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Design Thinking with the Earth in Mind

9/13/2019

First and Second Graders are embarking on a grand project this week! We are bringing out our inner problem solver, designer, engineer, and innovator to learn about Design Thinking and use that method of thinking to solve real world problems!

Last week, classes read the true story of Isatou Ceesay. She found a recycling/repurposing solution to a large trash problem in the book One Plastic Bag by Miranda Paul. Now, we are learning about Design Thinking and how this process helps innovative people to find creative and unique solutions to big problems.

Students are now brainstorming how they would have solved Isatou's problem and will work through the next few weeks to create a prototype of their idea to test! I will keep you updated in the coming weeks so keep checking here and my Twitter page for updates and pictures!

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Authors and Book Clubs and Awesomeness - Oh my!

8/19/2019

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The year has gotten off to a fantastic start! We are kicking off the year with a visit from the one and only Renee Watson!!

She will be speaking to Ashley 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders on September 9th! Renee is not just an author - she is a teacher and activist. I am so excited to have her here sharing her wisdom with our kiddos!

To learn more about Renee click the links below....

Biography

School Library Journal Interview

Three of Renee's books will be available for Pre-order. Any books pre-ordered will be autographed with your student's name and delivered on September 9th! How cool!

To order one or ALL of these amazing books print, fill out, and return the order form below!

Pre-order Form

Family Book Club is right around the corner - ok...maybe it's in October. But it FEELS right around the corner! We will be reading Front Desk by Kelly Yang. I hope you and your family will join us. It will be a fantastic time of games, discussion, and snacks!

Unfortunately, copies of Front Desk are limited here at the Ashley Library. Copies can be found at your public library or local book seller. So snatch one up and get to reading!

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Summer at the #AL

5/16/2019

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Did you know??

Six weeks in the Fall are spent re-learning old materials to make up for Summer Learning Loss
2-3 Months of Math and Reading skills are lost during Summer Months
Students who do not read or engage their minds during the summer will be 2- 2 1/2 years behind by the time they enter middle school!

Stop the Summer Slide by exercising your brain! Reading

Students who read 20 minutes a day score in the 90th Percentile
Students who read 5 minutes a day score in the 50th Percentile

To combat the Summer Slide, Ashley Library is rolling out the biggest challenge yet - CAN YOU READ MORE THAN THE LIBRARIAN?? Summer Reading Challenge!!!!! Yes, it is as glorious as it sounds.

Mrs. Whittaker is a pretty voracious reader and she reads A LOT over Summer Break! Can you read more than her? Take the plunge and find out! All the information you need is below!

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Did you know...

1/7/2019

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Did you know.... that students at Ashley circulate over 4,000 books each month?! That's right - students check out over 4,000 print and audiobooks every month! They are AMAZING!

Research tells us that reading is the number one way to improve your mind (and your grades, test scores, etc.). Children who spend time reading for fun score higher on standardized tests than peers who do not. In fact, children who talked about books and reading with their families on a weekly basis had higher average scores than peers who talked about reading only on a monthly basis. How often do you talk with your children about reading?

Here are some great ways to start a reading conversation in your home!

Read a book (or chapter of a book) with your child before bed
Ask some great questions -
- If you could be friends with any character in your book, which would you choose? Why?
- How is this book like one you have read in the past?
- What surprised you most in the story? Why?
- If you could re-write the ending, what would you write?
Make literacy an activity!
- Go to libraries, bookstores, or bookmobiles!
Be a reader yourself!
- Let your children see that reading is important in your family and does not just happen at school
- Share what you are reading and how your reading has affected you

How do you share reading with your family?? Comment below!

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October Library Stats!

12/4/2018

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We have done so much here at the #AshleyLibrary during the month of October. Authors have stopped by in person and via Skype to speak with us about the writing process and the power of family and never giving up. We have also made our way through a HUGE number of learning standards this month.

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Aug/Sept Library Stats

10/4/2018

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The beginning of school has started off with a BANG! We have such a fantastic group of kiddos here at Ashley and I am honored to work with them on the daily. Here is just a glimpse of what went on in the library during the months of August and September.

If you would like to witness this greatness first hand - come on in! The Ashley Library is always in need of volunteers! Our greatest need is shelving, but volunteers also help repair books, help kiddos find books, work with groups during lessons, and so much more. Email me with any questions or email PTA to sign up!

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Summer REading!

5/31/2018

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I know, I know....I'm a librarian, so Summer Reading is supposed to be important to me! But it should definitely be important to you, too!

Did you know that over the summer, students can lose over 2 MONTHS of reading skills?! And don't get me started with the statistics about math (over 2 1/2 months lost). All the hard work students and teachers do during the year can be lost so quickly!

Here are just a few great ways to make sure that students are not losing information they worked so hard to achieve -

Give them access to books of their choosing (free choice is important, Mom and Dad!)
Read with them!
Read, too! (Parents who read frequently are 6 times more likely to have kids who enjoy reading)

Do you need some guidance? Maybe some advice? Check out the Smore below! Ashley has some cool things happening during the Summer to encourage students to read as well as stay connected this summer!

The Smore will also include reading lists, area reading programs, and much more! Check it out!

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Third Grade Character Collaboration

12/15/2017

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Who says the library is only for checking out books?

Here in the #AshleyLibrary the Third Grade team and I worked together to create a learning experience that would help each of our students learn more about Characters and their traits, feelings, and changes. Students read Emily's Blue Period by Cathleen Daly and completed several stations. Each station asked students to reflect on the text and look carefully at a character's feelings.

If you haven't read Emily's Blue Period - you really should! It was a 2X2 book last year and an all around fantastic read!

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Book Club

12/15/2017

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Our Fifth Grade Chat and Chew Book Club met for four weeks to read and discuss Megan Jean Sovern's The Meaning of Maggie. This was our very first Chat and Chew and I couldn't have been prouder of our Ashley readers!

Our first meeting was spent watching the trailer and setting up a reading schedule that would work with our time frame. After that, they all came prepared and were ready to get going at each lunchtime meeting! By our third meeting, they were ready to take over as moderators and came with their own prepared questions. I think they got the swing of this book club thing. We were so into it we extended our book club one more week so we could complete our Book Cover Art activity - The Meaning of Me!

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Money Does grow on trees!

11/6/2017

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Second Grade has been working hard to review the value of coins in Math and learn how to describe the physical properties of objects in Science. So here in the library we have put those two things together!

During their weekly library time, each second grade class came in to grow a Money Tree! Coins were placed in dishes at the middle of each table and students were given blank trees. One at a time, students were asked to find a specific coin from the dish and complete a rubbing of that coin on their empty tree. The rubbed coin would make a leaf! We discussed both the coins value and the physical properties of the coin!

Kiddos did such a great job identifying the coins and remembering the values assigned. We also identified several new ways to think about our coins (the quarter is the roughest of all, the nickel has the deepest edges, etc). They each left with a tree full of coin rubbings and a new understanding of how each coin differed and how Science and Math could relate!

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