WEBVTT 00:00:20.530 --> 00:00:24.070 Hello, I'm Patrick Adams. And I'm Caroline Leshear. 00:00:24.269 --> 00:00:27.670 And this is Librarians of Littles, a podcast 00:00:27.670 --> 00:00:32.109 where we review books, include makerspace connections, 00:00:32.109 --> 00:00:36.210 and give tips or tricks for using the library 00:00:36.210 --> 00:00:41.210 with our youngest learners. This week, we are 00:00:41.210 --> 00:00:43.990 going to be sharing two books with you that come 00:00:43.990 --> 00:00:48.049 from the Texas 2x2 list, a list of books created 00:00:48.049 --> 00:00:51.890 by the Texas Library Association every year that 00:00:52.000 --> 00:00:56.520 encourages students to read books that are fit 00:00:56.520 --> 00:01:00.039 for children between the ages of two and second 00:01:00.039 --> 00:01:04.620 grade. And so our first book this week is titled 00:01:04.620 --> 00:01:09.140 Mr. S. It's published by Catherine Teigen Books, 00:01:09.280 --> 00:01:13.439 an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers in 2023. 00:01:14.040 --> 00:01:17.459 The author and illustrator is Monica Arnaldo. 00:01:18.349 --> 00:01:23.430 This book as mentioned is on the Texas 2x2 list, 00:01:23.769 --> 00:01:29.579 but it has also been on the ALSC Notable Children's 00:01:29.579 --> 00:01:33.400 Books list of 2024, the Governor General's Award 00:01:33.400 --> 00:01:36.180 for Young People's Literature Illustrator Finalist 00:01:36.180 --> 00:01:39.900 for 2023, the Junior Library Guild selections 00:01:39.900 --> 00:01:46.540 2024, Publisher Weekly Best Books 2023, and the 00:01:46.540 --> 00:01:49.620 School Library Journal Best Books of the Year 00:01:49.620 --> 00:01:56.629 2023. Monica Arnaldo has also earned the Outstanding 00:01:56.629 --> 00:02:00.849 International Books Grade K -2 in 2015 for her 00:02:00.849 --> 00:02:07.430 book, Arto's Big Move. Monica Arnaldo is an award 00:02:07.430 --> 00:02:10.189 -winning author and illustrator. She grew up 00:02:10.189 --> 00:02:14.930 in Ontario, Canada, in the 1900s. That's what 00:02:14.930 --> 00:02:17.789 she has on her webpage, and it hurts my soul. 00:02:18.449 --> 00:02:23.409 In what? It hurts my soul. In the 1900s, like 00:02:23.409 --> 00:02:30.240 it's... forever ago. It was yesterday. I was 00:02:30.240 --> 00:02:35.240 talking to my mom the other day about water bottles. 00:02:35.360 --> 00:02:37.479 You know how kids these days are like, I need 00:02:37.479 --> 00:02:40.979 my water bottle and it's a thing. And my mom 00:02:40.979 --> 00:02:42.659 was like, you didn't have your water bottles. 00:02:42.659 --> 00:02:45.099 And I was like, no, I think that started happening 00:02:45.099 --> 00:02:49.080 like around the turn of the century. The turn 00:02:49.080 --> 00:02:59.580 of the century. Oh, oh. That wasn't a thing in 00:02:59.580 --> 00:03:03.080 the turn of the century, and that's a valid statement. 00:03:04.199 --> 00:03:13.539 We are so old. Oh, God. Nope, we're keeping all 00:03:13.539 --> 00:03:19.169 of this in. We're keeping all of this. About 00:03:19.169 --> 00:03:22.530 how old we are? Yes. Yep. Okay. All of this is 00:03:22.530 --> 00:03:39.990 staying in. Yep. Yep. Well anyways On her website 00:03:39.990 --> 00:03:43.650 she explains that as a child she invented trading 00:03:43.650 --> 00:03:47.449 lunches and had to be actively restrained from 00:03:47.449 --> 00:03:52.810 befriending wild animals other books that she 00:03:52.810 --> 00:03:58.250 has done include are you a cheeseburger the museum 00:03:58.250 --> 00:04:03.889 of very bad smells time for bed story arto's 00:04:03.889 --> 00:04:08.389 big move little books a little book of big fears 00:04:08.389 --> 00:04:12.370 little brothers and little sisters and she's 00:04:12.370 --> 00:04:16.850 also worked with other authors to write A Dog 00:04:16.850 --> 00:04:21.310 Day for Susan by Maureen Fergus and The Last 00:04:21.310 --> 00:04:25.550 Slice, a Three Kings Day Treat by Melissa Richardson. 00:04:27.129 --> 00:04:29.689 So the summary for this book, it is the first 00:04:29.689 --> 00:04:32.529 day of school and students find themselves in 00:04:32.529 --> 00:04:36.769 a classroom and on the desk at the front of the 00:04:36.769 --> 00:04:40.569 classroom is a stack of papers, a warm mug of 00:04:40.569 --> 00:04:44.649 coffee, and an impressive looking sandwich. As 00:04:44.649 --> 00:04:46.790 the students do not see a teacher, they assume 00:04:46.790 --> 00:04:49.370 that there isn't one until they notice that on 00:04:49.370 --> 00:04:52.250 the board in neat handwriting is the name Mr. 00:04:52.470 --> 00:04:57.170 S. As students are trying to figure out where 00:04:57.170 --> 00:05:01.290 their teacher might be, they find that maybe 00:05:01.290 --> 00:05:05.810 Mr. S stands for the sandwich and that must be 00:05:05.810 --> 00:05:09.370 their teacher. Once they realize that their teacher 00:05:09.370 --> 00:05:11.709 may be a sandwich, they start to get to work. 00:05:12.060 --> 00:05:15.740 and they begin their lessons, they work on the 00:05:15.740 --> 00:05:19.199 alphabet, they do art and story time and music 00:05:19.199 --> 00:05:22.199 and as the day goes on the students question 00:05:22.199 --> 00:05:25.399 if a sandwich can be a teacher. When a man finally 00:05:25.399 --> 00:05:27.839 enters the room it appears that this may be their 00:05:27.839 --> 00:05:31.060 missing teacher and the whole situation is solved 00:05:31.060 --> 00:05:35.980 but in fact this missing teacher who throughout 00:05:35.980 --> 00:05:38.639 the entire book you can see through the classroom 00:05:38.639 --> 00:05:42.019 window is having a very rough day of it. turns 00:05:42.019 --> 00:05:46.899 out to be the principal, Mr. Spencer, and the 00:05:46.899 --> 00:05:50.379 student's teacher is indeed Mr. S. The Sandwich. 