Monday, October 24, 2016

A little more in the library...

I love books and reading, don't get me wrong, but I felt as if the Media Center was lacking a few things. I've always loved the public library and the choices it offers. Sooo... This week, we are introducing a few more choices into the Media Center.

We have 3 additional options after checkouts: Brain Games, Puzzles & Coloring. The Brain Games are meant to stretch minds and problem solve in a fun way. The puzzles are a great way for students from the same class, and the whole school, to work in a common goal. And coloring is relaxing and soothing... sometimes all I want to do is color.

Below are a few pictures from our first morning.






Thursday, September 22, 2016

Osmo fun!

This week, I've had the pleasure of working in our first grade classrooms working with Osmos.

The classes are using the Numbers and Tangram apps for Daily 4 stations (math) and the Words app for Daily 5 (literacy).

I have seen so much excitement from all the students... They love interacting with them!

A special thanks to our first grade teachers for letting me spend time in their classrooms. They are fabulous. Here are a few pictures of the students at work.  







Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Special Delivery... iPads!

Today marked the last day for deployment of 1:1 iPads to grades 3, 4 & 5. All grades were so excited to have them in their hands to start learning and creating.

Fifth grade may be taking iPads home at some point in the school year. However, third and fourth graders will keep theirs at school throughout the school year.

I will be working with these classes throughout the school year on a variety of topics, including digital citizenship, digital reading, and more. They will also dive deeper into their apps in Media Class this year.

Learn more about the CPS 1:1 iPad Program and as questions arise, feel free to contact me at any time.

Saturday, September 3, 2016

Checkout week... success!

What an awesome week! I got to spend each day working with each class in our brand new library. The joy on the kids' faces made all this hard work so worth it. Here are a few pictures of the week. Be sure to check out our Policies page to learn about checkout information.








Saturday, August 27, 2016

Checkouts Begin!

This upcoming week is one of the most exciting weeks of the year... library checkouts begin! This year, it's extra-special as this will be the first time Beulah Ralph students checkout books from our library! The brand new books will finally get off the shelves and into students' hands. Look for Tweets throughout the week and a blog post or two about checkouts.


Friday, August 19, 2016

Award Books!

One of my goals each year is to read all our Mark Twain and Show-Me Reader nominees. The picture books are always easy, but the chapter books are always a challenge... There are 12! And just having a baby doesn't help. :)

Currently, I'm reading The Junction of Sunshine and Lucky by Holly Schindler. So far, so good. However, there have been others that have captured my attention a little more. I can't wait to get our students in the library to check these out!

Here are a few pictures of our Award book display.




Sunday, August 14, 2016

Whew!

I can't believe the school year is starting in 2 days! We had an amazing turn out at Meet the Teacher night and I'm excited to start the school year. However, every year, I feel like my to-do list keeps growing and growing without much getting crossed off.

One of the things I need to do is take pictures! The book room and Media Center have made a lot of progress since I've been back (of course, I forgot to take pictures of the spaces before). I'll take some after pics and get them up here. Of course, everything is a continual work in progress, but I've got to keep on it, just like the rest of my to-do list. :)

Tuesday, August 2, 2016

Starting from Scratch

Starting from Scratch... that's exactly what we're doing this year, library and building-wide. Its very exciting, but also kind of overwhelming. Stay tuned to the blog as you see the transformation of our Media Center and school, as well as the happenings of the Beulah Ralph Media Center!