Join the Fun for Lock-A-Palooza With Our Friends From Breakout EDU on December 19th! Register Here!

 

Our friends at Breakout EDU are hosting a super fun LIVE event on December 19 called Lock-A-Palooza!

As shared in their invite,

Get ready to play Breakout EDU games LIVE throughout the day on December 19th!

Whether you bring your students, join during your prep time, or pop in first thing in the morning, we’ll be here waiting for you.

From 8:00 AM ET to 4:00 PM ET, we’ll host 30-minute live game sessions at the top of every hour.

Join using the same event link all day and come and go as it fits your schedule. There are plenty of games to play, so don’t miss out on the fun!

You can register for Lock-A-Palooza here, friends.

A Fun Day of Connection and Books at Van Meter With Our Friend and Publishers' Representative, Gabe Flynn!

Recently, I had the opportunity to spend time in the library in partnership with my friend Gabe Flynn, who visited our school to support our collection and help us explore ways to bring fresh, high‑interest titles to our readers.

Gabe and I worked together across the library, meeting students and educators, talking through book choices, and making sure we’re set up for a strong year ahead. What stood out to me most was how genuine Gabe’s support is. He wasn't just talking about titles and orders, but about our readers and what will truly engage them.

We looked at brand‑new series from ABDO, researched interest levels and formats that draw in readers, and set up a plan to help refresh our collection with titles that breathe energy into our space. Gabe brought great enthusiasm, practical guidance, and a shared excitement for students who may not always lean toward books but will when the right titles are there.

With Gabe's visit, we’re not just adding books - we’re building experiences. 

Thank you, Gabe, for investing your time and expertise with us! We can’t wait until you come back to visit us again. 

Our BOOKHUB & Virtual BOOKHUB For December! Our Monthly Read Aloud & eBook Program Using Books, Capstone Connect & CI eBooks For All Readers!

One of our favorite ways to share special books and celebrate reading is our monthly BOOKHUB Takeout Station. 

Each month, we put together a new group of books that teachers can come pick up to read and share with their students.  You can read all about it, and find the signage I created in Canva, here in this post.

Here is our BOOKHUB Menu for December. You will find the Canva template here.

A few years ago, I thought it would also be found to create a Virtual BOOKHUB each month. 

Capstone Connect is the perfect place to help me create too! 

Capstone Connect is an amazing digital platform from our friends at Capstone that connects PebbleGo, PebbleGo Next, Capstone Interactive eBooks and teachers resources in one place with links to use that connect to each resource.

Let me show you how I put the our December Virtual BOOKHUB choice board.

First, I logged into our Capstone Connect. 

I searched Winter using the Title Search in Capstone Connect. 

When I searched Winter, it gave me the results eBooks, PebbleGo articles and teacher resources.

For the choice board I created, I needed the book cover and link to the eBook.  

To view the eBook, I clicked on All About Animals in Winter and the eBook...

...opened up in Capstone Interactive.  This let me view the eBook and also grab the cover image. 

I then clicked on Copy Link and took it to the choice board. 

I then went back to the You've Been Virtually Book'd For December choice board I created in Google Slides.  I added the screen shot of the book cover, clicked on the image, and added the link I copied to the image. 

When our students and teachers click on the book covers, it will take them straight to the ebooks within Capstone Interactive.  

We don't even have to login because by using Capstone Connect it takes us directly to the eBooks and PebbleGo resources every time.  

We love our You've Been Book'd program and can't wait to celebrate reading in one more way with our students as we share our You've Been Virtually Book'd program every month! 

I made a template for you to create your own You've Been Virtually Book'd For December.  If you have Capstone Interactive eBooks, you can find the link and add them to the book covers I have included in this choice board.

I also created this blank template for December to fill in with your own eBooks and choices for December.

You will find it here to make a copy, friends.