00:05:52.220 --> 00:05:55.199 I really love this book. I think this is such 00:05:55.199 --> 00:05:58.980 a great story. It's so cute. It's so fun. It 00:05:58.980 --> 00:06:02.279 does not end the way you expect it to. There's 00:06:02.279 --> 00:06:05.500 so many little jokes going on throughout the 00:06:05.500 --> 00:06:09.509 story. This is going to be my new beginning of 00:06:09.509 --> 00:06:11.370 the year book that I'm going to read with kids 00:06:11.370 --> 00:06:14.589 as the school year starts, because this is such 00:06:14.589 --> 00:06:19.689 a fun story. All of the mayhem that is happening 00:06:19.689 --> 00:06:22.089 to Mr. Spencer in the background through the 00:06:22.089 --> 00:06:25.689 classroom window is really funny, and it tells 00:06:25.689 --> 00:06:28.850 an entire nother story just using the illustrations 00:06:28.850 --> 00:06:35.240 in the book. There's some great Little in jokes 00:06:35.240 --> 00:06:38.860 like the alphabet that they're learning All of 00:06:38.860 --> 00:06:41.399 the letters are correlated to different like 00:06:41.399 --> 00:06:44.240 sandwich types So like letter C is for club sandwich 00:06:44.240 --> 00:06:46.699 and like that kind of thing So it was just like 00:06:46.699 --> 00:06:49.920 in jokes with that And then I really really love 00:06:49.920 --> 00:06:51.839 the conversation as kids are trying to figure 00:06:51.839 --> 00:06:55.120 out if a sandwich can be a teacher and the argument 00:06:55.120 --> 00:06:57.720 that well there's computer teachers and salsa 00:06:57.720 --> 00:07:00.139 teachers and piano teachers and it's these images 00:07:00.139 --> 00:07:03.120 of those physical things actually being teachers 00:07:03.120 --> 00:07:06.620 and I just like that kind of humor to me is really 00:07:06.620 --> 00:07:09.500 fun and even if the kids don't get it it amuses 00:07:09.500 --> 00:07:13.319 me which I'm okay with and but I think that the 00:07:13.319 --> 00:07:15.560 kids would really enjoy this story I think it's 00:07:15.560 --> 00:07:18.699 just so fun and that twist ending where it's 00:07:18.699 --> 00:07:20.459 nope yep the sandwich is actually your teacher 00:07:20.459 --> 00:07:23.199 kind of thing is just Not something that would 00:07:23.199 --> 00:07:26.819 be expected. And so I really enjoyed this I'm 00:07:26.819 --> 00:07:29.660 gonna give it a five out of five bookmarks Because 00:07:29.660 --> 00:07:31.699 like I said, this is gonna be my new beginning 00:07:31.699 --> 00:07:35.439 of the year book. I Agree completely. This is 00:07:35.439 --> 00:07:38.459 definitely a five out of five. This was this 00:07:38.459 --> 00:07:41.079 maybe the most original first day of school book 00:07:41.079 --> 00:07:47.279 I've ever seen yeah Yeah, I think most of most 00:07:47.500 --> 00:07:51.560 first day of school books are fine. They're important 00:07:51.560 --> 00:07:54.500 to have too, like for getting kids acclimated 00:07:54.500 --> 00:07:55.939 to the first day of school and there's a lot 00:07:55.939 --> 00:07:59.699 of feelings that go along with it. This just 00:07:59.699 --> 00:08:02.459 makes it a lot more lighthearted. I might for 00:08:02.459 --> 00:08:05.860 really young kids like our pre -k and kinder 00:08:05.860 --> 00:08:08.620 who are like, it's truly their first day of school. 00:08:08.980 --> 00:08:12.600 I would not read this immediately to them. I 00:08:12.600 --> 00:08:15.959 would probably wait a week or two until, so a 00:08:15.959 --> 00:08:19.620 lot of those Kindergarten pre -k kids they they 00:08:19.620 --> 00:08:21.839 really some of them really do think that they're 00:08:21.839 --> 00:08:24.259 like being abandoned This is for some of them. 00:08:24.259 --> 00:08:27.339 It's their first time like out of the house and 00:08:27.339 --> 00:08:30.699 there's a lot of tears and They haven't been 00:08:30.699 --> 00:08:33.000 anywhere before and some of them truly do think 00:08:33.000 --> 00:08:35.139 that they're not they have to live here forever 00:08:35.139 --> 00:08:38.700 So I don't know if I would read it to them like 00:08:38.700 --> 00:08:41.379 on the first day or anything I might it might 00:08:41.379 --> 00:08:45.000 be like a second week of school for them everybody 00:08:45.000 --> 00:08:48.580 else who understands that this is, you know, 00:08:49.039 --> 00:08:52.240 a fun routine and like, school's not for them 00:08:52.240 --> 00:08:55.120 to live at forever. Like, it would be fun right 00:08:55.120 --> 00:08:57.659 away for them. But yeah, definitely a five out 00:08:57.659 --> 00:09:00.539 of five for originality there. It was a great 00:09:00.539 --> 00:09:03.639 one. I loved it. It's really cute. And like I 00:09:03.639 --> 00:09:05.940 said, the humor just got me. I was smiling the 00:09:05.940 --> 00:09:08.080 whole time I was reading the book. It's just 00:09:08.080 --> 00:09:10.700 really great. And the pictures are really cute. 00:09:11.200 --> 00:09:13.679 And something else that I really, really liked 00:09:13.679 --> 00:09:15.840 about it was that the students in the classroom 00:09:15.840 --> 00:09:19.379 are very diverse. Like there's different skin 00:09:19.379 --> 00:09:22.580 colors. There's a student that is a wheelchair 00:09:22.580 --> 00:09:26.139 user as part of the class. And so like, that's 00:09:26.139 --> 00:09:29.379 just a subtle kind of thing that incorporates 00:09:29.379 --> 00:09:33.080 just everybody being included. And I really like 00:09:33.080 --> 00:09:35.460 that addition to the story, even though it's 00:09:35.460 --> 00:09:37.000 not really necessarily pointed out, it's just, 00:09:37.100 --> 00:09:38.580 Hey, these are all the kids and they just kind 00:09:38.580 --> 00:09:41.690 of do their thing. But Being able to see that 00:09:41.690 --> 00:09:44.809 is just a nice added bonus also that I really 00:09:44.809 --> 00:09:50.450 enjoy. Alright, so I'm going to be honest, for 00:09:50.450 --> 00:09:53.289 a makerspace activity for this, I was struggling. 