Welcome Back from Pat Miller!
Starting school is always a big effort after a too-short summer, and the weather is making it more challenging across the nation. Wildfires, earthquake, hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes have closed schools just as they had settled into the routine of a new year. I hope this finds you safe.
You are receiving this newsletter because you attended one of my workshops, corresponded with me, responded to one of my articles, or perhaps we met fortuitously. If you wish to receive future issues, please subscribe.
Contents
Stretching Your Library Dollars
AASL Conference Information and Ning
National Library Card Month
Getting Organized
Grandparents Day
Doing More with Less
Author Visit or Storytelling Event
LibrarySparks Online
What Do You Do All Day?
Stretching Your Library Dollars
E-books are a way to provide books to children who prefer computer reads over traditional books. Add more than 150 titles to your collection by bookmarking
We Give Books: A Pearson Foundation Initiative on each of your library computers. The books can also be accessed from the classroom and from home. The books include folktales, classic picture books, and favorite series like Madeleine, SkippyJon Jones, Llama Llama, and Ladybug Girl.
From the ALA/AASL website:
The AASL Conference Ning is a virtual networking space where you can engage in forum discussions, create and/or respond to blog posts, upload conference-related videos and photos, follow the AASL tweets, create or join a group, and follow conference backchannels featuring live blogging from AASL conference events.
National Library Card Month
Collaborate with your local public library by supplying application forms for library cards. Have a drawing for free books with the entry ticket earned when the child shows you her/his public library card.
Act out a humorous readers theater play from PBS Kids:
D. W. Gets Her Library Card. The site has printable scripts and masks for all the Arthur characters. You can also use the masks (we mounted ours on tongue depressors)to let students act out their favorite Arthur books.
Getting Organized
My resolution to be organized tends to fall off about Day Three of the school year when the reality of the ‘many demands/little time’ lifestyle sets in. However, hope is a sturdy thing, so this year my resolve is no different. Here is my plan for this year. –from “Meetings and Lessons and Plans, Oh My!" Aug/Sep 2005,
LibrarySparks.
Grandparents Day – September 11
Our Grandparents: A Global Album by Maya Ajmera, Sheila Kinkade, (Charlesbridge, 2010) will appeal to all ages. Archbishop Desmund Tutu wrote the introduction to this photographic essay about the special bond grandparents around the globe have with their children. Whether it’s a grandchild showing a computer program to a Japanese grandparent, or a Pakistani grandparent and child reading together, there’s much commonality and joy in this book.
Doing More with Less
With budget cuts, loss of aides, and additional responsibilities, it’s easy to feel discouraged. Read
The Librarian’s Night Before School Starts for a few chuckles and a reminder about why we keep doing our best.
Author Visit, Storytelling Event, or Professional Workshop
This school year, I have two presentations for author visits.
Where Do You Get Your Ideas? (PK - 2) Young writers get a peek at my writing life--the work and the perks--and the inspiration for each of my five children's books. It includes song, puppets, a Photostory and a Powerpoint with childhood photos, a look at where I write, and more. This session is a fun, interactive way to learn about the job of a writer and how students can use the same process for getting their own ideas for writing.
Thirty-Three Rejections and a Phone Call (Gr. 3-5) Where do you get ideas? How does a story become a book? Do you get to pick your illustrator? Are you rich? This session will take young writers on my journey from story idea through the 33 rejections and revisions to the magical day when an editor called and said, "Yes!" Learners will gain a new understanding of what's behind each book in their library, and will also learn how to get ideas for their own writing.
For more fees and more information, including my list of storytelling programs and professional workshops, see
my brochure or my
events page. I’d love to come to your school to provide an entertaining and educational experience for your students. Contact me
by e-mail , or 832-363-1373.
LibrarySparks Online: August/September 2011
Cultural Threads: The Fabric of America is one of the articles at the online edition of LibrarySparks. There is a crossword puzzle, logic puzzle, author interview, and a Webliography of all sites used in the print.
The online Storytime is about
Understanding America the Beautiful. It uses books, games, a song, a craft, and includes ten pages of patterns for flannelboard figures, song props, and games.
What Do You Do All Day?
Are you being asked to justify your position? Do you simply want your principal, patrons, or faculty to know what you do? Here is a
list of job activities that you can amend and print.
