Thanks Mules… I wonder who brought in the winners…

Posted on February 1, 2015 by Lana

Over Winter break, 9 different SAS teachers and parents brought back picture and chapter books for me from America as I was trying to make sure I had the Newbery and Caldecott contenders. I am losing sleep wondering if I have THE books here… the Medal and Honor winners… fingers crossed; everything crossed!

We will find out soon enough as the announcements are February 2nd, 8 am USA central time, (so 14 hours later for us in Shanghai). I will be up late streaming and hoping for some of our SAS fav’s to win.

So I wonder which ‘mule’ may have brought back the winners…

Life Long Learning

Posted on January 29, 2015 by Lana

Speaking of life-long learning….I am learning that I am spending WAY more time reading wonderful blogs these days, than I am trying to build my own blog. When I first began blogging in 2006, I had a captive audience (of eighteen!!!) students AND their parents, (wow, we’re up to nearly 60 now) including my principal, oh and my mother of course!

While I’d love my blog to have a wider readership now that I am working with more like 1,000 people a week once you add students, parents, staff and a few of you ‘out there’; I’m starting to realise I don’t have the skills to engender a decent ‘fan-base’… My writing has not been good enough to warrant people coming back for more; I lack regularity and focus, and I don’t express my opinion as much; I deliver information, but I sit on the fence about it.

One of the places I head to first when looking for book ideas is to Mia at Pragmatic Mom as she always has so many excellent lists. There are also of course masters I’ve followed for a long time like Mr. Schu at Watch. Connect. Read and Colby Sharp and the great gang of four, Donalynn Miller, Cindy Minnich, Katherine Sokolowski and Colby Sharp over at Nerdy Book Club. I LOVE reading these blogs and many others, I spend hours a week reading reviews, learning about new books, perusing best book lists and watching great book trailers and author interviews.

So this paragraph should be about my new goals, how I am going to make my ‘Rocky-style’ comeback and start delivering, start fresh, begin again and be better and brighter than I was back in my 2008 blogging hey-day. Nahhhhhhh, just can’t get my head around it right now.

I’m totally nuts over reading the other amazing posts people have to offer, and at some point, the urge will come to become one of them. Until then…

Check out these great photos from the library this month. We’ve been having a ball promoting Newbery and Caldecott like crazy; chatting, sharing, reading and tallying our results…Voting started today and finishes Monday (American Sunday) in time to be calculated and announced after the big reveal on February 2nd.

http://videonew.saschina.org/player/pak_player/pakplayer.swf?config=http%3A%2F%2Fvideonew.saschina.org%2Fplayer%2Fpak_player%2Fembed_player.php%3Fvid%3D11549%26json%3Dtrue%26autoplay%3Dno

‘Twas the Night Before (an Aussie) Christmas

Posted on December 24, 2014 by Lana

Reading this article on Huff Post about Getting into the Christmas Spirit got me thinking…

I’m an Aussie, I come from the ‘land down-under’… however I’ve been living in the northern hemisphere for 11 years now, and the majority of people I work with, teach and socialise with for much of the year, are from the ‘top-half’ of the world.

As an Australian, I’m used to what a Northern Christmas is like… my whole life I’ve grown up with Santa, sleighs, reindeers, snow, and many northern hemisphere Christmas traditions. The Christmas cards we buy often (read always) had winter scenes on them, as did our wrapping paper and many gift ideas. We’ve sung Christmas carols about Dashing Through Snow (even though we have no snow). Many of our Christmas lunches growing up were full of hot food; hot food on hot days in a hot kitchen did not equal a cool mother.

I’ve looked at a few websites that explain the differences between a northern Christmas and a southern Christmas… I particularly enjoy these two paragraphs from this site that discuss a bit of a backlash from Australians to make their Christmas more their own.

However, up until 30 years ago, our Christmas celebrations were heavily influenced by our original Anglo-Celtic influences. The English style of Christmas served as our model for celebrating Christmas…….right down to the traditional roast turkey and steamed pudding in over 35 degree heat. Today with the huge influx of overseas migrants our Christmas celebrations are heavily influenced by the ethnicity of families involved. Common sense is prevailing today in terms of weather. Traditional dinners have been replaced with family gatherings in back yards, picnics in parks, gardens and on the beach. For many, it is the occasion to be with friends and relatives, to share love and friendship and not to forget, the exchange of gifts in the traditional manner. For many, it is of course a time to enjoy and consume massive quantities of food. A typical Christmas menu could include seafood, glazed ham, cold chicken, duck or turkey, cold deli meats, pasta, salads galore, desserts of all types, fruit salad, pavlovas, ice-cream plus Christmas edibles of all varieties such as mince pies,fruit cake, shortbread, chocolates etc.

There has been a suggestion that “Swag Man” take over Santa’s franchise Down Under!!! There is a lot of concern about Santa Claus perhaps suffering heat stroke whilst Down Under. “Swag Man” wears a brown Akubra, a blue singlet and long baggy shorts. He spends all winter under Uluru with his merry dingoes and then at Christmas time, he gets in his huge four-wheel drive and sets off through the red dust to deliver his presents.

