Librarian for the Day!

It is that time of year again! Today we had to special St. Philip's students as Librarian's for the Day. So I'm handing over the Falcon's Fables to them so they can tell you about their day.

It was fun because it was the best day at the school for us. In the library we got to check out the books. We read to the kinder gardeners. My sister picked the books and she choose Arthur's Underwear and Arthur's Chicken Pox by Marc Brown.

We made a quiz for the third graders. It was about the library. Here are some of the questions we asked.

1. What kind of reference tools do we have online? (Databases and Encyclopedias) 
2. What type of book is the World Book? (Encyclopedia)
3. What is our library website called? (The Falcon's Fables)
4. What type of library tool is an encyclopedia? (Reference tool)
5. If you are reading a book and you don't understand a word, what reference tool can you use to find the meaning of the word? (A dictionary)
6. If you were trying to find a fiction book by Betty G. Birney what would the call number be? (FIC BIR)
7. If you were to find a book on California, what part of the library would it be in? (The Non Fiction Section)
8. Can you check out a reference book? (No)
9. What are some ways in which you can use your Destiny Quest account? (Recommend books, write reviews, save books to lists, put books on hold, make friends)
10. If you aren't finished with your library book and it is due what can you do with your book to keep it for another week? (Renew it!)

If a student got the answer right, they would get a book from the book box to keep.

Today, was a lot of fun.


    

Wall Wishers

Lets celebrate this past school year! Tell us about your favorite day in the library!

Just One More Time!

I just couldn't resist showing off a 4th grade Prezi in action. Andrew Huang and Ethan Gray chose to research Viking mythology as their religion. Many of the children who chose to research mythology found the topic a little more difficult. It took them into history requiring them to think about the type of people that would have worshiped god in such strange ways.

They did a wonderful job of presenting their research and putting together a creative Prezi.

 

If you would like to view just Andrew and Ethan's Prezi you can view here.

As part of their assignment they had to choose another way to present their findings. Ethan and Andrew not only put together a great Prezi but they also wrote this delightful poem.

A Viking God Rhyme 

There is a woman named Freyda

Whose children are Frigg and Thor

Her Husband’s name is Odin

Who is the Viking God core.

If a NORSE person dies

Its not very cool

When they were buried

They were buried with every tool.

 

Final round of 4th grade projects

We had the final round of 4th grade research presentations today. In case you don't remember the 4th graders were asked to use the Dewey 200s section, Religion, and research a non Christian religion. They could work with partners or alone. They were given a list of options that allowed them to present their research creatively. One of the most popular option was the Prezi presentation. I posted about those here and here. Today I thought I would share some of the other presentations. I must say we have some very creative children. 

This is just a sampling of projects from 4A. 

Maggie Kiechler chose one of the more creative options. She made a menu that explained the god Artemis. 

But this is not your typical menu. My favorite option: The Trojan Horse served with a side of revenge!

Lily Mendez created a travel poster for a Hindu Temple. She made sure to include the etiquette that must be followed when visiting a Temple. 

These two post cards depict the Shinto religion. I love how they explain how to say Hello from Japan in Japanese. 

This is a book jacket for a book about a Buddhist Temple. I forgot to take a picture of the inside but the description of her research was very witty. 

The front cover of another beautifully done book jacket. 

I love Gabriel's passion!

Megan and Molly decided to be fashion designers!

I just adore this book jacket. The artwork is well thought out!

Twitter

Just thought I would write a quick little post announcing the use of Twitter in the library. I actually set up a twitter account at the beginning of the school year after I came back from my conference in Minneapolis. I was inspired by technology use in school libraries. But, then I wasn't sure where I wanted to go from there. Of all the ways to use technology in our daily lives I've never been one to pick up my phone and tweet my life away. I just haven't latched onto personal tweets. Yet, over the past year I have found myself to be a follower on twitter. I sign up to follow mommy blogs, cloth diaper sites, historical costumers and photographers (I have a lot of hobbies). What I have come to realized is that I enjoy twitter as a place to learn about updates from my favorite people who offer tips and trick for all my hobbies and interests.

