Monthly Blog

Check here at the end of every month to see a recap of what we've been up to in the library! 

September 2024

We had a great start to the school year in the library! All the Meyer students got to know the different types of activities that we can do in different areas of the library, and began checking out books! 

All preschool and kindergarten classes had a chance to build on the Lego walls.

Preschool students did many activities connected to our read-aloud books. After reading Do Not Bring Your Dragon To The Library by Julie Gassman, students did a sort on the Smart TV about "library dos and don'ts." After reading the classic Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr., students used felt characters from the story to put them in the order that they appeared in the book. They also got to try out several different building materials in the library and experience some building centers after reading the book Jabari Tries  by Gaia Cornwall. 

Once a month, rather than check out books, kindergarten students will participate in a STEAM activity in the library. Our first one was based on the book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. After reading the story, students worked together in small groups to use wooden blocks and green craft sticks to make their own trees. Once the trees were built, they were challenged to see how many plastic letters they could fit on top. Then they each drew a picture of their tree and wrote down the number that corresponded to the number of letters that fit on top of their tree. They all did a great job working together and thinking creatively! 

We're all looking forward to continuing this fantastic 2024-25 school year! 

October 2024

We're having a fun fall in the Meyer library! Pre-K wrapped up their farm unit by reading Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown, and then using blocks to build their own barns for toy farm animals. 

The Pre-K students also practiced their teamwork skills by building with a partner. They had a ring of pictures to give them ideas of what to build, then worked with their partner to choose what to build, and made it come to life together! 

The full day Pre-K students also tried their hands at buiding gates for "5 little pumpkins" to sit on top of after the interactive read alouds 5 Little Pumpkins and 5 Little Pumpkins Came Back. 

The kindergarteners got into the fall spirit by reading The Legend of Spookley the Square Pumpkin, a fun book that teaches about pumpkins of all shapes, colors, and sizes being special. Students were then able to make their own  class play-doh pumpkin patches featuring all sort of unique and colorful pumpkins! Thank you to the kindergarten students for helping make the library look extra festive for fall! The fun will continue next month!

November 2024

We had a November to remember in the library! Pre-K students have been learning all about community helpers, and we had lots of community helper-themed fun this month. After reading the book If I Built A House by Chris Van Dusen, our budding architects drew their own plans for what their dream houses would look like! 

We also read Pete the Cat: Firefighter Pete by James Dean and not only colored some fire trucks and firehouses, but also practiced tracing those words. Before our fall break, we did some special neighborhood building centers! Students used many different building materials to try and re-create local Skokie buildings where community helpers work. They built CVS Pharmacy, the Skokie Public Library, the fire station, Meyer School, and many more! 

The full-day Pre-K classes got in the thankful spirit before break by reading Thank You, Omu by Oge Mora and spotting all the community helpers that Omu shared her food with! Then they imagined what kind of food they would take to Omu's house and drew a picture of it. 

Kindergarten students read one of their favorite books, Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds, and then worked together to build fences for the creepy carrots. They did a great job using teamwork and creativity to keep Jasper Rabbit out of their carrot patch! 

I hope you all had a fabulous fall break!

December 2024

We were busy in the library during the month of December! Local author and illustrator Jacob Grant visited Meyer for an all-school assembly early in the month to read his new book Umami and teach us all how to draw the penguin character from the story! Everyone had so much fun, we feel very lucky to have had an author/illustrator visit with our students this year! 

Pre-K classes started their unit all about author/illustrator Mo Willems, famous for his books about the characters Pigeon and Elephant & Piggie. After reading the Elephant & Piggie book I Love My New Toy, students used craft materials to create their own "new toys." They made up names for them and ideas of what the toys could do. All of the creations are now on display right outside the library for the whole school to enjoy! 

The full day Pre-K classes also read the classic Don't Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus, and then imagined what they would say to the pigeon and what they wished they could drive. They made drawings about both of those things! 

Kindergarten classes read a book about building/creating and teamwork called Boxitects. After reading, they became "Legotects" and worked together to build challenging structures out of Legos like vehicles, buildings, and animals. They did a great job rising to the challenge and collaborating with each other! 

We will back at it in 2025 after winter break! 

January 2025

It may be cold outside, but we're keeping warm and staying busy in the library! 

Pre-K students wrapped up their Mo Willems unit by reading The Pigeon Wants A Puppy and then drawing what kind of puppy they would want if they got one! 

After that, we dove into their winter unit by reading The Snow Thief and then coloring a picture of the main character squirrel from that book. 

Kindergarten students became professional problem solvers by tackling a Breakout EDU activity all about the classic Jan Brett book The Mitten. A Breakout EDU is a sort of educational escape room experience. Students worked in groups to solve puzzles connected to the book, and we used the answers from those to unlock the locks on the breakout box and help Nicki, the main character from the book, find his lost mitten! The students did a great job working together and thinking critically, especially thanks to the help of all of our parent volunteers! 

