Keeping promises

Oops, so I may have forgotten about my promise to blog daily about all the fun things that are going on in my library. It seems like every day is more fast paced than the previous, and I'm holding on for dear life at times.

October has held a bunch of different, fun things. We had our first late start/no letter day where all the co-curricular teachers are able to put on fun activities for different grades. Our space being so small, we decided to just work with 2nd grade and have a "fall" party. C read the students a story in the reading room, and I helped teach the children a pumpkin craft. There was no checkout, and that was okay. We had to reevaluate some of what we did after the first two classes.

The first round of kiddos were divided into two groups: the readers and the crafters. C read to the first group while I went ahead and taught the kids the pumpkin craft. It was quite fun, but a little hectic with these first groups. A majority of the kids could not finish to save their life. So, after they were done in the reading room, the first group joined the second and finished their crafts.

We had quite a bit of time to reevaluate what had just happened; our "lunch" break was almost two hours long! We were both really delighted, though, to be asked to help with Pre-K and K lunchtime since the TAs were not going to be present that day. I got a great little class of sweet Pre-K students. There's nothing quite like being greeted with a "Hello, library teacher!" and a ginormous hug.

Our next 2nd grade groups went smoothly, and they all really enjoyed their projects. The last class was by themselves (since there are 5 different classes), so I sat with a little boy who said he didn't have many friends. We decorated pumpkins and chatted, just to make sure he wouldn't feel left out. It was a good time.

Since then, every day has been a blur. I've been doing some shifting projects in the nonfiction section, mainly to get all the books on top of the shelves migrated into the actual collection. Nothing else frustrates me more than not being able to keep up with where everything goes! Nonfiction being divided into two sections, as well as fairy tales separated from the rest of the nonfic collection is hard enough for me to remember, let alone a volunteer. I just want to try and make it "make sense" and flow really well.

I attended a really awesome Region 10 meeting in September, and I'm super stoked about book covering now! Okay, maybe stoked isn't the greatest word to use, but I'm glad I learned book repair and accident prevention. Since I've been inputting our massive and very first book order, I've been worried about the paperbacks in our collection. Do we order them because we then can afford more books? Or do we stick with hardbacks that may be duds? With some of the products from Kapco that we used, I'm pretty sure we'll get more than a few circulations of paperbacks.

I missed yesterday's meeting due to some routine biopsy of sorts. Terrifying, yes, and I would much have rather been at school than at the doctor's! C filled me in on everything that I missed, and its definitely motivated me more to stay on top of my journaling (blog), stay focused on the kids and their learning great literacy skills, and organizing. I know this is my first year, but I want to leave a mark on this school in a most excellent way. I'm hoping that I am starting to do that.

Oh, and it's been 6 weeks already. Can you believe it?!
-Christine

Week 2: Success?

Its hard to measure success when you've just finished a week with four school days in it. Its even HARDER when your next letter day on Monday is literally insane, but its okay. Part of the learning process, right? I think I'm having a hard time figuring out how to teach children and to control them, i.e. getting them to class on time. One of my duties is walking them from library to their next class, which could be their home room or science class or lunch. Whatever the case may be, these little people are hard to herd.

I have some goals set for myself this weekend. They may or may not be feasible, but, hey, I'm tryin'! I don't have an MLS and I certainly have not dealt with children in a library setting in years. All I want is for them to love the library! That's it, plain and simple. I didn't realize that we would have to develop a curriculum, and basically start from scratch. I mean, I sort of did, but I didn't know how time consuming and expensive it all is.

And another thing? This is random, but I need to put this out there. I cannot be the only person who feels this way (SIDETRACK, begin). Why are all the teacher's websites or library website's so UGLY? It looks like someone threw up an old Angelfire page from back in '97 and they forget it was there.

I digress.

My goals for this weekend are:

• educate myself on the proper layout of the educational library
• read a Bluebonnet book
• read Geronimo Stilton (I also have "The Name of This Book is a Secret" and I'll probably finish that quickly)
• come up with some kind of curriculum layout for Pre-K and Kinder
• associate myself with the ideas of "Daily Five" and "Centers" (these things are foreign to me)

I have to learn a lot, but I'm open to it. I do feel frustrated and judged that I haven't finished college yet, but that will be changing soon.  So far, I'm proud that I've accomplished such great things in a short amount of time and cannot wait for the trimester to get a-rollin'!

Quick! Update before the traffic gets bad!

Sigh. First week of school may be over, but a lot of the real work and difficult challenges are ahead. There is a lot of stuff I don't know, like certain terms and what books are good for what age. Sure, all kids should be able to read Wayside School! I mean, I was in first when I started.

I've made some bookmarks from a template on Microsoft's website about books for boys. That's one of my focuses this year: GET THOSE BOYS TO READ. I love graphic novels, but there is something lacking from some of those stories. And what that lacks you can find in a great adventure book. Too bad the 4th graders have perused the shelves in the LSC for the past three years.

I'm hoping I have my Muppet buddy today. I'll write more about him later, but this kid is absolutely precious and probably the coolest one at my school.

Oh! And Parent Teacher night is tonight. We have a small part, but I'm kind of terrified. Just kinda. Er, maybe a lot.

The Accidental Librarian

Well, here I am, sitting in the library in which I'm currently employed, in a city that I love, looking at books and blogs and imagining all sorts of exciting things. Except for with kindergarten. I'm just trying to figure out how we can entertain them for just 20 minutes a week.

Despite being frazzled, I love this job. And for some reason, I feel like this is where I was supposed to be all along.

Throughout my years as a teenager, I volunteered regularly at a library in a neighboring city. In fact, I volunteered for everything I could! Reading to three year olds? Count me in. Making paper plate tambourines? I'm there. Puppet show? Shoot, I'll make Jim Henson proud. Whether it was crafting, storytelling, general child-wrangling, anime watching, or reading books for state-wide conventions, I was a part of all of it.

My best friend, Hannah, would tease me about my love of libraries and my secret desire to be a librarian (amongst other things, mind). She would often call me "Marian the Librarian" or simply "Marian". While I love me some The Music Man, I was not impressed by this nickname. Hindsight makes prods from friends hilarious, sometimes, and that's why I've named my blog such.

After I graduated high school, I was fortunate enough to be looking for a job while I went to school. One of my librarian friends, Judi, suggested I apply for a paging position. Needless to say, it was not as glamorous as that of a children's assistant or a circulation clerk, but it was paying better than the teacher supply store I was working at. I loved my job.

Long story short, after leaving that job many years ago, I regret it still. Fortunately, I have found another position in a better, more respected library at a school. Yes, I am 25 and still working on my undergrad, as well as working full time at this amazing library. I'm grateful for what I have and the opportunities that lay before me.

The children's prior experience was not at all pleasant, and it makes me sad to even type the things that I was told went on. My personal goal for this library: to ensure kids' enjoyment of the library and educating and encouraging them to be empowered enough to use it.

It's difficult because there are many terms I don't know, and a lot of things I don't know. There's processing book orders and P.O.s (or house charges? I'm lost), repairing books, dealing with parents (which I have never really had to do in my previous jobs. Not even at the tutoring center.), and being in a school environment while forcing myself to complete a bachelor's at the same time.

I'm a perfectionist and I hope it is not the downfall of my career or my sanity at this establishment. I want to do the best that I can, the most fun and effective way possible. I don't know if that's possible, though. I just assume because I grew up around some of my library heroes who truly LOVED their jobs, the children they worked with, and the library.

I hope I will make them proud.