Thursday, August 31, 2017

Back to school!

School started this week and we have all been busy! I rearranged the library and added some decorations, which the kids have enjoyed finding. The fish had babies just in time to entertain the students (and make them ask questions about survival rates!)  It has been a great first week, with one more day to go!  I'm so happy to be at Dothan Brook School again this year and to see so many happy, smiling faces returning.

Welcome back!  Where will READING take YOU this year?

I moved the Dorothy Canfield Fisher book display this year. The more flexible locations allows for taller books and more kids to browse at the same time.  It's also a little more prominent and, hopefully, easier for the kids to find.  We will be doing a fun Battle of the Books with these books this year, so I'd love to get as many fourth and fifth graders as possible reading them.

Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Awards display

Fourth and fifth graders are starting the library year off with a QR code scavenger hunt.  They had to find 24 locations around the library, scan the QR code to find out the word for that location, then put the words in order to get a quote.  It's a fun activity with a Harry Potter quote at the end, but unfortunately the quote was a little above most of their heads.  They enjoyed the search though!  Next time I'll make my own version and use a different quote.  :)

Technology AND freedom to roam the library?!  Score!!  

This year the students and teachers have all been divided into five "houses," indicated by color.  I'm in the Blue house.  At our first school-wide assembly on Tuesday all of the kids learned what house they are in and then we did some fun activities with our houses.

Fifth graders finding their "house" assignments.

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Scholastic Book Fair

After many student requests last year, the book fair will be coming back to Dothan Brook School!! The fair will be at school from Monday, October 30th through Friday, November 3rd, and open during parent/teacher conferences on November 2nd and 3rd. Students will have a chance to visit the book fair with their classes during that week and notices will be sent home with students closer to the time so you know exactly when they will be going. The book fair will also be open before school on Tuesday, October 31st for parents dropping off kids in the morning. Stop by and see what's new! Check out the Scholastic Book Fair web page for more information! Any questions? Let me know!

Friday, August 11, 2017

It's almost time for school!

Where did summer vacation go?! It feels like we went from "Last Day Love" to "Back to school" in a heartbeat! I'm excited to see everyone again though. We have some fun changes in the library this year. New seating, new books, and new activities. The 4th and 5th graders will be doing a "Battle of the Books" using the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award books. I hope everyone has fun with it. We will also be getting some Sphero robots in the library (for keeps, not just one loan!) and all of the grades will have some interactions with them. They are a lot of fun and a great way to get hands-on programming experience. We will be learning about digital citizenship, digital leadership, literacy, and robotics. We will read and play and learn and have fun! I can't wait.

You may have noticed an Instagram feed down the side of this page. I wanted to update the blog more frequently last year, but found it a bit complicated for quick updates. For this year I'll be posting photos regularly on Instagram and updating the blog with more detailed information every couple of days (or weeks...). Please take a minute to follow @dbslibrary on Instagram.

I can't wait to see all the kiddos again on August 29th! Enjoy the remaining days of summer.