Centering

It's Friday afternoon, soon to be evening. I found myself wondering what to tackle next before going home. No idea for this week's blog had come to me; rather, many ideas had come to me, but which to choose? Current library classes? Two days training on technology? Upcoming Reading Week? (April 4-8th). Even if I chose a topic, what photo can be used this week?

Feeling quite scattered, I looked up and saw the beautiful Clivia flowering on the library windowsill. I inherited this plant when I came to Charlestown in 1998. For years, it just sat by the window, surviving with a little watering, no flowers. I didn't even know what it was, just a bunch of strappy leaves. Finally, I figured out it was a Clivia, read a little, and decided to force the issue. I brought it home and took a kitchen knife to the tangled mass of tuberous roots, cutting away much of the rootball. It went into a new pot with new soil, then back to the library. It has flowered every year since that drastic change, sometimes even twice!

The moral? Change is good? Grow or stagnate? Or maybe it's about deserting the scattered piles of work around me for a few minutes. It wasn't "wake up and smell the flowers", but "wake up, center yourself, and enjoy the beautiful flowers". I hope you enjoy the photo and have a good weekend to center, relax, and regroup.

We're All Winners!

Kindergarten student, Emma, and her mother joined me this week to celebrate our prizes won at the March 5th Warwick Mall event, NEA Read Across America Day that celebrated the birthday of Dr. Seuss.

That day I was volunteering at the school librarians' table, RIEMA (Rhode Island Educational Media Association). It was a fun time that featured a table for children to make bookmarks plus a raffle. Emma's mother spotted me, came over, and they entered the raffle. The raffle price was two $25 Gift Cards to Barnes & Noble bookstore - one for the student, one for their school library. Raffle entries went into two large Cat in the Hat hats.

At the end of the day there were three entries drawn out of hundreds and guess who won! It was quite a stroke of good luck because Emma was the only Charlestown student I saw that afternoon who entered the raffle. I figured we had little chance with all the Warwick and local students who came by and entered the raffle. What a great surprise to hear that Emma's entry was a winner!

The photo was taken by Bianca, a student in Mrs. Mcgill's 3rd grade - a future photographer? In the photo, Emma's mother is holding the letter announcing our win. I hold the two hardcover books purchased for our library and Emma holds the Cat in the Hat. I heard that Emma bought several books great for kindergarteners and her mother was as thrilled as I was. And . . . because the books may be borrowed by all students and teachers at Charlestown School, we all win!

Current Events-Iditarod and more

This week Mrs. McGill's class has a special assignment every morning.
They come right to the library to check their musher's current place in the Iditarod sled dog race. Because Mrs. McGill set up a subscription to the Iditarod Insider GPS, they are able to get up-to-date information on the progress of the race. They locate their race team on the map or list, then take turns writing down the mileage. The next step is when they go on to class and do the math to find how many more miles their team has to go until the finish. It's fun, it's interactive, and it's learning.

Regarding another too-current event, as I write this blog entry on Friday afternoon, my heart is saddened by the horrific news coming from Japan and other places devastated by the earthquake and tsunami that struck yesterday. Our technology enables us to be in touch with the rest of the world. I'm sure many share my thoughts and prayers that go the many victims of this terrible disaster.

Wacky Wednesday Pictures

Not much to say with these photos from our fun and Wacky Wednesday on March 2nd to celebrate the birthday of Dr. Seuss. The pictures tell the story - Enjoy!