How Not to Be a Grinch

During the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas break, I read a lot of Christmas books. Some I put on display, others I use with different library classes, some I recommend to teachers.

Out of all the books, Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas is always my favorite. This year I read it to the 3rd grade class, and I must admit I got a little animated during the read aloud. Afterwards, we talked about how NOT to be a grinch at Christmastime and throughout the rest of the year.

If you need some tips, read these brilliant ideas written by the third graders.

Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving

This is my fifth Thanksgiving in Nicaragua, my fifth away from family. 

It's still weird wearing shorts on a day that I associate with scarves and boots. It's still weird watching the parade without my sister next to me and my mom baking in the background. It's on days like these that I wish I was back in Omaha. 

The good news is that there is much to be thankful for here. My students, my friends, my job that I adore. A God who loves me and gives me everything I need. And while I am far away from home, technology bridges the gap. My mom can email me her stuffing recipe and I can email her the photo of me cooking it. It didn't turn out as good as hers, but it was good enough :)

Happy Thanksgiving from warm and sunny Nicaragua! 

Library Club

Library Club has become one of the highlights of my week. For an hour after school, 5th and 6th grade students meet in the library to do activities related to books, genres, and authors.

So far, we've created origami, solved mysteries, put our engineering skills to work, and played giant Pac-man.

Engineering 

Working on our origami skills

Practicing our Pac-man skills on the computer before we play on the giant board

Ta da! The giant Pac-man board itself.

Let the games begin! 

Gotta give a HUGE shout out to my lovely library team of assistants and high school helpers - Tom, Jackie, Peter, and Da Hee - who are always willing to help with the prep work. They also rock at playing giant Pac-man.

Mario Kart

Moo Moo Meadows in action. (Image from IGN.com)

So you know when you are playing Mario Kart and there are banana peels, bombs, and colorful boxes scattered everywhere with a dozen crazy drivers plus COWS crossing the road all Moo Moo Meadows style?

That's basically what driving is like here and in most developing countries. You've gotta be on your game or you'll end up in a pothole or stuck between 15 motorcyclists or possibly squished by a giant piranha plant.

A little while ago the four-lane "highway" near my house underwent some construction and turned into a five-lane highway. You would think that one more lane = more space for cars = less crazy driving, BUT no one painted lines on this lovely stretch of road. Therefore, every time I approached that street I would get that horrible feeling like when I'm playing Mario Kart, zooming down Moonview Highway, and I think that every move I make might be my last. Where is the line? Where am I supposed to be? Which side of the road am I really on? Will I get squished by that semi that wont stop blaring his horn?

Ladies and gentlemen, they painted the lines last week. Let me tell you, lines make a difference. I feel good. I know where I'm going. I know what side of the road I'm on. I have included a picture for your viewing enjoyment. And yes, lines being painted on the road was indeed the most note-worthy news of the week.

Book Tasting

Grab your fork and knife. It's time for a fine dining experience, and books are on the menu.

Thanks to multiple blogs and magazine articles that I have read lately, I was inspired to try a new idea in the library: Book Tasting.

The goal is to put books into students' hands that they might never pick up on their own. It is a way to show off some books in the library collection that you know students will love if they would only take them off the shelves.

To create the desired experience, I did a little table decorating, created menus, put together a classical music playlist, stole some fake flowers from my home, and hired a waiter (aka my enthusiastic assistant, Tom).

As students "tasted" their book appetizers, main dishes, and desserts, they filled out menus to help them process their thoughts and have a take-home reminder of what books they might like to check out in the future.

Afterwards, I looked through the menus to see what the students thought of the books they tasted. My favorite responses were when opinions changed as students took the time to look through a particular book. 

Many books received positive reviews. Others will be put back on the shelf for another day.

All in all, I'll call the Book Tastings a success. Many new library books have been checked out and are finally getting their much deserved time off the library shelves and into the hands of curious students.

Study Zone

This picture, showing students working and reading after school, is one of my favorites that I have taken recently. Not that it is an amazing photo by any stretch of the imagination, but because of what it represents.

A year ago, in our old building, we didn't have space for even one table in the library. Six months ago it was so hot in the library that this never would have happened. Now, with a new building and A/C, we are finally able to provide a place for students to use after school. Elementary students work one-on-one with their tutors and high school students come in by themselves or in groups to work. Books are checked out, laptops are used, and homework gets finished. In my mind, that's a success.

