I'm Not Afraid of Them!!!

All summer long, I have been having anxiety about not liking middle schoolers.  It had me really worried!! But--good news--we had our 6th grade open house last week, and it was great! The kids were awesome! Even the eighth graders who were there to help were super.  I am very excited to start school with them in one week!

Tomorrow begins teacher work days.  I am excited to work with a new faculty and see how things run in a different school.  I grabbed an old yearbook to try to get to know the students and teachers more.  I might make some copies and organize things in folders with their names and pictures.  That would really help me get to know everyone.

I am really excited to get started!!

Settling In

I have been going to my new school at least three or four times a week since we got back from vacation, and progress has been made! One of my friends came by today and was excited to see how much things have improved.  Whew! I finally started unpacking my own stuff today--I emptied most of the boxes of books and files that I had brought.  Now I just have a bunch of plastic tubs to empty, which I'll start on tomorrow.  My office is definitely looking like I've moved in! I even got my computer up and running today, which was kind of fun.  Actually, it has been nice not having a computer set up--I HAVE to do the manual labor instead of working online.

To tomorrow when I go in, I'll start on those tubs, which have combinations of stuff in them (so they wouldn't be too heavy to move).  There are books, decorations, stuff from all over the library in them, so it'll be a little slower unpacking the tubs than the boxes.

I bought what I thought was a filing cabinet from an online yard sale a couple of weeks ago; it turns out it is actually an old pattern cabinet from a fabric store.  It's much bigger than a filing cabinet, and more versatile.  Here's a picture of the first drawer.  Don't be shocked:

It is a ridiculous amount of pencils and pens.  Overwhelming, really.  In all my years of teaching, I have never seen anything like this. I suppose it's better to have too much than to walk into a situation where I have absolutely no supplies.

I have started labeling things that I've organized.  The drawer you see above is called "Things that Write."  Below it is "Things that Clip," and "Things that Stick," "Things that Measure," "Things that Cut." Someone told me once that my organizational system is like an episode of "The $25,000 Pyramid." Try it! What could be in a drawer called "Things that Clip?!?!?" GO!

I'll post some before-and-after pictures when everything's ready to go for the new school year.  I'm excited to have this organization and moving in part closer to being done so I can concentrate on important stuff!

Handing Over the Reins

Wow.  So many emotions today! I went to my new school yesterday and spent a couple of hours looking around at the books and the setup and the mountains of accumulated stuff that I will have to trash.  It was really overwhelming.  I don't even know where to start, there is so much to do.  A good friend of mine was the librarian there many years ago, and there is still stuff there with her handwriting on it.  Yikes.  And that's just the stuff.  That's not anything that matters, like, you know, lesson plans, or books, or students.  Everything I look at is just something to deal with so I can concentrate on what really matters.  I'll be spending a lot of time there in the upcoming six weeks, for sure.

I went to a reading conference today that was pretty good.  Not great, but then again, when I keep my expectations low, I usually say that.  I saw some librarian friends there, and that was great, as always.  I saw a colleague from many moons ago when I first became a librarian, and that was awesome. We caught up on all our mutual friends and even snapped a selfie (sorry, not included here!).

Then, and this was such a wonderful thing: the librarian who is taking over the library at the school I'm leaving was there, and we got to talk for a few minutes.  Oh, I feel relief knowing that she will be the librarian there.  I was so worried that my replacement would be someone brand new to the library world (not that there's anything wrong with that) (I know--I was that person once, too) who wouldn't appreciate the great shape that library is in.  I am a little more at peace tonight knowing that it will be in good hands.

Tomorrow morning, bright and early before it gets ungodly hot, I will be moving the last of my stuff out of my old school and into my new one.  It's really just still hard to believe that it is all happening. Wow.

Middle School: where 'special' is not a noun.