During December’s Library classes I had a ball sharing books, songs and stories with the students about what an Aussie Christmas is like. Singing them “Dashing Through the Bush in a Rusty Holden Ute” had me explaining away many ‘Aussie-isms’ including the word Aussie itself… and even after what I thought was a thorough session, at the end I still had kids asking me “but how come it is so hot there when it is winter?”

Dashing Through the Bush in a Rusty Holden Ute

Dashing through the bush
In a rusty Holden Ute
Kicking up the dust
Esky in the boot
Kelpie by my side
Singing Christmas songs
It’s Summer time and I am in
My singlet, shorts and thongs

Oh! Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells
Jingle all the way
Christmas in Australia
On a scorching summer’s day
Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells
Christmas time is beaut
Oh what fun it is to ride
In a rusty Holden Ute.

Engine’s getting hot
We dodge the kangaroos
The swaggie climbs aboard
He is welcome too
All the family’s there
Sitting by the pool
Christmas day, the Aussie way
By the barbecue!

Come the afternoon
Grandpa has a doze
The kids and uncle Bruce
Are swimming in their clothes
The time comes round to go
We take the family snap
Pack the car and all shoot through
Before the washing up

Anyone interested in the lack of references to celebrations other than Christmas at this time of year, I understand your frustration, but only because I’ve lived out of Australia for so long. As an Aussie growing up, there were NO other celebrations at this time of year, and when I speak now with one of my best friends Ruth, who happens to be Jewish, we make many jokes about how it is nearly impossible to escape Christmas at this time of year in Australia… every tv show, radio station, billboard, store front, catalog is ALL ABOUT CHRISTMAS…

So Happy Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwaanza, Happy Holidays to you and enjoy this flow chart shared with me from here, by another great friend Amy, which I think sums up holiday protocol beautifully.

Using Instagram to Promote New Books

Posted on November 4, 2014 by Lana

Increasingly, colleagues and friends have turned to technology to promote what is going on in their classroom. I follow a variety of them on Twitter and Facebook, but my favourite way to keep track of their activities is through Instagram.

I follow several of my daughters’ classroom activities through this app, including my older daughter’s fencing group, and my younger daughter’s art class; Instagram provides a simple way to check in and see what the girls are up to, often triggering conversation for later…”I saw you doing the rock-climbing with your friends today Mimi, that looked like fun.”

As a librarian, I LOVE Instagram and get so many ideas from there. It’s all about the tagging. #library #librarybooks #librarydisplays #librarian #libraryideas #kidlit #picturebooks… you get the idea.

I add to Instagram as the Barefoot Librarian to promote the new books I get in the library, share ideas for display, and share student feedback on certain books. I like to post pictures of life in our library, the wonderful furnishings, the activities we have like Books to Eat and the Cardboard Challenge, and day to day activities. Why don’t you consider starting your own Instagram account today?

Toilet Roll winners 3ED

Fantastic Fun with Bump, Nosey and Tickle

Posted on October 16, 2014 by Lana

I have had the BEST time in the library this week putting up new displays to match the amazing sofas that our Seniors finished painting in June. Our three sided sofa has artwork inspired by Dr. Seuss, Roger Hargreaves and Eric Carle after a competition in the Elementary School where students submitted drawings of illustrations by their favorite authors. The sofa is such a colorful centrepiece in a lovely bright space and we are thrilled with the finished product; two years of hard work by more than a dozen students.

As I was preparing a workshop for teachers on how to rejuvenate their classroom libraries, I enjoyed gathering the books by the above authors and putting them on display for the presentation, and of course for the students. It was SO MUCH FUN working on the Roger Hargreaves display as I kept trying to strategically place each book based on their character… Mr Tall up the top… Mr Mischief hiding behind the table…Mr Silly upside down.

However the display came to life once I introduced it to the students today…. Wow, we went crazy… Mr Strong holding Mr Silly…Mr Small under the table with Mr Slow who just couldn’t make it up the top…Mr Nosey poking his nose into everyone’s business…Mr Tickle reaching out to everyone for a laugh…Mr Topsy Turvy upside down; the kids and I had a ball giving each book a life of its own.

The display started the day with 42 books and finished with 7… I know it’s a pertinent display when it’s messy at the end of the day…#bestjobever

Magnificent Movie of Cardboard Challenge SAS 2014

Posted on October 9, 2014 by Lana

“Cardboard Challenge was awesome because it taught us teamwork and engineering” Michelle

“I liked the idea of cleaning up too because it made us more responsible” Daniel

“I really liked the teamwork” Vincent

“I liked destroying the boxes afterwards as it felt great on my feet” Zach

“I liked that all the grades did cardboard challenge” Elena

“You got to expand your imagination and think deeper than what you normally do” Malu

“It was a fun way of letting your imagination run wild” Kaitlyn D

“Playing with cardboard and your friends was great” Linh

“Working with friends was so cool for cardboard challenge and even when we argued, we still worked things out and had fun” Celine

