Want to know Smore about my library?

I always start the year with the goal of updating my website more often so that I can better communicate with my students and parents.  Somehow, in the rush of each day, this task always gets pushed to the side.  I will admit, my website was in dire need of an update, and I decided to keep it simple and informative.  I will add items for projects as they arise, but I didn't like how all of the links were cluttering my page when they weren't always in use.  So here is my new and improved Wren Middle Media Center webpage.  (But please keep in mind it is a work in progress!)

My favorite part of my new page is my newsletter!  In the past when I heard the dreaded word NEWSLETTER, thoughts came to mind of hours at the computer formatting and reformatting, typing lengthy articles and trying to get my logo positioned just right.  Those days are long gone thanks to Smore!  I learned about this website because Twitter was all abuzz with librarians across the country using this newsletter creator.  I learned about it from Tamara Cox, and you can read her blog post to check out the librarians she learned from.  I decided to give it a go, and I am in love!  It's simple drag and drop format makes it quick and easy to arrange and select a background and theme.  Simply upload your own photos, videos, links and text, and you have a beautiful newsletter that can be shared across platforms.  Embed it in your school website or blog, post it on Facebook and sharet it on Twitter.  Instantly, you will have given your library exposure like it has never had before.  I am also including a section each month with book reviews, and those books are already flying off the shelves!  Check out my newsletter, and sign up for your free account to start yours today!

Your Common Core Secret Weapon

I am so lucky to work with two fabulous librarians and friends, Tamara Cox and Monique German.  We have made it our mission to make sure that we are indispensible to our schools and our districts, and when we started hearing talk of the Commom Core Standards, we started listening closely.  Tamara invited herself to a meeting, we volunteered to lead staff development, and we started talking about how the librarian is really your secret weapon when it comes to implementing Common Core Standards.  This was the beginning of what has become a very fun ride!  Our district has started asking us for advice and help when it comes to all things Common Core, and we are happy to step up and offer anything we can provide!  We are quick to let everyone know we are not experts on every aspect of the new standards, but we are able to use our expert knowledge of inquiry, research, informational text and literature to help make the transition to the Common Core easier and less scary for our teachers.  When they come running, and often panicking, we are ready with a solution or a resource.

We presented at the Upstate Technology Conference in Greenville, SC to a group of administrators about how they can use their media specialist as their Common Core Secret Weapon.  Many were pleasantly surprised that they have a wonderful resource already waiting in their schools, and they were overwhelmingly supportive of the ideas that we offered!

We are excited to talk about how we are becoming the Common Core Secret Weapons at our schools at the TL Virtual Cafe on October 1 at 8pm.  We hope to "see" many of you there and hear about the ways you are helping to implement the Common Core into your own schools.  

Still wondering where you fit in the implementation process at your school?  The time is now!  Jump right in, and don't wait to be asked to join the party.  Bring the party to you!  You will quickly become the go to person for calming the fears of the new Common Core Standards.  You don't have to know everything about them, I certainly don't, but you can offer what you know best...inquiry, research, resources and literature.  You've got it all!

Check out this EdWeek article about the role of the school librarian in Common Core.  I think you will see that much of what is being done by librarians around the country is what we have always done, but now we are getting more attention.  We don't always crave attention, but that is what is going to make our jobs indispensable.  So I challenge you all to get out there, invite yourself to a meeting, talk to your principals and reassure your teachers.  Our time is now, and we can all work together to show the education world that we are an integral part of our school teams!

Happy planning!

Pinterest Blew Up in My Library!

I am in love with Pinterest, which my husband would say is an understatement!  I started an account for personal use, and I pinned recipes, decorating ideas and craft projects.  Then, I began to see how I could use it in planning ideas for my library.  Today was the first day of school for my district, and many of my friends have made the comment, "You must have been on Pinterest a lot this summer!"  I will admit, Pinterest blew up in my library.  I found fabulous ideas for fun decorations, cute bulletin boards and new rules posters.  My library is now transformed!

