0

Farewell!

I thought and dreamed about what my last King School Library blog post would look like, but honestly, nothing seemed to jump out at me. I already sent out the Biennial Report, which I'm enormously proud of, and I've thanked our library helpers with a flashy little infographic. Now what?

Well, I'll tell you that although I'm leaving King School, I am certainly not leaving the library world, and I'll never stop being a reader. No matter where I go or what I do, getting lost in stories and learning new things will always be a part of me. Here are some of my favorite books I've read these past couple years:


 
Keep reading this summer!

Love and hugs,
0

Thank you, Library Helpers!

Last week, I presented you with our Library Biennial Report, and this week, I must highlight the most excellent work of our Library Helpers.

As a solo librarian without an assistant, the day-to-day clerical duties of shelving, repairing, and processing books would be impossible to keep up with without the fabulous work from our Library Helpers.

Here's an infographic devoted to those lovely people - you know who you are. :) (Click the image to view a larger version.)



0

Library News & Statistics

So, I've been working hard on putting together a report of what I've accomplished these two years at the King School Library. I could have gone on and on about all of my wonderful experiences & projects, but then I thought, "Who's actually going to read all of that?" Instead, I've highlighted the main points, and if you've been here at all, you'll know all the extra special and non-quantifiable things I do too. :)

Anyhow, here for your viewing pleasure is the King School Library Biennial Report! Enjoy & let me know what you think!



 
0

End of the Year Library News

Without an aide, I drown in books.It feels so early, I know, but the end of the school year is sneaking up on us and will be here before we know it! Last week was the last week for students to check out books from the King School Library this year.  

All books are due on students' regular library day this week.

Students will continue to come to the library for lessons until that very last day of school, but the library will be closed at all other times. We will be doing inventory on the collection - which includes counting every single one of our 20,000 books and making sure that they are in the right place on the shelf. This is to be sure that the library is ready and open for checkout at the very beginning of next year!

Any books not returned by the end of this week will be assumed lost. Students with lost books will receive notices at school with the cost to replace them. All library fees must be paid by the last day of school.  


Just because students are not checking out books from our library doesn't mean they should stop reading! The Urbana Free Library Children's Librarians will be here on Tuesday, May 15 to promote the Summer Reading Program - Reading is a Picnic! 



Getting a public library card is FREE - if you live in Urbana, visit the Urbana Free Library with one form of ID and proof of address to get access to THOUSANDS of free books, audiobooks, DVDs, and more!

210 West Green Street
Urbana, Illinois 61801
217-367-4057
Mon to Thu 9 am - 9 pm
Fri - Sat 9 am - 6 pm
Sun 1 pm - 5 pm

If you live in Champaign, you can do the same! Visit either the Main Branch or Douglass Branch of the Champaign Public Library to get your FREE library card! Once you have your library card, you can "shop" at any of our local libraries!

MAIN LIBRARY
200 W. Green St.
Champaign, IL 61820
Mon to Fri 9 am – 9 pm
Sat 9 am – 6 pm
Sun 1 pm – 6 pm

DOUGLASS BRANCH
504 E. Grove St.
Champaign 61820–3239
Mon to Thu 10 am – 8 pm
Fri 10 am – 6 pm
Sat 10 am – 4 pm



 
29

Typing Games

Ms. Sapkarov, you type FAST!
Yes, my friends, I really do.

We're reading Rebecca Stead's When You Reach Me in one of my 5th grades and taking notes on the characters at the end of each class. By building these character profiles, we can understand the story better by looking at individual motivation and personality traits. Anyhow, to take notes, I've created a simple SmartBoard file with each character on their own page, and I'll type in students' additions to what we know about the different characters in the story. So, students get to see what I type on the laptop on the SmartBoard in real time (mistakes and all!) -- hence, the above comment about my speedy typing skills.

But do you think I was born a quick-fingered typist? Of course not! I started using a computer when I was in elementary school, and I've used one every day since then.

This is the time to develop good typing habits, my students! Do you know what HOME ROW is? It has nothing to do with baseball, even though it kind of sounds like it... And although it's not the absolute only way to learn to type, it'll definitely help you use more than just your index fingers!



Check out out these typing tutorials and games to practice your own typing skills. Practice, practice, practice, and maybe someday you'll type as fast as I do. :)

Dance Mat Typing by BBC


Keyboarding Skills by e-Learning for Kids


Typing Resources by Big Brown Bear Software (4 games/lessons)


Text Type by Doorway Online


Alpha Munchies Typing Game by ABCya!


Super Hyper Spider Typer by Funschool


Keybr (practice typing words)


Typing Games by Sense-lang (check out Typing Olympic)


Book spine poems!

Inspired by Travis Jonker's book spine poetry project over at 100 Scope Notes, I thought I'd make some poems of my own! This is my first attempt, so please be kind.



 Tales for very picky eaters,
like pickle juice on a cookie
sing a song of tuna fish.
My sister the sausage roll,
Strawberry Hill.




A sweet smell of roses
farm morning
Little chick,
I am going!
big red barn



These hands,
drawing from memory
perfect square.
A black hole is NOT a hole;
Moon pie. 





Speaking of poetry, it is National Poetry Month, in case you didn't know!

About a month ago, many of our students wrote haiku poems for the National Schools Project, and we just found out yesterday that 50 students' poems will be published in the 2012 Young American Poetry Digest!

Congratulations, King School students!


 
Back to Top