Learning in the USA

 Celebrating Constitution Day 2013 in the library this week. But first lets give a great big Thank you to the teachers that encourage today's youth, with this message from the Kids President.

                                                                You're Awesome!

This week in the library we read The U.S. Constitution by Kathy Allen and  We the Kids  by David Catrow. We then had a discussion about the 3 branches of government. We talked about some interesting facts like, who was our first President? Who is our President today? Where does our President live? How long ago was the Constitution written? First Grade friends also discussed how a law is passed. It was actually a really fun lesson and I think the kiddo's took a lot away. Talk to them and see what they can remember.

 

My Kindergarten friends made a list of rules and promises for their classroom. I absolutely loved hearing them talk about the rules they seemed to know them all. YEAH! We took those rules and we created a Classroom Constitution. The students, their teacher and Mr. H all signed the Constitutions. They will proudly be displayed in their rooms to remind all of us of the rules most valued in our classrooms by all.  See it here: +2 

First grade friends are creating a Family Constitution. They will work with their families to create goals for their families. They will define what what responsibilitiesand rights each family memeber has. They will show what the government of their family looks like. What freedoms will the citizens of their family have? I will post some of the family Constitutions as they come back next week.
See a sample of mine:

 I am so proud of the amazing job my friends did. I love being reminded just what kids can do. I see them shine everyday.  


 ****Our First Grade Sight Word Powerpoint is almost completed, see it soon!****
                                                                             
Our spotlight book was selected by Mrs. Hoffman Get out of Bed by Robert Munsch.
What will get sleepy Amy out of bed? Not her brother's yell. Not her father's stern command. Not even her mother's trick of standing Amy up on her feet! So they do the only thing they can--they tuck her back into bed! Amy's father picks up one end of the bed and Amy's mother and brother pick up the other. They lug it out the door, down the street, around the corner, through the school yard, and into the school. Amy's classmates spend the entire day trying to get sleeping Amy through her school activities.

Our Fact of The Week  was added by a first grade student who checked out this book Polar Bears.
When he returned it I asked him what interesting facts did he learn? This is what he shared.

What a great way to spend an afternoon.

I have had such a great response from students and adults alike, regarding my Fall Reading Challenge

This makes me so happy and makes my heart sing! This challenge is really getting people of all ages reading! :) 

In case you didn't see last weeks blog here is a list of the challenge book ideas for both students and adults. Kennedy Students:

1. Read a book written by an author you have never read before.

2. Read a book you already have at home but haven't gotten around to yet.

3. Read a book about a dog as the main character. (ex:Clifford's Manners)

4. Read  a book about a career you are interested in (Ex: Firefighters Fight Fires)

5. Read a book with a color word in the title. (ex: Red Are The Apples)

6. Read a book with a number word in the title.  (ex: The Three Little Pigs)

7. Read a Dr. Seuss Book

8. Read a holiday book (any holiday)

9. Read a book about the tooth fairy

10. Re-read a book you enjoy.

11.Read a book about the fall.

12. Read 3 books from three different genres (ex: Picture book, Mystery, Fairy tale)

Adult

1. Read a book written by an author you have never read before

2. Read a book you already have at home but haven't gotten around to yet:

3. Read a book written in the decade you were born

4. Read a book that takes place in the state/province you were born (Illinois)

5. Read a book titled The ____'s Daughter or The ____'s Wife

6. Read a book originally written in a language other than English

7. Read a book with a number in the title. It could be an actual digit or a number like "hundred" or "thousand." No arbitrary numbers allowed (several, few, many, ect.)

8. Read a book set during Christmas or another winter holiday

9. Read a book written by an author who shares your initials

10. Read a Pulitzer Prize winner or finalist for fiction.

11. Re-Read a book

12. Read three books from three different genres (one book for each genre)
Mystery/Thriller/Suspense

I finished my book from the Fall Book Challenge, I was reading by Cecelia Ahern Thanks for the Memories which qualified under number 2 as a book I had on hand. It was a really great story.  I give 3 out of 5 stars.

