Why I Have the Best Job E-V-E-R

Not only are costumes accepted, they're encouraged!

Reading books are not enough for me, I like to wear them, as well

I've been known to dress like my students (yep, those are both teachers)

... Or act like them

I take behavioral management seriously, as do my peers

Why yes, librarians do have super powers

And a keen sense of fashion

 I take my literary passion to heart

And I'm not afraid to embarrass myself

Seriously...

Or get a little edgy

Or walk like an Egyptian

Or a pirate

Like I said, best job E-V-E-R

Last but not least, who else has a LEGO mini action figure of themselves?

Tu B'Shevat Decor

My first year at a Jewish school has been a wonderful learning experience. I am especially excited to be introduced to all of the holidays and I am incredibly lucky to have such patient and supportive co-workers (and students) who are eager to slowly explain (and re-explain) holidays, traditions, food, religious practices, the list goes on and on.

One holiday I am anxious to start decorating for is Tu B'Shevat (unsure of what that is? Check out this great resource for a basic explanation). I love that the holiday celebrates trees and the environment. I was thrilled to be able to display my dear (and tremendously) talented friend, Luke Robertson's artwork.

If you look closely, you will see that he used the branches to spell the following: "Write to be Understood, Speak to be Heard, Read to Grow." This quote comes from legendary UCLA librarian, Lawrence Clark Powell. As a tribute, Luke carved Powell's name into the trunk of the tree.

I wanted to create a fun background for the piece and used Eric Carle (again, I know, but I LOVE him!) as an inspiration... I painted white tissue paper with various greens, let them dry and attached them to the bulletin board before hanging the tree. I am incredibly pleased with how it looks, I am thrilled for others to see it!

*I am currently working on a giant tree made out of recycled materials and tree-themed garland, check back later to see if they come to fruition!

Feeling a Little (Hermit) Crabby, Part 2

Following our Eric Carle author study lesson (check out the Feeling a Little Hermit Crabby, Part 1 post), our brilliant art teacher, Mrs. London took over our beautiful hermit crab shells. Mrs. London has put together a blog post about her work on this project, as well. We were very involved in one another's lessons throughout this unit and we were thrilled to be collaborating on such a fun project. It was so exciting to be able to tie one topic into the general classroom, the library and the art room. The kids were so engaged throughout the entire process.

Check out how we honed in on our inner-Eric Carle:

 The crab bodies were created using red modeling clay

They were sooo cute!

 Not only did the kiddos make hermit crabs, they also created underwater habitat homes!

 Next step, using Eric Carle's style for inspiration, Mrs. London had students paint tissue paper to adorn their habitats

"More paint, cover as much space as you can!"

 The following week, the kindergarteners used the tissue paper to create seaweed, starfish, coral, sponges, sea anemones and much more!

 Mrs. London's adorable example (she used dried flowers to decorate the floor of the habitat)

Amazing display in the front corridor of the school

 Lastly, I have to brag about our amazing kindergarten team and their stunning bulletin boards!!!

I hope you're inspired to do your own over-the-top Eric Carle study and have the opportunity to collaborate among departments. It was truly a joy!

Feeling a Little (Hermit) Crabby, Part 1

Costume creation inspired by the very talented, Megan Kimball

My kindergarteners are in the midst of an Eric Carle author study and what started as a simple reading of A House for Hermit Crab, quickly turned into Hermit Crab fever! When I saw Ms. Kimball's crab costume, I knew I had to try to make one. And it turned out to be a wonderfully fun success. The costume prompted an art project and a painted jumbo pasta shell morphed into a cross-departmental, month-long project.

Because the kiddos had already read Eric Carle's story twice, I thought it would be a great opportunity to have them recall the details and then compare it to non-fiction hermit crab books. The kids were fascinated by the books and were thrilled to learn how hermit crabs poop.

 Book: Animals Up Close: Zoom in on the World's Most Incredible Creatures by Igor Siqanowicz
This book was the kids' first opportunity to see a "real" hermit crab and they were enthralled. They were able to see all the details and made several observations between real crabs and Eric Carle's character.

Book: My Friend the Hermit Crab by Joanne Randolph

I did not read this book cover to cover, but it had more fun facts and big, bright photographs.

After exploring the non-fiction books using a document camera, we moved to the tables and the students transformed jumbo shell pasta into beautiful hermit crab shells. It is important to note that the Animal Planet cautions against painting a living hermit crab's shell (we were going for the colorful Eric Carle-esque shells and I talked to the kiddos about why painting a living creature could be harmful to their wellbeing). 

Per the art teacher's advice, we used tempera paint. It worked wonderfully and the kids loved it!

Beautiful! It was discovered that the kids who are paint enthusiasts and love to add layers and layers of wet paint would end up with a cracked shell.

To see what we did with these fun and colorful shells, check out my Feeling a Little (Hermit) Crabby, Part 2 post!

I Got MelonHeadz-ed!

Yaaay! It finally happened, that's right, I got MelonHeadz-ed! My ultimate "I finally made it" moment is seeing myself as a cartoon. Well, feast your eyes on this!

I am tickled pink by the talented Nikki and the rest of the crew over at Honey Bunch Blog Design! If you're not familiar with MelonHeadz, it's an absolute must! Her stuff is adorable and designed especially for the classroom. Aside from what can be found on Etsy, you can also order a custom "Build-a-Teacher" (as you can see, mine comes complete with Toms, wedding ring, iPad, books and Starbucks iced chai latte). And to my delightful surprise, it was far more reasonably priced than I expected.

Sigh... Adorable.

Who Knew... "Who Was" Works Magic

My 5th through 8th grade students are required to read across a range of genres throughout the year. One genre that always prompts a lot of heel-digging is biographies. Our biography section is... Well, let's just call it a little "dusty." It's not a section that I'm proud of. In an effort to not only help the kids fulfill their requirement, but also get them interested in reading non-fiction, I ordered the complete Who Was series. These short, illustrated biographies are great for my middle grade readers. I found there are a ton of great biographies for children and a ton of great biographies for high schoolers, but the ones in between, fell through the cracks. This series is the perfect supplement.

Best of all, when I delivered them to the 5th grade classroom, they went WILD. Now that's librarian magic.

Photo credit: Ideas by Jivey