00:09:53.730 --> 00:09:57.090 I was having a hard time because if we're trying 00:09:57.090 --> 00:09:59.710 to think of something for pre -K students to 00:09:59.710 --> 00:10:05.659 do... The idea of the book is like sandwiches 00:10:05.659 --> 00:10:07.340 and things like that. And so that's challenging. 00:10:07.860 --> 00:10:09.879 What I did do is I looked at, because this is 00:10:09.879 --> 00:10:15.320 a Texas two by two list book, the Texas Library 00:10:15.320 --> 00:10:18.879 Association has cards with different activities 00:10:18.879 --> 00:10:21.360 and different ideas of how to, like they have 00:10:21.360 --> 00:10:24.860 questions that you can ask during the book and 00:10:24.860 --> 00:10:26.639 some like writing prompts, but they also have 00:10:26.639 --> 00:10:28.039 some activities and stuff like that. So I went 00:10:28.039 --> 00:10:32.299 there and looked and what they have, as an activity 00:10:32.299 --> 00:10:35.759 that's suggested for this is building a sandwich. 00:10:36.100 --> 00:10:38.519 And the way it works is there's two papers that 00:10:38.519 --> 00:10:41.240 you'd have to print for every kid. The first 00:10:41.240 --> 00:10:45.899 one is a sandwich. It's like a bun that's connected 00:10:45.899 --> 00:10:49.620 by multiple rectangles. The idea is you cut that 00:10:49.620 --> 00:10:53.899 out, fold all of those rectangles up so that 00:10:53.899 --> 00:10:56.360 the sandwich collapses. And then on the second 00:10:56.360 --> 00:10:59.919 page, are the ingredients for your sandwich. 00:11:00.100 --> 00:11:02.299 So like lettuce, tomatoes, meat, that kind of 00:11:02.299 --> 00:11:04.059 stuff. And there's even like an egg and all sorts. 00:11:04.200 --> 00:11:06.159 So you can pick and choose what you add. And 00:11:06.159 --> 00:11:08.860 then you add those into the folded pieces of 00:11:08.860 --> 00:11:11.159 the sandwich and makes a sandwich that the kids 00:11:11.159 --> 00:11:13.019 can have so they can have their own little Mr. 00:11:13.179 --> 00:11:18.639 S sandwich. Which is a really cute idea. For 00:11:18.639 --> 00:11:22.519 pre -K, that's gonna be a lot more challenging 00:11:22.519 --> 00:11:26.139 because... That especially if you do this as 00:11:26.139 --> 00:11:27.639 a beginning of the year book because that's gonna 00:11:27.639 --> 00:11:31.600 take a lot of fine motor skills using scissors 00:11:31.600 --> 00:11:34.799 Folding the paper following the instructions. 00:11:34.820 --> 00:11:37.679 That's gonna be really really challenging. So 00:11:37.679 --> 00:11:41.779 That's an option if you're working with bigger 00:11:41.779 --> 00:11:44.659 kids and you wanted to do something like that 00:11:44.659 --> 00:11:46.879 That would be a pretty good option. I don't think 00:11:46.879 --> 00:11:49.320 it would be super successful with pre -k students 00:11:49.320 --> 00:11:52.240 I think with pre -k students the better option 00:11:52.240 --> 00:11:55.320 would maybe be just to pull out the Legos and 00:11:55.320 --> 00:11:59.200 have them build their own Mr. S sandwich out 00:11:59.200 --> 00:12:01.720 of Legos or they could pick another type of teacher 00:12:01.720 --> 00:12:04.179 that they would like to make and build that with 00:12:04.179 --> 00:12:06.639 Legos or they could make a person teacher if 00:12:06.639 --> 00:12:09.820 they wanted that like something like that instead 00:12:09.820 --> 00:12:13.340 because because it is about teachers and they 00:12:13.340 --> 00:12:17.000 can either make their own Mr. S sandwich teacher 00:12:17.000 --> 00:12:19.389 or they could make a teacher and then talk to 00:12:19.389 --> 00:12:21.190 you about you could ask them questions about 00:12:21.190 --> 00:12:23.049 what their teacher teaches and how they teach 00:12:23.049 --> 00:12:25.669 and I'm sure they'd give you a whole story background 00:12:25.669 --> 00:12:28.750 of what they want in their teacher which would 00:12:28.750 --> 00:12:32.129 be a cool way to find out like what they expect 00:12:32.129 --> 00:12:36.210 teachers to do and be like and that would be 00:12:36.210 --> 00:12:38.330 a fun way to kind of get to know the kids a little 00:12:38.330 --> 00:12:41.269 bit more is to have them build a teacher and 00:12:41.269 --> 00:12:43.850 then get to go around to each table as they're 00:12:43.850 --> 00:12:46.370 building and like talk to them and find out what 00:12:46.370 --> 00:12:49.659 they think. school should be like and what they're 00:12:49.659 --> 00:12:51.860 looking for in a teacher. So that might be a 00:12:51.860 --> 00:12:54.120 way to build some connections that way. That'd 00:12:54.120 --> 00:12:58.220 be fun. So yeah, but other than that, I don't 00:12:58.220 --> 00:13:04.720 know, like sandwich things is food. Making connections 00:13:04.720 --> 00:13:06.740 with food is always kind of hard when you're 00:13:06.740 --> 00:13:09.320 in the public, when you're in a library setting, 00:13:09.320 --> 00:13:12.740 because I always also try to convince my students 00:13:12.740 --> 00:13:16.340 that we We try to avoid having food in the library 00:13:16.340 --> 00:13:18.879 a lot. So yeah, same. I don't want to I don't 00:13:18.879 --> 00:13:21.559 want to mix those messages with the students 00:13:21.559 --> 00:13:24.740 either a lot. So that can kind of be hard sometimes. 