AWESOME APRIL!

NATIONAL LIBRARY WEEK - APRIL 8-14 !!!!

This year's theme is "You belong@ your library"

APRIL 9 is MULTICULTRAL COMMUNICATION MONTH...Check out Mam Lisa's World at www.mamalisa.com, a wedsite with kids' songs and nursery rhymes from across the globe in English and te original languages.

APRIL 12 is Beverly Cleary's Birthday and It's National Humor Month....Did you know Ramona Quimby is the official spokesperson for D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything and Read. Visit www.dropeverythingandread.com/NationalDEAR
day.html for more information.

APRIL 13 is Lee Bennett Hopkin's Birthday
"We spend too much time teaching children to read and not enough time teaching them to love to read"-Lee Bennett Hopkins

*****VOTING DAYS FOR SUNSHINE STATE YOUNG READER'S AWARD....******
7:30-2:45

THURSDAY - APRIL 19
FRIDAY - " 20
TUESDAY - " 24
WEDNESDAY - " 25
ALL STUDENTS IN GRADES 3-6 WHO HAVE READ 3 BOOKS FROM THIS YEAR'S LIST CAN VOTE!


Students in Grade 2 are studying Africa, so in the library they practiced following directions and using their map skills to locate different countries in that continent. They labeledl and colored the countries as their "student" teachers located them on a huge map using the Elmo projector. They worked with a partner and will continue this research on the computer using World Book Online for their next lesson.

Florida is the main topic for Grade 1 so for their lesson included hearing books about their state. Florida by Ann Heinrichs, Let's Explore America- Florida by Valerie Bodden, and Florida-Facts and Symbols by Emily McAuliffe were read to the students. It is amazing how much they already knew and how much they learned!

Students in grade 3 spent their library time doing research with partners using www.worldatlas.com They are comparing using an online research tool to a "book" atlas. One thing they found in common is that research takes time and you must" dig" into your search and "read" to find answers. They also are learning how to work cooperatively and make decisions by collaborating.

Jr. K. and Alpha students heard one of the books from this year's Florida Reading Association's Children Book Contest entitled Christian, the Hugging Lion by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell. This is the true story of two men, Ace and John, who found a lion cub for sale at Harrods department store. They bought him and named him Christian and the three lived happily for a year in a London apartment. But eventually, Christian grew to big and they decided to let him go to live the life of a wild cat in Kenya, Africa. They had a reunion a year after saying good-bye and it is now a famous video that appeared on the Internet in 2008. (YouTube) Look it up for yourselves on www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiGKWoJi5qM
The students were very surprised to see it and we discussed how remarkable it was since lions are very dangerous animals and should never be approached closely since they are "wild" animals. Christian was the exception, for sure.
Students will receive a ballot with the 8 books from this year's contest and they will vote for their favorite. Each student will also receive a book bag and 4 other prizes for voting. We do have Fun in our Library and we Learn a lot!

K students listened to this year's Caldecott Honor book entitled Me...Jane by Patrick McDonnell. This award-winning picture book author tells the inspiring story of the young girl who would grow up to be Dr. Jane Goodall-primatologist, environmentalist, humanitarian, and United Nations Messenger of Peace. Holding her stuffed toy chimpanzee, young Jane Goodall observes nature, reads Tarzan books, and dreams of living in Africa and helping animals.

They also enjoyed listening to Mommy Mine by Tim Warnes, and illustrated by Jane Chapman who also illustrated Bear Snores On.
Who says K students are too young for ZOO-OLOGY?? Well, they proved they are ready for this subject after finding the hidden little chameleon in the pictures and figuring out the classification of animals. Are they horned or feathered? Are they covered with spots or with stripes? Do they live under the water or under the ground? Do they live in hot weather or cold? More than 300 animals are arranged in thought-provoking thematic groupings in the pages of Zoo-olgy by Joelle Jolivet.

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.