I am feeling nostalgic, reading through some old posts about my school.  The highs and the lows, the good and the bad, things I'd forgotten and things I'll never forget.  Last week, I interviewed for, and was hired for, a middle school librarian job.  I accepted.  I told my principal about it on Friday afternoon, our last day of school, but he had already spoken to my new principal, so he knew before I had a chance to tell him.
We didn't say much, as I think we were both just weary. Tired of the fighting, tired of dealing with one another, tired of being disappointed in each other.  It has been a long school year, and things that happened back in the fall seem like they were a million years ago.  That incident in September faded away, and that child and I had a wonderful year together.  Then the afternoon in October/November, when I saw a teacher do something inappropriate, reported it, and then she resigned. I had a hard time coming to terms with that. The specialists had a meeting in December with our principal regarding our concerns, and that was difficult.  Then, in late February, he and I had that huge blowup.
More recently, I had an incident with a classroom teacher who was treating another specialist rudely.  I was reprimanded in an email from the principal that I promptly deleted.  The only part of what happened with that teacher that I feel even remotely bad about is that it occurred within earshot of students.  The rest of it felt completely justified.
What feels strange is that this year felt like the best year with my students that I've ever had.  We did really meaningful lessons and read great books and just generally enjoyed each other's company and time together.  As always, they made me laugh every day (my favorite part of teaching). I rarely raised my voice and only wrote one referral this whole year.  The kids were happy, I was happy teaching them, but on the administrative front, every step seemed insurmountable.
Teaching on a cart for 3 weeks was completely ridiculous, and I was resentful that I was the only specialist (except for the computer lab teacher) evicted from my space.  She and I are the only two specialists regularly correlating with the grade level curriculum, and we're the ones kicked out of our rooms.  Where is the justice?!?!
So many little things have happened, so slowly, that have made me miserable at this school.  I didn't want to leave just to leave, but I have to admit that there is a little bit of that in my decision.  I will learn to love middle schoolers, and I already love the new library and principal.  Change is good, and I look forward to learning new stuff, reading new literature, designing new lessons, and getting good at something different.

I really identified with that story of the frog in the pot of boiling water.  Things had gotten so bad so slowly that I hardly noticed.  But over the past five or so years, my job has gotten more difficult, I've had less support from administration, more strain with colleagues, and a greater "us vs. them" mentality. It was time to take myself out of that pot before I boiled to death, metaphorically speaking. Middle school will be entirely different, and while I am mentally up for the challenge, I am still quite nervous about it.  The quote in the title comes from my sister, a middle school teacher; I think I will learn to appreciate it more and more every day in my new job.
I dread having to pack up my office and clear out all the crap I've accumulated in the past 9 years.  Ugh... I have no boxes, no big plan, but it has to get done.  I would like to be finished at my current school by Thursday, have a nice long weekend, and move into my new digs the last week of June.  That is my plan.  I'll report back on how it actually goes.

Bookfair Warehouse Sale

Well this was kind of fun...I volunteered at the $ch0la$tic bookfair warehouse sale they held today in my city.  I took a day off and spent most of the day at the fair.  I was supposed to work from 9-5, but at 3:30, there were ZERO customers in the sale and I was falling asleep at my post.  So I got myself out of there and took a nap instead.

I got to choose books ($10 for each hour I worked) that I will give to our library--got some of the newest books in the popular series.  I was texting my assistant in the morning to find out which books we had or didn't have, and then I realized that I had the Destiny Quest app on my phone.  That was PERFECT for today!! I would do a little search for a title and instantly know if we had it or not.  I love technology!

Then, I was so bored that I caught up on Facebook and Twitter and my school email, and everything else I could access.  I had straightened and restraightened and consolidated and grouped books for hours, and there was literally nothing else for me to do there.

Here is a picture of my favorite book that I discovered today.  I did not buy it--but I totally should have!! (It was paperback--that was the deal-breaker.)

Why was this book not on the best sellers table?!?!

Community Helpers

Back in March, we did some picture research on community helpers.  The kindergartners were studying that topic in social studies, and they really did a great job looking for specific items in the pictures of our community helper books.
This, from a student in our autism program who never, ever talks or participates, completely floored me.  There is so much in those brains that I don't understand.

Not only are her drawings completely understandable, she labeled her pictures! And how much do you love that chef?!?!

Open Wide...A New Profession!!

No, not for me, sillies!!! Last Friday, I was waiting with a kindergartener for his bus to be called (it was very, VERY late), so we were chatting a little.  In my usual nosy way, I asked about his parents.  He told me that his mom was a "gentle hydentist."