Middle School

Check out these 8th graders:

These students are extra special to me because they were in my very first 4th grade class back during the 2011-2012 school year. They have returned to me once more, a little older and wiser, for my Accelerated Reading class that meets every day in the library for 50 minutes. Together we discuss books and quotes, update our reading lists, and silently read the novel of our choosing. We start every class with a picture book read-aloud, which is incredibly funny and usually causes us to have a fit of giggles. So far these 8th graders' favorite read-aloud has been The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog by Mo Willems. If you have ever been curious about my personal feelings about hot dogs, I believe this book explains it pretty well.

Page from The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog by Mo Willems

Books are fantastic conversation starters and make for lively discussions. Just today I listened in as one of my students discussed the main character in her book and his struggle with a disease. From there the conversation took off to Steven Hawking, scientific theories they are currently discussing in Science class, Star Wars, and the book series Origami Yoda. Then they quickly jumped on to the Goodreads website and threw out names of books that such-and-such person needed to read based on the conversation they just had. The whole thing was student led, connected to school content areas, and left us all with new books on our to-read list, everything from non-fiction to fantasy.

It's going to be a good year with the Middle Schoolers.

Library: Year Two

I arrived back in Nicaragua less than two weeks ago to begin my second year as the librarian at NCA. It's been a whirlwind to say the least.

Teacher Work Week
Sometime between all the necessary meetings, training my new assistants, and remembering all my school computer passwords, I had the pleasure of meeting all the new books that came off our shipping container this summer. There was definitely that Christmas feeling as I opened box after box of brand new books that I knew my students would love. We are still in the long process of getting all the books cataloged and ready for the shelves.

Next up was preparing the library for Open House.

Open House
I always look forward to Open House. The excitement, seeing the students after a long summer vacation, and the newness of an upcoming school year. This year was extra special for me because the students and parents were able to experience our new library... with AIR CONDITIONING. What a difference it makes to the space. The library is a much more enjoyable place when the heat doesn't knock you out the second you step in the room! During Open House, the students and parents came in, enjoyed the cool air, and checked out the newest books and library "friends". Thanks to my friends Sho and Melissa, and my sister Suzi, there are new stuffed animals for the students to read with in the library this year.

Students checking out the new books during Open House.

One of the 6th graders loves the new library friend!

Some of the elementary teachers dressed up for Open House.

Me with my roommate, Emily.

The First Week
School started last Tuesday and things are back in full swing.

Our first day of school assembly was held in the library. For the first time we weren't sweating as six classes squeezed together! 

The fourth grade class during their weekly library time. 

I'm happy to be back and to be sharing the joys of reading with my students. I praise God as I start year number five in Nicaragua. Year five - I can hardly believe it! More updates coming soon as the school year continues. Thank you to all my blog readers for sticking with me this long!

The 11 Course Meal

Every Wednesday night some of my friends and I gather to eat dinner together. We each take turns cooking the meal for everyone. It was my turn to cook the meal a few weeks ago. I was at the grocery store buying all the necessary groceries for the dinner when the father of two of my students saw me. He noticed that I had a lot of groceries for just one person, and I ended up explaining our Wednesday night dinner tradition to him. 

The next day at school he approached me and asked if he could host our dinner group at his recently opened coffee house. 

So this past Wednesday night we found ourselves in an adorable cafe, being treated to a home cooked, eleven course, Korean-influenced meal. 

Not all of the food is featured here, but this shows some of the variety we had. As soon as we finished with one course, the next appeared. We ate and ate and were surprised as each new item came out. Raw salmon, mussels, sushi, spicy noodles, salad, desert. Most of the food I had never tasted before in my life. I was apprehensive about trying the salmon and the mussels, but I was pleasantly surprised. Two words to describe the food: flavorful and delicious. 

While we ate, the father prepared the next course behind the scenes while his two children, students from my school, served as the waiters. They were both dressed up for the occasion. 

During the day, the coffee shop serves as a ministry base. The family hosts Bible studies every morning, and English and music lessons in the afternoon. They are helping the people of Nicaragua discover the joys of reading, music, and God's word.

The pictures don't do justice to how wonderful the night was. We were absolutely spoiled by a loving, thoughtful family.