👀 #TakeALookTuesday--Mandala Edition

On a recent trip to a toy store (!), I found a variety of oversized coloring pages from Anker Play.

With patterns available in safari, fantasy, ocean, cityscape, and floral prints, I settled on a mandala print.

Starting today, students will have the opportunity to add to the page, participating in a little self-care, coloring as they'd like. Updates on the progress to follow!

👀 #TakeALookTuesday--Book Edition

In a recent, completely chance encounter, I had the opportunity to meet an amazing, inventive artist who has written a book about the effect baseball has to unite us even when we seem so focused on differences. Nathan Rueckert is the founder and CEO of Baseball Seams Co., LLC, a company that evolved from his love of baseball, his emotions related to the events and Sept. 11, 2001, and his faith.

When Rueckert was a college student in 2001, he began creating artwork from used, seemingly useless baseballs. For many years, he made only handcrafted American flag artwork from old baseballs. These pieces even sold out at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown!

“‘America's Game’ Original Artwork - Navy Red Unframed.” The Baseball Seams Company, www.baseballseamsco.com/collections/best-sellers/products/america-s-game-baseball-american-flag-original-artwork.

Rueckert's book came about as a way to "... combine the story of America's pastime and those who love it today, symbolically bringing people together again" (Rueckert, xvi). In it, he shares one story from each of the 50 states, stories that were chosen because "... they represent the best in who we are as a country" (Rueckert, xvi).

The map of the United States is five feet wide and is made from over 350 baseballs "... obtained directly from each of these 50 stories" (Rueckert, xix). Willy Amos, from Mt. Pleasant, IA, is featured in the story from Iowa. He is a baseball coach and former president of the Mt. Pleasant Cal Ripken League. In 2008 his life forever changed when he was paralyzed after a hunting accident. In telling his story, readers learn how he moved forward with the help of medical professionals, his family, and--of course--baseball.

In talking with Rueckert, I shared that I was a high school teacher librarian, and I so much loved his own story of college student-turned-artist-turned-storyteller. We talked about the power of the stories he collected--that they would appeal to so many people regardless of their interest in baseball. After all, these are stories of love, of family, of perseverance, of hope, of joy. As we talked, Rueckert asked if my students would be interested in the book, and he very generously donated a signed copy to DCGHS students.

The book is now in our collection, ready for students to read and share with others. Stop by to take a look or check it out.

📣NEW!📣 December Library Events

With a large collection of makerspace and making resources in the library, it seemed like a good time to look at how to get students making, creating, and generally being imaginative, curious, and playful. So...introducing library events for the month of December!

To get started, we'll provide opportunities on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays starting after the holiday break and running through December. Each day has a focus: low/no tech on Mondays, tech-heavy activities on Tuesdays, and a blend of things on Fridays. 

Got questions? Want to know more? Feel free to email or reach out to your study hall teacher or me for more information--hope to see you soon!

👀 #TakeALookTuesday

We're starting a recurring, weekly post called #TakeALookTuesday when we'll feature all sorts of library-related content. For our inaugural post, we're taking a look at one of the things available to students on the library website--a virtual makerspace located at the Makerspace Materials tab.

Access the library website HERE.

The virtual makerspace comes to us courtesy of Shannon Miller and The Library Voice. Each month she curates multiple resources for K-12 students to access, and the virtual makerspace on the library website is from her work.

CLICK HERE to access.

When students access the virtual makerspace, they have dozens of making options. In addition to art-themed choices, more specific sites that focus on color or paper crafts are available. Sites related to learning to code and expanding coding skills are included; in fact, another separate choice board related to coding (and featuring another 15 sites!) is embedded there. Building and making are included on the virtual makerspace, as well as bonus sites related to design.

With so many options available, stay tuned for AO offerings that make use of the virtual makerspace site. Creating and designing and making were never so convenient!

🕵 Breakout! Spy School Style 🕵

After the popularity and success of the last breakout (see previous post), it was time to design another in which could students could participate during our advisory time. The theme this time was spy school, and students worked as though this was their final test before graduating spy school.

Six groups worked through several clues--and red herrings!--to find and open four locks, including a padlock & key, direction lock, word lock, and 4-digit lock. One clue even took students to the bookcases to find the right book and the answer they needed.

Students collaborated to work through the clues, talking through likely lock and combination possibilities. Overall, four of the six groups were able to break out (break into?) in the time allotted.

Successful "spies" earned a "graduation gift" of fruit snacks if they were able to open all of the locks and get into their boxes. 

By the end of our time together, students were already asking about the next breakout, so it's time to start planning the next one!

Promoting Books with QR Code Book Trailers

With students heading into the second half of the semester, many are moving on to another or new book in their reading classes. That means it's time to get creative in promoting both our newer and not-as-new titles in the collection. Time to draw on the work of others and use book trailers to promote students' next reads!

YouTube is almost always my go-to for book trailers as I subscribe to several publishers' and library channels. But how to engage students with the trailers? QR codes to the rescue! Students have their phones, and cameras now access QR code content. And thanks to Tony Vincent from Learning in Hand, there's an easy-to-use sticky note template that can include not only the QR code, but a short teaser about the book. 

CLICK HERE to access Learning in Hand & the template.

With book trailers' addresses ready to copy, it's off to a free QR code generator website; I used QR Code Generator, which allows for multiple codes and even has a multi-video feature. I chose individual QR codes to insert onto the sticky note template, then added a short teaser. Take a look:

Once I have the sticky notes ready to go, it's time to get them onto books displayed on the shelves. I was sure to include books from all sections of the library--along and on top of fiction shelves, with our state award nominees, with the graphic novels, and among the nonfiction.

Students, be sure to stop by--and please *do* take out your phones to scan the QR codes you see. Hopefully, you'll find your next read! See you soon!

Fall Library Stats

 Now that we're several weeks into the school year--more than half-way through the semester!--it's time to take a look at some library-related stats. Thanks to Canva for making it so easy to create beautiful infographics! Take a look: