The Spirit of Giving

Last week a parent brought in this photo and others that showed how her kindergarten son had set up his trainset to look like a library. She explained that he loved library and she thought I might enjoy these pictures. Wow! Hearing her words and seeing the photos made me nearly choke up with gratitude. This is such a sweet scene and it seems like a good one for this holiday message.

I have said that I have the best job in the world and I truly feel that way. That doesn't mean I'm smiling every minute of the day or that this occupation does not have its share of frustrations. It does mean that I am so fortunate to be able to have days surrounded by children and books in a great school. The families that nurture their children also nurture us, their teachers, and I so appreciate that this parent shared the pictures. It is a joy to be librarian to her sons and to all the girls and boys at Charlestown School.

So, I'm sending all of you my wishes for meaningful holidays with your family and friends. I hope you have time to share warm moments with your children (another plug for reading aloud to your kids!) Happy Holidays to All!

Cynthia Reiser-Jones

Family Time

A blog is great as a forum for one's thoughts and ideas. My idea this time is about family read-alouds. This blog also gives me this chance to promote one of my all-time favorite books, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson. If you want to share a wonderful story that is short, LOL funny, and touching, try this book. A review on the back cover from the Denver Post says, "The book is outrageous, lively, funny and wonderful. The Christmas story takes on a strangely moving depth of meaning and shines through with a new brilliance." I agree wholeheartedly.

I was fortunate to have someone suggest this book years ago when my own children were young. We had family read-alouds before bedtime each night and kept up this tradition until they reached their teen years. I can remember breaking down in laughter as we read about the Herdmans - "the worst kids in the history of the world" and how they changed the local Christmas pageant. It became our December read-aloud and a new tradition developed. This new tradition was that one of my children would have to read the last chapter out loud because I kept tearing up with emotion. I still find that catch in my throat when I read the book or think about the powerful message it sends.

The book is available in libraries and bookstores. To me, it's a classic that can appeal to anyone at anytime. I plan to read it again next week!

Not Just Checking Out Books!

These photos were taken during library class for Mrs. St. Clair's 3rd grade class. The first photo shows some of the happy students who had viewed some websites shown on the SMART Board . The second photo has two of them finding a book during their "book look" time. They had previously looked up the requested book, The Polar Express, on the OPAC (online catalog) , found the call number, and went to the correct location for the book. It is so rewarding to see them apply their information-seeking skills.

The weekly library classes include so much more than just checking out books. Today's library media specialist works to help students learn effective ways to find all sorts of information as well as good books to read. In the weeks to come, I hope to spotlight some of the many activities that take place during that weekly class.

In addition, the library is used by classroom teachers who reserve time to use our mini-computer lab. Often I co-teach with the classroom teacher and we can really guide learning as the students work on research projects. This week Mrs. St. Clair's class began a research project on how different countries celebrate winter holidays. They came for their regular library class in the morning and then in the afternoon we had a good co-teaching session for an hour in the library. Mrs. Fitts plans to write more about this activity in her Chariho Times column next week, so try to make sure you read it.


Until next week, Mrs. Reiser-Jones - Librarian, Library Media Specialist, Library Teacher - whatever you call me!

Technology and Kids

Our students today have grown up with digital technology. In fact, some use the term "digital natives" to describe young people who are very comfortable with new technology because they have not known a world without it. Those of us who go back some years can be called "digital immigrants". We are at varying levels of being tech-savvy but we will always have an "accent" because we grew up in a non-digital world. The 4th grader in this photo is perfectly comfortable with computers and certainly knows his way around the library!

The other photo has two more 4th graders- one with old media - a VHS tape, and the other with newer media - a DVD. The challenge for school libraries is to try to update resources while being realistic about budgets. Our library has plenty of DVDs; however, we also have VHS tapes which continue to be used for curriculum support. Even if we could financially replace every VHS tape tomorrow, I might not be able to find every title that has proven useful for teachers. So, updating is done bit-by-bit, year-by-year. Last week's blog mentioned the new digital audiobooks that will be purchased through a CCEP Grant. By using budget money, SAF funds from Book Fair proceeds, and grant money, we hope to try to keep up with newer resources.

One lesson I like to share with 3rd grade students is to show a filmstrip about "Mr. Dewey and His Decimal System". I held on to this filmstrip when I got rid of many others back in 1999. I like the way it explains this Big Idea: When information is organized, it is easier to locate and use. That's an important message in any age.

Another reason for showing a film projector and filmstrip is the oportunity to discuss how technology changes. I like to challenge the 3rd graders by saying that their children or grandchildren will think DVDs are antiques. When I suggest they might go to a yard sale in 30 years and find an I Pod for a dollar, I hope they can grasp that they will see plenty of changes in the years ahead.

Finally, a new lesson we've shared this year is for students to brainstorm tech media into three categories - old, fairly new, and new. We have noticed that some media (filmstrips, vinyl) are nearly obsolete, but others were invented many years ago and keep changing (TVs, cameras, phones, etc.) This integrates well with the Science standards and helps us recognize the importance of media in our lives. By the way, it was quite an eye-opener for myself and a student teacher when we heard that CDs were old media!

Thanks for reading!