00:13:25.120 --> 00:13:28.080 Well, and I also think, though, at the very beginning 00:13:28.080 --> 00:13:31.080 of because you would read this problem in August, 00:13:31.500 --> 00:13:34.779 probably. At the very beginning when you're still 00:13:34.779 --> 00:13:37.100 kind of establishing your routines and procedures 00:13:37.100 --> 00:13:40.279 and I think I might not even have necessarily 00:13:40.279 --> 00:13:42.899 anything in particular tied to it and just be 00:13:42.899 --> 00:13:45.080 like we're still teaching routines you're in 00:13:45.080 --> 00:13:48.139 school that's the connection. Yeah and like and 00:13:48.139 --> 00:13:51.179 just when you're in school you do these things 00:13:51.179 --> 00:13:53.779 the kids are in school in this book they're doing 00:13:53.779 --> 00:13:55.940 these things you're gonna do these things and 00:13:55.940 --> 00:14:00.029 just have. Teaching routines be your lesson for 00:14:00.029 --> 00:14:02.230 that day. I think for this one just because it 00:14:02.230 --> 00:14:06.090 is a beginning of this school year book It's 00:14:06.090 --> 00:14:09.850 just establishing routines could be yeah Appropriate 00:14:09.850 --> 00:14:13.429 for our the youngest youngest kids. I think you're 00:14:13.429 --> 00:14:15.690 right I love the building a sandwich for the 00:14:15.690 --> 00:14:18.629 older kids who have already you know, they just 00:14:18.629 --> 00:14:20.909 need a refresher Yeah on what their routines 00:14:20.909 --> 00:14:23.549 are ideally ideally they've been coming to the 00:14:23.549 --> 00:14:27.750 library for a few years and they kind of at one 00:14:27.750 --> 00:14:31.570 point knew the expectations and so you just but 00:14:31.570 --> 00:14:33.710 ideally they'll only need a refresher but for 00:14:33.710 --> 00:14:37.809 younger kids let's just learn that the library 00:14:37.809 --> 00:14:39.649 is a safe place and that's what we're doing still 00:14:39.649 --> 00:14:42.830 yeah and that's fine I think yeah that's a good 00:14:42.830 --> 00:14:47.669 idea yeah this week for our library of littles 00:14:47.669 --> 00:14:51.149 management tip In previous episodes, we've mentioned 00:14:51.149 --> 00:14:53.769 that the pre -K campuses that we've worked on 00:14:53.769 --> 00:14:56.830 have their own makerspace labs. So this week 00:14:56.830 --> 00:14:58.950 we wanted to talk to you about how we kind of 00:14:58.950 --> 00:15:03.289 set up those labs, the zones that we use to set 00:15:03.289 --> 00:15:06.629 up the makerspace labs and kind of how that works. 00:15:06.990 --> 00:15:09.769 So in our makerspace labs, they're separate from 00:15:09.769 --> 00:15:12.230 the library. We still do makerspace in the library, 00:15:12.250 --> 00:15:14.789 but we have separate makerspace labs. that are 00:15:14.789 --> 00:15:17.750 used by the classroom teachers with their students. 00:15:18.389 --> 00:15:22.710 And those labs are set up into six distinct areas. 00:15:23.029 --> 00:15:26.830 Those six distinct areas are designated with 00:15:26.830 --> 00:15:30.509 colored duct tape that correlates to what the 00:15:30.509 --> 00:15:34.250 area is, and it sets a defined space in. the 00:15:34.250 --> 00:15:36.230 makerspace lab. So the students have somewhere 00:15:36.230 --> 00:15:38.169 to work, but that they're not roaming the entire 00:15:38.169 --> 00:15:41.389 room with all of the materials and getting everything 00:15:41.389 --> 00:15:45.789 everywhere. So the six areas that we defined 00:15:45.789 --> 00:15:50.129 all have something to do with a portion of STEM 00:15:50.129 --> 00:15:55.289 or STEAM education. The six areas that we have 00:15:55.289 --> 00:15:57.990 in our makerspace labs include coding and robotics, 00:15:59.350 --> 00:16:04.000 simple machines, creation station, the construction 00:16:04.000 --> 00:16:08.200 zone, organic mechanics, and the tinker table. 00:16:08.559 --> 00:16:10.759 So some of these are more self -explanatory than 00:16:10.759 --> 00:16:13.480 others, but in coding and robotics, the students 00:16:13.480 --> 00:16:17.399 are working to learn how to make robots move 00:16:17.399 --> 00:16:20.379 using coding. So they're learning cause and effect. 00:16:20.659 --> 00:16:25.259 We use a lot of the simple robots that students 00:16:25.259 --> 00:16:27.779 can either press buttons directly on the robot 00:16:27.779 --> 00:16:31.679 or they're using other things to have the robots 00:16:31.679 --> 00:16:34.899 move. to see the correlation between the actions 00:16:34.899 --> 00:16:36.460 that they're telling the robots to do and the 00:16:36.460 --> 00:16:39.220 actual movements that they make. A lot of these 00:16:39.220 --> 00:16:45.059 robots are more simplistic. We try to avoid using 00:16:45.059 --> 00:16:50.019 a lot of iPads with screens to control robots 00:16:50.019 --> 00:16:53.789 just because at this age A lot of screen time 00:16:53.789 --> 00:16:56.669 isn't the best. And honestly, a lot of these 00:16:56.669 --> 00:16:59.129 students end up getting plenty of screen time 00:16:59.129 --> 00:17:02.370 in other locations. So we don't need to continue 00:17:02.370 --> 00:17:06.890 that trend in this space. In the simple machines, 00:17:07.130 --> 00:17:09.990 the students are using those simple machines. 