Week of April 20th, 2009

With Earth Day coming up this week, the Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten classes got to explore the rainforest via a wonderful storybook by Jan Brett entitled The Umbrella. In the story, Carlos takes his umbrella out on a walk. The umbrella becomes inhabited with a Spanish-speaking tree frog and other animals and birds native to the rainforest. The children were introduced to many new animals and some Spanish terms as well.

The Timberlake Science Club hosted a variety of activities and art project for all of the students Pre-K through 6th Grade to celebrate Earth Day! Lots of green books were on display in the library promoting environmental awareness. The junior high and high school Science Club members were on hand to encourage green practices and answer questions about recycling, global warming, and other environmental issues. It was a fun and educational day for all!

Week of April 13th, 2009

Ladybug Girl by David Soman was a favorite story for the Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten Classes this week. With the lovely springtime weather outside, this story encouraged outdoor play, creativity, and enjoying nature. Pairing this fiction title with a non-fiction book about ladybugs would be a great idea! Also, creating ladybug jars (from recycled baby food jars, green paint pens for grass, and red buttons for ladybugs) would be a cute craft idea!

Town Mouse, Country Mouse by Jan Brett was read to the first graders. We created a Venn Diagram comparing town/city life to country life. We also took a poll and graphed how many town and country children were in the class. The second grade participated in a Readers' Theatre version of this classic folktale. What wonderful, fluent readers these students have become!

Third and Fourth Grade students read more on their Sequoyah Nominee books, Into the Firestorm and Fairies of Nutfolk Wood.

While reading Into the Firestorm, the third graders can almost feel the heat from the fires that raged after the San Fransisco earthquake of 1906 and proceeding firestorms throughout the city. We are experiencing the bravery of the main character, Nicholas Dray, as he fights to survive and make the right choices for himself and others that he cares about.

Prompted by the quaint descriptions of the fairy folk in Fairies of Nutfolk Wood, the fourth graders have created dioramas of their visions of the fairy village. What a creative bunch!

The Fifth and Sixth Grades completed a review packet of essential genres, reference materials, and general library terminology to prepare for their state tests next week! Good luck!

Week of April 6th, 2009

The Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten students enjoyed reading about Miss Bindergarten's Wild Day in Kindergarten. Students are introduced alphabetically throughout the story with a wide variety of mishaps and interesting happenings typical to a kindergarten environment. The classes laughed a lot and enjoyed the story very much! It would be fun for a class to create their own "Wild Day" book with pictures, quotes, and funny happenings throughout the yearThis story was paired with Miss Bindergarten Takes a Field Trip with Kindergarten. In the book, the class visits a bakery, the post office, the fire station, and a park for a picnic lunch and playtime. This book could be used by teachers to prepare their classes for upcoming field trips by reviewing scheduled plans, safety procedures, things to bring, etc.

The First and Second Grade classes enjoyed reading about the Three Pigs as part of their unit on fairy tales and folk tales. We enjoyed a classic version by James Marshall, as well as a twist to the traditional tale: Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig by Eugene Trivizas.

The Third through Sixth Grades continued their reading of Sequoyah Nominee Books.