Jean Darnell: Awaken Librarian

Woo-hoo! It's National Library Week! Are you participating in the ALA National Library Week Challenge?? I am! :) @ALALibrary Here's my #bannedbook from the 2015 list! 😈 #LibrariesTransform #photochallenge #LoveMySchoolLibrary pic.twitter.com/vAOEJnU2lW — AwakenLibrarian (@awakenlibrarian) April 11, 2016 Happy #NLWD2016 Myself & Mrs. Noceja-my beloved Kindergarten #coworker / #friend !! #WNDLibs @ALALibrary pic.twitter.com/llmLkhufRB — AwakenLibrarian (@awakenlibrarian) April 12, 2016 The best part of my #library 's the entrance door: Seeing those kiddos' smiles, hugs & exuberance inspires me! #NLW16 pic.twitter.com/f50iA27vSq — AwakenLibrarian (@awakenlibrarian) April 13, 2016 Libraries inspire hope w/in the community& provide the resources needed to achieve their dreams! #LibrariesTransform pic.twitter.com/u6ZLZo3csg — AwakenLibrarian (@awakenlibrarian) April 14, 2016 Pls chk out how we've celebrated #NLW16 ...

On Saturday, I had the pleasure of reading a wonderful free book that touches upon the secret bond between a child and their grandparents! @Lemonstarfish I LOVED reading "Fishing with Pop!" The secret bond b/w a child/grandparent! https://t.co/4XhHQ9KPbW pic.twitter.com/7ab1p0NE4x — awakenlibrarian (@awakenlibrarian) February 20, 2016 Here's our little book tease... P.S. If you hurry, you can download it for free on Amazon.com I couldn't resist making a Vine: Thank you Mr. Davenport for the perfect library fish! We've an update!! Lemon Starfish Books loved our video and decided to send us treats! @awakenlibrarian Please message us your address, we would love to send you some goodies for your library. — Lemon Starfish Books (@Lemonstarfish) February 22, 2016 UPDATE: Here's the much awaited book trailer for Fishing with Pop: Fishing with Pop Children's Book Trailer Check out this super cute trailer for our new book, Fishing with Pop. Fishi...

I'm quite the visual person and I love videos to express meaning, and consequently for learning. If I can see you do it, then I can master it within a couple of tries...hence this blog that's full of videos and graphics! :) I'm super-short on time, but came across a few resources to help with Thanksgiving crafts and lessons. Enjoy! Here's a cute little video for Thanksgiving: "Thank You for Thanksgiving," Happy Thanksgiving from the StoryBots! from StoryBots on Vimeo . I adore brain stimulation and came across these Thanksgiving Riddles from Enchanted Learning: What key won't open any door? (A turkey!) What's the most musical part of a turkey? (The drumstick!) Why did the turkey sit on the tomahawk? (To hatchet!) For all those "directionally challenged," here's a delightful "Thanksgiving Compass Guide" one-sheeter from Activity Village : Looking for a cool cupcake topper for your "to die for...

My district had the clever idea to get in on the holiday fun surrounding Halloween, and have a Monster Match! Basically, one class designs/creates a monster. Then they type up their description only of the monster and send the description to another school/classroom. Next, based on the description, that class creates their version of the monster. Finally, on a designated day, both classes video-conference to compare/contrast the results! How cool is that?? Very! Here is our accomplishment: LGE: Monster Match from AwakenLibrarian on Vimeo . I liked this activity because it was a bit of holiday fun, incorporated technology (albeit minimally) but also because it dabbled into a bit of #GeniusHour. Our kids were allowed to create based on a topic/guidance. They had a minimal description with the "sky being the limit" on creativity. It's not 100% #GeniusHour , but it's a great way to start off those kiddos and staff members are new to it. For some other ideas...

On my campus, my principal stresses the importance of great writing. As a former senior English teacher, my students can attest to you, how much I stressed the value of active writing over passive writing. I forbade the following "To Be" verbs from their essays: am, is are, was, were, be, being, been, became, become, seems appears and got. THEY HATED ME...at first! But over time, I had them slinging essays and poetry books like it was nothing... all without "to be" verbs! When they graduated--AND as this Facebook post will attest to--they knew the power of writing concise and with direct/active purpose: Though they complained, I always wrote with my students following all the rules I assigned. I did it to keep my edge, to model and to show them that I wouldn't ask them to do anything that I wouldn't do myself. There's an article titled "Do You Write with your Students?" Here's a wonderful graphic, courtesy of Edutopia , that c...

A few weeks ago, I posted about Egyptian Mummies. The kids were AMAZED that beneath the pyramids were a labyrinth of mazes! That was the beginning of this week's lesson: MAZES! Yes...I was one of those kids that would complete a maze book in one day! Therefore, it was off to Amazon.com to find them: Then I had the grand idea to have the students compete on a poster-size and laminated free maze: And that was the beginning of the end...the kids went ZONKERS! Here's a video archive of the day... What I most enjoyed was the concluding activity: I chose 2 volunteers. One person acted as the "hands," the other were the "eyes." They had to work together to complete the maze. This was TEAMWORK at its best because one had to listen (because they were blindfolded) and the other volunteer had to articulate clearly. It's amazing how well they can listen when they want a treat! And yes, that pun was intentional! As my new, beloved principal say...

I've discovered a new book... AND I'M IN LOVE! In this one book, I will cover all subjects in learning (music, art, language art, social students, science, technology & PE-via dancing), ready? Here we go... Here's a small video I created to put on the morning announcements to entice the students: And, what kind of librarian would I be without including a book review: Mummy Cat by Marcus Ewert My rating: 5 of 5 stars I absolutely loved this book as it's the perfect platform to cover every subject taught in school. Without giving away too much, Mummy Cat was the victim of vengeance and now awaits to be reunited with his owner, the Queen of Egypt! The fluidity of Marcus Ewert 's choice of words is wonderful. Please check out my blog post, as it has the blessing of both author and illustrator: Mummy Cat! And, did I mention that illustrator Lisa Brown has fantastic illustrations that allude to the text seamlessly? View all my reviews Then, I beg...

Yesterday was our first day back! I enjoyed seeing all the faces light up with curiosity and joy for the new beginning! But, at the end of the day I did feel exhausted, like any Monday! :) But something truly great happened that Monday evening. I joined the Twitter #PLN (Professional Learning Network) hashtag #growthmindset and it changed my vision for this year. Thank you Kelly Mendoza for hosting the PLN last night! :) I needed this visual to share w/a new #PLN , #growthmindset ! https://t.co/TpJ2SFtWJp — awakenlibrarian (@awakenlibrarian) August 25, 2015 I💜this!! Change your words = change your mindset.Dare we add Change your World? #GrowthMindset #5550 @GilcreaseElem https://t.co/L6pa152AXW — Misty Gerber (@misty_gerber) August 24, 2015 For those that don't know, I'm a librarian at a Title 1, elementary campus. Some of our kids are well-rounded, with middle class income families. And some, are not as fortunate. But regardless of income, I practice the b...