How cute is that?!?! Of course, I knew exactly what he meant.  Just one more thing that makes me love these kids!!

Transfer

So.  I put in for a transfer.  I am now dreading going to school, as I'm sure my principal will not be happy.  Two weeks ago, we had a h-u-g-e falling out.  HUGE. And although we worked through it and are "okay," I still went through with submitting the transfer intent.  I had threatened to do it during our blowup, and the more I thought about it, the more it seems like something I should at least look into.

I know that the grass is not always greener, so I will not transfer just to leave my current school.  But if something opens up that sounds better than what I have, I will have to think long and hard.

Thoughts in my mind:
1.  I've been at my current school for 9 years.  That's the most years I've ever worked at one place.
2.  I started the library at my current school--it will be hard to leave.
3.  We have 900 students--it's a LOT of management.
4.  The specialist team at my school is not particularly strong.
5.  I do have very, very dear friends at my school.
6.  Two schools in my district have "double classes"--two classes at the same time.  This is definitely not greener grass to me. This is babysitting.
7.  I think I should work with a needier population.
8.  I'd like to work for someone who is not a micro-manager.
9.  I'd like to work somewhere that I am valued for how I help teachers teach their curriculum.

I have more.  It's just too late for me to think of them all.  But I'll be back, mulling this over some more.

Spring Reboot

Yesterday, I went to one of my state's regional librarian conferences.  It wasn't the one for my particular region, but it was fine--plenty of people I knew, and I got some good ideas.  The conference for my region was held pretty far away, and I, of course, couldn't get professional leave to go on Friday.  But the conference I attended was about 1/2 hour away and on a Saturday--WIN/WIN!
At the start, I had a little something to eat while I sat with some librarians I did not know.  We had a great discussion about genrefying our fiction sections.  I am leaning more and more toward it...much to think about here.  It could be a good summer project.
Then I went to a session about a local man who was a civil rights leader (not on our state standards) who was friends with others who are on our people-to-know list.  All the attendees at this session got a free copy of the book--awesome! I am excited to share it with the kids and help them make connections among all these people they're supposed to know about.
My second session was so fun--an old friend presented a session about controversial literature and literature that makes a social commentary.  She noticed me in the audience about 1/2 way through the presentation and stopped to say hello.  Afterwards, we got to talk for a few minutes.  Another librarian came up and announced herself as the presenter's first groupie.  We laughed and let her know that I was officially the first groupie several years ago!
Then it was time for lunch, where I met a new friend, a librarian getting her MLS online and hoping for a school library job next year.  Our lunch time passed too quickly as we found lots of things we have in common.
The third session was a sneak-peak at our state award list for next school year.  I'd already seen the list, but not all of the books, so it was nice to start thinking about that already.  I picked up a few of the books from a vendor who had a great deal, so I can start working on them over the summer. Ooh, I just stopped to order one from Amazon.  The presenter mentioned that it is hard to get; indeed, Amazon had no copies in stock, but I bought it used from a third-party seller.  At least I will have it, as I'm sure librarians around the state will be clammoring for it soon.
I visited with a couple vendors after that and then decided to bag the fourth session and keynote and just head home.  It was a good day, and just what I needed to recharge for the spring.

Prodigal Book (or Borrower, I suppose)

When a long-overdue or lost book makes its way back to the library, I feel like the father in the prodigal son parable.  I am always so excited that the student returned the book, even though I may have been secretly mad that they lost a book in the first place.  Just yesterday, a little boy brought back a book he borrowed in the summer; I'd thought that book was long gone.  I totally get that parable now: 40 years of hearing it in church, and it takes a 7 year old boy to make me understand it.

January thoughts

Well, we've already had 5 snowdays and 2 or 3 late openings because of the winter weather.  Actually, some of the days were "ice" days, and we had one "cold" day during the polar vortex.  I love myself some snowdays, but when we're down to two banked days and it's not even mid-January, I start to worry.  We'll be making up any days over our banked time, and that means we'll work federal holidays and that our early dismissal work days will be gone.