Recently I thought using twitter in this way was the way to go with The Falcon's Fables. If my goal for this blog is to keep the St. Philips community informed of various reference tools as well as report on classes and events, Twitter seems like a logical step in the process. Not meant to replace blog posts where I can get more in depth, I want Twitter to offer small nuggets of information that I think would be useful to our parents and students alike. I have started following various children's authors on twitter as well as other school librarians. I think it will be nice to occasionally have the library classes compose tweets of their own. I know they will be excited to share a book they have read or lesson learned.

I hope you all follow @FalconsFables on Twitter. 

Another great Prezi

Ethan Gray and Andrew Huang in 4A just did a wonderful Prezi presentation. It is an excellent example of how to put together your research in an interesting and engaging way. Here it is...

Viking gods on Prezi

It's Finally Here!!!!!

I've been doing my happy dance! Do you know why?!?! Its for something that we have been wanting for a very long time.

Finally, Destiny Quest, our online library manager and book club is available online. St. Philip's students have learned to enjoy the graphic interface of the program, utilizing it's unique online search engine, social network and book search while at school. As long as a student has created a username and password they can access these features from home.

1. They can search for library books and save them to personal lists.
2. Make friends to share and discuss favorite books and authors.
3. Recommend books to their peers.
4. Write book reviews
5. Use the search engine to access kid and parent approved websites. 

Trust me, it is fun for all. Currently 1st - 5th grade classes have a username and password. If your child does not have one and would like to make one they must come to the library at their lunch time and fill out a request form. I would like to see Jr. High utilizing this wonderful program. 

To access Destiny Quest use the tab located at the top of this blog. Go ahead and bookmark the page also!

4B Research and Prezi

The 4th grade library classes have been working hard learning the Dewey Decimal System. Starting with the 000 and going to the 900 they learn what each section means. The past few weeks have been spent learning the 200's; Religion. To better understand their world the class was asked to research a non Christian religion. While the Dewey 200's is made up of mostly Christianity if you look at the numbers between 290 and 299 you will find a multitude of books about various world religions. We have books about Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism and other eastern religions. There are also books that cover ancient religions like Greek and Roman Mythology, Aztec Gods, Celtic and Scandinavian Mythology.

After reading about various religions the students were ask to do mini presentations. They choose from a list of various genres that included things like advertisements, book jackets, poetry, quizzes, and much more. By far the most popular choice was to do a Prezi. A few month ago I posted my own prezi. It can be found Here

Yesterday 4B presented what they learned about their religions. The posters, quizzes and book jackets will be displayed in the hallway outside the library.  The Prezi's are posted below.

Sikhism on Prezi

Hinduism temples on Prezi

Ramadan on Prezi

JAINISM on Prezi

Dionysus on Prezi

Buddah on Prezi

Taoism on Prezi

Open House

Open house is always such a fun time. When I was a St. Philip's student I remember it being a very exciting day full of anticipation and fun. I see that same excitement on the children's faces today. This is not the same excitement that occurs on the first day of school. Instead of wondering what their classroom will look like and how they will get along with their teacher, open house provides them with the opportunity to show off their classroom. It is now a space that belongs to them and is no longer unfamiliar territory.

I love seeing prospective parents come through the library. I am quite proud of our little space and the wealth of knowledge provided to the students. Perhaps one of my favorite aspects of open house is listening to the 8th graders give tours. I can hear them approaching the library saying things like, "and this is our new library", this always gives me a chuckle and I wonder when we cease to be "new".  In they walk with prospective parents in tow and I become very proud of our students. They speak about the various aspects of the library with confidence. These little tidbits help me see the library from their perspective. I begin to understand what they value and what they are most proud of.

Open house is also a wonderful opportunity to show off what library classes do. I had one very proud 5th grader bring her family to the library. She walk right over to where we store her folder for the year long research project. She probably spent about 5 minutes explaining the project and showing off what she had learned so far. It felt rewarding to know the children are proud of their work. Earlier in the week the kindergarten classes read If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff. We discussed the plot of a story and cause and effect. They then wrote their own version of the story and drew illustrations. I told them to stop by during open house to see their work displayed. It was fun to watch them show off their work, read the story to their parents, and point out their illustration.

If you get a chance stop by to read If You Give a Snake a Popsicle and If You Give A Dog an Egg by the kindergarten classes. 

