Fun Times with Poetry

Did you know that April is National Poetry Month? At Taylor we are celebrating by having students recite poetry at GMT. We are also exploring wonderful poetry in the library this week with fun activities that combine technology and poetry. Mrs. Sonkin and I have worked together to create these fun lessons:
Kindergarten and first grade are listening to a poem called "What I Love About Spring" by Douglas Florian using the iPod Nanos. The students listen to the poem three times, and let the words create pictures in their minds. Then they illustrate the poem.

Second and third grade are browsing through poetry books to find a poem that they like. Then they practice reading the poem aloud several times, with expression. Next, they record themselves using Voice Memo on an iPod Touch. After they have all finished recording themselves, they can enjoy listening to their classmates' poems.

Fourth and fifth grade are using the MacBooks and library PC's to view a fun haiku website, and compose haiku of their very own. They then copy down their poem, and illustrate it. We are using some of these to make a beautiful display in the library. Here is the link to the website if you would like to write your own haiku: www.pbs.org/parents/creativity/ideas//haiku.html

Sock Day for Kindergarten

Last week when the kindergarten classes arrived at the library, I invited them to take off their shoes. Then we read two books about ducks and socks: Ducks Don't Wear Socks by Nedwidek and Sally and the Purple Socks by Bechtold. These books were a huge hit! The students really enjoyed sock day in the library.

Our Newest Library Users

Our kindergarten students are doing a great job in the library! They have been learning about how to take care of library books and how to look for library books on the shelves using shelf markers. You can ask your kindergartener what types of things make Mr. Wiggle sad. You can also ask them to sing the shelf marker song for you.

Chalk

This week in kindergarten library storytime we read Chalk by Bill Thomson. This wordless picture book is on the new 2x2 list. In the book, three kids draw pictures with chalk, and what they draw comes to life. After we read the book we moved to the tables and the students drew chalk pictures that they would like to come to life.

Vocabulary Parade Coming Soon!

Taylor's fifth annual Vocabulary Parade will be taking place on Thursday, November 11. Parents are welcome to join us in the cafeteria to view the parade. Every Taylor student and staff member will be dressed as a word for the parade. Look for information that will begin coming home in this week's Thursday folders. When you decide on the word you want to portray, don't forget to turn in your word form to your teacher.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules

Author: Jeff Kinney
Call Number: F KIN

Greg Heffley tells about his summer vacation and his attempts to steer clear of trouble when he returns to middle school and tries to keep his older brother, Rodrick, from telling everyone about Greg's most humiliating experience of the summer.

Flashlight Reading

All classes will have fun flashlight reading when they come to the library this week. After the students check out their books we turn out the lights and they read using flashlights. This is so much fun and it only happens twice a year.

Book Swap

Student council held their first book swap in the library on Tuesday. Many, many books were brought in by Taylor students. They were then able to come to the library and choose "new" used books to take home with them. It was a huge success! The student council members who ran the book swap were incredible.

Vocabulary Parade

Our fourth annual Taylor Vocabulary Parade was a huge success! Thanks you so much to all of the students and teachers who created such amazing costumes! Here are a few more pictures to enjoy...

Mrs. Grimes was our winner for best staff costume. She was "Effervescent."

First Week

It was great having students back in the library last week. Second, fourth, and fifth grades loved listening to Punk Farm by Jarrett Krosoczka. Yes, even the fifth graders were singing along with the story!

First graders met my "Book Baby" for the first time. We brainstormed a list of things you should never do to a baby. Then, I revealed that inside the blanket and diaper was a little book. We then went through the list again to see if we would do those same things to a book. Example: "You should never hit a baby. Should you hit a book? No!" We learned the phrase "Baby Your Books" which reminds students to treat their library books as if they were their babies.

Third graders went on a scavenger hunt in the library looking for Waldo of Where's Waldo fame. They worked in pairs to locate Waldos around the library and answer questions about different areas of the library. They did a great job and reacquainted themselves with the library in the process.

Kindergarten didn't come in the first week of school because they were so busy! I did meet some of them when they were going on a bear hunt in the school. I wonder if they ever found the bear? Kindergarten will start coming this week and will learn about the library for several weeks before they check out their first book.