May 26, 2017

Oliver Jeffers:  Painter, Writer, Reader, Creator!

                     

"Henry loved books.  But not like you and I love books, no.  Not quite..."

-Oliver Jeffers

It had been awhile since library classes conducted an "author study."  So, this week we narrowed in on the tremendously talented, hilarious and just plain cool, Oliver Jeffers.  Hailing from Northern Ireland, young Oliver grew up loving drawing and art.  It's no surprise that he went on to become a wildly successful children's picture book creator (among other things).  

He had his first book published when he was in college - a reminder to all that if you work hard at something you're passionate about, age is no factor!  Along those lines, the imbedded inspiration for learners this week was that it is never too early to get started on a lifelong passion - and it just may be the hobby or endeavor that leads to a fulfilling career... just like Mr. Jeffers.  

   

Who is Oliver Jeffers?

May 19, 2017

Curiouser and Curiouser

 

“It's no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.”

-Alice, from Alice in Wonderland

Building off of last week's lesson on the Beatles, I decided it made sense to create a fantastical, magical, mystery class of our own. 😉 Lewis Carroll's 152 year-old fantasy on Alice, and her adventures in Wonderland seemed to be the perfect fit. It also worked well as a version of this classic story was this year's theatre production here at SATEC.

The history and origin of Alice in Wonderland also reinforced our year-long theme on storytelling; and the myriad ways stories are told and shared. Therefore, prior to diving into this week's mentor texts we looked at a few other examples of how this story has been told and expressed through the years.

May 12, 2017

Beatlemania Hits the SATEC LMC!

"The Sun is up,

the sky is blue,

it's beautiful,

and so are YOU."

-The Beatles (from "Dear Prudence")

I joked with the students that after last week's class about gardens, insects, and spiders I'd forgotten to cover beetles.  So, this week's class was based on that accidental omission.  Well, as you can imagine they thought my wordplay was a tad funny.  This week was all about the (arguably) greatest rock and roll band of all time; the Beatles!

After listening to the quote of the class (listed above), I reminded learners that we are all beautiful and make our class, school & community, and planet a better place because we are here.  Todd Parr's Be Who You Are perfectly extended this "pep talk."

After our first book, we ventured back to Liverpool, England in 1960 to learn about the early days of the Beatles and their meteoric rise to fame and fortune.  The mentor text for this lesson was Kathleen Krull & Paul Brewer's The Beatles Were Fab (and They Were Funny).  This picture book really gives readers the feeling and sense of what Beatlemania was like (for those of us that weren't alive yet).  In addition to the story, I also blended in various Beatle songs (and a few videos) that were cited in the text.  Based on the "twisting and shouting" that ensued, I'd say it was another successful class for all!   

May 8, 2017

Nature, Gardens, & Spiders (oh, my!)

"A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees." - Frederick William Faber

After being at home for April vacation and having the chance to slow my usual "work pace," my children and I took delight in watching the plants, flowers, and large maple tree in our backyard come to life over the course of three days of sun.  As if the universe was speaking directly to us, I realized what to focus on for my first week back; nature, gardens, and spiders!   For our first title, I chose local author Kate Messner's Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt.  This beautifully illustrated (Christopher Silas Neal) nonfiction story highlights how there is as much happening below the surface of a garden as there is above.  

For our next title, I wanted to remind the learners that while we have an amazing book collection in the SATEC library, we also have access to thousands of more titles on our Tumble Book digital collection.  For this offering, we shifted to the inspirational fiction story Rose's Garden by Peter H. Reynolds.  It was an entertaining Tumble experience for all!  

Last, but not least, I wanted to inject a bit of "Mr. Flanagan humor" into the week.  I found the perfect title for this in Bethany Barton's I'm Trying to Love Spiders (It Isn't Easy).  This book was enjoyed by all, resulting in almost everyone LOL'ing!