20 Reasons To Buncee....and A Place To Share How You Buncee Too!

Last week at FETC, Buncee had these adorable posters made up to show 20 Reasons to Buncee. 

I have looked at this so many times this week and keep brainstorming more and more ideas each day.  

Now, we want to know how you use Buncee.  

You can add your ideas to this very special Padlet where we have been collecting all kinds of ways to use Buncee in the library, classroom, community, professionally and personally.   You will find it here. 

I can't wait to see and hear how you Buncee too!  

Get Your "I Am A Future Ready Librarian" Sticker Here!

I had so much fun passing out the new Future Ready Librarian stickers at the FETC Conference last week.  In February, I will be passing them out at the TCEA in Texas and bringing them to India for my librarian friends too.  

I know a lot of you would love to have one so we have added the file to Follett's Project Connect website.  Now you can go to the site here, download and print the stickers to post and share as you advocate and spread the word about Future Ready Librarians.  

I have two on my laptop and they were awesome in helping me talk about Future Ready Librarians with lots of people at the FETC Conference and other places I have been in the New Year.  

Together we are making a difference for schools communities, libraries and children everywhere. Keep on making a difference #FutureReadyLibs, friends.  You all inspire me so much.  

The Winners Of Mrs. P's 9th Annual Be-a-Famous Writer Contest Are....

The winners of Mrs. P's 9th Annual Be-a-Famous Writer Contest were announced this week and I couldn't be more excited to see what they wrote to fit this years dragon theme.  

In this post on Mrs. P's blog, you will find the winners, the news for when she will read it online and the wonderful prizes these classes received. 

Thank you Mrs. P for bringing us such a wonderful contest each year and thank you to so many librarians, teachers and children who used their best imaginations to write such special stories.  

We Are Innovating Learning & Transforming The Future At TCEA This Week!

This week, we are at one of my favorite weeks of the year!

It is the TCEA Conference and this year it is better than ever as we Innovate Learning and Transform the Future. 

 I am so honored to be joining two amazing keynote speakers and...

inspiring colleagues and friends as a Featured Speaker.  As I look over their presentations and all of the other amazing ones going on throughout the week, I get even more excited to learn, connect and collaborate at TCEA. 

Here is where you will be able to find me from Monday through Thursday at TCEA.  

Curation: What's In Your Classroom? on Monday, February 5, 8:00-9:30am (group) 

Are You Future Ready To Rumble? on Tuesday, February 6, 8:00-9:30am (group) 

Lead from the Library with Creative Advocacy and Branding on Wednesday, February 7, 8:00-9:00am 

25 Best Websites That Rock Each Year....Update 2017 on Wednesday, February 7, 10:30-11:30pm 

Creating a Teaching and Learning Atmosphere of Digital Citizenship on Wednesday, February 7, 2:30-3:30pm 

Building An Amazing Virtual Library for Your Community on Thursday, February 8, 8:30-10:00am 

My Favorite Things: Celebrating Good News and Innovation in Libraries on Thursday, February 8 12:30-2:00pm 

Digital Tools to Connect, Create and Collaborate on Thursday, February 8, 4:30-5:30pm 

I will also be sharing on Twitter and Instagram using the official TCEA hashtag for the conference #TCEA.  I can't wait to see so many of you there!  

Join Every Child A Reader in Celebration of the 99th Annual Children’s Book Week, April 30-May 6, 2018!

Here is another celebration that you won't want to miss, friends!  

It is Children's Book Week from Every Child A Reader on the week of April 30 to May 6, 2018.  This is always one of my favorite weeks as we celebrate books for young people and the joy of reading.  

As the site states, 

Established in 1919, Children’s Book Week is the longest-running national literacy initiative in the country. Every year, events are held nationwide at schools, libraries, bookstores, homes — wherever young readers and books connect!

It is such a special week!  

In fact, they are currently looking for volunteers to be an official Children's Book Week event location.  You can sign up on the site here.

Today I saw the official poster online and couldn't wait to share it!  It is beautiful.  

They shared, This year’s poster is designed by Jillian Tamaki, the co-creator of Caldecott Honor and Printz Award winning This One Summer. The 2018 poster features this year’s Children’s Book Week slogan, “One World, Many Stories,” highlighting the power of books to unite readers of all backgrounds. 

You will find the poster on their site to use before and during the week. 

And take a look at this amazing packet Jillian created too....

 Our kids will love these activities and...

there are lots more for all ages, librarians, teachers, communities and more.  