00:17:10.009 --> 00:17:12.890 So they're using levers and pulleys and wheels 00:17:12.890 --> 00:17:16.710 to build and create. In the creation station, 00:17:16.750 --> 00:17:21.869 this is an art and crafts kind of station where 00:17:21.920 --> 00:17:24.160 We have different activities where they can use 00:17:24.160 --> 00:17:26.920 those crayons and markers and colored pencils 00:17:26.920 --> 00:17:30.839 and construction paper to build and create different 00:17:30.839 --> 00:17:34.460 activities each time they come in. Our construction 00:17:34.460 --> 00:17:37.720 zone is just that it's building blocks, it's 00:17:37.720 --> 00:17:39.740 Lincoln logs, all of those things for the kids 00:17:39.740 --> 00:17:42.380 to build and create and see what they can come 00:17:42.380 --> 00:17:47.019 up with. Organic mechanics is a fun area where 00:17:47.019 --> 00:17:50.819 students get to use natural materials like leaves 00:17:50.819 --> 00:17:55.579 and sticks and dirt to build and create and our 00:17:55.579 --> 00:17:59.420 tinker table is where students get to take things 00:17:59.420 --> 00:18:02.519 apart they get to deconstruct we use some we 00:18:02.519 --> 00:18:06.369 get volunteers to donate different pieces like 00:18:06.369 --> 00:18:10.690 computers or old DVRs, that kind of stuff, remote 00:18:10.690 --> 00:18:14.829 controls. And the students with supervision and 00:18:14.829 --> 00:18:17.869 some kid -friendly tools get to take those things 00:18:17.869 --> 00:18:19.910 apart just to see what's inside and see how they 00:18:19.910 --> 00:18:25.569 work. And so those six zones are set up in our 00:18:25.569 --> 00:18:29.190 makerspace so that they're color -coded. So if 00:18:29.190 --> 00:18:33.529 coding in robotics is the blue area, That area 00:18:33.529 --> 00:18:37.170 is defined with a blue line of duct tape on the 00:18:37.170 --> 00:18:39.529 floor so the students know to stay in that area 00:18:39.529 --> 00:18:42.470 with those materials and so on so each color 00:18:42.470 --> 00:18:46.170 each Zone has its own color and we define those 00:18:46.170 --> 00:18:48.230 spaces clearly so the students know where to 00:18:48.230 --> 00:18:51.509 stay and this works in correlation with something 00:18:51.509 --> 00:18:55.210 we've mentioned before each of those zones has 00:18:55.210 --> 00:19:00.009 a card that has a Set number. I think it's usually 00:19:00.009 --> 00:19:04.680 five or six close pins with the same color and 00:19:04.680 --> 00:19:06.940 students that are in that area will take the 00:19:06.940 --> 00:19:08.740 clothes pin off of the card and put it on their 00:19:08.740 --> 00:19:10.980 shirt while they're in that area. Once there 00:19:10.980 --> 00:19:13.480 are no more clothes pins, that area is closed. 00:19:13.680 --> 00:19:15.579 It can't accept any more students. And so if 00:19:15.579 --> 00:19:17.759 the students can't find a clothes pin, they know 00:19:17.759 --> 00:19:20.259 they need to go to a different area. And then 00:19:20.259 --> 00:19:22.279 when the students want to move, they take that 00:19:22.279 --> 00:19:23.940 colored clothes pin off and put it back on the 00:19:23.940 --> 00:19:27.259 card and go to a new area to take the correct 00:19:27.259 --> 00:19:30.670 clothes pin color. This also helps that it's 00:19:30.670 --> 00:19:34.069 color coded to match the duct tape so the teachers 00:19:34.069 --> 00:19:36.690 can see if there's a green clothespin in the 00:19:36.690 --> 00:19:39.609 blue area that somebody either didn't put the 00:19:39.609 --> 00:19:41.450 clothespin back or needs to go back to their 00:19:41.450 --> 00:19:44.069 area. That kind of thing, and it helps with management 00:19:44.069 --> 00:19:49.690 a lot. For such a large space with a lot of things 00:19:49.690 --> 00:19:55.009 happening at once. And it's been working. I think 00:19:55.009 --> 00:19:56.829 it works pretty well with the students and the 00:19:56.829 --> 00:19:58.710 teachers have kind of gotten accustomed to it 00:19:58.710 --> 00:20:01.380 and. Most of the teachers, when they go in there, 00:20:01.460 --> 00:20:03.559 they really enjoy being able to give the kids 00:20:03.559 --> 00:20:05.980 the freedom to move within. But the fact that 00:20:05.980 --> 00:20:09.200 it's all kind of separated out and they have 00:20:09.200 --> 00:20:11.619 their own spaces, it makes it a lot easier to 00:20:11.619 --> 00:20:16.759 kind of keep an eye on the students and not have 00:20:16.759 --> 00:20:18.859 kids just running all over the place the entire 00:20:18.859 --> 00:20:22.440 time. And they're not crowding in a particular 00:20:22.440 --> 00:20:25.079 zone or anything like that. It's all, everybody's 00:20:25.079 --> 00:20:27.390 pretty well spread out. And I know that some 00:20:27.390 --> 00:20:30.430 teachers have made it so that like if you're 00:20:30.430 --> 00:20:33.150 in the coding and robotics area one week the 00:20:33.150 --> 00:20:34.730 next week, you have to go somewhere else so that 00:20:34.730 --> 00:20:36.990 that area becomes available for other students 00:20:36.990 --> 00:20:38.549 and that kind of thing. And they kind of work 00:20:38.549 --> 00:20:40.670 that out as how their class, what's best for 00:20:40.670 --> 00:20:43.609 their class and for their students. But having 00:20:43.609 --> 00:20:46.569 those defined spaces really helps the kids to 00:20:46.569 --> 00:20:48.529 understand where they should be and what they 00:20:48.529 --> 00:20:50.750 should be doing in that area, which is really 00:20:50.750 --> 00:20:55.559 nice. Yeah. Well, our next book for today. is 00:20:55.559 --> 00:20:59.599 called No Fair. It was published by Viking in 00:20:59.599 --> 00:21:03.180 2023 and it is written and illustrated by Jacob 00:21:03.180 --> 00:21:07.299 Grant. It's on the Texas 2x2 2024 list and the 00:21:07.299 --> 00:21:13.539 Illinois Reads birth through 4 2024 list. Jacob 00:21:13.539 --> 00:21:15.680 Grant always knew he wanted to be an artist. 