Author Archives: cre8tivelibrarian

Hooray for Mistakes!

As the Creative Librarian, I am always looking for interesting ways to get my students’ creative juices flowing. Today, my kindergarten and first grade students explored their creative side after reading the book Beautiful Oops! by Barney Saltzberg, an ode to those who make mistakes – and how they can be turned into something beautiful.

Tying in the importance of recycling and reusing our resources, we discussed risk-taking and challenging oneself to make the world a better place. One of the many wonderful things about teaching elementary age students is that they generally are willing to explore an idea and embrace it fully with abandon.  My students were given scraps of ripped, wrinkled, and worn construction paper, scissors, glue, markers,and crayons, and began creating their own Beautiful Oops– inspired artwork. They selected just the right pieces of paper, and began crunching, coloring, cutting, and ripping. Within a few minutes their scraps transformed into art. I was thrilled with their excitement, and impressed by my students’ masterpieces!

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Beautiful Oops book trailer

Beautiful Oops – A Program to Foster Creativity

I hope you and your students will be inspired to make your mistakes beautiful, too!

 

GBF – The Greatest Book Festival!

As an enthusiastic member of the Gaithersburg Book Festival Committee, I was thrilled to see our lineup of featured children’s authors and illustrators, which included: Dianna Hutts Aston, Cece Bell, Gennifer Choldenko, Paul Czajak, Alexis Frederick-Frost, Laura Gehl, John Green, Steve Light, Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, Dave Roman, Aaron Reynolds, Syl Sobel, Maris Wicks, Timothy Young among others.

Paul Czajak reads Monster Needs Your Vote.

A family oriented event, the GBF also offers outstanding  (if I do say so myself!) series of children’s and teens workshops and other entertainment in the Children’s Village and Young Adult Pavilion.

2016 Children’s Workshops included:

 

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Despite the rainy (and cold) weather, our dedicated guests arrived in full rain gear.  And stayed.  And listened. And participated in the many author talks and workshops.  It was a wonderfully creative and enthusiastically attended community event, led by a group of totally awesome lovers of literature…Cannot wait for next year’s event!

Gaithersburg Book Festival

The 2016 GBF Children’s Village:  About  100 Reasons to Bring the Kids on 5/21

 

Awakening the Imagination

As we head into March – National Reading Month – my thoughts wander to the sights and sounds of spring, and the awakening of the earth, and our imaginations, after the cold winter snows have melted away.  New books that are ‘blooming’ this year (and one from last year) with themes of new beginnings and awakening the imagination are …

When-Spring-Comes

When Spring Comes by Kevin Henkes, Illustrated by Laura Dronzek, HarperCollins/Greenwillow, 2016

Kevin Henkes uses striking imagery, repetition, and alliteration to introduce basic concepts of language and the changing of the seasons. And Laura Dronzek’s gorgeous, lush paintings show the transformation from quiet, cold winter to the joyful newborn spring. Watch the world transform when spring comes!  –– HarperCollins/Greenwillow
Parachute

Parachute by Danny Parker, Illustrated by Matt Ottley, Eerdsmans, March 2016

This compelling book, perfectly complemented by Matt Ottley’s expressive artwork, lends a sympathetic ear to children’s fears while simultaneously assuring readers that they can overcome them.  –– Eerdsmans

 

Rain-Fish

Rain Fish by Lois Elhert, Illustrated by author, S&S/Beach Lane, April 2016

Complete with an author’s note explaining how Ehlert collected the found materials she used to make the book over the course of a year, Rain Fish is a spirited celebration of imagination, creativity, and observing the world in your own way—and it invites you to discover your own rain fish.  –– S&S/Beach Lane

 

SkyPig

Sky Pig by Jan L. Coates, Illustrated by Suzanne Del Rizzo, Pajama Press, September 2016

In Sky Pig, Jan Coates weaves a story of sweetness and whimsy, ingenuity and empathy. Plasticine artist Suzanne Del Rizzo brings dimension and energy to the tale of a pig who wants―against all popular truisms―to fly. He may never reach the sky on homemade clockwork wings, but Ollie still dreams as hard as ever a pig can dream. And Jack, a true friend, realizes that just because a pig can’t fly in the ways they have tried doesn’t mean he can never soar. An uplifting picture book for anyone who has tried and tried again. –-Pajama Press

This-is-Sadie

This is Sadie by Sara O’Leary, Illustrated by Julie Morstad, Tundra, 2015

O’Leary puts Sadie at the center of her own story, and invites her audience to follow Sadie’s lead. “Sadie has wings, of course,” we learn — “Maybe you have them too. Have you checked?” In Morstad’s quietly delightful gouache and watercolor illustrations, black-haired Sadie looks both delicate and strong, pretty and at times androgynous. She’s a mermaid and “a boy raised by wolves,” howling at the moon; she carefully chooses dresses and artfully hammers nails into wood. It’s an appealingly rounded glimpse of girlhood that’s somehow both timeless and modern.” —The New York Times review

There are many wonderful books about spring, imaginations, and new beginnings! Below you will find three different lists of books to explore – you are sure to find the perfect book to read with your children, or your students!

