Herrington Elementary Library - Library Highlights

Feb. 2-6

We loved having author & illustrator Ross Burach present to 1st & 2nd grades! Students learned that stories can start from an illustration, and how to show feelings in a character. Thank you to PTA for helping provide this visit!

This week with PreK we practiced alliteration, and kinder students practiced writing complete sentences with correct punctuation, and drew items they would enjoy in their lunchbox. 1st graders matched birds to their correct nest and habitat based on their characteristics. 2nd grade students learned about the environmental needs of plants. Our Makerspace Club enjoyed a free day to explore, build and create.

Jan. 28-30

Congratulations to Mrs. Adams for being awarded Paraprofessional of the Year! We are so thankful for all she does in the library!

The two ice days rearranged the campus schedule, so we only had checkouts this week for most classes. PreK played "Feelings Bingo" after reading "A Little Scribble Spot: A Story About Colorful Emotions." We also had a successful first session of our 2nd/3rd Grade Makerspace Club! Students worked in groups to build a house that the Big Bad Wolf could NOT blow down.

Jan. 20-23

PreK & Kinder: I Am Not a Chair - We researched giraffes and practiced counting while we rolled and colored giraffe spots.

1st: Gifts From the Garbage - We discussed how to preserve the environment and practiced inferencing with household items.

2nd: The Very Impatient Caterpillar - Students compared and contrast the characteristics of caterpillar & butterflies and made 3D butterfly bookmarks.

3rd: We finished discussing genres and took a genre personality quiz.

Jan. 12-16

PreK: Pitter Pattern - Students used fine motor skills to string straws and create patterns to hang in the library.

Kinder: Odder picture book - We researched sea otters & watched the otter live cam at the aquarium.

1st: The Plant Rescuer - Students measured plants with non-standard units & compared them.

2nd: We Found a Hat - We created mad lib word problems using nouns from the story.

3rd: We discussed genres & took a genre personality quiz. Students can get a recommendation for an extra book if they try out a new genre.

Jan. 6-9

PreK read "Doris the Bookasaurus" and then made class ABC books. Students drew pictures to represent the item chosen for each letter.

Dec. 15-18

PreK: Olaf's Night Before Christmas & The Snowy Day - We had a fun day of pretend snow! Students played "pin the nose on Olaf," practiced using prepositions while we tossed "snowballs," and listened to instructions during our "snowman freeze" song.

Other grade levels swapped out their books before the holiday break, and we've already had many students participate in our "Read With a Friend Challenge."

Dec. 8-12

PreK: After reading "Bear Sees Colors," students used magnifying glasses to find different colored items around the library.

Kinder & 1st - Just One Flake - Students learned about how snowflakes are formed and then used magnifying glasses to match up snowflakes based on their individual properties.

2nd - Nature is a Sculptor - Students learned about the properties of landforms and how water impacts their structures.

3rd & 4th - We had an amazing author visit with John Schu! Students & staff left inspired to find books they love to read and find books of their hearts. Many students were able to meet with Mr. Schu after the presentation for a book signing and as he joined a few classrooms to sign writing journals and answer questions. It was a great experience for everyone that participated!

Dec. 2-5

PreK: Hidden Gem - Students practiced naming properties of rocks, weighing and comparing them on a scale.

Kinder: Unflappable - We practiced using tally marks & creating bar graphs with unifix cubes.

1st - Nature is a Sculptor - Students learned about different types of water and how water changes the landscape.

2nd - Home in a Lunchbox - Students learned about and practiced writing procedural texts about packing a lunchbox.

We also started our "Read With a Friend Challenge!" Students can read the same book as a friend, discuss the book, write about their thoughts, and then receive a prize.

Nov. 17-21

PreK: The Rabbit Listened - Students learned about friendship and listening, and then worked collaboratively to build and create together.

Kinder, 1st & 2nd: So You Want to Build a Library - We talked about ideas, creativity and problem solving, and then worked together to build and create.

Makerspace Club - Some students created parade floats on Sphero Indi cars while others built coded tracks. They worked collaboritively and used real-time problem solving.