00:21:15.819 --> 00:21:17.980 As a child, he was shy and art gave him a way 00:21:17.980 --> 00:21:21.140 to express himself. He attended the Art Academy 00:21:21.140 --> 00:21:23.539 of Cincinnati where he majored in graphic design. 00:21:23.960 --> 00:21:25.799 He worked in graphic design for five years until 00:21:25.799 --> 00:21:27.920 he discovered his talent for writing children's 00:21:27.920 --> 00:21:30.579 books. He currently lives near Chicago with his 00:21:30.579 --> 00:21:35.099 wife and two kids. Some of his other books include 00:21:35.099 --> 00:21:56.289 Umami, No Pants, Bear Meets Bear, In this book, 00:21:56.430 --> 00:21:58.650 a boy and his father go on some errands with 00:21:58.650 --> 00:22:00.730 the promise of going out for a donut afterwards. 00:22:01.269 --> 00:22:03.809 As they go through the day, their boy complains 00:22:03.809 --> 00:22:06.950 that things aren't fair. He lost a race. His 00:22:06.950 --> 00:22:10.460 treats are smaller than everyone else's. and 00:22:10.460 --> 00:22:13.440 things like that. Eventually his father explains 00:22:13.440 --> 00:22:15.900 in simple terms that life isn't always fair, 00:22:16.319 --> 00:22:18.500 and fair doesn't necessarily mean the same thing 00:22:18.500 --> 00:22:22.319 for everyone. I thought this was a fun, cute, 00:22:22.660 --> 00:22:25.980 relatable story for young children. I think every 00:22:25.980 --> 00:22:29.279 kid in the world at some point has the realization 00:22:29.279 --> 00:22:32.200 that life isn't fair because it really just isn't. 00:22:32.339 --> 00:22:34.359 It's kind of a life lesson that we all kind of 00:22:34.359 --> 00:22:36.960 go through at some point. The illustrations are 00:22:36.960 --> 00:22:41.160 really simple. Liked that it was the book was 00:22:41.160 --> 00:22:44.519 written in dialogue, but it didn't have word 00:22:44.519 --> 00:22:49.240 bubbles instead They had I think it was black 00:22:49.240 --> 00:22:53.640 writing for The father's words and the little 00:22:53.640 --> 00:22:55.839 boy his name is Pablo his words were written 00:22:55.839 --> 00:22:58.200 in red So it was still like easy to distinguish 00:22:58.200 --> 00:23:03.259 who was talking when? but it didn't take away 00:23:03.259 --> 00:23:06.599 from the story at all and it kind of made it 00:23:06.599 --> 00:23:08.400 a little bit easier, I think, for the kids to 00:23:08.400 --> 00:23:12.480 follow along. It's, uh, I liked how the illustrations 00:23:12.480 --> 00:23:15.720 made it. It was, like, really clear that, like, 00:23:15.759 --> 00:23:17.559 a lot of the things that the boy thought wasn't 00:23:17.559 --> 00:23:20.460 fair were, like, his dad was getting all the 00:23:20.460 --> 00:23:23.380 big things, and the little boy was getting all 00:23:23.380 --> 00:23:25.819 the smaller things, but, like, because of the 00:23:25.819 --> 00:23:27.500 way the illustrations are, you can really see 00:23:27.500 --> 00:23:30.200 that, well, dad's a lot bigger, so, like, it's 00:23:30.200 --> 00:23:32.960 kind of fair that, like, he gets the bigger things, 00:23:32.960 --> 00:23:36.160 because... He kind of needs it because he's so 00:23:36.160 --> 00:23:39.680 much larger and like it was Really well done 00:23:39.680 --> 00:23:42.660 because it was so the proportions were kind of 00:23:42.660 --> 00:23:45.980 perfect for it I guess it was a really good visual 00:23:45.980 --> 00:23:49.319 for like for kids to see that You know because 00:23:49.319 --> 00:23:53.160 I know we all explain to kids that you know fair 00:23:53.160 --> 00:23:56.200 means different things for different people We 00:23:56.200 --> 00:23:59.019 all need different things. We're all we're all 00:23:59.019 --> 00:24:02.619 different humans with different needs and This 00:24:02.619 --> 00:24:05.640 just really made it a little bit easier to physically 00:24:05.640 --> 00:24:10.779 see why our differences are important and why 00:24:10.779 --> 00:24:13.720 we might kind of need different things. So I 00:24:13.720 --> 00:24:17.200 thought it was fun. I think I'd give it like 00:24:17.200 --> 00:24:20.819 a four out of five. Not necessarily like it wasn't 00:24:20.819 --> 00:24:23.180 a groundbreaking book or anything, but it was 00:24:23.180 --> 00:24:27.819 still simple and relatable and cute and kind 00:24:27.819 --> 00:24:31.349 of it was a fun to read book. I agree. Absolutely. 00:24:31.509 --> 00:24:34.130 It was a good book. It was cute. The pictures 00:24:34.130 --> 00:24:38.390 were very pretty and kind of just warm and enjoyable. 00:24:39.089 --> 00:24:42.509 And then, yeah, like, this is a lesson that, 00:24:42.509 --> 00:24:46.369 you know, it's really hard for some kids to understand 00:24:46.369 --> 00:24:49.539 that... Fair doesn't mean everybody gets exactly 00:24:49.539 --> 00:24:52.599 the same thing. You know, fair is everybody getting 00:24:52.599 --> 00:24:55.380 what they need at the time. And so this isn't 00:24:55.380 --> 00:24:57.359 like, I definitely agree if this is one of those 00:24:57.359 --> 00:24:59.960 books that is a good social emotional lesson 00:24:59.960 --> 00:25:02.119 for near the beginning of the school year so 00:25:02.119 --> 00:25:05.759 that you can explain, you know, fair is making 00:25:05.759 --> 00:25:08.319 sure everybody has what they need so they can 00:25:08.319 --> 00:25:11.259 be successful. And that doesn't mean that everybody 00:25:11.259 --> 