PreK/K Library
Pet Research Pandemonium!
Exciting library news! Our PreK4s are working on writing their very own non-fiction books! For our pet research unit, students are studying Service Dogs. To begin, we brainstormed about about all the different ways dogs can help people.
To get ready to write, students are practicing drawing or writing facts on index cards while listening to a variety of books about service dogs.
Here are some examples of things we learned:
In the coming weeks, we will continue to learn all we can about service dogs and even get to meet a real, live, police dog!
Police Dog comes to Berkeley Carroll!
PreK4s were thrilled to welcome Officer Charles Murphy and his K9 black labrador Tori to the library this week as part of our research unit on Service Dogs. Tori is part of the Vapor Wake Detection Program in the NYPD, meaning she can track smells. Officer Murphy and Tori can usually be found at major events in the city, making sure everyone is safe. We learned many interesting facts about Tori and police dogs in general. Tori was born in Alabama and was trained in a prison so she could get used to crowds! Her favorite snack is carrots and when she does a trick, this is how Officer Murphy rewards her!
Students even got to pet Tori! We will use facts we learned today in our Pet Research books that we are working on. What a special visit! Thank you Officer Murphy and Officer Tori!
Kindergarten Book Club!
Most Kindergarteners (as well as grown ups) have a favorite category of book that they look forward to checking out of the library. For our Kindergarten Book Club, we are encouraging students to explore different categories the library has to offer. Everyone got a booklet to decorate with spaces inside for category stickers. Each week, we ask friends to find a new section, and get a new sticker! The students are being brave readers and trying a variety of books - maybe even finding a new favorite! We will celebrate our bravery by receiving a special medal and having a party in a few weeks!
PreK3s Library Sleepover!
To celebrate the end of the year and our unit on Bedtime Stories, the PreK3s had a (pretend) library sleepover! We were all very excited to wear our pajamas to school, get our special babies, and come to the library ready for a slumber party. First, we did some yoga to get our bodies and minds ready for bed and then read a bedtime story. After we settled down and went to sleep, we were woken up for a "midnight" snack of milk and cookies! We all agreed that we loved going to sleep in the library!
PreK3s Meet Mx. Book!
In library, we have been learning about the different parts of a book and how they are made. We’ve talked about spines, end pages and even a book’s birthday! (otherwise known as the copyright). We practiced finding the copyright in some of our library books and had a little birthday party for our favorite books!
Kindergarten Graphic Novel and Comic Craziness!
Over the past few weeks, Kindergarteners have been learning all about comics and graphic novels. We looked at different graphic novels we have in the library and also viewed Toon Books, which are comics for beginning readers. You can check them out at home here: www.toonbooks.com
We have studied the different elements of comic art including, panels, speech and thought bubbles, and our new favorite word - onomatopoeia! Onomatopoeia (on-oh-ma-toe-pee-ah) are words that sound like the action they describe. So "SPLASH" would be the word we use when we describe jumping into the water, and "BRRR" would be to show we are cold. We read the book If You Were Onomatopoeia by Trisha Speed Shaskan and practiced creating our own onomatopoeia sentences. Some examples:
If you were onomatopoeia you could:
WOOF like a DOG
SPLAT like an EGG
STOMP like dancing FEET
After we learned all the elements of comics, we created our own comic strips! In Science with Ms. DiLeva, Kindergarteners have been learning about the five senses, so the comic strip is a Super Sense Comic!
The library was transformed into the 36th floor of a Manhattan office called Comic Creations. This company has been hired by Berkeley Carroll to create comics about the senses to show to their Kindergarten clients as teaching tools. We sipped our coffee and got to work!
Then we chose which sense we would like to use in our comic and began to draw. See some fun examples below!
After we added thought bubbles, speech bubbles, and onomatopoeia to our drawings, we colored them in and added finishing touches. We are so proud of the results! To see the full gallery, please visit the bulletin board on the 4th floor of 712, as well as come on in to the library!
PreK3s Mother Goose Mania!
PreK3s began exploring Mother Goose rhymes by listening to them read aloud and then had the opportunity to reenact them! After choosing an object from our special Mother Goose box, friends had the chance to act out the rhymes.
We also recited Humpty Dumpty and got to see what happened when our own Humpty fell from the library wall!