11 Children’s Books About Spring

http://www.delightfulchildrensbooks.com

Chidren’s Books for Celebrating Spring

pbs.org/parents/adventures-in-learning/2014/03/spring-books

Ten Books for Spring

http://www.readingrockets.org/articles/books/c346

Happy spring and happy reading!

 

A Mayor & Two Authors

First off, I have to say I love being a school librarian.  I love that I get to teach all of the kids in my school, can be creative and think outside the box,  and that I have amazing people in my professional learning network.

Last week, just two days before the Blizzard of Winter 2016, I had two visitors to my library.  Author Harold “Corky” Logsdon visited our 3rd graders to share his new children’s book, Marsh Mellow – a lovely poem about exploring nature “was penned while walking the stony lane through the marshland at Karen Noonan Center on the shores of Bishop Head along the Chesapeake Bay. (Absolutely stunning watercolor illustrations by Kristen Egan).  Corky, a retired high school teacher of environmental science, pulled my students into the story with his infectious joy of the  natural world.  I am so pleased that he will be coming back to share his book with my 2nd grade students, who just finished their inquiry projects about biomes and ecosystems.

Gaithersburg Mayor Jud Ashman also visited with my 4th graders, as an extension to their marking period 2 inquiry project, “Maryland Economics”.  In this project, my students researched the demographics of our Flower Hill community, and based on the information they found, created a plan for a business that the community needed.  Since 65% of our community members are families with children under 18, many of my students created a business plan with a family-friendly theme.  I helped the three classes generate a list of questions, and we had a Q&A session with Jud, and ended with five students sharing their business projects with him.  It was a great experience for all involved, and we found out you can run for mayor of Gaithersburg as early as 18 years old!

 

Jud is also the founder of the Gaithersburg Book Festival,   which “is a celebration of the written word and its power to enrich the human experience. [Its] mission is to foster an interest in reading, writing and literary conversation.”  I am pleased to be a volunteer on the 2016 planning committee.  I am the coordinator of the Children’s Workshops and the helping fill the Story Time Tent with awesome readers, and hope you’ll visit the festival on May 21, 2016!

Mary Amato

Children’s Author Mary Amato

 

 

I also attended the Montgomery County Council of the International Reading Association
( MCCIRA ) author event on January 21, and met the delightful local children’s author Mary Amato, and learned great tips on classroom management using mindfulness techniques, and how to excite students to write.  From her I also picked up a copy of the first three books in her new series Good Crooks and I am looking forward to sharing them with my students!

Happy reading!

GBF: Opportunity for Deeper Connection with Authors and Illustrators

Gaithersburg Book Festival: Opportunity for Deeper Connection with Authors and Illustrators first appeared on the GBF website on January 4, 2016. Click link to GBF website here. 

By Melissa McDonald

As an elementary school librarian, my favorite part of the Gaithersburg Book Festival is the opportunity to listen to the children’s book authors and illustrators read their books and talk about their inspiration and their craft.  I can read a book aloud to my students with enthusiasm, providing the voices of the different characters, and emphasizing what I think are the important parts on each page.  However, nothing compares to an author reading aloud his or her own book to their adoring audience, or watching the illustrator start with a blank piece of white poster paper and creating the book characters in front of our eyes.  It is magical!  That moment when the author and illustrator connect with his or her readers is a great one indeed.

Throughout my school library I have pictures of myself with authors and illustrators – I think it is important to show my students that the people who create their favorite books are real people – to show them the connection we have through their written word and art.  When I am able, I like to video their talk and book reading, and love to share with my students as most of them are unable to attend events such as these.

51mdbfxwdgl-_sx258_bo1204203200_Last year I enjoyed Michelle Knudsen’s reading of Marilyn’s Monster and listening to Michelle Knudsen and Matt Phelan discuss how they worked together to create the book. Because of these videos, my students were able to connect with the book, the author, and the illustrator on a deeper level than if I had simply read the book to them.  For this I am deeply grateful, and hope that this is one way in which I can encourage life-long readers.