00:25:14.400 gets the same things all the time. You know, 00:25:14.400 --> 00:25:18.880 we have some students that to be successful, 00:25:18.940 --> 00:25:22.240 they need to have that extra space where they 00:25:22.240 --> 00:25:25.299 can go and get some energy out before they come 00:25:25.299 --> 00:25:27.500 and sit down on the carpet and do their lesson 00:25:27.500 --> 00:25:30.099 or whatever. And some kids need to have that 00:25:30.099 --> 00:25:32.400 fidget in their hand. And that doesn't mean everybody 00:25:32.400 --> 00:25:36.579 gets it just because someone else does. If this 00:25:36.579 --> 00:25:38.700 is what that student needs so they can be successful, 00:25:38.859 --> 00:25:41.380 it's fair that they get it and you don't, if 00:25:41.380 --> 00:25:43.500 you don't need that to be successful. And so 00:25:43.500 --> 00:25:46.549 like being able to have that conversation, because 00:25:46.549 --> 00:25:50.089 of this book and being able to show look Pablo's 00:25:50.089 --> 00:25:55.029 dad is much bigger so He gets to pick up the 00:25:55.029 --> 00:25:57.750 bigger items where Pablo is smaller So he's gonna 00:25:57.750 --> 00:26:00.410 pick up the smaller items because he physically 00:26:00.410 --> 00:26:04.029 can't pick up the bigger items. That's fair They're 00:26:04.029 --> 00:26:07.650 splitting the work evenly for what their abilities 00:26:07.650 --> 00:26:10.490 are and what their needs are at the moment And 00:26:10.490 --> 00:26:13.549 so like I agree. It's a it's a really cute story. 00:26:13.549 --> 00:26:16.329 It's a lot of fun and it definitely makes it 00:26:16.329 --> 00:26:19.049 so you can incorporate some important lessons. 00:26:19.490 --> 00:26:21.029 And so this would be a great book to use near 00:26:21.029 --> 00:26:24.710 the beginning of the year also to kind of start 00:26:24.710 --> 00:26:28.009 having those discussions with kids. It's not 00:26:28.009 --> 00:26:29.269 going to be the last time you're going to have 00:26:29.269 --> 00:26:31.329 those discussions, but this is a good way to 00:26:31.329 --> 00:26:35.089 start that foundation. And you can always keep 00:26:35.089 --> 00:26:37.049 going like this is a good book that if you start 00:26:37.049 --> 00:26:38.390 near the beginning of the year with it, you can 00:26:38.390 --> 00:26:40.250 keep going back to it and be like, remember when 00:26:40.250 --> 00:26:43.349 we read this and we had this conversation. So 00:26:43.349 --> 00:26:44.970 yeah, I agree. That's true. I think it's a good, 00:26:45.130 --> 00:26:47.609 I think it's a great book. I enjoyed it. It's 00:26:47.609 --> 00:26:51.529 cute. It's fun. The pictures are very pretty. 00:26:52.109 --> 00:26:55.230 And so I would definitely use this book to help 00:26:55.230 --> 00:26:58.789 start having those conversations for sure. And 00:26:58.789 --> 00:27:01.990 there were also a few things like in the background, 00:27:02.190 --> 00:27:04.190 like I know we talked about like the things they 00:27:04.190 --> 00:27:06.569 physically say in the book, but there were also 00:27:06.569 --> 00:27:08.549 a few things in the background that were drawn 00:27:08.549 --> 00:27:10.970 in that were like, you could also talk about 00:27:10.970 --> 00:27:13.500 how like, Like Pablo has a dog that like comes 00:27:13.500 --> 00:27:15.680 around with him and like the dog is like trying 00:27:15.680 --> 00:27:18.920 to like pick up like pieces of donut on the ground 00:27:18.920 --> 00:27:21.599 and Pablo's always dragging away and like, well, 00:27:21.599 --> 00:27:23.779 you could talk to the kid about like, look, it's 00:27:23.779 --> 00:27:26.779 not fair for the dog either. He's trying to go 00:27:26.779 --> 00:27:28.980 get the donut and that's not fair that Pablo's 00:27:28.980 --> 00:27:30.319 dragging him away even though he just want to 00:27:30.319 --> 00:27:33.000 be dragged away. And there's a kid in the background 00:27:33.000 --> 00:27:36.319 over here who's in a wheelchair. It's, you know, 00:27:36.519 --> 00:27:39.079 not everybody has to use wheelchairs. It's not, 00:27:39.279 --> 00:27:42.180 it's fair that that kid has a wheelchair if he 00:27:42.180 --> 00:27:45.519 can't get up and walk like you don't need a wheelchair 00:27:45.519 --> 00:27:48.240 to walk like that's a pretty easy one to see 00:27:48.240 --> 00:27:51.160 that like another way to talk about absolutely 00:27:51.160 --> 00:27:55.440 you know how different uh fair is different for 00:27:55.440 --> 00:27:59.259 everybody um yeah and i like the idea of like 00:27:59.259 --> 00:28:01.000 referring back to it later in the school year 00:28:01.000 --> 00:28:03.460 it's a really good it's almost social story like 00:28:03.460 --> 00:28:08.000 yeah it's not quite a social story but close 00:28:08.000 --> 00:28:12.210 to it so I was thinking for this one because 00:28:12.210 --> 00:28:15.849 because the sizes of everything were so clear 00:28:15.849 --> 00:28:18.369 cut and there was some great proportions in there 00:28:18.369 --> 00:28:21.329 for like the big dad with the big drink and the 00:28:21.329 --> 00:28:23.829 small kid with the small drink it might be fun 00:28:23.829 --> 00:28:25.970 to build different houses for like different 00:28:25.970 --> 00:28:28.470 size items so like something that you might just 00:28:28.470 --> 00:28:30.930 have lying around the library would be like the 00:28:30.930 --> 00:28:32.549 different size counting bears because there's 00:28:32.549 --> 00:28:35.130 some that are like real big and some that are 00:28:35.130 --> 00:28:37.980 super duper not that are much smaller So like 00:28:37.980 --> 