“I was sad when it was over, can we do it two times a year?” Gracie

“We built a house with awesome features, including a door” Ludwig

“Getting to make anything you wanted was amazing” Chris L

“Cardboard challenge was fun because I tried my best and built so much” Fatime

“Building a lot of games was awesome and so much fun” Kaitlyn F

“The best thing about CC day was being able to create and build anything you want” Sean

“Cardboard challenge was awesome because we could build what we wanted to, and then the best thing was getting to play with it and show it to our friends” Max C

“Building things is so much fun, especially when you build them with your friends” Cleo

“We got to use our imagination to have fun, we thought of ideas and built our own projects” Han Rei

“Cardboard challenge was awesome because we made a blind bowling station and working with my friends was great” Rebecca

“Making things was so much fun, and then destroying them afterwards was cool too” Ali

Wow, thanks so much Davey Neill, a 5th grade homeroom teacher who took the time to video all of our activities on September 27th at Shanghai American School Pudong Campus.

http://videonew.saschina.org/player/pak_player/pakplayer.swf?config=http%3A%2F%2Fvideonew.saschina.org%2Fplayer%2Fpak_player%2Fembed_player.php%3Fvid%3D9402%26json%3Dtrue%26autoplay%3Dno

The Lonesome Puppy

Posted on September 13, 2014 by Lana

The Lonesome Puppy by Yoshitomo Nara (1999)

Yoshitomo Nara is one of the most influential and popular contemporary artists in Japan and this is the first of his children’s books that feature little girls and dogs. Simply and boldly told, this is a story many children will relate to and enjoy, the theme being loneliness and the bonds created between children and animals. It could easily be used in counseling classes to discuss the idea of being different, or feeling lonely. I would also use it in homeroom lessons as one of the early lessons on community building, belonging and friendship.

http://www.foiltokyo.com/english/book/art/yoshitomonaraeg.html

Ordinary becomes Extraordinary

Posted on September 11, 2014 by Lana

A lovely colleague, who also happens to teach my 7 year old, read a book to her class the other day, thrust it into my hands, and urged me to share it. Thank you Shauna. The book is called Ordinary Mary’s Extraordinary Deed and was written by Emily Pearson, and illustrated by Fumi Kosaka.

This is not a new book, it was published in 2002, nor is its theme a new one. The concept of paying it forward gained exposure in recent times with the Kevin Spacey/Helen Hunt film Pay it Forward in 2000 (is it just me or are you shocked that ‘recent’ movie is now almost 15 years old?) and the idea of doing good deeds for others, in particular those you don’t know, has been around a lot longer.

“In the order of nature we cannot render benefits to those from whom we receive them, or only seldom. But the benefit we receive must be rendered again, line for line, deed for deed, cent for cent, to somebody.” Ralph Waldo Emerson-1841

In 1916, Lily Hardy Hammond wrote, “You don’t pay love back; you pay it forward.”

However, for the students I’ve read the book to this week, the idea was new, and wow, did they embrace it! Ordinary Mary sets off a chain reaction through a random act of kindness that changes the lives of millions in this story. My students were fascinated by this idea, we sat and talked for a long time about people having choices about how they act, and that peoples actions can really have an effect on others. Hearing kids discuss the phrases ‘ripple effect’ ‘pay it forward’ ‘random act of kindness’ and the conversation that followed was rich…and often humorous!

“That happened to me once when I was in a bad mood, and then my friend let me have one of his Pokemon cards, and I was happy and so I was nicer to my little sister.”

“Once when my Mum told me off I was sad but then my Dad was really nice to me and I felt better and I went back and talked to my Mum and then she was happy again, so then at dinner she was really happy and the next day Mum was friendly to her sister and her sister was in a good mood because sometimes my Mum is really mean to her but not this day so maybe she was nice to five people then.”

I’d encourage anyone who wants stimulating conversation to share the book with others, I promise it won’t be dull. I wonder what ordinary deed YOU do, and what extraordinary effect it will have on others…

Winners are Grinners

Posted on September 8, 2014 by Lana

A big, huge, wonderful, enormous, gigantic CONGRATULATIONS to 3ED for bringing in 89 toilet rolls last week to contribute to our Cardboard Challenge mini-challenge! Runners up were KEV and 2KH and the most exciting thing for me was just how many different classes we had in the top three each day… it really was a whole ES effort and the total of over 600 toilet rolls will surely add to our fun on September 26th when we imagine, create and build with all of our cardboard goodies.

This weeks mini-challenge is for students to bring in as many empty granola boxes and empty toothpaste boxes as they can. Students should also be thinking about our final challenge next week, September 15th-19th, which is to bring in shoe boxes and cereal boxes, but for now, keep those, and any other cool cardboard items you’re collecting, AT HOME please. Details of these challenges were written about here, complete with more images.

Toothpaste box

Granola Bar box

Remember you can read more about the Global Cardboard Challenge here, and be sure to check out the boy who started it all, Caine, as you watch one of the Caine’s Arcade videos on youtube… (you’ll need a vpn)

18 more sleeps…

the barefoot librarian

Kimbra Power

Category Archives: library