Nov. 10-14

PreK: After reading "Nimbus Plays Alone," students learned about the sky in day & night and practiced counting clouds.

Kinder: Nature is a Sculptor - Students learned about the properties of rocks and sorted them with a partner.

1st & 2nd - F is for Flag & American Symbols - We discussed symbols and students created their own personalized flag.

3rd - We continued to review the catalog & find call numbers with a scavenger hunt.

Makerspace Club - Students followed instructions to create pumpkins & scratch art leaves.

Nov. 3 - 7

PreK: In the Tall, Tall Grass - We practiced rhyming through books, a song, rhyming puzzles, and with our bodies.

Kinder - Very Good Hats - Students drew their own creative hat and wrote describing words.

1st - Odder (picture book) - We researched sea otters on Pebble Go and watched a live cam of sea otters at the aquarium.

2nd - All the Water in the World - We researched water as a material and students acted out the water cycle.

3rd - We reviewed using the online catalog and students participated in a scavenger hunt to find call numbers on the shelves.

Makerspace Club - We talked about the problem of trash in the ocean and recycling. Students created animal sculptures from leftover materials donated by teachers.

Rhyming puzzles

Drawing hats

Very Good Hats display

Call # scavenger hunt

Finished animal sculptures

Oct. 27 - 31

PreK: We read "The Spooky Box." Students practiced using describing words as the felt what was inside mystery boxes and drew their own hidden items.

Makerspace Club - We started our 4th & 5th grade session of Makerspace Club! This week students built catapults out of available materials and then had free time to create.

Creating catapults

Launching with catapults

Making bracelets

Pixel art

Oct. 21 - 25

Our Level Up Book Fair was a success! Thank you to our wonderful families, staff, volunteers & community that supported our library. All students were able to come for a class preview and many came back later in the week to shop on their own or with parents.

Oct. 13 - 17

PreK: We read "Earth: My First 4.54 Billion Years." Students learned about taking care of the Earth and helped demonstrate the different ways the Earth provides for us.

Kinder-5th: We talked about expectations and what to expect for our upcoming book fair!

Oct. 6 - Oct. 10

PreK: Press Here - Students practiced patterns with dot markers!

Kinder: The Plant Rescuer - We learned about what plants need & put the plant life cycle in order.

1st: Very Good Hats - Students designed & described a hat of their imagination.

2nd: Odder (picture book) - We researched sea otters on Pebble Go & watched the live stream of otters from the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

3rd-4th: We began talking about the upcoming book fair & expectations. Students also had the opportunity to create Halloween bookmarks & choose from our "scary" genre of books.

5th: We continued our lesson about searching the catalog & using call numbers to find books on the shelves.

Sept. 29 - Oct. 3

PreK: For "Force & Motion" we pushed & pulled with race cars on tracks

Kinder: Students practiced moving in cardinal directions and learned about maps & globes after reading "The Spice Box."

1st & 2nd: After reading "The Day the Books Disappeared," students drew the book cover of a story they would never want to disappear from our shelves.

5th: Students reviewed & practiced using the catalog and finding call numbers on the shelves.

Sept. 24-26 -

PreK: We read "The Family Book" and played a matching game with people in a family. Students also drew the people in their family.

Older grades had checkout only because of the short week. Students have been excited to vote each week in our "Percy's Picks," which is a "this or that" concept that changes every couple of weeks.

Sept. 15-19 -

PreK: Shapes & Perfect Square - We had a shape scavenger hunt & made shape robots.

Kinder: Lucky Duck - We compared the story to The Three Little Pigs with a venn diagram.

1st Grade: The Spice Box - We discussed maps, globes & practiced cardinal directions.

2nd Grade: The Wild Robot on the Island - We demonstrated adaptation.

4th Grade: We finished up our genre tasting lesson.

Sept. 8-12 -

PreK practiced counting, kinder students drew robot adaptations, 1st grade identified body systems, & 2nd grade compared fables. We started our genre tasting with 4th grade students!

