Cookie Monster goes to the library

The Magic of Books

To start of this year I am inviting students to discover the  “Magic” of books. Attempting to create a "castle" atmosphere in the kiva, I am starting off with a "coat of arms" shield (pictured right) that reminds us of the library rules. My plan is to add other items to the kiva throughout the year, each representing different genres or topics that we discuss. I want students to understand they can discover new things and travel to new places through the "magic" of books. 

*The "coat of arms" shield is simply a sturdy piece of cardboard covered with foil. Draw a design on the cardboard, trace the design with a glue gun creating a raised surface, cover it with foil and rub over the design until your pattern shows through. You can also stain it then rub over it with steel wool to give it an antique look. I also added a little color.

Cereal Box Book Report

I thought I would post a picture of the cereal box book report that I shared at the Elementary Library Meeting. Aside from decorating the front like the cover of the book, include "nutritional information" such as the genre, and a little about the characters and setting. Make sure to also give a brief description of the book, or a page or two from the book that would grab the readers attention. 

What smells @ Orchard?

This week @ Orchard we read "My Dog is as Smelly as Dirty Socks: And Other Funny Family Portraits" by Hanoch Piven. In the book a little girl uses objects to make collages of her family; including the dog Schmutz who is as smelly as dirty socks (a dirty sock becomes an ear in his collage). Let students have fun making collages of themselves or their family members. What items would you use to make a collage of you? Check out my collage above - LOL!

Music in Our School Month

This week for Music in our Schools month, I have been reading a book called Play, Mozart, Play by Peter Sis. We've been listening to Wolfgang's music and talking about his life. Did you know that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart learned his first piece in only a half of an hour and 3 days before he turned 5? That he wrote his own first composition later that year? That by age six he could play the harpsichord, violin, and organ and was touring Europe as its latest child sensation?

An interesting fact is that his sister also was a musical genius and toured with him, but she is usually not remembered. I believe it is because Mozart composed so many (over 600) pieces of music of which some are sung or listened to still every day.

He wrote the song that people have put nursery rhymes (Twinkle Twinkle Little Star & Baa Baa Black Sheep) and the alphabet to.

Thanks Peter Sis for an excellent book and thanks Mozart for all of your hard work.

Martin Luther King

I thought I would post to anyone that doesn't know...the book Martin's Big Words has been made into a 10 minute video on emedia. I like it because at the end it has the actual audio of the "I Have a Dream" speach. I think it's really powerful for the kids to hear his voice.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SUE!!!

To our media goddess...happy birthday! Hope it is wonderful!