GOODBYE JANUARY...HELLO FEBRUARY!

THE TWELVE MONTHS

"Snowy, Flowy, Blowy, Showery, Flowery, Bowery, Happy, Croppy, Droopy, Breezy, Sneezy, Freezy."

-George Ellis

January 17 was Benjamin Franklin's Birthday so students in grade 2 had fun listening to the sounds of a glass armonica which was invented by him. Ben used thirty-seven different-sized
glass jars to make the armonica. He was quite pleased with his new invention and described its sound as both "sweet" and "heavenly." Ben's armonica became extremely popular. Famous composers wrote music for it. The queen of France even paid for glass armonica lessons.
Since they are also studying Australia, they read from Look What Came From Australia by Kevin Davis and Spotlight on Australia by Bobbie Kalman. Some of the vocabulary they learned includes didgeridoo, corroborees, mossie, barbie, jumper, eski, roo and postie.

February 2 is Groundhog's Day so students in grade 1 did a Reader's theater after listening to the book Substitute Groundhog by Pat Miller. Too sick to perform his once-a-year job, Groundhog interviews other animals to come out of his hole on Groundhog Day. Everyone enjoyed the ending of this story, as well as learning why some of the animal choices just would not work out.

Jr. K students used their imagination and learned how a young girl imagined how "wild" she could be if she were an animal in the story entitled If I Were A Lion by Sarah Weeks. Marie-Louise Gay has gone back in time to answer the questions often asked by the children who read and love her Stella books in When Stella was Very, Very Small. In this second story, Stella saw the world in her own unique way-with wonder, curiosity and the sense that everything is possible. When Sam, her baby brother, came along, what could be more natural than to try to pass this sense of wonder on to him? Students enjoyed this story of a lovely tiny Stella, whose world is full of small adventures and slivers of magic.

Third graders worked independently on reading biographies and writing 3 facts about a particular person. They then played the game, "Guess Who is Knocking on My Door". Their classmates tried to guess who they read about after hearing the three clues. What a great way to learn from each other about famous people of the world.

Alpha students needed to listen carefully to author Dick Punnett's book entitled Name Patty's Pets. In this story, the listeners could identify Little Patty's pets by supplying the missing word which rhymes with the preceding line. Other books in this series include Name Lizzy's Colors, Help Jumbo Escape, and Count the Possums.

K students worked on graphic organizers and answered the questions Who? When? What? Where? Problem/Solution after hearing Otis and the Tornado by Loren Long and New York Times Bestseller Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy by David Soman and Jacky Davis. In the first book, Otis the tractor must try to save the animals, including the unfriendly bull, when a tornado threatens the farm. In the second book, Lulu, dressed as Ladybug Girl, goes to the playground and makes new friends, including Bumblebee Boy. At the playground, they saw how important issues of friendship and compromise were to her.

A big thank you goes out to Andi Mullins for chairing the library volunteers this year. Her hard work and precious time has paid off for all of us. She has been giving hands on training sessions since school started. We have many parents who are helping us in the media center this month and they are so appreciated. They are checking out books, helping students locate books and explore the many treasures found in our beautiful media center. Some are also helping with the book displays and decorations. Thank you so much to all of our wonderful parent volunteers who are helping the students "Go Wild for Books" this year.