Back to School: Fall 2013

The start to this school year marks the start to my second year in Deerfield and my 20th year as an educator.  It's so nice to not be a "newbie" (in either case), even though that 20 year thing makes me sound really, really old.

It's a busy time of year prepping and getting things ready.  I am so appreciative for the wonderful ladies I have working at my side!  Maggie and Sue are both amazing in their own special ways.  Although my position is still 60%, my schedule is much tighter than before, and they have both stepped up to get done what needs to be done.

I'm now teaching 4, 5, and 6 grade computer classes, as well as three sections of 5K during their class library time.  We have lots of exciting things planned for computer classes...I have teachers participating for the first time in the Global Read Aloud.  The students will be making connections via Skype, Edmodo, and KidBlog with other classes from various states who are also going to be reading the same book, Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper.  As for my 5K classes.....I'm a bit nervous.  I've never taught kindergarten before.  I know things will go well, but they are just so darn little :)  I will see all three classes for the first time this coming Monday.

We've done some rearranging in the DES library.  We have opened things up a bit by removing several of the round tables.  Those tables are now being loved dearly by a class of third graders and their teachers.  No more desks for Mrs. Perucco and Mrs. Martin :)  In the library we've added several large beanbag chairs and have some comfy furniture waiting to be assembled.  We're still trying to figure out the best place for the portable SmartBoard.  We have the space, but not the electrical outlets that we need.

And one more thing.....I'm now not the only one in the library with a cackle.  Our new next door neighbor has one too :)  We love having you right next door, Jill!  You know, two cackles has to be better than just one!

The best part of the past week was finally getting to see the kids, and of course, all of the amazing peeps that I work with.  I love my job!!

Picture It! 2013

This spring my 5J Computer Class will be participating in the collaborative Picture It! 2013 project with students from all over the world! Check out Projects By Jen for more info.

Project Dates:

April 1 to May 10, 2013

This project is open to ALL PreK to Sixth Grade Classrooms World Wide.

Main Idea

Classrooms will be working with 23 other classrooms to complete 1 collaborative piece of art.

Deborah Craven has created a unique piece of artwork (suitable for a bulletin board). This artwork will be divided into several sections.

Instructions

1. Each classroom will receive ONE SECTION of a piece of art and a listing of classrooms they will be collaborating with. (Each group will have 24 classrooms)

The main image "Mondrian with a Twist" has been divided into 24 pieces.

Who was Piet Mondrian?

Art Library

Biography

Mondrain Style Painting

2. Guided by the teacher, each student will color ONE SECTION of the drawing on a piece of paper. The final collection of artwork will be perfect for a bulletin board!

Since we are celebrating Mondrian -- please only use BLUE, RED, BLACK, YELLOW crayons!

3. From a provided list, the teacher will mail out the completed sections of art to every classroom on that list (one section per classroom)

4. The class will also include a completed template to share a bit about their classroom. 

5. Each classroom will receive artwork "sections" from the other classrooms on the list.

6. Once the "sections" have been received, the classroom will piece the parts together to create ONE collaborative piece of artwork.

\

Changing Things Up (Ditching Dewey) Resources

A few of the most helpful resources that we used as we "Changed Things Up" and went to a book store model in our non-fiction/informational section of the DES library are listed below.

The Candid Librarian

The Centered School Library

Eliterate Librarian

Library Journal Article: It's Not About Dewey (11/01/09)

Mighty Little Librarian

Scoop It: Dewey Free Library

Summer Project: Kill Dewey (great classification list)

Van Meter Library Voice (several blog posts about the process, from start to finish)

Supplies:

Spine Stickers

After looking at a variety of colored spine labels and stickers, we decided to go with these from Demco.  There are many other options, just make sure there are enough color and shape options available.

Shelf Markers

Demco Block Shelf Markers

The Process 
Non-Fiction Section
Changing Things Up
Changing Things Up - Part II
Changing Things Up - Part III

I must give a huge "shout-out" to Shannon McClintock Miller, as she was my inspiration throughout the entire project!  Thank you for always responding so quickly to my many questions.

A great big "THANK YOU" goes out to my wonderful assistant, Maggie, for sticking with the project to the end!  You are amazing!

Changing Things Up - Part III

I often times feel that I'm being pulled in many directions, and I know that being 60% adds to that feeling.  In all honesty, it's been a busy few month in my new position as District Library Media Specialist in the Deerfield Community School District. Since this past fall, we have tackled several big projects.  We converted both libraries from Alexandria to Destiny, we implemented weekly library centers at DES, and the reorganization project in our non-fiction/informational area of the DES library is 98% complete (for more info see Changing Things Up and Changing Things Up - Part II).  Lots of hard work and determination from the most amazing library assistant around (Maggie) is how the reorganization project made it from start to finish.   Maggie took charge of the project, asked questions when she had them, and saw it through to the end!

The reorganization has proven to be successful in a variety of ways.  In my opinion, two of the greatest being...
1.The kids love it, and as they become more familiar with the new book store model concept, they are digging into topics and books that they didn't even know existed.  There's always excitement in their voices as they share the newly discovered book treasures.
2. It has made us aware of areas in our collection that need to be developed.  For example, a group of students were browsing the shelves in the War area and asked why there wasn't a shelf-marker and books for the Vietnam War.  Ding, ding.....let's take a look at what Follett has to offer.

Mosaic Wall Art

My daughter is a member of the Johnson Creek Elementary School Student Council.  I chaperoned a trip the council took this past fall to the WASC Elementary Leadership Conference.  The conference sessions were held at the State Capitol and the Madison Children's Museum.  The photos below were taken in the Art Studio at the museum.  The mosaics cover a large portion of the wall space in the studio and are made from decorated bottle caps.

How beautiful would this be in either one of the Deerfield Community School District libraries!!

QR Codes

For the past year or so, I've wanted to do something with QR Codes.  While at the SLATE 2012 conference earlier in the week, I was inspired by another educator to finally make the move.  We have a new  IMC/Library website in the 7-12 building and what better way to promote it than with a QR code.

The process was simple...
I took the url for the "Research Tools" page of the IMC/Library website, plopped it into Kaywa, which is one of many QR Code generators, and hit "copy" on the code that was created.  From there I went to Word and pasted the code on a new document.  I added some text, then Sue made copies and put them up around the high school.

We are anxious to see what the reaction is from the students.  Will they scan the code?  What about the staff?

There are free QR Code Scanner apps for all kinds of devices.  Download one and give it a try.  QR Codes are found on all kinds of things.

Here is the poster that was put up today at the high school.

Working on a research project?

Scan this code for some great resources.

QR Code Scanner apps are free.  Download one on your handheld device.

Library Centers Are a Hit

Over a month has passed since the start of our Library Centers at DES.  The students come to the library excited to find out what centers there are each week, and they are actively engaged in the activities.  There have been positive comments from the staff.  At this point, we feel implementing centers has been a great move educationally.

The two most popular centers, which we are thinking about having out on a regular basis, are the Doodling/Coloring Center and the Puzzle Center.  I've been doing some research on the benefits of having these types of activities available for students AND adults.  All my findings lead toward the belief that these types of activities are often times very relaxing and can provide some much needed "down-time" in our busy schedules.

A few of our most recent centers included...

Classic Card Games (Go Fish, Old Maid, etc)

Playaway Instructions (grades 3-6)

Whispy Reading

Library Center Ideas

Doodle/Color (snowflakes and winter mittens)
Read to Self, Read to a Partner, Read in a Small Group