First off, I have to say I love being a school librarian.  I love that I get to teach all of the kids in my school, can be creative and think outside the box,  and that I have amazing people in my professional learning network.

Last week, just two days before the Blizzard of Winter 2016, I had two visitors to my library.  Author Harold “Corky” Logsdon visited our 3rd graders to share his new children’s book, Marsh Mellow – a lovely poem about exploring nature “was penned while walking the stony lane through the marshland at Karen Noonan Center on the shores of Bishop Head along the Chesapeake Bay. (Absolutely stunning watercolor illustrations by Kristen Egan).  Corky, a retired high school teacher of environmental science, pulled my students into the story with his infectious joy of the  natural world.  I am so pleased that he will be coming back to share his book with my 2nd grade students, who just finished their inquiry projects about biomes and ecosystems.

Gaithersburg Mayor Jud Ashman also visited with my 4th graders, as an extension to their marking period 2 inquiry project, “Maryland Economics”.  In this project, my students researched the demographics of our Flower Hill community, and based on the information they found, created a plan for a business that the community needed.  Since 65% of our community members are families with children under 18, many of my students created a business plan with a family-friendly theme.  I helped the three classes generate a list of questions, and we had a Q&A session with Jud, and ended with five students sharing their business projects with him.  It was a great experience for all involved, and we found out you can run for mayor of Gaithersburg as early as 18 years old!

Jud is also the founder of the Gaithersburg Book Festival,   which “is a celebration of the written word and its power to enrich the human experience. [Its] mission is to foster an interest in reading, writing and literary conversation.”  I am pleased to be a volunteer on the 2016 planning committee.  I am the coordinator of the Children’s Workshops and the helping fill the Story Time Tent with awesome readers, and hope you’ll visit the festival on May 21, 2016!

Children’s Author Mary Amato

I also attended the Montgomery County Council of the International Reading Association
( MCCIRA ) author event on January 21, and met the delightful local children’s author Mary Amato, and learned great tips on classroom management using mindfulness techniques, and how to excite students to write.  From her I also picked up a copy of the first three books in her new series Good Crooks and I am looking forward to sharing them with my students!

Happy reading!