Here is a preview:

With her marriage already in pieces, Joyce Conway nearly lost everything else. But she survived the terrible accident that left her hospitalized--and now, inexplicably, she can remember faces she has never seen, cobblestone Parisian streets she's never visited. A sudden, overwhelming sense of deja vu has Joyce feeling as if her life is not her own and the mystery begins.

My next book choice for our Fall Reading Challenge is The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shafer. This book choice will qualify as a number one off my book list. I have never read from this author before. I have been wanting to read this book for over a year and just haven't gotten to it. Finally, I will start tonight.

Mrs. Pitts (in the office) and I representing our KU Jayhawks, love fall Fridays at school.

What an eventful week, with Constitution Day, The harvest moon and now officially it is fall! I have to post my fall bucket list because this is my favorite time of  year. I love snuggling up and reading but I do more than just read. I have many favorite things in the fall. How about you?

Nothing better than a hot cup of coffee and a good book on a fall day!

I will try to post pictures of my fall bucket list as I complete them and then some. I can't wait.

Feel free to share your Fall Bucket List or ideas I didn't mention. Would love to hear all about it.

I'm kind of excited to be sending off the first Slant box gift box this week. I think she will love it.

I want everything I included in this package. I have had so much fun meeting and chatting with these ladies! I will have to do this again. I will repost when they start a new sign up and I will reveal my gift box when it arrives. 

 

Hope you all had an amazing weekend.

Happy Reading,

Mrs. Shamhart

Kennedy Kids Have Character

This week at our school we showed our character, Tuesday was Character Education Day. Kindergarten and 1st grade friends enjoyed classes like: Respect, Fairness, Citizenship, Trustworthiness, Responsibility and Caring.

 

Respect in Library

In the library we shared 2 books: 1st grade heard  Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon By: Patty Lovell 

This is a wonderful story about how to respect yourself, others, and all our differences. See the anchor chart we created about Molly Lou Melon. We underlined all the She Can statements in red. Then we made "I can" Statements on what each of us can do.  We are all good at something, I loved hearing all about it.

Kindergarten heard Hooway For Wodney Wat By Helen Lester. This is a fun, fun, fun book. It is about a small rodent, Rodney Rat, who struggles saying his "R's".   He is very shy and when a new girl starts at school who is a bully, Rodney finds his voice. "A Woot, A Woot, A Wooty, Toot Toot!"

We then created an anchor chart to describe how Rodney's Friends saw Rodney.

 



 

 

September 11, is one of those days that we often reflect upon. I was asked by several people this week "Where were you when you heard the news?" For those that are curious, I was at school, in the library, when I recieved the news. Its odd how certain moments in our lives are so crystal clear. I will never forget.

 



 

 

 

During Storytime Kindergarten heard an Author study on Janet Morgan Stoeke

We shared several of The Minerva Louise Stories. What a silly chicken she is.

 

We learned about Janet Morgan Stoeke, that she is the author (the person who writes the words in the book) and she is also, the illustrator (the person who draws the pictures in the book). We learned that she has written more than 20 children's books. she lives in Virginia. We had a great discussion and students had wonderful questions.

 

First grade, celebrated International Dot Day. By sharing  The Dot by Peter Reynolds

Then we created our own "Dot".  I asked students to sign them, we then framed them and hung them. They turned out great and so unique and original. I loved it. Here is an example of Ms. S's class. (Ms. J.Smith)  

 

The Dot is the story of a caring teacher who dares a doubting student to trust in her own abilities by being brave enough to “make her mark”. What begins with a small dot on a piece of paper becomes a breakthrough in confidence and courage, igniting a journey of self-discovery and sharing, which has gone on to inspire countless children and adults around the globe." See video here:

 

This week in the library Mr. Heinrichs selected our spotlight book: Pigsty Mark Teague.

Pigsty is a funny book about a little boys room being a mess. Mom calls his room a pigsty and sends him to clean it and that's where the fun begins. Don't miss this book, it is a great choice for neat freaks and mess makers alike.