As it gets closer, we will start a Google Doc where we can connect and collaborate together.  

For now, please plan to join Every Child A Reader in celebration of the 99th annual Children’s Book Week, April 30-May 6, 2018! 

Prevent the Summer Slide & Make The Lives Of Our Readers ROCK!

Even though it is only January, we are already seeing things pop up about summer reading...

especially with the fun theme being Libraries Rock!  

I love this illustration and the other beautiful things that have been created for the 2018 Summer Reading Program. You will find this and lots of other materials on the Collaborative Summer Library Program site here.

It is definitely going to be a summer of reading that rocks! And we as librarians, teachers and families want to make sure all children have access to engaging and wonderful reading materials and experiences all summer long to take them to new reading heights and prevent the summer slide.  

Our friends at Follett created this awesome new infographic sharing how reading over the summer is crucial to student success and happiness as they go back to school in the fall. 

They have included several important statistics and articles that will help us prepare for our own summer reading programs.  

The 5 Ideas and Tips for Summer Reading and Kids on this infographic will also be very helpful as summer reading is planned and as we get ready to share the plans with the local public library, families and our students.  I love how they included ideas such as Finding a Little Free Library and Getting a Free Biblionasium account to see peer reviews and start a personal reading challenge.  

Today, after seeing this and thinking about all of the things we can do for summer reading...

I created a special new Collection by Destiny called Literacy Success With Summer Reading that you will find here. 

This Collection includes the awesome Prevent the Summer Slide infographic and lots of other resources like the site for the 2018 Summer Reading Program, summer reading projects and ideas, articles on the importance of summer reading,

fun ideas for creating musical instruments,

programs and products that Follett has which will support and celebrate readers this summer, Biblionasium, Little Free Library and more!  

I would like to know what else we should add.  Please let me know or ask to be a collaborator and help me too!  

I love the summer with my family and one of the main reasons is all the reading that we get to do.  This was one of the best parts of being a librarian too.  We have a chance to make a difference in the lives of our readers not just during the school year, but over the summer months too.  

This summer lets make our lives of readers rock through reading!  

44 FREE EPIC! Winter Olympics Books In This Collection!

I just added something awesome to the Winer Olympics Collection by Destiny I created and shared yesterday

I added a link to the set of Winter Olympics books in EPIC!  These are perfect for our students 12 years old and younger. 

Take a look at what they have....

I had so much fun looking through these too!  

You will find the Winter Olympics Collection here and EPIC! is towards the top of the resources.  

Get Anyone Coding With Root....Coming Soon!

Last week at the FETC Conference in Florida, I spent a lot of time on the exhibit floor in between my sessions and workshops.  

I saw lots of amazing library, learning and technology tools and resources.  I spoke with inspiring people in the booths, as I listened to the story behind the products and thought of the impact they would have and how we could use them in the library and classroom.  

However, there was a new one that I just can't stop thinking about.  

 

It's called Root!  

Root is a little robot that can teach all young people grades K-12, and beyond, to code. 

Root Robotics shares their mission on the site, 

Our mission is to make learning to code accessible to any age.  We believe robots are the best way to engage in the journey of how digital stuff really works.  And our promise is to make learning this way as easy as opening an app.   

Coding, music, art and adventure keeps kids engaged as they learn problem solving skills through three different levels of coding, which they can easily move between as they go.  

When I walked up to the table where Root sat, I loved hearing about all its different parts and traits.  

 Root does so many things as it includes over 50 sensors and actuators to....

teach coding in a more fun, interesting and engaging way.

Look what Root can do...

YES, that's right!  Root can even climb on magnetic surfaces such as a whiteboard!  

I LOVE how Root speaks and plays music that the user composes.  

A whiteboard top! How fun!  

Can't you just pictured your students as they learn how to code with Root too?  

Not only was Root super cool, the people behind the coding robot were even cooler!  I enjoyed meeting one of them and reading more about the trio here. 

Root is not quite ready to ship yet but they are taking orders for shipments in June 2018.  You can read about this here.  Oh, and sign up for updates. 

To learn more, visit their website at codewithroot.com.  The Public Workshops under Educators look very interesting and fun as we get ready to bring root to our school.  

Also, follow Root Robotics on Twitter and Facebook for lots of ideas from them, but especially from all of the creative minds that are working on Root.  

I love thinking about what root will bring to our kids, libraries, curriculum, Makerspaces, classrooms and homes....and to the future of coding!