Sept. 1-5 -

PreK: Alma and How She Got Her Name - tracing names

Kinder: Sometimes All I Need Is Me - 5 senses scavenger hunt

1st Grade: Lucky Duck - compared the wolf in various fables

2nd Grade: A Day in Ancient Greece - had a friendly debate & practiced democracy by voting

Aug. 25-29 - We talked about friendship in all of our classes and thought of ways we can show kindness during the week. Students added their ideas to their class friendship poster. We were also excited to expand our collection of foreign books and relocate them to bigger shelves.

PreK - Little Blue Truck Makes a Friend; K/1st - A Friend for Eddy; 2nd - Mabels Wants a Friend

Aug. 12-22 - We are so excited to be back for another great school year! For the first couple of weeks we focused on getting students their ID cards, having library orientations for each class, and first book checkouts for 1st-5th grades.

PreK & Kinder - We read "The Book That Jake Borrowed" and talked about book care.

We were also excited to award summer reading prizes to 105 students!

May 12-16 -

PreK: We read "Planet Kindergarten" & made name rockets

4th grade participated in a "Genre Tasting" and tried out some new books.

We started our book return countdown and were so excited to get down to 1 book by the last day of school!

May 5-9 -

PreK: We read "Butterfly, Butterfly" and created mosaics that will become butterfly suncatchers for the library.

Kinder-5th: We introduced the Summer Reading Program! Students can track their reading and earn prizes in August.

April 28 - May 2 -

PreK: We read Duck Rabbit! and created our own duck/rabbits.

Kinder-2nd: Armadillo Voting! We have been reading books from the district Armadillo list all year and students got to vote for their favorite! The winner for Herrington was "Mr. S."

3rd: Author visit with Melanie Morgan! She read her book "Bees" and discussed the writing process.

April 21-25 -

PreK: We read "Five Hiding Ostriches" and practiced counting with 10 frame boards. We also rolled the dice to move our bodies to match the number.

All other grade levels had checkout only this week. We loved having our student library helpers from the spring carnival's silent auction. They did a great job doing a variety of tasks.

April 14-18 -

PreK-Kinder: Trying Again - we read about not giving up and learning from our mistakes

1st-2nd: Anonymoose taught us to work together and be a friend

We practiced working together as we built with various materials and didn't give up when mistakes were made.

April 7-11 -

PreK: Mother Bruce - animal relationships & letter matching

Kinder: Ramen for Everyone - visualization & acting out the visualizing words in the story

1st: I'm Hungry, Tengo Hambre - practice Spanish pronunciation & discuss healthy foods

2nd: La Guitarrista - retell the story to a partner

3rd-5th: Spine label & haiku poetry stations

March 31 - April 4 -

PreK: Words Are Magic - form letters and words with our bodies & letter matching

Kinder: Harold and the Purple Crayon - finish the drawing

1st - The Day the Crayons Quit - retell the story

2nd - I Was Born a Baby - animal matching & characteristics

3rd - Financial literacy

Mrs. Strong was at a librarian conference all week and Mrs. Krauter filled in teaching lessons. We are thankful for great subs!

March 24-28 -

PreK- How to Count to One - matched dominoes

Kinder - A Seed Grows - created parts of a flower with their bodies

1st - I Was Born a Baby - animal matching

2nd - Panda Problem - mad libs with parts of speech

3rd - Financial literacy

Students recreate roots, seed, stem, leaves, and flower

March 10-14 -

Congratulations to our Bluebonnet team! They did a great job representing Herrington at our district Bluebonnet battle on March 11. Well done Logan, Ved, Laurel & Dhriti!

PreK & 2nd grade read "Festival of Colors" & learned about Holi and appreciating color in our world. 2nd graders created a mosaic on the outside courtyard & PreK students used chalk to make our banner.

Kindergartners loved practicing their Spanish & learning about healthy foods after reading "I'm Hungry, Tengo Hambre."

1st grade read "La Guitarrista" and decorated homemade "drums."

March 3-7 -

We had an amazing spring book fair! All students were able to enjoy our preview days on Monday & Tuesday and then the fair was open Wednesday through Friday, with our first ever family night on Thursday evening. We appreciate all the staff, students, families & community members that helped make this fundraiser a success. We had great volunteers that set up the fair, helped students write down book choices during preview days, run the cash registers, and restock inventory. We could not do it without them!