All of the furniture in my new display and reading section came from Ikea, and it is the first thing the students have noticed!  I learned how to make tissue paper look like different types of flowers.  The desk organizer has come in handy for items that students always need, and now they have a go-to place to find it.  Since I am alone in the library, it is necessary to close the doors sometimes so that I can attend meetings.  It is not very often that we are closed because I always want to be available if my students need me, but my sign says closed on the reverse side.

I found these eye catching rules that were created by another teacher, Krissy Venosdale, who has tons of beautiful graphics available for download on her Flickr stream.  I loved these because they are not like traditional rules, but they show my students that I have high expectations.  The In Our Library board is also my message to my students that they are going to do wonderful things, but they are not alone--they have my support and the support of all of their teachers.  I can't wait to see my bird bulletin board fill up with tweets about my students' favorite books!  The final touch is the dry erase frame calendar that my wonderful colleague, Monique German, found on Pinterest.  If you look closely, you will see the letters for each day.  I love this idea because my students and teachers can see, at a glance, what is happening in the media center during the week.

Ok...I know you are thinking the library is not all about looks, and you are right!  But it goes a long way to have a warm, inviting space that your faculty and students want to spend time in.  When I began my job six years ago, I spent two weeks in my library painting, making curtains, cleaning and rearranging.  It all paid off because I had students and teachers who wanted to spend time with me, and I was happy!  After six years, I needed some change!  My goal was to make a space that is conducive to learning, creating and reading, and I am happy with the result!  I think my students are as well from the comments they have made about the "whoa that is awesome" decor.

My Pinterest Boards are not all about crafting and decorating.  I also have boards for the meat of our library program...learning and creating.

If you don't have a Pinterest account, I encourage you to sign up today and start pinning! You will find so many wonderful ideas that will benefit your students!

Happy pinning!

Meet the New Kids...New Books for a New School Year

One of my favorite things about a new school year is new books!  My avid readers are always waiting by the library door on the first day of school waiting to see if I have the newest book in their favorite series.  I am starting this year off with a book display of new books titled Meet the New Kids...New Books for a New School Year, in hopes that my avid readers will find what they are looking for and my reluctant readers will be lured by the shiny new books and the promise that they are the first to ever check them out!

Feel free to grab this poster from my flickr account!

One great way that librarians and teachers can meet the new kids of the literary world is through NetGalley, a digital book galley website.  It is completely free to sign up, but make sure you give as much information about yourself as possible in order to be selected to receive a large amount of galleys.  I made sure to include my blog address, school website and detailed information about how I select books for my school, help teachers select books for their classrooms and provide readers advisory for our students.  This information lets NetGalley know that you are a real person, not internet spam, that will read their books and recommend them to people in your schools and professional circles.  Once you have selected books, send in requests and watch your NetGalley home page fill up with books.  These books can then be downloaded onto your iPad or e-reader.  I have never received unsolicited emails from NetGalley so it is not going to clog your inbox.  I highly recommend this website because what is better than a free book that is so new you can't buy it yet?!  

My first read from NetGalley was Prisoner B-3087 by Alan Gratz, based on a true story about a young Jewish boy who lives in Poland during World War II.  Yanek has lost all of his earthly possessions and every person that he loves.  He lives in ten different concentration camps, each of them increasingly more brutal than the last.  Can Yanek make it through the atrocities that he faces each day, or will he lose his desire to live?  This book is definitely worth a look.  It does not deviate much from what we typically think of when we talk about World War II novels, but your students, who are avid historical fiction readers, will enjoy hearing about the journey that Yanek experiences.  

I know you will all find something you will enjoy, and you will probably find many somethings!  Happy Reading!

These are a few of my favorite fonts...and they're all free!