Our Fact Of The Week is an interesting one for many kiddo's at Kennedy. Whales are the loudest animal in the world. Many of my friends knew they were the largest but not the loudest.

For all of you wondering how the Slant Box Match is going I think it is going great. Both of the teachers I am matched with are getting married. Which I thought was very ironic. One lives on the East coast and one lives on the West coast.  Getting to know them both through email, their blogs, and social networking has been both interesting and a challenge. Our Theme is a difficult one as well, it's "Oh My Goodness! I can't believe what I forgot..."  I can't even think of what I have forgotten this school year.  For any teachers out there, reading this blog, I am interested in knowing what you may have forgotten at the start of the school year. This would help me to know what to include in my Slant Box Matches package. I have to ship my package off no later than September 25th so your help would be greatly appreciated.

3 Months

14 Books

1 Challenge

September 15-December 15



Also, I have started a book challenge: This can be for kiddo's or adults...It is supposed to be fun but also challenging. For me it will definitely be a challenge. Leave me comments or posts if you will be joining in on the fun. I would love to know what you are reading. Kiddo's can earn a special reward for completing this challenge. All they have to do is turn in the titles of the books they read or had read to them at home to qualify. I will say this of the mystery reward it is a sweet treat and can also be used again and again.

 Students:

1. Read a book written by an author you have never read before.

2. Read a book you already have at home but haven't gotten around to yet.

3. Read a book about a dog as the main character. (ex:Clifford's Manners)

4. Read  a book about a career you are interested in (Ex: Firefighters Fight Fires)

5. Read a book with a color word in the title. (ex: Red Are The Apples)

6. Read a book with a number word in the title.  (ex: The Three Little Pigs)

7. Read a Dr. Seuss Book

8. Read a holiday book (any holiday)

9. Read a book about the tooth fairy

10. Re-read a book you enjoy.

11.Read a book about the fall.

12. Read 3 books from three different genres (ex: Picture book, Mystery, Fairy tale)

Adult

1. Read a book written by an author you have never read before

2. Read a book you already have at home but haven't gotten around to yet:

3. Read a book written in the decade you were born

4. Read a book that takes place in the state/province you were born (Illinois)

5. Read a book titled The ____'s Daughter or The ____'s Wife

6. Read a book originally written in a language other than English

7. Read a book with a number in the title. It could be an actual digit or a number like "hundred" or "thousand." No arbitrary numbers allowed (several, few, many, ect.)

8. Read a book set during Christmas or another winter holiday

9. Read a book written by an author who shares your initials

10. Read a Pulitzer Prize winner or finalist for fiction.

11. Re-Read a book

12. Read three books from three different genres (one book for each genre)
Mystery/Thriller/Suspense

My current book which also qualifies for my challenge for a book I have been wanting to read that has been on my shelf.

 

 

 

Happy Reading,

 

Mrs. Shamhart



 

 

 





Wild about books...in the library.

  



This week in the library was a busy one. I am starting to learn most of my kindergarten friends names. We accomplished our first check out, of the school year and oh my, were we excited!

See a picture of Mrs. Willey's friends reading quietly:

This week in kindergarten we shared 2 books Where The Wild Things Are By: Maurice Sendak and Little White Owl by Tracey Corderoy. Kindergarten worked hard on sharing their ideas of what they might look like, when they get wild. See their chart of ideas:

We also created a poster for each classroom to post. After reading the Little White Owl We made a poster about "Good Friends" See it here:









My first grade friends had a great week. We are falling right back into the swing of things here in the library. It makes me smile to see their growth, I am lucky to witness it each year. It never ceases to amaze me just how much they grow over the summer.

