Butterfly Center in the Library!

Science in the library?

Yes! 

With spring's arrival, it is time to celebrate green, our school gardens, and new things. Thanks to a butterfly garden brought in by one of our awesome parent volunteers, we are not just reading about science, but watching it happen, too!

The caterpillars were put out first, along with books about metamorphosis, butterflies, etc. 

Then with each stage, the display changed, too. 

Finally, we had our chrysalis stage to see:

Learners came into the library to check the progress. Their questions led to some great conversations, which then led to more book checkouts, which, of course, led to learning! 

Finally, we released them on April 18th-- the same day as our Bunny Hop! 

Ten butterflies were let go that day! 

(Here's a shot of my arm as the butterflies were released. P. S. Aren't my bracelets pretty? Thanks to Mrs. Ridley for the photo.) 

Looking back on this experience, I think of how excited our learners were each time they came to our library to check on progress. It was so fun to watch them WATCH the butterflies!

I press on toward my goal of making the library a place of inquiry, observation, and learning! 

 

A Review of SOCCER STAR by Mina Javaherbin

Javaherbin, Mina. Soccer Star. Ill. by Renato Alarcão. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Books, 2014. ISBN 0763660566

Soccer Star is the story of Felino, a boy in Brazil who dreams of soccer fame. While his mother works and his sister Maria goes to school, he works for a fisherman to bring in money for his family. Felino introduces readers to his friends, all working in various capacities to bring in money, too (one friend dives for tourists, another shines shoes). Felino shows readers how he fishes, and narrates readers through his day until it is finally time to play soccer. His sister wants to play, too, and his teammates aren't at all happy about it. When a player injures his wrist, it is up to Felino to decide if Maria can fill in.

Javaherbin opens the book with Felino's declaration: "I am Paulo Marcelo Feliciano, and soon I will shine like a star". The quote sets an optimistic tone, yet readers still see a glimpse of the obstacles Felino must overcome. Felino's kindness (teaching his sister soccer, sharing his treats with others, admiring his friends for their talents) and his hard work ("Over and over, I cast the net") make him a character children will respect. Alarcão's illustrations (done in sepia ink with digitally added color) tell Brazil's story: small, glowing houses on hills, expansive blue fishing waters, and a proud people coming together to celebrate sport. The lines of cheering arms reaching for soccer balls and fishing lines, the movement of legs swiftly kicking in a game's frenzied excitement, and wispy smiles on earnest faces (young and old) lend vibrancy to the story.

As with Goal! (Javaherbin's 2006 picture book about boys who play soccer in South Africa), Soccer Star connects cultures through the love of game and a steadfast expression of hope.

Being Nerdy At TLA

It's been a week since TLA (Texas Library Association) and although it may be too late to write a post about it, I'm going to write one anyway.  Life in the library has been super awesome & super busy, so I'm just now getting to it. I hope I am forgiven!

I won't write about every detail of the conference here. I did that already in my pink Moleskin notebook. There I have jotted down notes about the generous invitations, the new friends, the dinner conversations, impromptu gatherings, promises to collaborate, and ideas I cannot wait to implement in our library.   

I do want to say something here about my participation in the #nerdybookclub panel at TLA. I want to say that it was amazing and completely magical for me. I want to say that if you had told 8-year old me that many years later, I'd be speaking on a panel with authors and fellow educators, I'd have looked at you as if you were speaking a foreign language. I want to tell 8 year-old me living a life of lack, uncertainty, and hand-me-downs--the only reader in the family-- to keep on reading. Keep on reading!

Colby, John and me after our session

About my co-panelists: Colby Sharp and John Schu have such a contagious energy and I am so grateful for their friendship.  Jenni Holm, Kirby Larson, Linda Urban, and Tom Angleberger do such wonderful work not only in writing great books for kids, but in promoting reading and literacy as well. I consider them friends, too. 

The evening before, my friend author Alexander London gave me the best good luck talk! (He is an author after all!) It was tailored made for me and I wished I'd recorded it.

My new friend and amazing librarian Jennifer LaGarde wrote about our session in a blog post here and I am so grateful for her kind words.

To end this post, I will say this:

Reading takes you places you could never go on your own. If you want proof, I'm here.

