Reflections on my week

It's Sunday night and I'm reflecting on the past week.  A lot happened.  "Good stuff," as my principal likes to say at faculty meetings, and just one disappointment.

I almost finalized my Newbery list for my fifth graders.

We start on November 13.  There are so many good ones out there. I hope I have included them all! What are your favorites?

I got published in an Australian journal.

This was super cool.  An AUSTRALIAN journal! For school librarians!  The publications editor of the Western Australia School Library Association read one of my blog posts and asked me to make it publishable and I did! I received my digital copy earlier this week.  I'm still smiling about this!

We made lemonade in the library.

Mrs. Kosinski and I have been planning this lemonade "event" for weeks.  I just never realized how much fun it would be! I read My Kite is Stuck! And Other Stories by Salina Yoon to her first graders.  In the book, Little Duck, Big Duck and Porcupine build a lemonade stand.  No stand needed in our library--we just rolled, squeezed, added water, ice, poured and toasted to each other. Delicious!

Mrs. Kosinski made this montage of our activity from start to finish.

Enjoy this montage from our #firstgrade Read it-Make it-Take it w/ @C_ESLibrary @CastletonES. @SchodackCSD @SalinaYoon @bloomsburykids pic.twitter.com/1wgq8zYXAJ

— Earna Eagle (@earnaeagle) October 20, 2017

I did not get accepted into the Bill Morris Seminar.

Remember my post on procrastination?  Maybe leaving things to the last minute was not in my best interest this time. Of course, I was disappointed. This just wasn't my year.  Could 2020 be the one? I want to get more involved in ALSC, even though I already have so much already going on at the local and state levels.

I collaborated with a third grade teacher and our education technologist.

Watching the Ada Lovelace video on Brainpop

I love the triple collaboration threat--I read Ada Lovelace, Poet of Science: The First Computer Programmer by Diane Stanley and illustrated by Jessie Hartland to Mrs. Yager's class.  Then Mr. Ryan showed us all how to create accounts on Brainpop. Students watched the Ada Lovelace video, took the quiz and created a map based on the video. Mrs. Yager also reinforced the message back in the classroom, too. Look! We're doing STEAM!

I collaborated with Special Areas so our Grades 3-5 students can participate in a PE poster contest.

All students worked on posters on Thursday and Friday during PE/Music to be entered in the  NYS AHPERD poster contest: Physical Activity=Happy and Healthy Students.  We will choose the top five from each grade to send on to the contest.  Good luck, friends!

I observed (and participated with) Mr. Reischer reading Her Right Foot to every fifth grader. 

If you haven't seen this book yet, get it.  It is gorgeous with a great message.  It's sparked some great discussions on immigration and our own family stories.  So pertinent for our times. Plus, I believe it could get a nod for Caldecott, Newbery and Sibert.

We made graphs in kindergarten.

For the past three weeks, I have been with Mrs. Cook's kindergartners  every day.  We read and compared several different fairy tales and in our last week together.  Then, we voted and graphed our favorites. I kept telling them we were doing math together! It was great getting to know the kids.  I'm already thinking about what our next collaboration could be. Oh, curious what the winning favorite book was?  Snoring Beauty by Bruce Hale and illustrated by Howard Fine.

I know I did more but these were my highlights. I'm looking forward to starting another exciting week in the library.  Who knows what we'll do or who will leap?