On An Another Roll in Round Rock
My first week of school visits in the Austin/Round Rock area exceeded expectations. At first things looked a little iffy with the swine flu hysteria (field trips, after school activities, and even school book fairs were canceled), but we went ahead as scheduled.
At Cactus Ranch Elementary, super librarian media specialist Lindsey Jones organized a “Third Grade Writing Camp.” It was the first time I ever conducted such writing workshops, so I was a little worried. But there was nothing to worry about. It was so much fun working with the smaller groups, and the kids were creative and hilarious. We filmed some of it, and I’m hoping to do more of these writing camps in other schools next fall. Thanks for the idea, Lindsey.
I arrived early at Teravista Elementary so I could watch the morning news. Librarian and marathoner Ami Uselman has her fifth graders put on a news show every morning. It’s so cool! The kids do absolutely everything.
At many of the schools, the librarians put together some unbelievable displays. It never gets old walking into a school and seeing your books showcased.
Emily Gardner, the librarian at Caldwell Heights Elementary who has coordinated two of my trips to Round Rock, had some creative fun with the Scholastic Book Fair shelves. Since the fair was postponed because of the swine flu (don’t even try to understand that one - I guess books are carriers of the virus), Emily decorated what was shipped to her. All the kids made baseball cards, and she spelled out my name with the drop cap alphabet letters that Loren created for the series.
As far as the “Great Sluggers Book Trailer Challenge” goes, the schools are doing amazing! The kids are spreading the word, and they’re doing it on their own. Since You Tube is blocked by filters and controls in most elementary and middle schools, in order to check out the trailer (even through my website), students have to do it on their own. And they are! Keep it up!
At Cactus Ranch Elementary, super librarian media specialist Lindsey Jones organized a “Third Grade Writing Camp.” It was the first time I ever conducted such writing workshops, so I was a little worried. But there was nothing to worry about. It was so much fun working with the smaller groups, and the kids were creative and hilarious. We filmed some of it, and I’m hoping to do more of these writing camps in other schools next fall. Thanks for the idea, Lindsey.
I arrived early at Teravista Elementary so I could watch the morning news. Librarian and marathoner Ami Uselman has her fifth graders put on a news show every morning. It’s so cool! The kids do absolutely everything.
At many of the schools, the librarians put together some unbelievable displays. It never gets old walking into a school and seeing your books showcased.
Emily Gardner, the librarian at Caldwell Heights Elementary who has coordinated two of my trips to Round Rock, had some creative fun with the Scholastic Book Fair shelves. Since the fair was postponed because of the swine flu (don’t even try to understand that one - I guess books are carriers of the virus), Emily decorated what was shipped to her. All the kids made baseball cards, and she spelled out my name with the drop cap alphabet letters that Loren created for the series.
As far as the “Great Sluggers Book Trailer Challenge” goes, the schools are doing amazing! The kids are spreading the word, and they’re doing it on their own. Since You Tube is blocked by filters and controls in most elementary and middle schools, in order to check out the trailer (even through my website), students have to do it on their own. And they are! Keep it up!