Revelations and Resolutions

Posted on January 4, 2017 by Lana

How can it be 6 weeks since I’ve blogged here? (That’s a revelation) leading to the resolution…Must Blog More Regularly. aka MBMR!

Our school platform has changed to schoology; after about 10 years with blogs, I’m adjusting to the change.

One of the best things about living in China, and there are many, is that we get TWO chances at New Years Resolutions…the standard old January 1st…. lose weight, exercise more, drink water…blah blah blah…AND we get Chinese New Year, which this year falls on January 28, a wonderful FOUR weeks after our first set of resolutions; so perfect for a little bit of necessary fine tuning…

Resolutions I’m dallying with include…but are not limited to:

*Making more effort (any effort) on Goodreads as right now it is just embarrassing! (so to help that goal, I’ve signed up for the 2017 book challenge to read 250 books this year; started the year with a bang thanks to 12 hours on a plane and have knocked over about 8 so far!)

*Writing letters and postcards, or at LEAST some long e mails. I collect postcards everywhere, I even have some local stamps tucked away. My best writing effort was when my Nanna (grandma) turned 90. I mailed her a postcard a day for 90 days, she loved it! So time to put the pen in to gear and start culling the last ten years worth of collected cards by mailing them to those near and far…Need to smarten up that goal a little, but hey, that’s for CNY!

*I’d like to tighten up my social media presence and get more serious with insta…try a couple more # like #bookaday #authorofthweek #student reader etc. I can do more with my barefoot librarian feed…stay tuned! I might try and get back into FB with the Barefoot Librarian Page…but otherwise, that platform is over for me.

*Keep sorting out our possessions and stop hoarding; enough said.

Book Display Ideas

Posted on September 26, 2016 by Lana

My Instagram Account has many shots of favorite books and displays:

https://www.instagram.com/barefootlibrarian/

While on instagram, type in #bookdisplay It is always best to type # in singular, rather than plural, eg #bookdisplay has over 3,000 posts, whereas #bookdisplays has only 300.

When you find some great displays you like, check out that person’s account and see if they are worth following. Also, click on your favorite book displays and see what other # they have used.

You’ll probably turn up tags like #booksuggestion #bookstagram #bookchallenge #instabook and one of my favorites #bookishrainbow

Here is a post I wrote about using instagram to promote new books http://sites.saschina.org/kpower/2014/11/04/using-instagram-to-promote-new-books/

I like bringing outside elements in to enhance displays, and I’ve done that here with some creations made by students, which I then matched with Roger Hargreaves Little Miss and Mr Men books http://sites.saschina.org/kpower/2014/10/16/fantastic-fun-with-bump-nosey-and-tickle/

I’ve also linked to many of the people I’m mentioning here, on this post. Once you discover a few of these “one stop shops” for finding new books, book lists and great displays, you can rest easy that they’ll always have something for you http://sites.saschina.org/kpower/2014/04/30/list-lovers-of-the-world-unite/

My favorite blogs for inspiration and EXCELLENT book lists include:

http://www.pragmaticmom.com/ check out Mia’s Children’s and YA booklists link, and you really can’t go past her http://www.pragmaticmom.com/booklists/ List of Lists: All My Booklists

Melissa from Imagination Soup is a great one to follow on twitter and pinterest too, here is one of my favorite lists from her http://imaginationsoup.net/2014/11/07/nonfiction-books/ I’m sure you’ll also like her book recommendations by age http://imaginationsoup.net/book-recommendations-age/

Here’s one last link I recently stumbled upon: http://clrsig.org/nbgs_books.php which contatins some great book suggestions for our diverse makeup of students at the Children’s Literature and Reading Special Interest Group site.

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?