Summer Happenings

Ahhh, the lazy days of summer vacation are upon us.  My summer began with a trip to Disney World.  I can't say that it was exactly lazy (early mornings and late nights) but for 8 beautiful days I did not think once about my library or the mammoth task of getting ready for the new school year.

We had so much fun exploring the parks together.  Now that we're home from Disney perhaps the lazy days can begin...

So maybe not so lazy, I like many of my colleagues know that you can't wait until the new school year begins to start planning.  Planning for me began with a time of reflection.  What am I doing really well? What needs to improve?  At the same time, as I prepare to go to a different school next year it is also a time to reflect on my mission and vision for the school library.  What are my dreams for the school library?

I can sum up my mission and vision in one word Joyful.  My mission is to transform the library into a joyful place where students will explore, learn, create and share.  My vision is to see students actively engaged in independently exploring questions of personal interest using the resources available to them in the school library.  So you are probably thinking what does joy have to do with the mission of an elementary school library. I believe that students really need to enjoy coming to the library if I want them to engaged in research activities.  A joyful library creates positive atmosphere where students can explore whatever interests they have whether its the latest Diary of a Wimpy Kid or an interest in space exploration.

In order to create a joyful library, I need to step out of my comfort zone a bit and take a few risks.
                                   
                                     

Collaboration

Collaborating with teachers in a meaningful way will be important. It's easy to allow yourself to become somewhat isolated when you are on a fixed schedule. Classes come in and out on the heels of each other. Often the schedule does not allow for the librarian to attend grade level planning.  The key to success will be finding...no, making time to collaborate with teachers.  Collaboration allows an opportunity to connect library lessons to classroom learning.  One way that I am pushing past the risk is by creating an online form using Google Forms for my teachers to request a collaboration session.   I am also providing teachers with a hard copy of the collaboration form which I found on NoodleTools.  These documents allow us to get the conversation started and allow me to go into a collaboration session prepared so that our time is used effectively.

Centers

This year, I plan to implement centers. I am so thankful for Cari Young's blog, The Centered School Library. She has so many great ideas for implementing centers in the school library.   Centers actively engage students whether they simply want to read or if they want to investigate a topic of interest. In the past, I've been hesitant to implement centers because I thought it would create more classroom management problems than it was worth. From my professional reading, I have learned that the key to success is clearly stated and implemented procedures.   Cari suggests posting "I can" statements at each center.  Centers allow students to practice being independent learners. They will have the opportunity to choose which centers they complete.  My hope is that having the opportunity to choose which centers they complete will be a joyful experience for my students and for me.

Student Volunteers

I  plan to allow students to be more involved by establishing a student volunteer group which will help with everything from shelving to providing a student voice for book selection. In the past I have made excuses for why I just couldn't have student volunteers. I now see this as an opportunity to develop leadership skills as well as relationships with my students.  

It's not going to be easy to step out of my comfort zone, but I know that many opportunities are ahead of me.  I am looking forward to a great year of making my dreams come true.  

What have you been reflecting on this summer? How do you plan to step out of your comfort zone?

Edutopia recently published Adam Bellow's keynote from ISTE: Professional Development: 4 Ways to Start Changing the World: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/4-ways-start-changing-world-adam-bellow?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=blog-bellowquote2. It is a great read as you begin to prepare for the new year.