One of my colleagues shared with me a wonderful tool called www.planbook.com.  I am in love with this online resource! One of my January resolutions was to beef up my lesson plans, as the current four-word phrases I put in my calendar probably wouldn't stand up to my principal's scrutiny.  Not that he has ever asked for them--and before you judge, know that I have lesson plans typed up in the format we use at my school, but it's not often that I consult them and update them.  After 14 years of being a librarian, I kind of have it down--I hope that doesn't sound arrogant.  When I write down "atlas--week 2" in my plans, I know exactly what that means I'll be doing.  I follow my curriculum map, which is complete with SOL correlations, so it's not at all like I'm just flying by the seat of my pants.

Anyway, with my new online planbook, I have everything in one place--calendar, state standards, a template that I designed, a place for notes, and lots of flexibility to accommodate my 6-day rotation and our wacky schedule with extended day classes, early dismissal schedules, etc.  I can send a link to my plans to a substitute (although I usually write much more detailed plans for a sub), and I can add files to the plans, and even print them out for my principal (if he ever asks).  I think I can post a link to it when I get it all filled out and ready to go, so look for that soon.

We're predicted to get a little snow here on Wednesday, and anyone who lives in the south knows that it doesn't take much to call off school.  Here's hoping for another snow day!!

Great Day in the Library!

Oh, my.  This week has been a roller-coaster ride of feelings and emotions.  Yesterday, the specialists' team met with the principal.  It was tense.  Very tense.  You know the story: we feel devalued by the teachers, he doesn't know how else to help us...what a mess.  It was pretty ugly (although things were worked out today).

Today was Day 6, which meant it was the last day of the rotation.  The book we read in K-2 from our state award nominated list, I had already read 15 times.  Today was 16-17-18.  I thought that I had heard everything.  But today's classes had whole new insights, new ideas, and it totally lifted me past the fact that I had the book memorized already and was more than a little tired of reading it.

The kids were doing a small writing activity after the book, and I was walking around helping a first grade class with sounding out their words.  One little boy had finished his writing, and I read it out loud.  He looked at me with the biggest smile and said, "You can read that!?!?!" And I said yes.  He said, "I never did that before!!" (write something that others could read).  Oh, my gosh, how totally sweet was that?!?! He was just so excited that I read what he wrote!

Another little boy, who is a bit of a behavior problem, did an awesome job on his writing, and I told him how excited I was that he did such good work.  Then I told him to read it to my assistant, who was equally impressed.  I swear, that boy floated out of the library today.

It was a really good day in the library!!

Extra Yarn

I love this book! The kids all amaze me with their insights, and I've learned new interpretations of the book from them.

After reading the book, we've done this yarn-wrapping craft (since we can't knit).  I got some branches from a tree that had lost a limb recently, and the kids have been wrapping them with yarn all week.  They're almost finished!!

Here are some pictures of our work:

Extended Day

At my school, the scheduled specialists (art, music, library, PE, computer) are assigned to a class at the end of the day for 30 minutes of "extended day" special.  I lobbied to have the same class at the end of the day that I saw earlier in the day so I could actually "extend" their learning.  It has been working out GREAT for us in the library, and I LOVE IT!

Unfortunately, the other specialists do not love it.  I can imagine that it would be hard to teach PE in the classroom (since they don't have enough time to pick up the kids, take them to the PE room, and return them before dismissal).  But I bring my classes back to the library, and those 30 minutes are priceless! We have used them all so well--I am easily able to extend whatever our lesson was that day for the class, and I manage to make it a little fun, too.

Yesterday, for instance, we were reading this VRC book called Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature. With this extended class, we drew lots of spirals on our scratch paper and watched a great video about Fibonacci numbers and how to make swirls with them.  It was way harder than it looked on the video (isn't it always!!), but the kids loved it.  It was something they'd never heard of before.  That is the beauty of extended day!

I love the extra time with the kids, even though the other specialists don't.  Sure, it's one more class to prep for, but in the library, it's not a chore at all.  There's always stuff to learn!

Oh no, George!

