January 2011

Happy New Year!!! My family had a peaceful, healthy and relaxing break and I hope you did as well. At this point in the year I slip into my annual panic mode because I cannot believe that the first semester is over and there is still so much that I want to cover! There is just never enough time to read all the great books that are out there.

In January, our focus for kindergarten and first grade will be winter and how animals survive in the frigid temperatures of the Arctic and Antarctic. We will learn many facts about the polar bears, penguins and the arctic fox. And I have some great fiction stories to compliment our

non-fiction books too.

In second through fourth grades we are beginning to think about our Young Author books. They have not begun work yet, but in the library I'm trying to plant the seeds of creativity. We're looking at different crafts that authors and illustrators use when they create books. We'll tap into the internet to watch video interviews with them to see where they get their ideas, then how they implement them.

In addition, third grade is gearing up for the biography project in February. We have read quite a few biographies as well Of Thee I Sing by Barack Obama and illustrated by Madeira's own Loren Long. That book really put them on the right track for the kind of people that they choose for their project.

Fourth graders are learning about my favorite writing tool...the thesaurus! We read Norton Juster's The Odious Ogre last week and saw firsthand how useful a thesaurus is while writing.

Remember, there's nothing better on a cold day, than to curl up with a good book!