Unconventional

So I might be creating bad library habits. You see, every once in awhile, I need to listen to music. Actually, that isn't true, I ALWAYS need to listen to music. Usually, I have it playing very low so only I can hear it if I am at my desk. But occasionally I want to share with the children.  I just can't help myself. Often the urge to blast out the music happens on Friday's when I am ready for the weekend. Today, I created a new Pandora station that is all Disney. I must say it is fun listening to my favorite songs from my childhood.

Now, being unconventional does have its interesting moments. For instance, what is a music loving librarian to do when she plays music loud enough for library users to hear and they decide to break out into a conga line? Does she stop them or let them live in the moment and throw convention out the door?







If you are interested here is my Disney Pandora station.
http://www.pandora.com/?_sl=1&shareImp=true#!/stations/play/709364946205602735

Library Lion

One of my all time favorite picture books is Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen. It is a very sweet tale of a lion that wanders into a library and quickly gains a love for story time. Being an animal lover and book lover I immediately take to these types of books and there are plenty out there. For Example...

Another all time favorite is of course Dewey. While the other books are make believe, Dewey was a real life library cat. Abandoned at birth and left for dead in a library book drop, the small town librarians took pity on the tiny kitten. He was nursed back to health and adopted by the town who in turn named him Dewey.

Oh how I wish and dream of such a thing happening in our library. While I know we couldn't keep a kitten or really, any animal in our library I still find joy in the book.  I find joy in all the books that contain libraries and animals. They are charming and after my own heart. While I try to read a diverse selection of books to the children I find that every year I pull Library Lion off the shelf to read. Good thing the children like it also.


So that brings me full circle, back to the original intent of this post. Last Monday I walked into the library, logged into the computer, worked on my lesson plans, checked in some books, drank my coffee, checked my email. I did not go into the the other room where the book shelves are. At 8:30 2A walked in for their class. We gathered in the other room and I began to let them know what their assignment was for the day. Mid explanation I glanced up and gasped. I don't think I finished saying whatever it was I was saying because there, on top of the bookshelves was our very own library lion. I started laughing, only slightly hysterically, while the 2nd graders became more and more perplexed, unsure if I had lost my mind. After gaining control of myself I let them in on the joke. I pointed to the top shelves and they all laughed in relief that no, Mrs. Natalie had not lost her mind after all.

So now we have our very own library lion. I am happy to say that it came from the book fair. I noticed him there. Of course I loved him and even thought how cool would it be if he were in our library. It would be just like the book. Ahaha little did I know! Thank you to whoever decided the lion needed a home in our library. He warms my heart and brightens up our stacks.

He needs a name! What should we name him?

What the 1st Graders Are Saying

Just a quick blog....

I am enjoying watching the 1st graders have a free day and check out books. Here are some of their favorite parts of the library...

"Reading Books" - Andrew

"Trying to find books" -Eva

"Checking out books" -Roxy

"Looking at books" -Kole

"Taking books home with you"- Kyle

"My favorite part is reading too. I love reading, I have just six more pages of this book. I read every night" -Quinnten

"I found a book with my name!" -Natalie

"There's lots of action books" -Jessica

"It has American Girl Dolls" -Karina

"It has Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator" -Cecila

Bringing Our Students Into the 21st Century

I promissed to tell you about some of my ideas for the library. You see, AASL11 really did open my eyes a bit. First I was so happy to see that our library is right on par with other school libraries. Many of the lessons taught in our library are very similar to other librarians lessons. It is always nice to receive some validation or reassurance that what you are trying to do is not only working but correct.   Second, I have returned with an overflow of ideas for the library and school. I also came to realize that four years after our library opened it is time to step up our game.

The library is now in a comfortable position. We have a circulating collection of almost 6000 books, an excellent online catalogue, and a curriculum that strives to teach inquiry, use of information and book appreciation by the time the students leave 5th grade. While, my lessons continue to be fluid by evolving and adapting each year, I feel it is time to add another focus in my plan to provide a 21st Century library for our school.

What world of information could be hidden in this portal to knowledge?

While reflecting on my conference experience I realize that we must provide our students with safe, easy to navigate online tools. When assigned a research assignment our students automatically turn to Google and Wikipedia. While these resources are not necessarily bad, they should only be used as a jumping off point and most definitely with a certain amount of caution. What the St. Philip student needs is to learn to use online tools such as databases and encyclopedias. Often these things are free through the public library and that is great. But the school should be providing them for our students also. I am currently testing a few databases in my library classes. I have also asked the teachers to take a look at and assess the usefulness of various databases. In my opinion, our lone World Book Encyclopedia subscription is not enough. I plan to provide more before the school year is out.