I have been reading this VRC nominee book to the kindergartners, first graders, and second graders.  It's really funny and the kids have really been enjoying it.  For the K and 1 students, we vote on what we think George will do at the end of the book (the ending leaves us hanging!!).  Today, one of the classes I read the book to voted 19 students thinking that George will dig in the trash and only 3 who thought he would walk by it.  Wow... these kids are cynics!!

Here's what the voting looked like for us:

This was early in the voting process with a class.

Since the second graders are a little better prepared to write, I created a little half-sheet activity where they would write what they thought George would do and why.  The kids did a really good job with it; some kids even colored the picture on their paper.  This one below, though, has been my favorite.  It's just SO FUNNY!!

It reads, "I think George will dig in the trash because he has that look."

Just how cute is that?!?! Love these kids!

Virginia Readers' Choice 2014

I do love the Virginia Readers' Choice program.  It allows me to create new lessons every year, discover new literature, and get kids excited about reading. Using the primary list, I study each of the books, troll the Internet for ideas, and create some of my own ideas for teaching the books.  Even though the mission of the program is for the children to enjoy these books as read-alouds, as a librarian, I cannot simply read a book out loud without doing some sort of literacy or comprehension activity afterward.

Usually,  I present my ideas for the books at our state librarians' conference, but last year, I was really disappointed in the quality of the conference and decided I needed a break.  I did not attend this year (it just ended yesterday), and I'm still glad about my decision.  The other morning, I received an email from a fellow librarian that just made my day:

• You may not remember me, but I sure remember you.  I cannot tell you how disappointed I was that you were not here to do your Virginia Readers' Choice session at the VAASL conference.  I sooooo look forward to it every year and this year has been particularly stressful for me since we have adopted a new catalog system and the budget cuts get worse and cause us to be swallowed into other areas so our supervisor is stretched to the max.  I have no idea what I would do without my volunteer since we have no aides.  And these SMART goals are just ridiculous.  Well, anyway...I missed you and just wanted you to know that.

I know that my sessions are well attended at the conference, and I get really good reviews, but for someone to take the time to write just shows that librarians are truly special people! 

Since I am teaching the books anyway, with or without the presentation at the conference, I have done the work for the books and compiled everything on a livebinders page (my new favorite way to organize my online life!!).  I sent the link to this librarian, and I am happy to share it with the readers of my blog (are you out there?!):  

VRC 2013-2014 Ideas

Lots of great ideas for teaching the books, along with comments as I teach the books and discover how my plans worked (or didn't).  Check it out!

National Book Festival 2013

We had such a great, memorable time at the National Book Festival yesterday! Here's how it all started:  I was texting my sister to tell her we were almost there, when I fell flat on my face.  I should be in a PSA about the dangers of texting and walking.  It  happened right outside the Ronald Reagan Federal Building (we parked under it), so I am quite sure it was caught on camera...from numerous angles.  A security guard was on me before I even stood up, making sure I was okay.  Mostly a bruised ego, until I started walking again, and then I realized I did something to my right heel.  Ouch!! But it's the Book Festival, PRESS ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So I hobbled the block and a half to the book signings, which were right on 14th Street.  At least I didn't have far to go, since, as you know, I'm all about the book signings at the festival.  I didn't even leave that area yesterday--just planted myself in lines and waited for authors.

Here's who I met:

Katherine Applegate

Katherine Applegate was so gracious!! The woman in line before me (in the picture) is also a school librarian, and we talked for a long time before the author arrived.  That was fun.  Katherine thanked us for our work.  Oh, my goodness...thanking us.  I loved, loved, loved The One and Only Ivan, and now it's on our state readers' list, so many of our students will get to love it, too.  So excited to tell the kids about her.

Margaret Atwood--I didn't meet her, but she was at the next table, so I took her picture. Her line was crazy-long.

Jon Klassen

Jon was super-friendly, too.  We were discussing how the little kids just refuse to believe that something bad happened to the rabbit.  He has experienced it, too. Then, HORROR--he noticed that we had the wrong sticker on the book.  Of course, we had the book before it won the Giesel Honor, but we put a Caldecott Honor sticker on it by mistake!! YIKES!! I will fix tomorrow at school.  

Matthew and Jennifer Holm

I didn't bring any books for the Team Holm because I was sure their line would be crazy long.  But it wasn't!  Jill ended up getting a couple Squish books signed for Toa, and then she took this great picture of them.