On Wednesday we had our first check out of two books (Whoop, Whoop! Silent Cheer). We read the book Do Unto Otters by Laurie Keller. What a terrific book to share about manners. More than that, a life lesson and an opportunity to "THINK" about how we want to be treated by others. How our actions dictate how others will treat us. It was an amazing discussion. Each class just kept it going and I absolutely loved seeing the wheels turning. See the poster we made for all classes here:  

 

 On Friday, we started our project of making a 1st grade powerpoint, in the library. We are creating the powerpoint to share the years worth of sight words. This powerpoint will be put on the classroom IPADS and we will attach it to the Kennedy website. This will enable students to practice their sight words in class and also at home. Please keep watching for this powerpoint to be added, sometime soon. I will keep you posted, as to our progress. A big thank you  to Mrs. Funston and Mrs. Markley for all their help. You both ROCK!  Here is a sneak peek at a couple of our pics we took Friday.

 

This week in the library our spotlight book was selected by Mrs. Hocker. Her book choice is  a great one called, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom By Bill Martin Jr. This is a rhythmic and rhyming young children's book depicting a lowercase alphabet with attitude. Great book for learning the alphabet.  See it here:

Our fact of the week was added by a cool app I found called fact a day wombi .  See the fact we shared this week. Pink Paper Swans is a wonderful story about the art of Origami.



I had an amazing time at the 2013 Kansas Book Festival, on Saturday. I got to meet several authors and attend a few presentations, tour the Kansas State Capitol  (oh what a beautiful library they have) and meet plenty of vendors. I was so excited to be there and be part of it all. Here are some pics of the festival and of my haul I took away.

      Kansas State Capitol Library

 

The 15 Notable Books for Kansas 2013







Echos of Kansas Past By Eunice Boeve

 Hope Amid Hardship By Linda Johnston

  

These authors were amazing. I had lengthy conversations with them and they were the highlight of the festival. I will be reading both of their books. Thanks ladies, for making it such a wonderful day.

This is my haul I took away:

 2 Kansas Festival t-shirts, A Kansas Festival tote bag, 7 books from various authors, loads of vendors information,  about 40 different book marks, 6 pens, 2 bracelets, loads of book info. and pamphlets. It was an amazing day!

I spoke about the Slant button last week which stands for Sending Love Across the Nation to Teachers. I got my matches this week and I am looking forward to getting to know both of these ladies. I will let all of you teachers know when the next sign up for SLANT is. I will also reveal when I get my package at the end of the month. For those of you who are not teachers there is another type of exchange called the CARA Box. I posted a button at the bottom of my blog, you may want to check it out. Here is the link: http://www.wifessionals.com/p/cara-box-exchange_4.html

 

 

This was a very busy week not only at school and in the library but in my family. My grandson Carter started preschool this week. Can't believe he is old enough to go to preschool but I know in my heart he is ready. He wears his joy in his smile. So very proud of you Carter!





 Enjoy a good book for yourself and share one with your kiddo. I am currently reading a YA 

(young adult) book the title is  before i fall  by Lauren Oliver.

I love this quote from before i fall  " So many things become beautiful when you really look."

I would love to hear what your reading. Leave me a message/comment on this post, maybe I can read your book choice and share it, right here on my blog. I will try to post about what I am reading each week. 

Happy Reading,

Mrs. Shamhart



Library News....Manners in the library

 

This week in the library was so much fun! I enjoyed meeting my new kindergarten friends. We had so much fun reading and sharing our picture books this week we all laughed and laughed. Tuesday by David Wiesner, as usual, was a huge hit. Chalk By Bill Thomson was fun and thought provoking. We learned how to picture read and how to retell stories. I was very impressed. Some of my kindergarten friends had such amazing manners they earned a star.

                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Mrs. Barrett's class worked on a book of their own, called: All About Me. We are sharing these books with Mrs.Young's kindergarten class in Easton, Ks. at Pleasant Ridge Elementary School. Each month we will share a new book with them that we create right here in the library. Here is a photo of what the pages looked like:

We are looking forward to receiving their book, from Pleasant Ridge. We can't wait to find out all about our new friends in Easton, Kansas. Mrs. Young (Kindergarten teacher from Easton) and I have some fun activities planned. Keep checking back here, on the blog and also, ask your child all about it. Sharing the blog with your child is a good way to share information and find out some of the fun things happening in our library.

