It's been a while!

Things sure have been busy at RHES library! We are nearing the end of the school year, and I apologize that I have not been doing a great job posting this year. But here are some exciting highlights!

Our Makerspace has been successful again this year, and with a defined space and a Lego wall. Students come in at their recess to Make!

Our Step Up club has been creating tie blankets to donate to the Waukesha Humane Society!

Our One Book, One School just wrapped up after the entire school read the Boxcar Children book #1. I have never had so many Boxcar series books circulated! I dusted off the collection and kids are loving it!

Battle of the Book was another great success this year. Our top team scored in the top 50 in the state! Way to go team!!

This year has just been flying by! And did I mention I am expecting baby #3? I will be glad to put my feet up this summer and come back to an exciting fall and a baby girl in October!

Book Love Notes

This week, my 4th graders are writing Book Love Notes inspired by this blog. They got a heart shaped cutout to write a note to a future reader who might LOVE the book they chose. They wrote a letter, cut out the heart, and strategically placed them in books for other readers. They are so excited to find a book with a note and have others find them too!

Book Bash Week!

This week, as the end of trimester award, some classes have earned a Book Bash Celebration! Classes that have filled their sticker charts in working towards our library goals got to celebrate with some free choice activities. Some chose free reading...

Some chose games from our Quick Links page...

 Many chose to work in collaborative groups with Snap Circuit sets...

And other chose to color & create bookmarks with Makerspace supplies. It was a fun and relaxing time to celebrate good choices all trimester!

Help Harry!

This week, 3rd graders have to "Help Harry"! I got this lesson idea from The Teacher Studio to do an introductory activity on teamwork to help harry, a small little craft puff with large eyes, see as far around the library as he can. The students got a bag of materials and a roll of tape to build something for him to see as high as possible without compromising his safety. They really got creative! Many students commented that they liked the challenge, and some got frustrated like in the Most Magnificent Thing book (image from bn.com)

Either way, it was an excellent opportunity to think outside the box and work together on an activity!

TEAMWORK

We are gearing up for some STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) activities, as well as the Hour of Code (December) in the library! This leads us to conversations about working together and teamwork. This week, we have been reading Howard B. Wigglebottom (I LOVE this series; it has great teachable moments). Image from bn.com

Then groups worked together to 1) set a goal, 2) work towards it and 3) celebrate it. Each group was given a 24 piece and a 100 piece puzzle and 8 minutes to accomplish it. They worked as a team towards their goal (even if some realized as they began that they set their goal too high), whether it was completing a whole puzzle, doing just the edges, etc. In the end, each team had their own success and celebration!

Makerspace is BACK!

After the book fair, step up club, and Halloween parade weeks... Makerspace is back! And we have snap circuit sets, new crafts, and a new 5th & 6th grade crowd!

Scavenger Hunt!

This week, 3rd graders went on a scavenger hunt using the app Socrative. Partners worked together to locate books on the shelves and check to see which symbol I taped to them. They did a great job working & talking together, which is part of our PAWS expectations (Problem solve, Always do our best, Work & talk together, Show respect for other readers)!