Michelle Knudsen’s Website: http://www.michelleknudsen.com/

Matt Phelan’s Website: http://www.mattphelan.com/

Marilyn’s Monster by Michelle Knudsen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38zCZCqG06M

Michelle Knudsen and Matt Phelan discuss creation of  Marilyn’s Monster

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AemRfey6Og8

Melissa A. McDonald is a school library media specialist with Montgomery County Public Schools and a member of the Gaithersburg Book Festival planning committee.

 

Awesome & Amazing!

I am turning the Big 5-0 in April (where does the time go?!), and have decided my word of the year is ‘spectacular’.  On December 31st, when I look back on my year, I want to describe 2016 as SPECTACULAR!   I challenged my 4th & 5th grade students to pick their word for 2016, and created a Wordle word cloud with their answers.  Awesome and amazing were the most popular words, but I loved the creativity of some of my students when they listed fantabulous, specialistic, and sparkelicious!

2016wordle7As the Creative Librarian, I try to bring creativity into my library, and part of my creativity comes out in my bulletin boards and book spine art!

 
Check out my Bulletin Boards and Book Displays Pinterest board for more examples!

Coding is as easy as 1-2-3-click!

 

csedlogo15

As a lifelong learner, my goal is to learn something new every day, and to inspire my students to do the same.

hour of code banner

Celebrating Computer Science Education Week each year is one of the highlights of the school year for my students.  Each December we participate in the Hour of Code and learn beginning computer programming by coding games such as Angry Bird, Frozen, or Flappy Bird.  Hour of Code often uses Blocky which is a visual programming tool where students click blocks together to write code. To my students delight, Hour of Code added a Star Wars programming game and a Minecraft programming game this year.   Hour of Code encourages students to challenge themselves, work collaboratively, and explore computer science in a fun and engaging way.Hour of Code 2015 (6)

We were thrilled this year to be spotlighted in Montgomery County Public Schools’ MCPS Moment – to view the video, click here. My students did an amazing job during the filming!

Hour of Code 2015 (28)

If you are interested in giving your students the opportunity to explore computer programming, consider some of the following sites.

Blockly Games is a series of educational games that teach programming. It is designed for children who have not had prior experience with computer programming.

Other beginning programming educational websites that use Blockly are listed below (Courtesy Google Developers):

 

Blockly Games

Games for tomorrow’s programmers.
App Inventor

IDE for Android apps from MIT.
Code.org

K-12 computer science.
OzoBlockly

Programming line-following robots.
Wonder Workshop

Robots for play and education.
Open Roberta

Programming Lego EV3 robots.
Gamefroot

Make, play and share games.
Gameblox

Introduction to Game Design from MIT.
Made with Code

Encouraging girls to code.
scriptr.io

Powering your Internet of Things.

Walking with the Washingtons

 

As a  lifelong learner, I think it is important for educators to continually challenge themselves by seeking out new (and unique) learning  opportunities.

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I have just returned from a wonderful week at Mount Vernon, where I was accepted into their fabulous George Washington Teachers Institute Summer Residential Program.  In addition to being treated like guests of Mr. and Lady Washington, we participated in an exceptional week of multimodal education.

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Each day had a theme:

  • Welcome to the History of the Washingtons
  • George Washington’s Early Years
  • Washington and the American Revolution
  • Washington and the Exemplary Farm
  • Setting Forth a Nation:  The Constitution and Presidency
  • Washington’s Legacy

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and the agenda was packed full of hands-on activities, lectures from early American history experts, field trips,private tours, and living historical interpretations. We were immersed in the colonial time perioFB_20150914_08_33_31_Saved_Pictured, and it was completely A-W-E-S-O-M-E (can you tell I am excited?). I mean, how cool is it to have full access to  the grounds of Mount Vernon, and sit on the mansion’s piazza with amazing educators watching the sunrise (or the moon rise) over the Potomac, speculating what the Washingtons thought about as they enjoyed the natural beauty?

 

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I attended week 3, and dedicated educators from Arkansas, Florida, Massachusetts, Maryland, and Ohio were the invited guests.  Each of our trips was paid for by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association Regent from that state, and we stayed in the ladies’ quarters. One requirement of participation was that we must present the program to other educators, which I plan to do at my MCPS School Library Media Program professional day on August 19, 2015, and again at the Maryland Association of School Librarians annual conference on October 16, 2015.

WP_20150731_19_42_14_ProWhether you apply to this summer program, or one of the many others around the United States, I highly recommend taking advantage of your extended break by participating in a summer residential program!

 

 

To view pictures from the week, click here.

To view resources and my MASL presentation, click here.

Guest Post: On Digital Citizenship

Guest Post: On Digital Citizenship

This post appeared on The Media Specialist’s Guide to the Internet on July 31, 2015.

Our 21st Century libraries are the perfect place to explore, and what better way to practice digital citizenship than by connecting with others around the world!

