I can't believe it's October 1, but I'm ready with my October library resources. This school year is flying by! We've been in school almost 2 months now, and several breaks are just around the corner. To say I'm looking forward to Election Day and Thanksgiving would be an understatement. Just wanted to give you a quick update on some things I've been working on and let you know what's coming up!
I just finished a couple more resources for the October library lesson plan resources page. . If you're looking for September library lesson plan resources, you can find them here. Some of you may have started school just a few weeks ago, so you may be a little behind me. That's no problem, of course, just something to be aware of as you're using the resources. I also found a great calendar from Help Teaching that has fun holidays and ideas of days to celebrate in October.
Finally, I wanted to share the link for my Frequently Asked Questions page. I receive a lot of emails asking similar questions, so I've tried to cover a lot of typical questions there. You are always welcome to email me, of course, but sometimes it takes me a while to respond since I often cannot check my email until after school. Have you seen my Testimonials? They're in the right side bar. I love hearing how my lesson plans are helping you. Would you like to share a testimonial? Email me at info (at) elementarylibrarian (dot) com.
What exciting things are you planning for your library this month? What would you like to see on my website? Share with us in the comments!
I'm gearing up for book fair right now. I have several things going on that get kids and staff excited. First, our principal is helping me raise money for books through a change competition. We have three jars: ride a scooter for a day, dress as a basketball player for a day, and be silent for a day. Whichever jar collects the most money over a two week period is the one our principal will do. Also during this time, the kids track their reading minutes on a reading log bookmark. The classroom that has the most reading minutes turned in at the end of those two weeks gets a reward based on what the principal is doing. If he is riding a scooter around the school for a day, we will have scooter races on the playground against him with the winning class. If he dresses as a basketball player, we will have a staff vs winning class basketball game. If he is silent for a day, he will play charades with the winning class. Another thing we always do is have a bingo game for the classrooms. Before the book fair starts, I give each class a blank bingo sheet and a book fair flyer. They create their card and hang it outside their classroom. Each day during the book fair, I choose a few books and post them outside the library. The first class to get a bingo wins books from the library. I do a primary and an intermediate winner.
Thanks for those great ideas, Kim! I may wait until next week to post on book fair because I want to take some pictures of my decorations. I love your contests!