The Kindergarten students continue their progress in becoming more independent in the library. First they began checking out books in October. Then we began assigned seats and taking turns at the beanbags. Other smaller steps came with using a bookmark from our scrap paper mug and also finding books in the Early Reader section. This week we even removed the numbers from the tables!
The big step came in January when they began selecting books from the shelves rather than just choosing from the ones displayed on the top of the bookshelves. This came after lessons about how books have their own special "address" in the library and if they get put in another place, they are "lost"! They learned to use a "shelf marker" to help them put back a book in case they decide against checking it out.
This may seem slow and too methodical, I'm a strong believer in establishing routines, and having structures that help everyone get off to a good start. Our Kindergarten students have the strong foundation that will help them become more and more independent users of the library.