The Poster: My First TLA Experience

At my first Texas Library Association Annual Conference (TLA), I really worried about "fitting in". I'm a new librarian after all!

And while I had attended the American Library Association's conferences for several years, and enjoyed them so much, I didn't know how it would be in my own Lone Star State.

But when I arrived, I didn't have much time to focus on that. I had to quickly prepare for my first event: the poster session! (In this session, participants shared successful programs, strategies or ideas via a poster as attendees browsed and visited.)

The Poster and I became fast friends. (I had to carry it about 3 -5 blocks against the wind down Alamo Street at 3:32 in the afternoon.) 

Yes, it's a poster display board (AKA The Poster).  It belong(ed) to me and three fellow librarians: @shawnaford1, @nancyjolambert, and tinaberumen. (Or, as we call ourselves: the #TLBFFs.)


In its heyday (April 8th), it looked like this:

Impressive, right? We thought so.  (QR codes and EVERYTHING!)

Our prime location? Table 51! All the way at the END of the 2nd hallway!

We'd worked on the contents of the poster via Google Hangout, Google Docs, and email. We didn't all meet face to face until TLA, even though we'd been twittering and texting since November.

Though we all got plenty of laughs about The Poster (and me having to carrying it 3-5 blocks against the wind, in a skirt and cute shoes, I see now it served a purpose. Because of it, I had to focus! I didn't have the time to worry anymore about whether or not I "fit in". I could just be ME--whether I fit in or not.

During that poster session, at Table 51,  the four of us connected with the HUNDREDS ;-)  of librarians who stopped by to read it. We worked as a team, answering questions, bragging on each other, meeting some wonderful librarians, making jokes, and even giving Twitter lessons! Indeed, we cemented a friendship that will no doubt continue and surely benefit all four of our libraries, and, ultimately our awesome students. There WILL be many more projects.

Wonder if #txla15 will have us?


Tomorrow's post: Being Nerdy At TLA!

Hosting #nctechat!

This is National Poetry Month, and I am excited about sharing more poetry in the library. But I also love to talk poetry with other educators! This afternoon, I co-hosted a Twitter chat for the National Council of Teacher of English. My co-host was Paul Hankins.  As a member of NCTE, this was an enormous thrill for me, and I was so grateful for the opportunity.

Here is the Storify link for the chat. Many resources were shared.

I'd never hosted a chat before! It was so fun and frenzied! My computer froze just as the chat was set to begin, so I did it all on my iPad and iPhone. Thank goodness they were charged and ready to go!

Of course, as these things go, my computer started back up just fine after the chat was OVER.

So, I wrote a poem about it:


Mac Book, oh Mac Book, 
How I love your sleek design
Your bright white Apple glowing 
beckoning me to create. 

I know I require much of you--
Tabs open here--
Tabs open there--
Daily I ask this of you. DAILY. 

When you tire of my constant clicking --
Is it a message you wish to send? 
"Stay put. 
Surf no more."

I didn't heed your call and so you 
refused 
to 
turn 
on--

that color wheel 

that color wheel

--Cynthia Alaniz

Happy National Poetry Month!

Ignite and Inquiry

Yesterday, I presented an Ignite session at Inquiry Day with the North Star of Texas Writing Project. An Ignite session is a 5-minute presentation with slides playing at 15 seconds. I basically had to use my slides as a backdrop and present very quickly. I stood before the attendees and shared a question of inquiry and how I was reflecting on my work. It was a very worthwhile experience because I did something I'd never done, and I reconnected with my National Writing Project friends. I was one of about eight Ignite presenters, and once one went up, we had to be prepared to go next.

My Inquiry question(s) had everything to do with the library--my place of learning. How can I make it an inviting place for everyone? How can I help establish a reading community within the school?

Meenoo Rami presented the keynote at yesterday's session. Her work inspires me. She spoke about the value of a network and connections, and she asked us a great question: "Will your students be more courageous and curious after they've met you?"

Meenoo recently published her first book, THRIVE.

And now: How can I invite, foster, and nurture inquire daily in the library? I thought about a display we set up in the library recently. Can you guess what the question is? 

I hope our learners come in and ask and wonder. And I hope they check out some science books, too! 

I walked away from the day promising myself I’d continue to ask these questions. And more. 

How are you reflecting upon your work? How do you inspire inquiry in your classroom or library?