Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Our NEW Website

If you have not looked at our new website, you should go check it out! I have been adding content to the new site for the past couple of weeks. It is a work in progress. I hope you find some helpful and useful information for you to assist your child in their literacy development. If there are any links or information you don't see that you think would be helpful to other parents, please let me know and I will do my best to add it.

The library page has our Twitter feed, library hours, our blog address, a link to the online catalog, parent library card information, tips for taking care of library books, and a link to the Families Reading Together Program.

From the Library link on the left you can access monthly activities, district winning Media Fair submissions from Kinkeade, Recommended Reading Lists, and our library Schedules.

Information for the Families Reading Together Program and reading logs are also available.

I have created a section entitled Literacy Activities. At this time I have Listening and Writing Activities you can do with your child. Some of these activities are online and some can be done without a computer. I hope to add additional activities in the near future.

You can also find additional online resources under Internet Resources. There are links for Language, Math, Science, Social Studies, as well as Parent Links and other resources you might find helpful.

Friday, February 17, 2012

Colors and Shapes

We have been talking about colors and shapes in the library during story time. These are a few of the titles read in the past two weeks.


  • Lots of Dots by Craig Frazier
  • My Heart is Like a Zoo by Michael Hall
  • Perfect Square by Michael Hall [2012 Texas 2x2 Reading List selection]
  • Press Here by HervĂ© Tullet
  • Mouse Shapes by Ellen Stoll Walsh
I posted a link to a website for My Heart is Like a Zoo on the Library Activities - February page of the website. You can access our library webpage to find all kinds of helpful information about reading, books, and literacy.

One of the children's favorite new books is Pete the Cat I Love My White Shoes. Earlier in the school year I shared  Pete the Cat Rocking in My School Shoes with the majority of the school and Pete danced and sang his way into everyone's heart. There are some fun Pete Activities online you can access from home. I hope you love Pete as much as all of my friends at Kinkeade.


Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Learning and Using Shelf Markers

For the past three weeks we have been learning how to use shelf markers in the library. Our library shelves no longer have the thumbs down symbol. All of our books are now thumbs up! The students are doing a great job of holding their shelf marker with two hands as they walk around the library looking for the perfect book. We know if the shelf marker makes a sound it will have to go back into the basket because it is hurting one of our friends.

During our lesson we learned the books on the shelf have a very special place in which they live. We talked about the spine label being the books address so when the books are going to go back home the address is what helps the adults put the books in the right place. Both of our hands have to work in order to find a book on the shelf using a shelf marker. One hand is used to hold the shelf marker and the other is used to push the books apart just enough to get the shelf marker in between the books. Once the shelf marker is between the two books then we hold the shelf marker tight as we use the other hand to gently pull the book out so we can see the cover. We learned how the shelf marker helps us to look at the cover of the book without taking the book completely off the shelf. We also learned how the shelf marker shows us where the book lives if we take it out of its home.


When we have a book in one hand and a shelf marker in the other we know we need to go put the shelf marker back in the Clifford basket and then go check out our book.

We begin using shelf markers during the second semester of the school year because our student's eye-hand coordination is more developed during the second half of the year. They are used to coming into the library to check out books and this added opportunity to check out books from the shelves is a very exciting time for all. The children learn quickly where their favorite books are located. It is always fun to see them call to a friend to show them where a certain author or type of book is located on the shelves.