Hoda Kotb

I love Hoda!!! We were waiting to meet Oliver Jeffers and there was this big long line next to us.  We were wondering who they were waiting to meet, and it turned out to be Hoda.  My sister looked at them with disdain and said, "Of course.  They don't even LOOK like readers."  HA! We got some good pictures of Hoda, who was so gracious.  She's quite tall and has bright white teeth.  And what a smile! Everybody got that smile.  She was posing for pictures with people until the workers put a stop to that.  It would've taken hours for her to finish signing if she did all those pictures!

My sister and Toa with Oliver Jeffers

Oliver Jeffers signing The Incredible Book Eating Boy for me.

He was wonderful, too!! And I loved his Irish accent.  Unfortunately, it started POURING when we were getting our books signed, so everything was super-rushed.  He was the last author of the day for us, so at least we were finished waiting in lines when the skies opened.

After we finished getting books signed, we sealed everything in waterproof bags and donned our ponchos and umbrellas and headed for the car.  We had an early dinner at Carmine's (a new tradition) and were back home by 7:30.  Not a bad day, hurt foot and all.

Stupid, stupid, stupid

So I did something really stupid.  It was a moment of frustration, and I was in an ugly place.  I am embarrassed about it.  And after I was called into the principal's office, I felt full of shame.  Not from anything he said or did, but just the sheer disappointment I caused him and the bad position I put him in. I really let him down, and I let a student down, and I let myself down.

For almost the past week, I have been struggling with feelings of never wanting to go back to school.  But I made myself, because I know that's where I belong.  That's where I have belonged for the past 21 years.  But how close I came to letting it go down the toilet.

Now I know what the kids feel like when they do something wrong.  How bad they must feel, and how having someone in their corner is really so important.  Throughout the past week, my principal was my biggest cheerleader and supporter.  He was the one who got me to school, past my shame and disappointment, and back to working with kids again.

These are the important words, "You're better than this."  "You're too good for this." "We need you here." Those are the words that kept me going, that keep me going.

The New Year

I just love that teachers get two times a year for New Year's Resolutions! Of course, there's January, when the rest of the world get to make them, but just for us in the education world, we can also make them in September.  I am going to try hard this school year to be present--to do one thing at a time.  I so often try to squeeze in something else when I should just be focused on one thing.  That's my goal.  The start of the school year is always hectic, but it's been good this year.  I am feeling organized and fairly on-top of things in my library world.

Readers of this blog know that the main reason I love teaching is because I can laugh with the kids every day.  OK, sometimes I laugh at them, but mostly it's with them.  This past week, our first week with students, all teachers had to eat with their class in the cafeteria.  The specialists were visible down there, too, as it should be.  I ate with a group of kindergartners on the first day, and when I sat down next to this little boy, he looked me up and down and said, "Are you a kid?"  HA!! I just love the cluelessness of these kindergartners!! Just too cute!

This year, for the first time, my principal asked for a copy of my pacing guide add to our staff shared drive.  Usually, I make one, but just for myself, as I go.  Since my lessons are always based off what's going on in the classrooms, my map depends on the classroom activities.  But whatever...I pretty much know when the teachers are teaching what, so I've been working on that for the past week.  Non-stop!! I want it to be great, so the details are taking me a lot of time.  I've been going through the state curriculum and aligning each lesson to it (no Common Core for us!) carefully.

I Have the Money!!

This is what sweet little Thomas was yelling (yes, YELLING!) to me as he came into the library first thing Friday morning.  No one else was there yet, and he was so excited to find me.  "Miss R, Miss R! I want to buy this book!" and he was holding the book up high for me to see.
I was laughing as he explained that he had enough money to buy the book.  He loved it so much.  He came right into my office and gave me the book and his money:

Why, yes, he did have enough money!! That is a bill for a trillion dollars.  And President Abraham Lincoln is right there on the front.
I am indeed glad that Thomas loved that book so much, but I had to explain it to him that he couldn't buy it, no matter how much money he had, since it was a library book and lots of other boys and girls love that book too.
It was a great way to start my Friday.