I can hardly believe that September is already in full swing! Even though its the second week of the month, it still doesn’t quite feel like fall is on its way. Maybe these new cooler temperatures will help!

If you thought that you heard some ROARING coming from the Johnson Elementary School library this week, you were not mistaken…. the library has been full of dinosaurs! This week, our pre-school and kindergarten students talked about the kind of rules they have had in school so far, as we read about dinosaurs settling into a school routine with Jane Yolen’s How Do Dinosaurs Go to School? Then, we got to act like dinosaurs during the Dino Hokey Pokey – complete with claws, big sharp teeth, dino tails, and stomping dinosaur feet! Our youngest students then drew their dinosaur participating in some of their favorite school activities, like playing on the playground, reading in the classroom, or coloring in art class.

First grade students continued learning about book care with Brook Berg’s story, What Happened to Marion’s Book? Marion, a carefree little hedgehog, loves books and even wants to be a librarian when she grows up. But Marion doesn’t always take the best care of her books…and this has some disastrous results! This book is sweet and funny and starts a great discussion about why we have to be careful with the way we treat our library books. After our story, first graders completed a library activity called What Happened to MY Book? This activity puts students in Marion’s shoes and asks them, what can you do to keep your library book safe and clean?

Second, third, and fourth grades are learning more about how to choose the perfect book in the Johnson Elementary  School library. This means not only thinking about the kind of book that interests them, but also about how to find books on their level. Goldie Socks and the Three Libeareans, by Jackie Mims-Hopkins, takes a fun new twist on a classic fairy tale while teaching the Five Finger Rule. Ask your student how the Five Finger Rule helps them find books that are just right!

The furniture may be moved, but that doesn’t mean that the big changes have stopped in the Learning Leopard Library. Students can now earn extra check-out time with good behavior during their library classes. A chart on the wall keeps track of how many minutes they have earned to peruse the stacks and read at their tables. They can also keep track of their checkout time via the iPad visual timer on display on the circulation desk. A very generous parent recently donated a beautiful rug to go in the stacks, and it adds wonderful color and coziness to the room!

I hope to see many students and their parents next week for Back to School Night. The Learning Leopard Library doors will be open – feel free to stop in and take a look!

Miss Messham