February 24-28 -

PreK learned about space and practiced their counting skills while reading "3-2-1 Blastoff!"

All other classes learned about book fair expectations and had the opportunity to view some fun book trailers.

3rd Grade Group began working on writing adventure stories in graphic novel format. We can't wait to see their finished products!

Mrs. Adams has been displaying our student book recommendations, which have been encouraging students to try new genres.

February 17-21 -

PreK read "Homes Around the World" and created their own home designs with straws & connectors.

Kinder students practiced measuring for "Howard the Average Gecko."

1st graders visualized verbs and formed complete sentences based around "Ramen For Everyone."

2nd grade showed off their Spanish skills during "I'm Hungry, Tengo Hambre" and learned about healthy eating.

3rd grade Enrichment Group finished up "Wrath of the Rain God" and worked on text to text connections.

February 10-14 -

We celebrated Valentine's Day with friendship books & activities this week! PreK & Kinder practiced miming kind deeds after listening to the story "Be a Friend." 1st & 2nd grade students read "Three Little Birds" and discussed the importance of not gossiping or starting rumors. We played "telephone" to show how words can change as they are passed from person to person.

On Feb. 14 we had our Bluebonnet Party for all 3rd-5th grade students that read 10 or more books from the Texas Bluebonnet list. We had a great group of students that chose their prizes, ate some treats, and did puzzles. Those that wanted to took a quiz to determine our Bluebonnet team for the district competition. Congrats to Dhriti, Laurel, Logan & Ved!

February 3-7 -

PreK practiced listening & sharing while building with blocks after reading "The Rabbit Listened."

Kinder students showed off their rhyming skills after listening to "Chester Van Chime Who Forgot How to Rhyme."

1st graders drew an animal in its habitat after reading about a beaver that changes its habitat in "Building."

2nd grade students reviewed shapes & fractions after learning about the architect I.M. Pei in "Mr. Pei's Shapes."

January 27-31 - PreK classes practiced counting ducks after reading "Truck Full of Ducks," and also drew new items in the back of their truck. We had checkouts for all other grades and featured our new "Fast Read Chapter Books" section & our "Easy Graphic Novels" cart. Mrs. Adams created a new display of "Books We Love" featuring favorite books recommended by Herrington staff.

January 22-24 - PreK discussed Lunar New Year after reading "Bringing in the New Year." They practiced patterns while commemorating the Year of the Snake. Kinder & 1st grade compared and contrasted different holiday traditions after reading "Two New Years." 2nd graders helped plan a procedural text with their class after reading "Ramen For Everyone." 3rd-5th classes finished up our library catalog scavenger hunts to learn how to use the catalog and find call numbers on the shelves. We also began a new session of our 3rd grade book club.

January 13-17 -

PreK - Read "Hap-pea All Year" and learned about months of the year

Kinder - Read "La Guitarrista" and decorated their own "drums."

1st - Read "Howard the Average Gecko" and practiced their measuring skills

2nd - Read "Chester Van Chime Who Forgot How to Rhyme" and practiced their phonics and rhyming skills

3rd-5th - Some classes participated in library catalog scavenger hunts to learn how to use the catalog and find call numbers on the shelves. We also started our Bluebonnet Voting for students who have read 5 or more of our Bluebonnet list books.

January 7-10 - PreK students read "Little Cloud" and created their own "little clouds" after talking about weather. Kinder students read "Wingsongs: Poems About Weather" and created actions to help remember weather vocabulary. 1st & 2nd grades read the nonfiction book "Bees, Snails, and Peacock Tails" and created pixel art after reviewing patterns and symmetry.

December 16-19 - Our 3rd grade book club finished reading "A Rover's Story" and wrote letters to rovers that the designed. We also started lessons with 3rd-5th grade about using the library catalog and locating books on the shelves with a scavenger hunt.

1st & 2nd graders discussed celebrations that our families celebrate throughout the year. Kinder read "Red & Lulu" and colored birds to decorate our library. PreK participated in snowman activities and read "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bell."

December 13 - Author Lalena Fisher came to present to 1st & 2nd grade classes. She shared her love of illustration and demonstrated to students that they can write about anything they are passionate about.

