The Bard's Books

I admit it. I'm a bit of a sucker for memes. And I love the idea behind this quote. However, I pretty much refuse to post ANYTHING online without verifying. So, today's Pick Me Up Monday comes with a side of Don't Believe Everything You Read on the Internet. I saved this a few months ago to my phone, just because the quote resonated with me. I'm a big picture kind of gal, and I'm more likely to try and fail at something big than start out saying it can't be done. I love this about myself, and when I start to get down because things aren't going just right, it's a good reminder of why I aim big in the first place. Big dreams can reap big rewards. However, like I said, I like to fact check. I hate to be embarrassed, especially if I could have avoided being inaccurate by doing a little legwork. In this case, I googled the first line of the meme and Churchill. Most results were just this quote, but no history of attribution, so I kept looking. Finally

You may remember from my Learning New Things post back in October that I've created a Pets in the Library program to help boost student interest in my nonfiction section of my library. I've expanded the program recently to include Library Pet Manager positions. Students use a Google form to apply for a LPM position with the animal of their choice. The link to the Google form is posted on their Seesaw accounts for student and parent access. Once students apply, I assign LPM jobs and post them outside the library door so students can see when they are scheduled. I also send out reminders to parents via Seesaw. My 10 LPMs come to the library every morning of their week at 7:45 (15 minutes before school starts). On Mondays, the previous week's LPMs train the incoming ones and for the rest of the week they handle all the feeding, habitat care and learn more about their assigned pet. It has been insanely popular. Out of my 300ish students, over 50 have signed up to do a job.

Today's haul came from the Boystown Thrift Store on Olmos in San Antonio. $20 total. Let's break it down: Soar - Bluebonnet book that I don't have. Plus, a student asked me for a novel about baseball the other day and I realized, I don't have any. 39 Clues - These still fly off the shelves and I don't have this one. Green - Caldecott & Giesel Honor book. Yes, please. Minecraft - We had none when I got here. Now we have two. Yay. Lemony Snicket is always a winner. The Geronimo Stilton's also fly off the shelves, and I've had several donated paperbacks of them. At $1 each, it doesn't bother me too much if they only last a year. Brown Bear - the music teacher in me loves this book. It was also a student request last week that I didn't have. Fart Powder - because what 3rd grader isn't drawn to a book with Fart Powder in the title. Dragons Love Tacos - and I love this book. Yoink! And finally - the only book that didn'

Welcome to Review Wednesday! Today, I'm going to review Donald Trump by Rebecca Felix. Part of a series about US Presidents, this book is published by Abdo and was one of only two Trump biographies available for me to buy with Book Fair funds. I'd had several students request a Trump bio, so even though I wanted to wait a while to see what the options were and how the reviews from my library sources said, I went ahead and ordered it.  Overall, the book is fine. It gives facts, has lots of photos. The indices are really nice at the back of the book. I was looking for an unbiased presidential biography, especially because of our current political climate, and this book does an ok job at that. There are two pages that felt a little opinionated instead of fact based, but it will do for now.  You can find more info about the book here:  http://abdopublishing.com/shop/show/9086

Now that my internship semester is complete and all I've got left is portfolio, and I've somewhat settled into my new job, it is time to go back to regular blog posting. And I've figured out how to post from on campus (something that was driving me crazy!) I've got an idea to keep the ideas flowing - a blog schedule! So, here's how it's going to go: Pick Me Up Mondays - Positivity Posts. Tech Tuesdays - Blog posts about technology I've tried or am interested in trying. Book Review Wednesdays - I finally have time to read again - yay!! Thrifty Thursdays - The days I talk about my most recent thrift store book or library related finds. Free For All Fridays - Whatever I want to post about. I can't wait to get cracking!

It has been a while since my last update, so first here's what's been going on. I left my music teacher position of 14 years to take a 1/2 library 1/2 music position at a public PK-3rd grade Academy that focuses on using GT best practices for all students, whether or not they've been identified as gifted. I inherited a library that was staffed the previous year by a 1/2 time librarian and a 1/2 time assistant, who were both on another campus 1/2 time, which is tough. I've gotten really lucky to be mentored by a phenomenal librarian who is only blocks from my school, knows a TON about the district I'm in and how it's run and is just a great person. Because I could basically do the music job in my sleep, I've spent something like 3/4 of my time in the library, trying to get my bearings, get programs off the ground and provide a welcoming space for my teachers and students. So far, it's been going well. This first post back is going to be focusing on a