Boxes and Piles

As I wait for the construction to finish on our new library building, I find that boxes and piles of books have overtaken my school life. As one student noted/yelled as he peeked his head into the library, "The library is being DESTROYED!"

We are in this weird transition of packing up the old library and trying to get everything ready for the new library. Before we open the new library I am trying to reorganize books, rethink how our books are laid out, and finish up some new projects: barcoding all our books so we can use our fancy smancy new scanner, and put protective covers over our old and new books, something that has rarely been done here in the past.

Exhibit 1: New books! I love piles of new books! But these new books have to go through a lot of steps (and be placed in many new piles) before they are ready for the shelf - well in this case until they are ready to be packed up in a box. This first pile of books is very distracting. I usually want to read them all, right there and then.

Exhibit 2: This is the look-up pile. Internet is required. Where does it belong in the Dewey Decimal system? What's the AR level? All this info goes into the database.

Exhibit 3: This pile of books (or dvds) needs to be located near the stack of library check out cards and envelopes. Books are then given an identification number.

Exhibit 4: This pile of books get stickered up with spine labels and AR stickers.

Exhibit 5: New pile. Match barcode with book. This is not an easy task. I'd rather not talk about it.



Exhibit 6: Freshly barcoded books need a protective sticker on top. This pile is getting very large very quickly. I am out of stickers... I can only get the stickers in the US...

Exhibit 7: While new books are being processed, the old books are leaving their comfy spots on their shelves and going into boxes. Each book gets cleaned, checked for a barcode, and stored. Books that need protective covers get put in another pile, like the lovely stack on top of the bookshelf here.

Exhibit 8: No picture shown because these piles are my least favorite. The pile with sticky notes telling me that there is an issue with a book. It's catalogued incorrectly. Missing an AR sticker. Ripped. Needs glue. Incorrect spine label. Has some issue but I forgot to write down what the issue was and now can't remember. These are the books in a weird pile on the floor, stacked against my chair, and overflowing from the library cart.

Exhibit 9: These books are ready to get covered. Newly ordered protective sheets are in the pile next to them. This pile shrinks sllloowwwllyy. Covering books is time consuming.



Exhibit 10: The pile you have to create to get that one book from the bottom of a box you already packed.



Exhibit 11: Isn't it beautiful? The tumbling boxes of books. Printer paper boxes aren't quite as sturdy as they look.

Exhibit 12: Organizing old books and processing new books always creates a beautiful pile: the pile of books I am going to put in my bag and take home to read before all my students get to them. This is the #1 perk of being a librarian. 

First up to read: Should I Share My Ice Cream? This is a very valid question and one I am very curious to know the answer to. 

I am hoping that I will be able to start moving things into the new library at the end of this week. Pictures coming soon!

Joy

Things have been getting festive all around school and in the library. Decorations, programs, parties.

I've always enjoyed celebrating Christmas with my students. In 4th grade we would make decorations together and sing. This year in the library, it's been Christmas books upon Christmas books, from preschool to 6th grade. Because I teach such a wide range of ages, I've been able to share so many different types of stories and have the joy of seeing different reactions from the students.

The library is ready for Christmas! 

In preschool, we read a story about Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus. We looked at story book pictures of the manger. Their eyes were so big as they realized where Jesus was born. Their faces scrunched up when we imagined that it might have been dark and cold and smelly there.

In 3rd grade, we read How the Grinch Stole Christmas. They laughed at Max the dog and were easily captivated by Dr. Seuss' easy to follow rhymes. They clapped when the story was over and we discussed the real meaning of Christmas. Later they wrote lists about how NOT to be a grinch. My favorite was "I will have a good attitude even when others don't."

In 4th grade, we read La Noche Buena, a story about a Cuban-American neighborhood celebrating Christmas. Many of the traditions mentioned in the book resounded with my Nicaraguan students. Here, Nochebuena (Christmas Eve), is the day to celebrate. Many stay up late and light off tons of fireworks at midnight, followed by a huge Christmas feast with extended family. After the story we talked about the differences between celebrating Christmas in the United States and in Nicaragua. There was absolute shock when I told my students that we do not set off fireworks at Christmas time in the United States. To them, Christmas time is always filled with fireworks. I confessed that I had no idea that other countries did fireworks at Christmas time until I moved to Nicaragua. We laughed together and shared other Christmas traditions. There was one major consensus: all the students wished it snowed here.

In 6th grade we read a young reader version of Dicken's A Christmas Carol. The students' favorite part? Scrooge's cap and nightgown. Later we did a Reader's Theater that used lines and language from the original story. We got to laugh together at some of the phrases and use our knowledge of the first story to help us figure out what the more difficult language and phrasing was trying to say.

During after school tutoring, my 3rd grader and I were working on her weekly memory verse.

Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. 
Luke 2: 11 - 12 

Before we begin memorizing, we always talk about what a verse means and any difficult words. For this particular verse, I asked her if she knew what the Messiah meant. After shaking her head no, I began to explain. We talked about the Jews and their longing for the Messiah to come. We talked about how Jesus was different from what they imagined the Messiah would be. Our conversation veered and soon she was asking me to draw a timeline. When was Jesus born? How about me? And Noah? We talked about Jesus' family tree and she proudly explained how she in Jesus' family. "I used to be in sin's family," she explained. "Then I believed in Jesus. Now I am in his."