Common Sense Media’s vast website is chock-full of resources related to kids, tweens, teens, parents, and media. Their Digital Literacy and Citizenship educational resources and curriculum are well written, aligned with the Common Core State Standards, and they are kid, tween, and teen friendly.  Their Power of Words, Pause and Think Online are great videos to share with elementary school students, and Oversharing: Think Before You Post is perfect for tweens and teens.

One way to incorporate the Digital Citizenship curriculum and to honor the Digital Citizenship pledge is to connect with other schools via Google Hangout or Skype, and practice what they have learned in a fun way.   By celebrating various literature-inspired holidays with other schools within your district, the United States, or worldwide, elementary students can  hone their 21st Century communication skills.

In September, we celebrate courage, creativity, and collaboration with International Dot Day, We read books about art and taking risks, and share dot-inspired art with other schools.

In October, we celebrate Read for the Record and collaborate with other schools to share the book of the year.  Also in October is Digital Citizenship Week – the perfect time to teach this topic, and practice new skills like communicating kindly with someone else online.

In March we celebrate  World Read Aloud Day where my students connect with other classrooms around the United States to share information about each other’s state and read aloud to one another. Mo Willem’s Elephant and Piggie books are perfect books for Gerald, and the other, Piggie, Older students can the younger grades – one school can read the part of read two-part poems such as Joyful Noise by Paul Fleischman  or read a Readers’ Theater version of a book, such as Judy Schachner’s  Skippyjon Jones- Lost in Spice, dividing the parts between the two schools.

Another favorite holiday I celebrate with my students Poem in Your Pocket Day.  This year, after reading a few examples of list poems, we collaboratively created list poems, using Google Hangout, and typing together on Google Drive as our students created and dictated the lines of the poems.

As students go farther and farther into their exploration of cyberspace, powerful digital citizenship lessons such as these will serve them well.

My collection of Digital Citizenship resources can be found here, or check out Julie’s blog!

Melissa McDonald is the School Library Media Specialist at Flower Hill Elementary School in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and is the author of the blog, The Creative Librarian – Adventures in School Librarianship.

 

Oh, the Places You’ll Go this Summer!

Oh the places you'll go

I would like to thank my students, their parents, and the entire Flower Hill staff for a fabulous first year at Flower Hill Elementary School! We’ve learned a lot, had many adventures and had fun, too, and I am looking forward to another great year beginning in (late) August!

I came across an interesting article in the Washington Post, written by Deb Werrlein, an adjunct professor of English, and include an excerpt here, and link to the full article.  In it she says, “A few weeks ago, my son and I finished reading Stephen King’s “11/22/63: A Novel.” The unusual part is the fact my son will be 18 years old in less than a month. I also read with his sister, who is 14. I didn’t plan to read aloud with my kids for this long. It just happened. As a former adjunct English professor who tutors students with dyslexia, I am an ardent lover of literature. Our home is packed with magazines and novels for all interests and ages. But these days, having a parent who loves and promotes books is not always enough. Reading competes with busy sports schedules, homework, and the ever powerful screens that dominate our kids’ lives. My kids have trouble saying no to the incessant flow of Netflix entertainment that draws them away from books. While they love a good story, they are not bookworms the way I was as a kid. Consequently, I discovered early that reading together encouraged an activity that my kids may have skipped altogether. It’s well known that reading aloud benefits infants, toddlers and emerging readers. Aside from introducing children to a love of literature and storytelling, reading exposes them to written language, which differs from the spoken word. Writing contains more description and typically adheres to more formal grammatical structures than speech. When you choose books that exceed your child’s independent reading level, you promote language acquisition, increase vocabulary, and improve comprehension. These benefits foster literacy in young people, but the pluses don’t diminish just because the kids grow up. When we finally turned the last page, I was sad for the end of an era. My son will graduate this June and leave for college in August. But I’m so grateful for the stacks of books and memories we’ve made over the years. From “Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?” to the Magic Treehouse series, to classics like “Huckleberry Finn,” to fantasy series like Harry Potter, to dramas like “Ordinary People,” and of course, to Stephen King, we’ve shared a lot. Many parents already understand it’s never too early to start reading with their kids.—and it can never go on too long. Reading aloud isn’t only about teaching literacy, it’s about sharing stories, and we can do that at any age. So if you’ve already got a good reading ritual going, don’t stop. And if not, consider plowing through some of that summer reading list out loud. You never know what you might discover together.”

I encourage everyone to read this summer, and for inspiration, provide links to several book lists below:

For more family reading-together ideas, be sure to check out Matthew Winner’s “Let’s Get Busy” podcast!

Wishing you many fun summer adventures through books!

Melissa