Library Fun: Giant Coloring Page!

 Even though English classes visit every other week, I see kids all day long, every single day.  Sometimes they want a specific book, and sometimes they just want a safe haven from the mean, cruel world where they can hang out with their friends and discuss Minecraft.  So I've been adding passive stations around the library that don't require a huge time commitment or a lot of work.  For instance, I made these giant coloring pages from a roll of art paper from IKEA and a permanent marker.  I just free handed a bunch of shapes and design, adding lots of pattern, and put out a big cup of markers and colored pencils.  The kids love it!  They have already finished one, which I promptly hung up above the doors in the back of the library.  Once they finish the next one, it will go right next to the first one and make a giant border around the room.  Anything to cover that nasty wood paneling!  And it adds lots of color to the library.  
Surprisingly, the students haven't written bad words or drawn bad pictures on the coloring sheets.  They seem to take the coloring very seriously.  I have a student helper during 2nd period (she dislocated her knee and can't participate in gym for 2 months, so she comes to the library instead of the gym) and she helped me make the next coloring sheet, so I have one in reserve.  I might start theming them out (autumn, then Christmas, then winter/snow, etc.) but for now, they are just random pics and patterns for the kids to color.

Kindergarten Field Trip: Snead's Pumpkin Patch!

 I accompanied Emily on her first trip of kindergarten today--a visit to Snead's Farm in Port Royal.  All 5 kindergarten classes from KGES went and we rotated between 5 activities:  lesson in the learnin' shed, animal visit, hayride, barn (with hay swings), and pumpkin picking.  By the end of the visit I was exhausted and ready to steal a nap mat.  Emily had a great time!  Her teacher is awesome and laid back and we had tons of parent chaperones to help with the chaos.

Gettin' our learn on!  How pumpkins come from seeds, why we have different colored pumpkins, etc.

Checking out the baby moo cows!

The horses weren't impressed with us.

Off to find the chickens!  As you can see, Snead's Farm also does the "cut your Christmas tree" in the winter.

The whole crazy class.

Chilling in the Gourd Garden.

Hayride time!

Emily and her bestie Lindsay.

Rope swing time!

Finally!  Time to pick a pumpkin.....and promptly hand it off to Mom to carry for the rest of the visit.

Halloween Library Decorations!

 I know that October will be a busy month in the library and my banned book display was in need of replacing, so I hit that Dollar Store hard and walked out with some fabulous decorations! The felt spider webs with glitter spiders came in black, purple, orange,and white, so I got 2 of each of put in the windows.  The paper "windows" with yellow eyes were made from construction paper and blue painter's tape that I already had (thank you Pinterest!).  The plastic skulls, tombstones, and candy baskets that are holding books are also from the Dollar Store as is the tons of spider webbing that I draped over everything that didn't move.  The big sign (seen below) has "It came from the library!" printed in Chiller font on both sides so you can the same display from inside or outside the library.  The windows are two-sided as well.  
I pulled a bunch of Goosebumps books (of course) along with Cirque de Freak and some of the "Scary Stories to Read in the Dark" that are kept in the short stories section of nonfiction (students never check the 398's for spooky stories).  I added some ghost and witch books from the paranormal nonfiction section (100's) so we'll see if kids pick those stories as well!