Blessed to Teach and Read

It's not abnormal for me to only post twice a year, but this school year, I purposefully took a hiatus from this blog.  I took a step back from trying to maintain this piece of my library program along with my monthly, library newsletter, because I wasn't going to keep putting work before my family.  I took self-care seriously as we rolled into the 2021-2022 school year, and set some boundaries that I hope to maintain, should we ever get out of this pandemic.   First semester, I do have to share that I had the students make the most beautiful Dot Day display that we have ever made!  I bought and gave each student a small, round, paper plate.  The only instructions I gave were to choose a color family and be creative.  Thanks to the help of a couple of substitutes and several 5th grade helpers (Castle Apprentices), I was able to get the whole thing taped to the walls.  Several teachers begged me to leave the display up for after fall break, so I di...

November flew by quickly!  My New York and Alabama family were here to visit for the week-long, Thanksgiving break.  We made some fun memories together, and I cooked the biggest meal of my life! After they left, we promptly put up our Christmas tree. :D Before it snowballs into December, here's a catch-up of all that I've been up to at work this past month with my students: Kindergarten has been reviewing and learning about plot elements: Character (who or what the story is about), Setting (where and when the story takes place), and Plot (the events in the story).  Then I showed them the Early Reader shelves in the "E" for Everybody section, to encourage them to get a book that they will definitely be able to read to themselves. First grade has been practicing locating books in the "E" section by looking at the shelf labels and looking at the book spines.  It's a work-in-progress, and something we'll definitely be practicing again this yea...