.....and now it is over (at least until after break)

I can't believe how fast this year has gone.  I tried to explain to first graders how when you are young it seems like everyday is soooooo long but when you get to be teacher age the days go by so quickly.  And since I am soooooo old, this semester went by like a wink.  I have been looking back over the first semester and cannot believe how much I have learned and how much we have done in the library.  From cleaning out storage areas and weeding books to planning lessons and teaching classes there is always something interesting to do in the library.  

I am thankful that I get to be the teacher librarian at our school.  We have such a wonderful group of students, teachers, staff and administrators.  It has been great working with everyone and learning from them as well. Some of my highlights were in no particular order:

• A 3rd graders presentation on what she wants to be when she grows up - hint: it rhymes with smeacher smibrarian.
• The Go Girls reading the Colorado Book Award Nominees to kindergarten and videotaping their book read alouds.
• Creating the website and updating and renewing it for the library - Thanks to Alice
• Working with all the teacher librarians from our county to solve everyday issues - Schoology at its best.
• Collaborating with 1st grade on integrated lessons in patterns and technology.  I can't wait to do more!
• Teaching "Long Ago and Now" lessons with kindergarten.  
• Book Sale at the school carnival.  I enjoyed finding books new homes; some even came back!
• Working with my colleagues at every grade level to help our collection grow in ways that are beneficial to students.
• Having JCPL come in and introduce databases to kids
• Working with 5th grade on easybib - citation is important!
• JCPL Teen librarian doing "speed dating with a book" for our 7th graders (and a few 8th graders)
• Working with students to help them find books that are just the right fit.  I love readers advisory!

As we go into our holiday break I want to wish everyone a happy holiday season.  May the new year bring us all a lot of great new reads (and smiles - like Buddy the Elf - smiling is my favorite) 

Librarians....Serving you since 2600 BC

The burning of the Library at Alexandria

Librarians Serving You Since 2600 B.C.

This the quote on my DU Library and Information Science School t-shirt.  

I think that this is a super vague and somewhat silly quote.  How many people will really understand that reference? (It refers to the Library at Alexandria that was burned down - thought to contain much of the ancient world knowledge that had been written).  

Many times I find that smart people do smart things that make us feel not so smart in comparison.  I hate comparison - don't you.  The whole reason I decided to become a librarian was to help people, create connections and my dream of dreams is to make others as passionate about books as I am.  

As I work through this first year of being a teacher librarian here at Bear Creek K8, I hope to share some of what I dream of accomplishing and sharing with students and teachers.  To make us all feel smart and valued.  And it is true, I do love to read, but my real motivation comes from students. I love to help them get smart and with their curious minds they have no where to go but up. 

This year will be a whole new experience for me and although only 8 weeks have past, I feel like I have already done a lifetime of work (in a good way). The learning curve is super steep, but I feel truly blessed to be doing this work and being with your student.  I hope that they learn as much as I do this year and that we continue to grow smarter together.