I can't tell you how many times I was filled with joy these past couple of weeks. I loved watching my little preschoolers learn a beautiful truth - the Savior of the world was born in a manger. I loved seeing shock on the 4th graders' faces when they learned about the lack of fireworks in the United States. I loved teaching a classic to the 6th graders and watching them eagerly interact with the text. And what's better than knowing that a student has been rescued from sin's family and has joined the royal line of Jesus? How thankful I am for the joy that Christmas brings and the joy of being a teacher.

The advent calendar that is on the bulletin board outside the library. 

Merry Christmas!

Laura 

Pretending It's Autumn

It's that time of the year when I pretend it's fall time. There might be an alarming lack of orange leaves, boots, and pumpkin spice lattes here, but I can still decorate the library appropriately and plan lessons on pumpkins, fall leaves, and thankfulness.

When some very expensive, imported pumpkins showed up at the grocery store a couple of weeks back, I decided to snatch the biggest one up. I knew many of my students had probably never seen a real pumpkin, and I thought it would go well with some of the pumpkin books we were going to read.

My littlest students were so funny when they first saw it. "Is that a REAL pumpkin? A REAL one?!" They touched it and smelled it and wanted to pass it around. We learned about how pumpkins come from seeds and grow on vines. We had adjective competitions to fill in the blanks on our pumpkin song.

Now we are preparing for Thanksgiving. Because we are so thankful for all our books in the library, we made some turkeys to show off the books we are most thankful for.

Some books that I've read recently that I am thankful for:
The Pigeon Needs a Bath! by Mo Willems

The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

If You Were a Book Title

I asked my 6th graders this question:

After some brainstorming, we hit the markers and started decorating our circles.

The 6th graders started telling me about people, events, books, locations, and other things that held significance in their lives. Harry Potter turned a nonreader into a reader. A student who recently came to Nicaragua is trying to grapple with moving from one part of the world to another. Music has, and always will be, the best part of another student's day.

Working in the library has given me more time and more opportunities to listen to my students and to hear their stories. Give them a little prodding, and they have a lot to say.

More Movin' and Shakin'

You know how there are some things you never get tired of talking about? Around here it is the infamous earthquake weeks of last April. Big and little earthquakes shook the nation's capital, students weren't allowed to come to class for three weeks, we launched online school, and some of us teachers went a little stir crazy. 

For as much as we talk about it, I really didn't think it would happen again. Ah, how wrong I was.

Monday night: I had just fallen asleep when I was rudely awakened by some violent shaking. Disoriented, I looked around, sat up, tried to figure my life out.

As soon as I remembered about these lovely things called earthquakes, I jumped out of bed and ran outside, barefoot, in the pouring rain. A 7.2 earthquake somewhere out in the ocean caused a lot of moving and shaking around the country. 

Fast forward to today. We haven't had classes all week and no one really understands why the government wont let us have school. Teachers have been sending home work online. We have started making ridiculous videos to send to our students. It's the infamous earthquake weeks all over again. 

We are hoping classes will resume Monday and we can continue on with our school year. 

How about some uplifting news? Construction on the new library has begun! Hopefully in a couple of months we will have a brand new space for reading and learning. 

Comedy Hour

Hands down the funniest part of my day is when I tutor a third grader after school. This girl is hilarious and full of laughter.

Don't worry, a lot of learning still happens during tutoring (aka Comedy Hour), but a lot of laughter goes along with it. We spend a good portion our time working on vocabulary and reading skills. We always make up actions to go with each new vocab word we are studying, and then we quiz each other to see who can remember the most words. The actions are usually over the top and crazy (and involve a lot of giggling), but they get the job done. 

Last week we were working on the world realize. The action was touching the side of our heads and shouting "ding!" like the light bulb was going off in our brains. Later when we were reading Scaredy Squirrel, my student came across that same vocab word. She immediately sat up, did the action, and then imagined Scaredy Squirrel doing the action, which led to many, many giggles. It is safe to say this vocabulary word has been learned. 

I think God has given this little girl a gift of joy and laughter that will touch many people. I am glad I get to share in it a couple of hours each week. 

Scavenger Hunt

I want all of my students to be readers. We all know readers need a good book to read. However, I have quickly learned that even in a small library, finding a book can be a daunting task for students. They have no idea why books are on certain shelves. In their eyes, call numbers on book spines are just a mysterious combination of numbers and letters. For some students, they don't even know what type of book they would like to read. They stare at the shelves, but don't pull out any books.

After many lessons on library organization, alphabetical order, the Dewey Decimal system, and call numbers, I set my students loose on a library scavenger hunt. In pairs, they hunted for specific books, authors, and Dewey Decimal numbers, putting all their newly acquired knowledge to the test. 

I loved watching students run their fingers across the rows of book spines as they searched for a particular call number, struggle spelling the words "Dewey Decimal", and mouth the ABC's to themselves as they raced to complete their scavenger hunt.

The older students are now much more familiar with how a library works. They can find a book if I supply an author's last name, they know how to read the different nonfiction signs, and they can put their own books back on the shelf. A little bit of digging and exploring has helped many students find new authors and book series that they enjoy.
Happy readers = happy librarian.