Wescott LMC

Looking for something to read during the dark days of winter?  Check out the “best books of the year” lists from the following sources (They Say Blue, pictured here, by Jillian Tamaki, has appeared on several of the lists):

• Notable Children’s Books of 2018 from The New York Times
• NPR’s Book Concierge: Our Guide to 2018’s Great Reads
• Best Children’s Books of 2018 from the Washington Post
• The Best of 2018 (so far) from Audible
• School Library Journal’s Best Books of 2018

In honor of Hour of Code, we will have a coordinating activity in the maker space. Students are invited to “unplug” and challenge themselves with computational thinking by playing a coding board game in the maker space.

Check out this video from PBS News Hour with beloved author Kate DiCamillo speaking about the Magic of Read Aloud.

” … We humans long not just for story, not just for the flow of language, but for the connection that comes when words are read aloud. That connection provides illumination, it lets us see each other.”

The Hour of Code is a global movement reaching tens of millions of students in 180+ countries. It is a one-hour introduction to computer science, designed to demystify code, encourage computational thinking, and show that anybody can learn the basics. You don’t even need a device to participate! Code.org offers some awesome tutorials – Minecraft, Star Wars, Frozen, Moana, and more! Check out this video to learn more. *Make sure to check iPad compatible when searching for tutorials!

We have activities planned during library time for 1st, 2nd, & 4th & 5th. Since 3rd graders are in the middle of research, we will celebrate Hour of Code with them a little later.

We will have new coordinating activity in our Maker Space to celebrate starting on 12/3.  Students are invited to “unplug” and challenge themselves with computational thinking by playing a coding board game in the maker space.

The Northbrook Public Library is coming out MONDAY AFTERNOON to tell students about their new and improved Winter Reading Program! All classes will come to the library to hear her presentation. Here is the schedule:

• 1:00 – 1:15 – 4th grade
• 1:20 – 1:35 – 2nd grade
• 1:40 – 1:55 – 5th grade
• 2:00 – 2:15 – 1st grade
• 2:20 – 2:35 – 3rd grade

For the past 3 years, Wescot has had more students signed up for and complete the Summer Reading program than any other school in the area.  Let’s see if we can do the same for the Winter Reading Program!

Image Source: http://www.scholastic.com/bookfairs/schools

There will be no regularly scheduled classes and NO MAKER SPACE in the library this week due to the book fair. 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. Classes will come down to preview the fair. Students may bring $ to shop the fair. Book fair is open from 9-12 & 1-3.
• 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: Book fair is open from 8:30-9:30am. After 9:30 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!

This was the last week for the building with straws maker space! Next week we will start a new maker space for November. This month students will be working on a collaborative art project for Thanksgiving. By tracing their hands, students will make leaves of gratitude. We will then hang the leaves on our Wish Tree and on a Gratitude Tree on the library door.

Image Source: http://www.scholastic.com/bookfairs/schools

The fall book fair is the week of November 12th! There is NO REGULAR LIBRARY that week, but classes will come for a 15 min preview of the book fair on Wednesday 11/14.

Every year we add to our book character pumpkin collection in the library.  There’s still time to make a book character pumpkin with your class this Halloween! Check out some of the awesome pumpkins we have received over the past few years. (Don’t worry the pumpkins are made of foam and never go bad!)

Author Chris Grabenstein is coming next week Friday 10/19 for 3rd-5th grades! The library will be closed that morning.

The visit will take place in the MPR starting at 9:30 am. We will call classes down around 9:20. The presentation should go to around 10:20-10:25.

After the presentation, students who ordered a book or dropped one off with me ahead of time are invited down to the library for the book signing. We will call kids down by grade. Signing should be done by 11:10. The library will be closed until then.

Chris Grabenstein is the bestselling author of the Mr. Lemocello’s Library series which is very popular with Wescott students. Learn more about him and his work at http://chrisgrabenstein.com/.

Here is the book order form if your students need another copy.