement had better role models than I or had decided to undewey by now.  Maybe not.

 



 

So, I am going to try to diligently blog more about what is happening in the library. (Let's be honest and admit that it will NOT be a regular event.) But I am going to strive for once a week.

 

So look out for some pumpkin photos next week. They are rolling in right now for this year's contest.