Monday, October 7, 2013

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

{FREE} Halloween Teddy Bear Bookmarks

I never in my wildest dreams would have imagined that kids would go through bookmarks the way they do! I can't keep the basket stocked each week. I have to admit though, next to the smell of the Bookmobile when I was a kid, getting new bookmarks rated pretty high up on the scale for fabulous things about checking out a book for me, too. ;)

I created a little Halloween bookmark freebie and thought you might enjoy it, too! I have included color and black/white copies for your convenience. Just click on the picture below to grab them!

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Vampire Hundreds Chart Hidden Picture Activity {FREEBIE}

Is it just me, or has this year been a total whirlwind? If you thought I’d forgotten how to blog... you might be right! Between school busyness and home life, things have been a bit chaotic, but I’m finally surfacing for air.

I’m so excited to share a versatile new Vampire Hundreds Chart Hidden Mystery Picture with all of you today! Whether you are looking for a printable activity for younger students or a digital assignment for older students, this one covers it all. I hope this helps simplify your lesson planning this week. Stay tuned—I’ll be back soon to share all the fun highlights from our Fall Book Fair!

Saturday, August 24, 2013

My 2013-2014 Library Makeover Pictures {Before and After}

I cannot believe we've already been in school for eight days and I'm not just now finally blogging my library before and after pictures. Although it has been an absolute whirlwind finding my new normal, I am absolutely LOVING my new job! It is so fast paced and the kids are so enthusiastic right now that it makes my day!

A little info. before you see all the pictures. Our 2013-2014 PBIS school theme is jungle safari, so that's why everything is animal print, leaves and vines. :) Our library is long and narrow, which makes moving things around next to impossible. Plus, all the bookcases, except for one, are attached to the wall. Next year, the paneling will be removed and replaced with sheet rock and we will be getting new flooring. I had help from several friends and family members to make this transformation possible. I couldn't have done it without them!

Here's a sneak peek at one 'after' photo!

Story time area

{Before}

{Before - The red bookcase in this picture had a cardboard box for the back. I pulled it off, piece by piece and you'll see it painted black and holding board books in one of the after pictures.}

{Before}

{Before - The office I spent so much time on before summer school was messy and moved around when I came back in.}

{During - Opening all these new books felt like Christmas!}

{During - New DVD's}

{Before - We have five different student tables with all different colored legs. This is what one of them looked like before my sweet husband painted them black.}

{Before - Cute shabby table before I painted it black. I loved it distressed, but when I got it to school the off-white color clashed too much with the white SMART Board screen.}

{Before - A teacher was getting rid of this right after I had asked if a new one could be built. I have it painted black now, but it hasn't yet been hung on the wall. It will hold some of our teacher resources.}

{After - My mom made this for our lower hall bulletin board.}

{After - A glance from the lower hall side door in the library.}

{After - Lower hall doorway}

{After - This bulletin board will be changed monthly or by the season.}

{After - Bananas for Books is our reward system for classes for bringing back their books on time.}

This bulletin board will be changed monthly, but it will also hold our Wild About GRRR Behavior chart for classroom behavior rewards.}

{After -Student supply tubs}

{After -Fiction}

{After -Board Books for preschool students and Parents as Teachers}

{After - Non-Fiction}

{After - Lower hall door - My mom made this, too!}

{After - Humane trophies - stuffed animal heads that our secretary let us borrow for the year.}

{After - Half of reference, puppets and our pointer collection}

{After - Story time area with futons, carpet and the SMART Board. The cute table from before is now black in this picture. ;) }

{After - Other half of reference, plus our new books held out until our Teacher Sneak Peek Preview}

{After - Computer area}

{After - Circulation Desk}

{After - A few magazines for the beginning of the year. We just got confirmation that our DonorsChoose project for magazines has been processed, so I can't wait for the kids to have a great variety this year!}

{After - Library view from the upper hall doorway}

{After - Diary of a Wimpy Kid upper hall door entrance}

{After - Just for fun pictures for the hallway. They came from Dollar Tree 2014 calendars.}

{After - More Dollar Tree calendar pictures for the upper hallway}

{After - More Humane Trophies on load from our secretary}

I hope you enjoyed a little peek into our library! If you have any questions, be sure to ask!

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