I am excited to test these databases with both my 4th and 5th grade classes. Look for more posts on how I plan to utilize our free database trials.

Today, kindergarten is checking out books for the first time. They have spent the past month learning about the library. They know to use their whisper voices, not to run in the library and to treat the books with respect.

I love to see them carefully turning each page and gently setting the books on the counter. Of course there are the times when excitement gets the better of them and they turn the page a little too fast but often they realize what they are doing and fix it.

They have also learned how to use shelf markers. These handle "bookmarks" teach the children that each book has a specific home on the shelf. They have to remember to use their shelf marker and then located it again when they are done reading a book. They have quickly learned how frustrating and sad it is when you can't find a book because someone did not put it in it's proper home.

I hope you take the time to read their library books as a family. There were some great choices!

First graders and computers.

It is always such an adventure teaching the 1st grade classes to use Destiny Quest, our cataloging system. After teaching this particular lesson for three years now I think I finally have it figured out. Divide the class into the smallest possible groups. DUH. I have tried teaching as a whole group but we don't have a projector in the library so they really didn't get it. I have tried pairing them up but they tended to argue over who was going to control the mouse. As you know, the library class is already small with just half a class coming at a time. Now, on computer day I divide them up even further. While one half works on computers the other gets to explore and read. I think everyone really enjoys working this way. There is more excitement over book discovery. It is almost as if they suddenly realize how easy it is to find hidden treasures.

As for the children on the computers, they can now log into their Destiny accounts with their username and password. They can search for books by reading level and subject. They can write book reviews and make recommendations to their friends. How fun!

Who am I, really, and then who are you?

It is time for one of my favorite library lessons. I love it so much that this is my second blog posting on it. Last year I wrote about the 4th grade classes learning the Dewey Decimal System and one of the harder sections, Philosophy, Psychology and Ethics. You can read the posting Here. A year later I find myself enjoying the conversations this subject inspires. I thought I would share some of the ideas your wonderful thinkers thought up.

I told them about the famous French philosopher, Descartes, famous statement "I think, therefore I am". These are the 4th grader's interpretations.

"My brain is my partner"

"If I can think, I can do it"

"By thinking, I am human"

"Believe in yourself"

"If you don't use your mind, you aren't a thinker"

When we discussed the idea of beauty or what makes something beautiful the children came up with these ideas.

"If you are blind, how do you know what is beautiful? Everything could be beautiful"

"We all see things differently."

I asked them the question, How do you know the sky is blue? We discussed how a dog does not see a blue sky because his body doesn't let him see color. Our body decides (interprets) what we see in the sky as blue. 

"So, not everybody sees the same thing"

"Is this really...REAL?"

"Only God knows the color of the sky"

"If you don't know, can you have feelings about it?"

"But somehow, you KNOW! without knowing"


I love our thinkers!

Mole's Hill

I am starting to introduce the Kindergarten classes to the difference between Author and Illustrator. I make it a habit of reading the Title, Author and Illustrator before I start reading a book. Most times the children love repeating back the names to me. It seem that people who write books don't have common names. This week I am focusing on the job of an illustrator. I try to get the kindergarten classes to look at a picture and decide why the illustrator decided to use that type of art. It isn't uncommon for the children to think that all pictures are painted or drawn. They don't tend to realize that the illustrator of a book can use many different types of artistic expression to get their point across. I love to introduce them to books where the art work isn't typical. One of my favorite examples is Mole's Hill by Lois Ehlert.

Lois Ehlert is known for her beautiful collage artwork. Her text is always simple, highlighted by vivid colors and texture. Mole's Hill is perhaps lesser known then her more famous works, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and Color Zoo yet, I believe it to be the better of the three.

ribbon applique

The story is based on a Seneca tale called "When Friends Fall Out". The story is set in the woodlands of Wisconsin and the illustrations are inspired by the Woodland Indian's artwork. Typical art forms used by the Woodland Indians are ribbon applique and sewn bead work. Clearly, the geometric patterns and shapes of Ehlerts book are meant to mimic the same patterns and shapes used by the Native American's who inspired the story.  Ehlert also took special care to represent the plants and animals found in the Wisconsin woods in her book. They are beautifully illustrated with bright color cut outs and textured paint.

