Jean Darnell: Awaken Librarian

Today's a fun day in the library! It's Dr. Seuss' birthday and we had a parade, watched my favorite Dr. Seuss story, The Sneetches, we did some finger puppet "make believe" and then played a game of Seuss Charades! Enjoy! OMG...I almost forgot it was #DrSeussDay ! Here's an impromptu concert! 😂 #librarylife #libraryleaders #AwakenLibrarian #savethetrees pic.twitter.com/uXEdbiSsyV — AwakenLibrarian (@awakenlibrarian) March 2, 2017 GLEC #DrSeussDay Celebration! from AwakenLibrarian on Vimeo .

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...

So we've reached the 3rd week of school here in Texas, and it's not quite eye-rolling time, but some of the kids are not playing nice in the sand-box! :) However, I'm not discouraged. I'm pressing forward and would like to offer these resources: for the disgruntled tween: for the 2nd graders trying to decide what's a good book: Helping #students "Choose the Right Book" today in the #library ! Here's cute video resource: https://t.co/OllQCC9ynT pic.twitter.com/Zc0K8bMTWx — awakenlibrarian (@awakenlibrarian) September 8, 2015 and, for those kids that hate books: The better news is that Halloween is next month and in case you don't know, I LOVE scaring the kiddo's. Here's last year's Halloween blog post ! Libraries and fear go so well together!

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...

Thank you The Atlantic for this enriching and TIMELY article about returning to the true meaning of reading: to entertain one and appreciate the thoughts of another's journey. Enjoy reading, "The Most Important Lesson Schools Can Teach Kids About Reading: It's Fun"

It's finally here!!! The week where I can be an ABSOLUTE, CORRUPT AND BANNED READER and relish the thought of it! Plus, the entire federation of sassy and classy librarians HAVE MY BACK! There's so much I want to post about this topic-everything from pictures to articles and please don't forget my twitter page: https://twitter.com/awakenlibrarian where I've posted all types of articles on this wonder week of rebellion! See my collection below and please enjoy! American Library Association's Promotion of Reading Banned Books 2013 ! New York Public Library's Banned Article- "Fight for Your Right to Read: Banned Books Week 2013" American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)- How LGBT Families Are Still the Target of Banned Books?!!! Huffington Post's "7 Reasons Why Your Favorite Books Were Banned" Pinterest Banned Book Poem: "Are You There God?" 11 Quotes on Censorship from Buzzfeed.com Banned Books Week...