Category: Award Winning Books

Posted in Award Winning Books, Freedom to read, New Non-fiction, Scholastic Book Fair, Uncategorized

Midway Scholastic Book Fair, 2023

Posted on by lisafairbanksrossi

Best sellers, new titles and soooo many fuzzy journals!

I’ve been planning and tinkering with print and video promotional materials every day for the big reveal of the gorgeous layout Scholastic is famous for providing. The staff helped with planning the teacher/student previews and PTO volunteers showed up on Friday to help move and organize the library space and help display the goods which was so generous and amazing.

“Mom! I HAVE to have this right now. No, THIS one, oh it’s so cuuuute”

~ Every child present while their parents helped set up the book fair.

The most fun part of the “pre-show” was the student involvement! A group of Shark Council members got a first look and helped prioritize which books to feature (based on their enthusiasm) and just generally promote coming to the fair this week.

Monday November 6 will be a student preview/Wish List creation day (there will be cash registers for kids at lunch recess who come financially prepared on Monday) Afterschool will begin the first public sale slot.

Tuesday November 7 we will be open 8am-9am, lunch recess and afterschool from 3:20-4.

Wednesday, our schoolwide Grandparent’s Day will be the biggest day for shopping, starting at 8am. This will allow grandarents to shop beforehand, as the breakfast doesn’t begin until 8:30am. The shopping will continue until 9:40 am (as it is late start day) and we will stay open until 6pm that night.

Thursday is the last day, opening 8a-9a and 3:20-4pm. Students with an ewallet will help the flow of traffic tremendously. We hope you come, shop and enjoy!

Setting up an eWallet: https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/content/fairs/videos/intro-to-ewallet-fair-files.html

Posted in Award Winning Books, Covid 19 Teach-from-home!, perserverance, traditional topics, non-traditional teaching, Trending technology, writing

“Isolated and together,” Preventive closures, day 1

Posted on by lisafairbanksrossi

“Let’s find a way to be isolated, and together at the same time,” says Mo Willems, who is the number one author for grades pre-school-2. Mostly because of his Elephant and Piggie, and Pigeon franchise.Screen Shot 2020-03-17 at 11.17.24 AM

Out of new, strange necessity, Mr. Willems decided to create a new live program: “Lunchtime Doodles with Mo Willems”  to keep kids creative and engaged (with

Graphic from Mo Willems Lunchtime Doodles
Lunchtime Doodles with Mo Willems

 

something other than Netflix, Disney+ and video games). He teaches how to doodle and he is a silly man (who is just so likable!!) and like many authors and people whose job it is to be public figures, not able to be in the public right now, so….enjoy him and enjoy whatever time you can get your kids to spend with him, and YOU.

Speaking of GETTING kids to SPEND time, I have to say I was both inspired by a colleague’s schedule she created for her kids (It’s AMAZING!)90240069_10219158019873950_531948265298460672_n (1)

and shamed by the fact that I not only A. Failed to create such a schedule, and B. know that if I proposed such a schedule my own teenagers would laugh in my face and not be interested in hearing me read aloud, even! But I DO DIFFERENT VOICES, I’d plead again. “Yes, mom, we know. It’s awkward.”

“Well, my students love it!” I mean, most of them, I think.

Anyway, please be easy on yourselves if you have no such rigorous plan. Do what you can, and please check on Google Classroom. I’ll be posting an instructional video to do so, as well as other lessons and reading ideas. Here’s our district-wide set of suggestions for tech, reading and STEM activities for now.