encouraging students to become competent 21st Century learners
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... Continue Reading →
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... Continue Reading →
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... Continue Reading →
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.... Continue Reading →
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... Continue Reading →
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... Continue Reading →
I can't believe another school year is here and I am starting my third year as the St. Philip Librarian. I am so grateful to share my passion for reading with the St. Philip community. We have some exciting things planned for the school year. First and foremost, we have decided that since library for grades K-5... Continue Reading →
A new shipment of library books came into the library this week! I felt as giddy as a kid on Christmas as I unpacked the two giant boxes of gorgeous books and placed them on the shelves for the students to enjoy. Of course the first thing I said to the 4th graders that came... Continue Reading →
This week in the library, in honor of Valentine's day, I read Love is a Handful of Honey by Giles Andreae to the Kindergartners. It is a sweet and engaging book with charming illustrations. After the read aloud, the class and I worked together to create a circle map defining what love means to us. The discussion... Continue Reading →
What an incredible week it has been in the library! First, the library gained a very special new patron ... WELCOME BABY EDWIN! Second, while baby Edwin's mama (the fabulous SPA librarian) is on maternity leave, I, the substitute librarian, am stepping in to fill her shoes. My name is Mrs. Jones and I cannot... Continue Reading →
Diversity is an important aspect of a St. Philip's education. It is very important for our children to be aware of their world and embrace cultural differences. While the 4th graders continue to explore the Dewey Decimal System they are given the opportunity to explore their world. This month, they are working on the Dewey 200s also... Continue Reading →
Today 2A entered into the realm of research! Our library catalog not only allows the students to look up library books but provides a safe environment to search the internet. That is exactly what the second graders did during their library time. Mrs. Emmett wanted her class to search for facts on Turkeys. The first task was to... Continue Reading →
The Falcon's Fables 