Library Brain Break Cha Cha

Hi friends!

I have another great brain break to share with you. This is the one that the big kids love!



You have not lived until you've seen fifth grade students totally get into their cha-cha moves! Oh my!

I tried to capture this for you in a photo, but it just came out blurry!

These guys are normally too cool for school, but they jumped up there and led the dancing from the front.

You can see that everyone is watching the screen and trying to get their dance moves right. I turned the lights out so we could see the screen better.

Now, I have to warn you that you need to make sure you preview any brain break videos you want to use. Some versions of the cha-cha slide have some words you might not want to explain to your students or their parents. But this version is great!

If you are working on a project with your elementary students, and they start to ask how long until lunch, take a brain break! Our students were able to dance like nobody's business, then sit down and get right back to work. The breaks really do help everyone's brain  to focus!

Library Freebie Friday Summer Reading Goal

Hi friends!

This library freebie is coming to you late in the day...and what a day it has been! Fifth grade and kindergarten research projects are going on at the same time that I'm promoting summer reading. It's been crazy busy, but I'm hanging in there, knowing that summer is right around the corner.

I already told you about the summer reading challenge I've posted in Teachers Pay Teachers. I'll present that to my students after Memorial Day.

Today the children's librarian from the public library came to our school and talked to a fifth grade class about the summer reading fun at the nearby public library. I recorded her on my iPad, and I'll edit the video and post it on our shared drive at school so that the rest of our teachers can show it in their classrooms.

I created a center to allow students to reflect back on a book they enjoyed this year and to set a goal for books they'll read this summer.

Just click on the picture to download the PDF file from Google.

My plan is to have students complete these pages (adding color and embellishments, of course) and give them to me. I will make a copy to send home with them, and keep the colorful original in a binder for them to see next year when they come back!

Are you ready for summer reading? How are you encouraging your students to plan for summer reading?

Motivational Monday: Education's Death Valley

Hi friends!

I just watched an awesome TED talk by Sir Ken Robinson that I want to share with you.

Do your days at school feel like you are sailing into a headwind? Are you successful IN SPITE OF the dominant culture at your school?

If so, then you will be able to relate to this talk about how our education systems are designed to ignore three principles on which human life flourishes.



Differences, curiosity, and creativity.

If you are already creating library centers, then you are providing your students with a break from the low-grade, standardized clerical work that is dominating our classrooms.

Kudos to you! Keep on sailing into that headwind! Encourage curiosity, the engine of achievement! Cultivate a climate of possibilities in your school library!

Keep on being awesome...for your students!

Library freebie Friday

Hi friends!

As we wind down the school year, it's time to get our kids fired up for summer reading. I will be using this Summer Reading Challenge with our students. It has 10 relaxed reading objectives on the front, like "read a book in your pajamas." On the back, it has a grade-appropriate list of reading suggestions.

Here's a library freebie to go with whatever summer reading program you are encouraging. Free, printable summer reading bookmarks to color!

You can download and print these for your students to color at a library center or to take home with their summer reading challenge.

Happy Friday! And happy summer reading!

Teacher Appreciation Sale

Hi friends!

I am loading up  my wish list tonight for the Teacher Appreciation Sale on TPT starting tomorrow, May 7.

When you enter the code TAD13 at checkout, you can save up to 28% during the Teacher Appreciation Sale, May 7th and 8th.

Here's what I've added to my wish list.

1. Dewey Display Signs from Ms. O Reads Books. These signs are so cute and colorful! They will really jazz up our nonfiction section.

2. Under the Sea Library Displays from Ms. O Reads Books. More cute and colorful displays! I am running out of decorating steam, and I think these bright beach-y signs will be just what I need to make the library seem decorated while I am busy working on research projects!

3. Elementary Book Tasting from Carolyn at Risking Failure. I may not get to this until next year, but it looks like a fun activity to get students acquainted with a variety of books.

4. Penguin Measuring & Research Station from Carolyn at Risking Failure. I think these animal measuring and research stations sound like incredibly engaging library centers. I can't wait to try them with our students!

