Frankenstein in the Library - Multi Media Fun for all ages

I am going to skip telling you how much I love Halloween, bla bla bla.... we all do and it is the best time of year in the Library, right? OK - established, here are some really fun Frank resources that came together quickly and easily for multiple grades this week.

David Catrow's Monster Mash is delightfully illustrated and just spooky enough to keep elementary schoolers' attention. When presented with the original song this book makes for a FUN way to start the hour.

Frank was a Monster who wanted to Dance - what fun! The pictures are beautiful and original through and through. Stumbling upon the animated video was such a bonus - especially when Frank boogies and has the greatest voice. A short story enhanced by the animation is perfect for the younger Halloween fans.

 To top things off or entice the kids to be on task this week we have ended class with the "Monster Mash" on Just Dance. The dance is a slow-ish pace, perfect for the younger grades and makes for a fun "circle" lesson.

Bibbity Bobboty Boo! Pumpkins into your Favorite Book Characters

For the last fifteenish years our Library has hosted the "Annual Creativity Fair" in November. The charge of this Fair was to recreate a book scene with food. We have families and former students who recall this with great fondness. Honestly, I am not one of those people. When I saw these adorable Pumpkin Characters popping up on Pinterest (again, really?) I knew I had the way to switch.

Like always, my kids amazed me!!! As the pumpkins rolled in I was delighted, impressed and overall delighted by their creativity and seeing their favorites. I love kids' takes on books.

  

This Library is Haunted!

 October swooped in faster than I could have imagined and that means only one thing: if I don't get on it, Halloween will be here I and I have not decorated the Library. So the first day of October it is: spiderwebs, check. Mummy bulletin board, check. New (and old favs) Halloween books, check.My favorite glittery broom floating over my desk, check.

The most exciting new additions to our spooky space are our Ghostly Bibliophiles. These are classic Pinterest cheesecloth ghosts hung with my handy fishing wire and paperclips jammed in the ceiling tiles. The books were a little trickier because the whole point was to demonstrate actual reading, not just a floating book and the placement was rough. Overall I love them and I think they hit the mark. I am glad our district (and school) does not fuss about Holiday displays and that I can go all out this month.

 

Young Engineers throw punches in the Library

Last year as a new STEM school we embraced the Cardboard Challenge (click here to check out Caine's story). As we near our second year of involvement it is apparent how far we have come, both as a STEM school and students. This year as we discuss the challenge in the Library my kids are READY. It's as if they have waited all year to better last year's creations. I have heard about stability, engagement, ramps, and motion all week. From 7 year olds!

After asking teachers how we can frontload in the Library this year I had an interesting response: Please expose second graders to more arcade games. Kids love Caine and embrace his challenge but if they do not have that background knowledge regarding hands on arcade games there is only so far they can go.

Hello, Google. And forget searching "arcade", "classic arcade" "old fashioned arcade". Carnival Games were finally what I needed and we spent a fun 30 minutes discussing and critiquing games from Plinko and AirHockey to PinBall and SkeeBall.

Kinder and First read Iggy Peck, Architect and The Three Ninja Pigs. Out came the building blocks and cool cubes I have not seen before. I was proud of the bridge some of our girls created with the bracing they pointed out to me.





                                                              

I read Sky Boys: How They Built the Empire State Building with 4/5 and pulled out the Lego Robotix Challenge Kits. The history shared through the text was a complete discussion while/ after we read and the end pages had compelling pictures from the actual build time.



I poured through pages of Engineering Challenges and actually had the marshmallow box ready to go with 4/5 but after setting out the trays and pairing the kids I decided it was time for free build. When they picked up their base they had to tell me what structure they were building and was I ever blown away! Granted, I don't have much LEGO experience with kids but that aside I was impressed. Complete, TOTAL CONCENTRATION. Creative process in motion and the library was humming.

 

And that's when it happened (no pics, sorry, too shocked). A scuffle, some 5th grade cussing and LEGOS flying when it was time to head to Spanish. And so it turns out I need to pay a little more attention to the groups I create when Engineering. There is that reason GT kids are split among groups in collaboration and I found that when the LEGOS came out all kids are GT. With well developed ideas and execution. Just don't be that person who actually hears your Librarian call for clean up and start the clearing. Woe to that person. Actually, after that person shoves back and lights up the checkout line, woe to both 5th Graders who are back in the Library at recess time, minus the LEGOS.

I texted my husband after they left and told him we had WW3 revolving around LEGOS and I got a "Duh...." back.

