Wescott LMC

Back by popular demand, our new maker space for the month of December is … Building with straws! The kids were AWESOME engineers with the straws last year, and we can’t wait to see what they come up with this year!

It’s time for the next stop on our tour through a “World of Genres!” It is “Do You Know? December” – students are encouraged to read a biography to get the next stamp in their genre passport.

The end of the year is rapidly approaching, and the “Best Of” lists are starting to come out. Check out some of the stunning books on the 2019 New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children’s Books.

Don’t forget to sign up for the Winter Reading Program at the Northbrook Public Library! Please encourage your families to sign their students up and read a ton of books this winter!

There will be no regularly scheduled classes and NO MAKER SPACE in the library the week of 11/18 due to the book fair. 1st & 2nd-grade teachers, since we are on a fixed schedule now, I will still be seeing your classes, but I will need to teach in your rooms.

Here is the schedule for the fair:

• MONDAY: The library will be open for check out on Monday (no maker space). Please send students down in SMALL groups if they need to check out books. The book fair books will be delivered on Monday.
• TUESDAY: The library is closed for book fair set up. The furniture is moving out and the book fair is moving in!
• WEDNESDAY: Book Fair Previews. Please check here if you forgot when your class is coming. Students may bring $ to shop the fair. Book fair is open from 9-12 & 1-3. TEACHERS, don’t forget, you can come before school and fill out wish lists. I am happy to help with recommendations!
• THURSDAY: Students may come down in small groups to shop the fair. Book fair is open from 8:45am-12, 1-4, and 6:30-8:00pm. I will be at the fair in the evening if parents/students need a recommendation.
• FRIDAY NEW EXTENDED HOURS: Book fair is open from 8:30-12:00pm. After 12:00 the library is closed for clean up.

I will be pushing into some classrooms that are working on research projects during the book fair, but I will be at the fair quite a bit to help with book recommendations!

Miss Sarah from the Northbrook Public Library will be coming to talk to the kids about the Winter Reading Program on Fri 11/15! Encourage your students to sign up for Winter Reading today!

We have a new maker space for November. This month we are partnering with the Helping Hands Committee to “Make for a Cause!” Students will be working on making fall wreaths for the residents of Covenant Village.

It is time for our next stop on our tour through a World of Genres! Students are encouraged to read a nonfiction book this month to earn a stamp in their genre passport! See me with any questions!

Want to make Halloween educational? Check out theseHalloween Resources:

• Check out a Halloween book, or how about a nonfiction book on spiders or skeletons?
• Newsela has articles about Halloween
• All About the Holidays: Halloween video from PBS Learning Media
  
• History.com Halloween: Halloween links & videos (ex topics = Ghosts in the White House, Halloween Around the World, and Pumpkin Facts)
  
• National Education Association: Halloween lesson plans, activities and resources

Check out this essay by popular author LIESL SHURTLIFF (who visited Wescott a few years ago):”I have a theory that one reason adults look down their nose at graphic novels is because they have the word “novel” attached to them, as though we’re somehow trying to compare it to Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. We have to look at graphic novels and comics differently. Comparing a graphic novel to a straight novel is like trying to compare the opera to the ballet or a sculpture to a painting …”