Happy Ground Hog's Day

Hello, Happy Ground Hog's Day 2009!

I seem to be averaging one post a month. I wish I had the extra time to post more often. Ground Hog's Day is always a lot of fun to talk and read about at school. To find out what whether Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow today visit the offical website at www.groundhog.org Who knows maybe spring will be just around the corner - yeah! You can also find interesting facts and activities at
http://www.dgsweb.state.pa.us/CMSUploads/groundhog2009/index.html


This past weekend I attended an ISLMA (Illinois School Library Media Association) meeting in Tinley Park near Chicago. The meeting was for the Monarch Reading Award committee. For more information regarding this reading program and other Illinois State reading programs, including the newest one the "Bluestem" Award, visit the website at http://www.islma.org/grants_awards.htm

At the meeting we narrowed down the list of 50 book nominees to the 20 for the 2010 Monarch list. This was a very educational experience for me as I have never been on this committee before. Each member had to present a book review on one of the titles and then we all discussed the pro's and con's of the book. We discussed the story line, theme, illustrations, use in the classroom, appropriate age level of the reader, etc... There are many useful activities on the Monarch website for using the books in the classroom. The students at school are currently voting for their favorite book for 2009. The winner will be announced in March.


http://craigswarehouse.com/blog/ - This website has a lot of seasonal ideas, crafts, etc. on it.