I have a bit of an obsession with graphics.  I love the colors, angles and most of all, the fonts!  A beautiful and unique font can transform an ordinary and forgettable graphic into an eye catching brand that will stay in the minds of your students and teachers for months to come.  

I have been pinning font boards on Pinterest for the last few months, and I have downloaded my favorites to use in the graphics that I create for my library and our staff development sessions.  I am not sure that I am a great designer, but I certainly have fun! I decided to try my hand at creating a font board of some of my favorite free fonts!  Here are a few of my favorites...

Download fonts here:  Mossy - Lemon Drop - Stars from Our Eyes - Things We Said 
Tall Dark and Handsome - Roskrift - Matilde - Skinny Jeans - Freehand
Petunia Bounce - Champagne & Limousines

Download a few of these fun fonts and start creating a brand for your library!
Happy designing!

Choose to Be Brave

Surfer Chick

Surfer Chick is stoked that her superstar surfer dad is going to teach her how to surf.  She is nervous and a little scared that she will not be a great surfer, but when she chooses to be brave, Chick learns that she might be totally awesome after all!

I met author Kristy Dempsey when I was presenting at the CERRA Induction Symposium a few weeks ago.  Her book Surfer Chick was published in May of 2012, and it is a beautiful book with an inspirational story for our youngest students.  Kristy is a native of South Carolina, and is now living in Brazil with her family.  She is also a teacher and next year will be her first year as a librarian!  How cool to have your own librarian be an author!  

I was so excited when Kristy mentioned that she offers free Skype visits!  She will visit with your class through Skype for 15 minutes for free or 45 minutes for $50 to talk about her books and the writing process.  Of course the time difference could pose a problem so if you cannot work out a good time, she will accept questions from your class and send you a video response.  Check out the trailer for her book and follow her on Twitter @kristydempsey

Wonder...Because Nice Matters

Choose Kind

Have you ever read the most wonderfully perfect book and wanted to share it with everyone?  I found that book in Wonder by RJ Palacio.  It makes me want to be a better person and gives me hope that there are still loving, caring and accepting people in our world.  

Meet August Pullman, an ordinary 5th grader with a severe facial deformity.  Until now, he has been homeschooled, but his parents will be enrolling Auggie in middle school at Beecher Prep in the fall.  He wants nothing more than to be just like everyone else, but he is used to the stares and unkind comments about his facial disfiguration.  Auggie's year is a difficult one, and Wonder is his story, told from the point of view of many people in his life.  Read this wonderful story to be mesmerized by Auggie's life and the people in his life who choose to be kind.

Get Involved in the Wonder of Wonder

Wonder is taking over the world of reading one student, teacher, librarian and book lover at a time!  I participated in a twitter chat tonight about #thewonderofwonder, and I came away with so many ideas about how to use this fabulous book in my school but more importantly, how to encourage my students to just be nice to each other.  

The book trailer for Wonder is the perfect way to introduce the book to anyone you are trying to entice! 

I am planning to use the trailer to introduce the novel to my student and teacher book clubs.  This is going to be our first read of the 2012-2013 school year.  Along with the book trailer, we will be reading and discussing the picture book One by Kathryn Otoshi as a tie in to get the discussion started about bullying and being unkind.

My new Twitter friend, David Etkin, created an iTunes playlist just for Wonder, and I love it!  Give him a shout out on Twitter @DavidAEtkin if you download any of these songs to listen to as you are reading!

Bullying is rampant in middle school, and as a teacher, it is my job to set a good example for my students and encourage them to be kind to everyone they encounter.  I want to instill the knowledge in my students that every person has something special to offer to my life, and every person is able to do the same for them in return.  The Pledge to Choose Kind tumblr encourages students to think about situations where they have been bullied and the effect this had on their lives.  The beginning of change starts with a conversation, and I hope this conversation will begin to change the way our students treat their peers.

If you are using Wonder in your classroom, I would love to read about your ideas!  If you haven't read Wonder, I look forward to hearing what you think!

Happy Reading!