Learning in the Library

The Chickadee Award Program is drawing to a close.  The children have finished listening to the ten nominated books and have voted for their favorite.  (The results of the voting at CJL will be reported next week.) The books featured recently are Winnie Finn, Worm Farmer by Carol Brendler and The Circus Ship by Chris Van Dusen.

Winnie Finn, Worm Farmer is about a young girl who is earthworm crazy.  She wants to enter some worms in the county fair in hopes of winning first prize. When she learns there is no category for worms, she starts an earthworm farm to help her neighbors win first prize for the best cornstalks, the best laying hens, and the best puppies.  In the end, the winners share their prizes with Winnie.  After the story, the children got to see a worm farm from Mrs. Ferris’ third grade.  They could even touch a worm if they wanted to!  Then the children got to pretend to be worms.  Since worms do not have eyes, they have to feel objects to know what they are.  The children got to feel four different objects from nature without looking.  (The objects were hidden in cans inside socks.)  After everyone felt each object, the rock, twig, feather, and pine cone were identified.  When the class prepared to leave the library, the children got to see one more type of worm—gummy worms!  Of course, everyone got to have one.

The Circus Ship is by a Maine author/illustrator, Chris Van Dusen.  (This book may sound familiar to some parents because the book was distributed to all kindergartners at the beginning of the school year.)  Sailing in dense fog, a ship carrying circus animals runs aground off the coast of Maine.  The circus master is rescued, but he abandons the animals. They manage to swim to a nearby island.  At first the islanders find the circus animals to be bothersome, but, with time, they grow fond of the critters. When the circus master returns to reclaim his menagerie, the people protect the animals from his greedy grasp by camouflaging them. It is interesting to note that the idea for this book comes from the true story of a circus ship sinking off the coast of Maine in 1835.

Several classes have recently earned a spot on the Library Honor Roll.  From among the kindergarten classes, the Purple, Pink, Brown, Red and Orange Rooms each filled another chart with 100 stickers.  The stickers represent returned library books.  All three first grades completed their 100-piece poster puzzles, too.  As a reward for their responsible library behavior, the each kindergartner and first grader got to pick two foam stickers.

Miss Kimball’s second graders recently filled their fifth book return chart.  They earned the Golden Shelf Elf Award once again!  Since the second graders are doing animal research, Skoob the Shelf Elf sent them figurines of seals and dolphins along with informational bookmarks about the two types of sea creatures.  Miss Mallon’s second graders filled their fourth book chart the following week.  Skoob sent them funny bookmarks and stickers.

Congratulations to all our Honor Roll students!  Keep up the good work!