It always take the kindergartner's a few minutes after reading the book to figure out how the pictures are made. Usually, I hear photos, paint, drawing. I ask them to look closer and pass the book around. Eventually one child, in great excitement yells out, "it is paper!"

The Circle Game

It hit me the other day that the first kindergarten class to be in the new library is getting very big. I still have a tendency to think the library is a fledgling, hardly able to fly.  But that is not the case. Those kindergartner's are now in third grade. They can use the library computers to look up books and then locate the book on the shelves just by reading the call numbers. They know the difference between a reference book, a non-fiction book, a chapter book and a picture book. They consistently write book reviews and recommend books to their peers. They are responsible borrowers who have a passion for all things "Library".

When we set up the library, we made a goal of having 15 books per student. In 2008 after purchasing our open day collection we had 2900 holdings with an average of 5.4 books per student. There was space left on our shelves to add book. Today, we have 5700 holdings with an average of 10.4 books per student!!!! We have doubled our collection in 4 short years!!!!! The shelves are full, overflowing with knowledge.

As a professional I too have grown. That first year scared me. I had my own education, but I kept thinking, "am I equipped to take on such a massive project?" Without, the support of our administration, the teachers and  the parents faith I don't know that would have made it. But here I am, sharing my passion for books and knowledge with your children. In fact, I am lucky enough to be attending the American Association of School Librarians (a division of the American Library Association) conference in Minneapolis at the end of October. I can't wait to bring back new and exciting ideas for the library.

Maybe, I am just feeling a little nostalgic but the other day I bought a children's CD of rock and pop songs for Edwin.  There was one song titled The Circle Game that has stuck with me. I find myself singing it. I hadn't heard it before and being a librarian I had to investigate. It is actually a song by Joni Mitchell. I find the lyrics fitting.


Yesterday, a child came out to wander
Caught a dragonfly inside a jar
Fearful when the sky was full of thunder
And tearful at the falling of a star

And the seasons they go 'round and 'round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We're captive on the carousel of time
We can't return we can only look behind
From where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game

Then, the child moved ten times 'round the seasons
Skated over ten clear frozen streams
Words like, "When you're older", must appease him
And promises of someday make his dreams

Sixteen springs and sixteen summers gone now
Cartwheels turn to car wheels through the town
And they tell him, "Take your time. It won't be long now.
'Til you drag your feet to slow the circles down"

And the seasons they go 'round and 'round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We're captive on the carousel of time
We can't return we can only look behind
From where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game

So the years spin by and now the boy is twenty
Though his dreams have lost some grandeur coming true
There'll be new dreams, maybe better dreams and plenty
Before the last revolving year is through.

And the seasons they go 'round and 'round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We're captive on the carousel of time
We can't return, we can only look behind
From where we came
And go round and 'round and 'round
In the circle game
And go 'round and 'round and 'round in the circle game.

How I start off the new school year

I like to start every new school year by reading a book about libraries to the students. This year I choose The Library by Sarah Stewart. I am often discovering library books that I didn't know we had. This is one such book.  After reading it I was charmed by the sweet and engaging pictures as well as the rhyming sequences.

Elizabeth Brown doesn't like to play with dolls, and she doesn't like to skate. What does Elizabeth Brown like to do? She likes to read lots and lots of books. The story follows Elizabeth from birth, when she dropped out of the sky to old age when she donates her house and books to her town.

I love the pictures by David Small. This is one of those books that ask you to take a close look and find hidden objects within the main picture story. In almost every illustration we see Elizabeth's teddy bear. Often times the bear is imitating her. There are also lots of cats and even a few dogs hidden in each photo.

The rhymes help children anticipate the story. Most classes who have heard the story end up finishing the sentences for me.


"Elizabeth Brown
Walked into town
that very afternoon.


Elizabeth Brown
Walked into town
Whistling a happy tune.


She didn't want a bicycle,
She didn't want silk bows.
She went strait to the courthouse-
'May I have one of those?'


The form was for donations.
She quickly wrote this line:
'I, E. Brown, give to the town
All that was ever mine.'"

If you have not read this book, I highly recommend you check it out as well as other books by husband and wife team Sarah Stewart and David Small.