Panther Paw 2013

This month is the start of our tenth annual Panther Paw Contest. There are twenty one fantastic new books on the list this year.  Kindergarten, first and second graders have been swarming to the library to read, read, read!  Parents and teachers are coming and going with books in their hands to share in the classroom and at home.  I love this time of year when there is so much excited book talk.  Watch for posters to spring up in the library...second graders trying to convince others to vote for their favorites.  Everyone who reads ten or more of the books on our list gets to vote in March.  Join in!  Find a new book to love.
Panther Paw 2013 on PhotoPeach

Read for 2013

Looking forward to the New Year and celebrating reading have been a fun tradition at Parish Lower School for many, many years.   Now we take advantage of this event to bring the third graders back to read in their old classrooms or library.  Seeing their smiles and armfuls of books coming through the doors is more than nostalgic.  One third grader said quietly to another, "It feels like coming home."  I love the reading + smile = coming home equation.  Our Head of Middle School kicked off the morning with a fantastic reading of Pierre by Maurice Sendak.  Then, we all found a comfortable spot and for 33 minutes and 33 seconds, the only sound was the turning of pages. 

Library + STEM + Amphibians

Discovery Education and the Siemens STEM Academy brought together scientists at the Smithsonian's National Zoological Park for a live webinar today at noon.  It was perfect timing for our second grades.  Their classroom tadpoles have nearly become adult frogs. There was a huge interest in seeing  and learning about amphibians from around the world.  Over 40 of our second graders brought their lunches to the library or to the STEM center to learn from the zoo's scientists about the animals and the threats they face from environmental issues.
This offers the perfect opportunity to do a little bit of research using PebbleGo, too.  This non-fiction database is a great resource for early elementary students.  There is some great information about amphibians there.  It was fun and exciting to connect the STEM center, classroom and library in such an authentic way. 

Vote For Books!

Three very worthy candidates filled the ballot for our Library Character President. Duck, Babymouse, and Bad Kitty all had strong party support.   The weeks leading to election day were thrilling!  The characters were the subject of so much description, comparison, and discussion.  Campaign posters covered the library walls. On November 6, voters came to the voting booth in the library. Votes were cast and counted. 

Election Day, November 6

The winner....

Book Club Awesomeness!

Ivy and Bean Day

Book talk and lunch with friends are two of my favorite things.  Those favorite things came together twice in October.
The second grade girls met in the library for lunch and to celebrate the Ivy and Bean book series by Annie Barrows.  The girls had great discussions about the two characters who are so different from each other and yet such good friends.  We looked at the author's website and even had time to make cootie catchers.

Books We Are Batty About

The book talk during the second grade boys' "Books We're Batty About" celebration was incredible!  Every boy brought a book that he enjoyed and thought others would also enjoy.  
 They took turns standing on the bat stool and presenting their books.  It was obvious that much thought went into their choices.  They were all very interested in what each other had to say.  Their recommendations have carried a lot of weight.  Many books that have been sitting on the shelf are now in readers' hands. 

Reading Buddies

Every Monday, classes of second graders and kinders  meet up in the library and their classrooms for twenty minutes of shared reading and books.  The partnerships will stay together all year so that they will have opportunity to grow together as readers.  This week was our kickoff Monday.  I loved watching the leadership that the second graders assumed in selecting, practicing and reading books that they thought would be favorites. I loved listening to their discussion, questions and comments with the kinders.  Books can create powerful bonds!

Charlotte + Bots

Happy birthday to Charlotte's Web!  So many students talked about how much they loved this read-aloud.  After we read several different alphabet books in the library a few weeks ago, one of the first graders asked if we had a Charlotte's Web alphabet book. Now we do!  After some collaboration about the illustrations, each of the first grade classes created one, and they are cataloged and ready to check out. 

Working across disciplines is always fun, especially when our fantastic art teacher gets involved.  Were the kindergarten classes very inspired by Boy + Bot?  "Affirmative!"  Some of our creative and energetic moms loved the chance to let their minds and hands work robot magic, too!
Story time included some great discussion.  We noticed that the friends in Dan Yaccarino's Unloveable were very much like each other and that the friends in Boy + Bot were very different from each other.  All the Way to America and Every Friday led to a lot of talk about connections that the students made to their own lives, their families and routines.