Censorship 101: Banned Book Weeks for Elementary Libraries

 Banned Books Week for K-5 is a challenge for me. I am 100% behind the idea of celebrating and highlighting the fact that we can read whatever we want. Displaying the Banned Books from our shelves is a good way to intro the topic but I struggle to bring the idea alive for kids this age. Many of them lack the natural outrage that comes naturally to Middle Schoolers and some of the topics of Banned Books are touchy with K-5.

This year I am going the Censorship 101 route.What is Censorship? Is it lawful in America? Do we Censor one another? Our kids are so connected 24/7 and have no concept that there are places where someone would withhold text or the privilege of reading from anyone.




 
BrainPop has a video on Judy Blume that I will show them, the link is here: Judy Blume BrainPop Video

In just a few minutes Tim and Moby highlight Blume herself, her books, and her fight against censorship. I look forward to this connection with 4/5 that will launch us into censorship and Banned Books.


At Teacher Hub this post outlines 12 Activities for Banned Books week. I love the focus on the 1st Amendment and especially the Banned Books Poll.

I look forward to this week and developing this concept with K-5. Appreciating our right to read what we want is something our kids need to absorb.

Many Thanks - a Love Letter to Adults with my 7th Grade Daughter Stranded in CO Floods

When she falls, my youngest daughter inevitably breaks a bone. When asthma hits, we are in the hospital for 5 days. Trust me, I can go on, she is that kid. So last week when I was driving to work on a rain soaked morning and heard the first flooding reports from Estes Park, CO my blood ran cold and I knew without a doubt my daughter would be stranded in the mountains away from us.

 
 We are directly down the canyon from Estes and there is one way up and one way down, Highway 34. My daughter was at the very top of the canyon with 140 kids and adults for the annual 7th Grade trip to Covenant Heights. It is an Outdoor Education experience that is a cornerstone of middle school in Loveland. And of COURSE the night before my Windows phone had completely stopped working and I was without a cell phone.

My husband (and dozens of other parents) called the school and were told that the kids were doing great and that the worst case scenario would be that the kids would stay an extra day until the roads dried out. That seemed logical and about the best we could expect at that time. In the best circumstances, the communication and reception that high is not the best so you just send the kids and trust you will see them in one piece in a few days.

Right before lunch schools in Loveland were cancelled because the City communicated that the flooding was such that the dam was to be opened and it was time for everyone to be home safe. ASAP. STAT. Working to get hundreds of kids home safely while trying not to think about your own child very not safe in the middle of flooding is a challenge I hope to not repeat.

After schools and streets were emptied all we could do was wait and watch the destruction that came across the news screens. At first the communication from the school district was spotty and frustrating. Hearing that our kids were due home at the normal time did not match the washed out roads and flooded canyon we saw.

As the "drop time" for the kids came and went on Friday with no kids, the district went on overdrive communicating with parents. Online posts were updated with regularity and our phones rang frequently with news.

Saturday brought our kids home and with them the news and realities we had all tried to not think about while they were stuck in the canyon. It turns out our kids did not know about the danger they were in and really did have the time of their lives. That's something you hope is happening but it is wonderful to find that they really were kept safe from harm and worry.

 
This picture from my daughter's phone shows one of the roads that was washed out by their camp. The kids crossed this road by foot while the adults ferried luggage and equipment over the break to the waiting bus. My daughter told me the only reason the kids were concerned was because the "order" to pack up came so quickly they really had no idea what was happening.

When the kids arrived home my daughter was wearing a chaperone's shoes because hers were "too wet" and this mom made sure my daughter had dry feet. So that leaves me thinking about the mom's feet. I KNOW they were wet and I can not imagine she had too many pairs of shoes with her.

As my daughter was settled at home and started watching the horrifying coverage of this disaster we could see the fear and realization set in. She told us flat out she had no idea they were in danger nor that their families down the canyon were in the path of this flood.

THAT is why I will always be thankful to each and every adult who accompanied this group to Covenant Heights. Those kids were there from Wednesday to Saturday and it became clear Wednesday (to the adults) that this was an atypical, dangerous situation. Yet until the last few hours of their trip these kids were having the time of their lives.

AND these kids arrived home safe without an ounce of harm. That took so many extra coordinators at levels I don't even have a clue about. I know it came at a cost and that their worry about their family, home, and trip home was pushed to the back while my child was kept safe. I expected a loooootttttt of tears when the kids arrived on their Charter Buses but surprisingly, kids were off that bus, into the gym for luggage and out the door with very little noise. I think most families were just too relieved to think about anything other than getting their kids home.