December 9-12 - Kinder students read "Our Favorite Day of the Year" and we played Christmas bingo as we talked about symbols. PreK students talked about describing our feelings after reading "A Little Scribble Spot."

December 2-6 - PreK worked hard shoveling "snow" and talking about careers after reading "Snowmen at Work." Kinder explored graphs with "Friends Beyond Measure," 1st grade reviewed parts of speech to create a class Mad Libs after reading "Panda Problem," and 2nd grade acted out their version of a fractured fairly tale after reading "Cinderella With Dogs."

Mrs. Adams also introduced our "Read With a Friend Challenge" for 2nd - 5th grade students.

November 18-22 - We talked about Thanksgiving traditions and foods that our families like to eat throughout the year after reading "Turkey Trouble" and "Duck for Turkey Day."

November 11-15

PreK - We read "Little Tree" and talked about seasons and how things have to change in order to grow. Students created leaves to add to our own "little trees."

Kinder - "Como Estas? How Are You?" We talked about friendship and including others while using teamwork to solve a puzzle. Students also colored friendship bookmarks.

1st - After reading the fractured fairy tale "Cinderella With Dogs," each class decided on new details and acted out our own version of "The Three Little Dogs."

2nd - We voted with dot graphs and scatter graphs after reading "Friends Beyond Measure."

November 4-8- This week was packed with so many fun stories and activities!

PreK - Read "Ten Apples Up on Top" and then practiced counting and stacking our own "apples"

Kinder - Read "Panda Problem" and students drew their panda in a new setting

1st - Read "The Couch Potato" and students created a new activity for their potato to try

2nd - Read "The Big Cheese" and created a mini graphic novel to show Cheese trying out something new and not being afraid to fail

October 28-31 - Kinder -2nd grade read and shared about Diwali. Many of our students were excited to share how their family celebrates this holiday. We also reveiwed how to access and find even more books online using MackinVia and Comics Plus. PreK students read "Boo Haiku" and made spiders for Halloween.

October 21-26 - Our book fair was a huge success! Our theme was "Adventure is Out There" from the movie "UP." Thank you to the MANY parent volunteers that helped throughout the week and to teachers for bring classes to our book fair preview days. But especially thank you to our amazing Herrington families for supporting your child's reading and our library programming!

October 15-18 - PreK students read "Mr. Kitty Is Lost" and practiced colors while kinder, 1st & 2nd grade students learned how to read graphic novels and got excited for our book fair with a preview video.

October 11 - Author Mari Mancusi came to discuss her Bluebonnet book, "New Dragon City," with 4th & 5th grade classes. She also talked about coming up with great story ideas, how the writing process works for authors, and not giving up on our dreams.

October 7-10 - It was a great week of lessons! PreK students read "Are You My Mother" and went on a library hunt to help the baby bird find his mother. Kindergartners helped match baby animals to their parents after reading "I Was Born a Baby." 1st grade lessons focused on helping students break down words and practice their rhyming skills with "Chester Van Chime Who Forgot How to Rhyme." Our 2nd graders showed off their measuring skills after reading "Howard the Average Gecko."

October 2

September 30 - Author Melanie Morgan presented to our kindergarten classes! They loved the interactive presentation and showed off their rhyming skills.

September23-27 - Kindergarten classes read the fractured fairy tale "Cinderella With Dogs" and created their own fractured fairy tale, "The Three Little Dogs."

September 9-13- We discussed family and friends that live far away, and how we can stay connected to them.

K - The Invisible String

1st - With Lots of Love

2nd - Drawn Together

September 2-6 - We read different building stories and students had a great time showing off their building skills with various materials. PreK students built "forts" with Mrs. Strong to house our stuffies.

PreK - Jack and Jill's Treehouse; K - Too Tall Houses; 1st - The Little Red Fort; 2nd - The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig

August 26-30 - We became a mobile library for a few days while the library was being used for testing. K-2 read "Mr. S" and practiced their subitizing and alphabetizing skills.

August 23 - We were thrilled to have 80 students participate in our summer reading program! They were excited to choose prizes ranging from bookmarks to posters to brand new books.

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