Check back here next month to see what other winter fun we will get up to! 

February 2025

The library was filled with love in February! We kicked off the month by celebrating World Read Aloud Day with a special visit from the McCracken Social Justice Club. 2 middle schoolers visited each classroom and read aloud to our Meyer students. It's always a treat to see some familiar faces and family members/siblings, and have the "big kids" pay us a visit! 

The full day preschoolers got some indoor exercise when we read 2 books about yoga: You Are A Lion and Zoo Zen. They learned lots of different animal poses! They also did several fun projects related to their fairy tale unit. After reading Goldlilocks and the Three Bears, they worked together to make new chairs for Baby Bear. After reading The Little Red Hen Makes A Pizza, they made their own shape pizzas with stickers. After reading The Little Green Swing, which was based on the story of the 3 little pigs, they took inspiration from the main character in the book and each made a "project idea book" with pictures of all the things they might like to build someday. 

Preschool students also got to participate in some winter play-doh challenges! They got to make different scenes on some wintery play mats according to the prompts- snowmen, snowflakes, penguins, polar bears, and many other snow-related things!

Kindergarten students have been reading books that are nominated for the Illinois Monarch Award since January. They will be voting for their favorite one in March! After reading a book about a fire hydrant named Lou, each student got to make their own version of Lou!

Next month we'll hopefully be getting ready for spring weather!

March 2025

We had lots fun in the library this month! Pre-K students finished their fairy tale unit by reading a book based on the story of the 3 billy goats gruff called The Little Blue Bridge. After reading, students worked in groups to make their own bridges for the billy goats to cross out of popsicle sticks and egg carton pieces!

Pre-K students then enjoyed a unit all about Pete the Cat in the weeks before spring break. They tried their hands at drawing Pete, and also made some "4 groovy buttons" art after reading the book Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons. Students colored Pete's shirt, added sticker buttons, and drew his head on top. Their amazing art skills are growing every day! 

Kindergarten students finished reading our list of Monarch Award-nominated books and voted for their favorites. After voting, each student got an "I voted today" sticker- if you have a kindergartener, ask them which book they voted for! Results will most likely be available after spring break- we can't wait to find out which book won this year! 

Kindergarteners also learned how to make their own books this month with the Book Creator app. They drew their own illustrations, added them into the app, and then recorded audio of themselves telling their stories. Finally, they came up with titles for their books, and made sure to type their own names as the authors! I'm so proud of their creativity! 

We also had a special event at the Skokie Public Library this month called "We Read Together." It was a storytime at the library featuring staff members Dr. Wei, Ms. Moshi, Ms. Smith, Ms. Mullins, and Mrs. Kelley (that's me!) reading some of our favorite books. Thank you to all the Meyer families that were able to attend! 

I hope everyone has a wonderful spring break. We'll be ready for more library fun in April! 

April 2025

April was an action-packed month in the library! We started off with Meyer Story Night. Everyone had an "out of this world" time in their pjs! 

Pre-K students have been learning all about the season of spring this month, and we've had a lot of fun with flowers! We read the Kevin Henkes book When Spring Comes and then students used flower stickers and markers to make their own gardens on paper. 

We also read the Lois Ehlert book Planting A Rainbow , and students used pattern blocks to make colorful shape flowers! 

In kindergarten, we used a different iPad app to create and tell stories. This month, students chose one character to create and draw, and then used the Chatterpix app to speak as that character and tell their story. We had a lot of fun!

The month ended with the Scholastic Book Fair! Thank  you to everyone that visited and purchased books from the fair. It was so wonderful to see everyone stopping by during the Meyer Showcase. 

It's hard to believe there's only one more month left of school! It's going to fly by. 

May 2025

We had so much fun this month wrapping up the school year! 

Pre-K students learned all about caterpillars and butterflies in their classrooms, and we did many fun activities related to them in the library! We read Ross Burach's funny book series all about 1 impatient caterpillar and what happens to it when it becomes a butterfly. Students drew some of the things the caterpillar did while inside its chrysalis, learned about the symmetry of butterfly wings and drew their own symmetrical wing designs, and also got to draw their own beautiful butterflies in addition to coloring a picture of the butterfly from the stories! We also had a Very Hungry Caterpillar day where students helped me put the story events in order, and then made their own very hungry caterpillars out of plastic pouch caps. Special thanks to everyone that donated caps to help make that project possible!

Pre-K and Kindergarten students all got to enjoy some building centers one more time this school year! They made some fantastic things out of magnatiles, magnetic foam blocks, bristle blocks, and large silicone legos. 

Kindergarten students also got one more chance to build on the Lego walls. We started the lesson by reading the book Rex Wrecks It and remembering how to be kind when sharing/building with blocks and other materials. 

What an action-packed school year we had! Good luck to the students that will be moving on to Middleton in the fall, and see you soon to the students that will be returning to Meyer! I hope everyone has a wonderful summer!