We then explored an iPad app named Goosed Up Rhymes. This app lets children listen to and read along with Mother Goose, and includes fun activities for each rhyme such as putting poor Mr. Humpty back together again.
We also acted out "Little Miss Muffett" with our very own tuffet, and spider. Students had the chance to be Little Miss Muffett as well as take turns "frightening" each other with a creepy spider. We then tasted curds and whey! (Actually cottage cheese). Sad to say, it was not a big hit and we don't think the 3s will be asking for this as a snack at home anytime soon!
To finish off our Mother Goose unit, the 3s voted for their favorite nursery rhyme out of six that we explored in library. All friends took this responsibility very seriously and waited patiently in line for their turn.
AND THE WINNER IS....
HUMPTY DUMPTY!!
PreK 3s Book Care Tips!
We love having the 3s visit the library! So far this year, we have been talking about what a library is and what we can learn here. Part of our curriculum involves how best to take care of books. Dr. Book Care came back for a visit and helped us brainstorm ideas to keep our books in good condition. Our friends came up with such great ideas that we displayed them on a bulletin board to remind us all year long!
PreK 4s discuss, What is a friend?
Over the next few weeks, PreK 4s are being asked to think about the question, "What is a friend?" We are reading books about friendship and getting to know famous literary friends such as Frog and Toad, and Elephant and Piggie. In our discussion, we decided that it is important to remember that friends don't have to be exactly alike to have fun together! Sometimes having differences is the best part of friendship. We discussed how friends should treat each and wrote down our best ideas. All PreK 4s agreed that friendship, is definitely one of the best ways to keep your bucket filled!
In continuing our Friendship unit, the PreK4s read the book Friendshape by Amy Krouse Rosenthal about celebrating the gift of friends. They then created their own friendshapes.
Finally, to finish up our unit on Friendship, PreK 4s created friendship bracelets for each other. Students were paired off and asked to interview each other to learn some new facts about their classmates!
When the interviews were complete, students began the process of creating charm bracelets with the new information. To finish up, they stood up in front of the class and presented them to each other to proudly wear home!
Taking care of books!
The past few weeks, both PreK4s and Kindergarteners have been learning about the responsibility of taking care of their library books. To demonstrate both good and bad book choices students played "Happy Book/Sad Book." They dramatized different scenarios using real books from the Berkeley Carroll library that have been damaged. We used these books to discuss how to make good choices in book care!
Making good choices includes protecting our books from pets and babies by keeping them in out-of-reach places, only having snacks that leave our hands clean and dry, using a bookmark to mark your spot in a book (no "dog ears" or "tents"), and protecting books from water.
We also had a visit from our special friend Dr. Book Care. He is an expert at taking care of books that can be fixed with his best tools - glue and tape. But what happens when he can't fix a book? The wise doctor showed students examples of books that were beyond repair and we discussed different ways to keep our books safe and free from doctor visits!
After Dr. Book Care showed us a few things about taking care of our books, we brainstormed our best ideas and made posters to keep in our classrooms to remind us how to best make our books last!
Kindergarten Book Suggestions!
Welcome to our Kindergarten Reading Wall! In class this cycle, students thought of books they loved to recommend to their classmates. We will be doing this throughout the year and watching our brick wall climb, marking our growth as readers! How high do you think it can get?
Kindergarteners make
Berkeley Carroll History!
Breaking News! Kindergarteners made history this week when for the first time EVER, they checked books out of the library during class to bring home! It was incredibly exciting for all and students had a great time selecting which book would be the very first one they chose. We started to gear up for this last week when we discussed this big change in library procedure. Students will be able to select one book each class to read with their families and return by next library class.
We began talking last week about what it means to have this privilege, focusing on our key word:
RESPONSIBILITY
Next, we learned how to use Book Lookers to browse for books on the shelves.
Then, we browsed...
And browsed....
When we decided which book to select, we checked it out OURSELVES at the computer.
At last! SUCCESS! Have fun reading everyone!
Hello, and welcome to the new school year!
We have been busy acquainting students to the library and all it has to offer! The Kindergarteners did a "Get to know your library" Scavenger Hunt this week that was loads of fun. Students worked alone or in pairs to find all the items on their lists that help the library be a fabulous place for reading and learning. In the coming weeks, we will begin to explore early research methods and in big news, check out books to bring home!
We are incredibly excited to see students and their families in the library this year!