In first grade our friends were busy, busy, busy this week. Manners and rules in the library were just review for most of my first grade friends. We enjoyed sharing The David Stories. We talked about how most of them could read these books on their own. Many of them, helped in reading the stories aloud with me. Some first graders want to make arrangements to read to their kindergarten teacher's classsroom, so we will try to make that happen. If they are interested, they need to talk to me about it ( I won't know if they don't tell me). If they have signed up to read we will need to practice. I will send a note home and let you know when they will be reading.

We made an anchor chart, for each classroom. The anchor chart is all about the rules that we took away from reading the David Shannon books. You may have seen the anchor chart in your child's classroom during parent information night. See it here:

We talked in the library, about what we want to be when we grow up. I like to ask this question  several times throughout the year. It's interesting to see how things change as they learn and grow. We created a book with these pages and put the books in their classrooms. They can read about each other, share their dreams and aspirations. See a sample of these:

                                               

This Monday, we do not have school due to Labor Day. I will visit with all of my Kennedy friends on Wednesday. First graders will be checking out books, this will be their first time to check out this year. Check out days for First Graders will be on Mondays and Wednesdays. They haven't learned to check off of the shelves just yet, but we will, next month. The First Graders will be allowed to check two books out. After teachers have established a level for each student we will require that each first grader check out a leveled reader (a good fit book) and any other book they might like. Until teachers get back to me, I will be allowing students to check any 2 books they might like.

First graders will continue working with Manners and expectations in the library we will be reading Do unto Otters by Laurie Keller. We will also be making an anchor chart for how we can do unto others. How to treat others and how we would like to be treated in return. They will also, hear the story of  When I Grow Up by Mercer Mayer. We will compare this book to the book we made on Thursday.

In Kindergarten we will be checking out on Thursday. Each kindergartener will choose one book. Kindergarten friends check out days are Mondays and Thursdays. This week we will be reading Where the Wild Things Are By Maurice Sendak. We will create a class poster of what we might look like when we get wild. We will also be continuing our good manners unit with The book Little White Owl By Tracey Corderoy. Each class will create a chart for their classroom with ways we can be kind to each other.

In the library each week will be spotlighting a special book someone has recommended. This week is my book choice. The Library Lion By Michelle Knudsen This is a heartfelt story about a library that allows a lion to attend story time and help out in the library, as long as he follows the rules.

Each week a Kennedy staff member, will choose a book they really enjoyed and share it this way.

 

We will also be enjoying a fact of the week in the library. It is a fun way to get everyone thinking.

*****I will be posting a project I currently have underway, to fancy up the sticks we use for checking from the shelves. I will post the DIY project for any other librarians or teachers. *****

*****Also notice the SLANT button here on my blog, it stands for Sending Love Across  the Nation to Teachers. What a fun way to get to know other teachers and also send and receive a package from others. Sounds like a lot of fun to me. I just signed up, Teachers check it out!*****

*****I am going to the 2013 Kansas Book Festival in Topeka, Ks. next weekend September 7, 2013.

I am hoping to get some author's signatures and see some wonderful presentations. I will post pics next weekend, of the Book Festival and of my haul that I pick up there, as well. If you would like more information about the book festival try this link: kansasbookfestival.com *****

                                                                                                                                                                   

As summer quickly comes to an end, I am both saddened and excited. I have had a wonderful       summer and enjoyed traveling, reading and time with my grandchildren. Yet, I have so many fun  plans for this school year, that I am looking forward to all that is awaiting us.                                

I enjoyed this Labor day weekend with a good book, a BBQ with family and friends and working on  this blog. Hope all of you had a wonderful holiday weekend, as well.                                                   

                                 

                                      Farewell Summer!                                           

  

Did all of you find some time to enjoy a good read and share a book with your kiddo's?  It's         never to early to begin reading with your children and or, your grandchildren. I have to share just one more picture, of my 3 month old grandson, Oliver "Ollie" Jack Pierce sharing a book with his mom.

Happy Reading,

Mrs. Shamhart