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Managing centers in the school library can seem daunting, especially with an already packed schedule. Let me tell you, I absolutely love having centers in the library! Using centers enhances student engagement while fostering a love for learning and reading. Over the years, I’ve discovered some fantastic tricks that make managing library centers a breeze. Today, I’m sharing my favorite strategies to help you effortlessly bring centers into your library routine and make the most out of every moment. (Note: This post contains affiliate links.) Centers in the Library Are Beneficial To Students’ Exploration Centers in the library are a game-changer for student exploration and learning. When I first started incorporating centers, I noticed an immediate boost in student engagement. These centers give our students the freedom to explore different subjects at their own pace, which fosters a sense of independence and curiosity. I love watching my students dive
Do you ever get those questions about whether you’re really that busy all day in the library? I sure do! As we know, librarians are just as busy as classroom teachers. Some days, even more so. Our schedules can be incredibly hectic, with very few breaks and back-to-back classes throughout the day! I’ve been doing this for a long time now, and I’d like to think I’ve learned a thing or two about effective time management over the years in the library. So, today, I’m sharing my top 5 tips to have the best time management skills around. Why Do School Librarians Need Effective Time Management? Let’s discuss effective time management for a second. Effective time management is crucial for school librarians because it directly impacts our ability to support our students and teachers. When we manage our time well, we can handle the diverse tasks that come our
As summer winds down and we start to get ready for the new school year, it’s that time of year when we begin leisurely searching for back-to-school activities for the library to kick off the year. Let’s make your life easier by setting things up now, so you can stress less and relax more during the back to school madness. Today, I’m sharing some of those must-haves for the library to start the year off right and make your life so much easier! Why Do School Librarians Need to be Ready for Back to School Season? As we know, back to school time in the library is crucial. It’s the perfect moment to set the rules and procedures that will guide the rest of the school year. We start to build relationships with our students, and we figure out schedules. It can get a bit chaotic and crazy, but
Choosing how to decorate your library is more important than you may realize. The theme you choose will set the tone for the entire year. The posters and décor is the first thing anyone will notice when they enter the library. You want to create a warm and inviting atmosphere that feels welcoming to everyone. You also need to choose something that you like because you have to live with it the entire school year. Printing Tips Choosing a library theme is only half the battle. Next you have to print and laminate everything. Printing can definitely be a challenge, especially if you are not able to print color copies at school. If you are printing from home, having a good-quality color printer is a must. Just about everyone I know uses HP instant ink. Honestly, I do not use it myself. However I have never heard anything negative
Well it’s ALMOST sweet summertime here in Virginia (school ends June 19 to be exact!) and that means a couple of things for me:  I think as librarians it’s really important to make sure that we are always at the “top” of our game. I like to use summer to read 1 or 2 professional development books to refresh and reset before the new school year. It helps me feel energized and excited about going back to school (Keep in mind that I never start doing this until after 4th of July!) It also gives me new tips and ideas to try in the library, as things are always changing. In case you want to up your professional development game as well, I have created a list of the 10 BEST professional development books for librarians below. (All of the Amazon links are affiliate links). Hacking School Libraries 10
It’s getting to be that long stretch in the year in which students start to become unmotivated after winter break. Summer break seems so close, everyone can almost smell it, yet it’s still pretty far away. Keeping students motivated at this time of the year can be difficult. Keeping students motivated to read can be hard during any time of the school year, but the second semester always seems more difficult to keep that incentive to read going, in my opinion. What can we do about this? Do you use any reading incentives with your students? I find that motivating students to read by doing different unique reading activities and offering them some choices will often get them more excited to engage in a book. All students have a different love for reading and that’s okay. However, all students need to be reading as we know-even if it’s not