5. iReader Punch Card Sampler from The Book Bug. Our students will think these are really cool, and they'll like getting 5 punches for reading 5 books.

6. Adopt-A-Shelf Library Program Bundle from Mrs. Lodge's Library. Do your library shelves look as messy as mine do? I would love to have students take ownership of our library shelves!

7. Did You Know? Library Center from Mrs. Lodge's Library. This library center has students look up fun facts on the library databases and write them on cards to share with others. This will be a good activity at the start of next year when we are introducing some new databases!

8. Frog and Toad Clip Art from Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah Designs. Our first grade spends a lot of time with the Frog and Toad books every year. We love them! This clip art will help me to create some cute frog and toad centers.

9. Mo Willems' Pigeon Backpack Travel Journal. This product is not rated, but I would love to try this with first grade next year! You send home a Mo Willems' pigeon (the little stuffed animal) with a student, and they draw and write about what they did with the pigeon. You put the pages together to create Pigeon's travel journal!

10. Borderz Bundle from Krista Walden. I stumbled upon this product, but I like the creative black borders that I can use for my library center signs. I can print them on colored cardstock and not have to use the color printer. They will add a little pizzazz without distracting or overwhelming my students.

What have you added to YOUR wish list? I'm sure I've missed a few things that I really need!

Summer Reading

Hi friends!

Have you thought about how you'll encourage your students to read this summer? I know you want them to read, so they don't fall behind in their reading skills over the next few months. Plus it's fun to read in the summer when you have so much more spare time!

Here's what I am doing. I've created a reading challenge that's flexible enough to be the same for every grade. There are 10 steps to the challenge, like "read a book in your pajamas." Students can choose whatever book they can find or borrow and read it in their pajamas. They'll write down the author and title. If they complete the whole challenge, they will have read ten books!

On the back of the challenge, I have a suggested reading list for the grade level, with lots of series to get them hooked on a character they'll love. Some parents need a little help in finding "just right" books for their children.

After many weeks of work, I've just finished this summer reading challenge today and added it to my TPT store here. I'm selling the individual grade level challenges for $1.50 each, but the K-5 librarian bundle (a $9 value) is just $5. And it will be even less during the upcoming Teacher Appreciation sale!

Here's a sneak peek.

Every student who completes this reading log will get a summer reading spirit stick from me when we go back to school in August.

These are cute little embroidered sticks that we order from Spirit Monkey. Our students collect them for different achievements and wear them on a lanyard.

The friendly neighborhood public librarian has also offered to visit our school and talk to our students about the summer reading program at our nearby public library. I was going to gather grade levels together and have her talk to all of them. But then I remembered how hard it is to hold the attention of 120 students when you aren't used to it. I think I'll have her present to one group, then make a video for the rest of the classes.

Our district librarians also collaborate to create a list of the free stuff kids can earn by reading over the summer. Many local businesses give prizes like T-shirts or free books to summer readers, and we want our students to enjoy those, too.

I spend a lot of time in the last few weeks trying to get our students motivated to READ, READ, READ during the summer. How about you? Do you have any summer reading ideas to add?

Library Freebie Friday Book Hospital

Hi friends!

I don't know about you, but my library books are falling apart faster every day. Teachers are letting students take their library books into the lunch room, dogs are chewing covers, and backpack accidents are happening constantly.

And then there's the mystery...who did the damage? We check in several hundred books a day, and we don't have time to inspect each one as we check it in.

And book repair? Not my favorite librarian activity!

Today's Friday Freebie is a cute book hospital sign for you to print.

This graphic is a free download from The Imaginative Teacher.

I will print this, laminate it, and put it on a plastic tub at the check-out desk. I'll add some little sticky notes to mark the damaged spot.

I hope that if students have an easy way to show me which books are damaged (without waiting in the long checkout line), maybe we can get these books back in shape. It could happen!

If you have any nifty ideas for keeping your library books in good repair, please share them in a comment!