00:28:40.200 you could just use like the small Legos and just 00:28:40.200 --> 00:28:42.160 build like a different house a different size 00:28:42.160 --> 00:28:45.140 houses for them to like little fit inside or 00:28:45.140 --> 00:28:47.799 like you could even take it in a Goldilocks direction 00:28:47.799 --> 00:28:50.460 I guess and like build do it alongside that and 00:28:50.460 --> 00:28:53.160 have like different size chairs for the bears 00:28:53.160 --> 00:28:55.099 or something like that if you were gonna if you 00:28:55.099 --> 00:28:57.500 happen to be doing that as well you could also 00:28:57.500 --> 00:28:59.619 if you don't have like the I mean really you 00:28:59.619 --> 00:29:01.500 could do that with like almost anything that 00:29:01.500 --> 00:29:03.460 you have like lying around like you if you have 00:29:03.460 --> 00:29:06.099 like different size puppets Or you could just 00:29:06.099 --> 00:29:08.920 print different size pictures and just, you know, 00:29:09.099 --> 00:29:11.579 anything that you like. It doesn't necessarily 00:29:11.579 --> 00:29:13.819 have to be like counting bears, but just building 00:29:13.819 --> 00:29:18.539 different structures for items or ideally some 00:29:18.539 --> 00:29:21.980 kind of toys that the kids are really into for 00:29:21.980 --> 00:29:24.859 the kids to build with. So, and kind of having 00:29:24.859 --> 00:29:27.059 like a proportion lesson or like big and small 00:29:27.059 --> 00:29:30.180 kind of tie it in with that. I like that a lot. 00:29:30.259 --> 00:29:32.119 I like that idea of being able to build and have 00:29:32.119 --> 00:29:35.869 different items for them to build for. and then 00:29:35.869 --> 00:29:37.890 just kind of having it be random so like some 00:29:37.890 --> 00:29:40.349 kids are building bigger houses and some kids 00:29:40.349 --> 00:29:42.089 are building smaller houses and then be like 00:29:42.089 --> 00:29:44.650 look it's fair because you're building for this 00:29:44.650 --> 00:29:46.529 while he's building for that or whatever you 00:29:46.529 --> 00:29:50.009 know yeah and it could be really like anything 00:29:50.009 --> 00:29:53.690 that you have around the library puppets or i 00:29:53.690 --> 00:29:56.329 mean if the kids have a like at the beginning 00:29:56.329 --> 00:29:57.990 of our school year we usually have like a teddy 00:29:57.990 --> 00:30:00.210 bear day where they build or they they bring 00:30:00.210 --> 00:30:02.109 in their teddy bears and they could we could 00:30:02.109 --> 00:30:04.170 do that on teddy bear day and like notice the 00:30:04.170 --> 00:30:06.170 different sizes of our kids teddy bears and like 00:30:06.170 --> 00:30:07.690 what can you do for the teddy bear that would 00:30:07.690 --> 00:30:11.089 still be fair yeah because they're our teddy 00:30:11.089 --> 00:30:13.190 bears are all a little bit different so we're 00:30:13.190 --> 00:30:14.730 going to take care of them a little bit differently 00:30:14.730 --> 00:30:17.529 absolutely that's really cool i like that idea 00:30:17.529 --> 00:30:19.599 a lot I like these books. I think both of these 00:30:19.599 --> 00:30:22.819 books are really good books. Like you said, like 00:30:22.819 --> 00:30:24.039 you pointed out, I think both of these would 00:30:24.039 --> 00:30:26.299 be good books for near the beginning of the year. 00:30:27.660 --> 00:30:29.660 Definitely didn't mean to do a beginning of the 00:30:29.660 --> 00:30:33.460 year episode today, but it worked out really 00:30:33.460 --> 00:30:36.160 well. I think I probably will use these both 00:30:36.160 --> 00:30:38.740 at the beginning of next year. Like, for real, 00:30:38.839 --> 00:30:41.279 they're really great. They're both really good 00:30:41.279 --> 00:30:44.039 books that will be very useful with the kids 00:30:44.039 --> 00:30:46.339 and enjoyable. I think the kids will like both 00:30:46.339 --> 00:30:50.099 of them. Thank you all for joining us today on 00:30:50.099 --> 00:30:52.240 this episode of Librarians of Littles. We hope 00:30:52.240 --> 00:30:54.640 you found some fresh ideas for inspiring young 00:30:54.640 --> 00:30:57.480 learners. Please be sure to subscribe and connect 00:30:57.480 --> 00:31:00.359 with us on social media. Thank you for listening 00:31:00.359 --> 00:31:03.599 to this episode of Librarians of Littles. We 00:31:03.599 --> 00:31:05.920 hope that you've enjoyed it. Check back each 00:31:05.920 --> 00:31:10.089 Wednesday for a new episode. Librarians of Littles 00:31:10.089 --> 00:31:13.069 is a podcast produced and hosted by Patrick Adams 00:31:13.069 --> 00:31:17.289 and Caroline Legere. Editor, Patrick Adams. Our 00:31:17.289 --> 00:31:20.509 theme song is performed by JD Adams. You can 00:31:20.509 --> 00:31:23.769 follow us on Instagram at Librarians of Littles. 00:31:24.190 --> 00:31:28.009 You can follow us on bluesky at littleslibrarian 00:31:28.009 --> 00:31:32.630 .bsky .social. And you can send us your emails 00:31:32.630 --> 00:31:38.799 at librarianoflittlespodatgmail .com. Good first 00:31:38.799 --> 00:31:41.859 week of school kind of books. So well done to 00:31:41.859 --> 00:31:45.779 us Wrong time of year, but good job. That's okay, 00:31:45.779 --> 00:31:50.420 you know Hey, that's all right We can we can 00:31:50.420 --> 00:31:52.420 realize that we found some good beginning of 00:31:52.420 --> 00:31:54.779 the year books and you know what? Just save them 00:31:54.779 --> 00:31:56.779 and use them next year because I think yeah, 00:31:56.859 --> 00:31:58.839 I think I'm definitely gonna use the mr. S book 00:31:58.839 --> 00:32:02.400 next year cuz that's I Really enjoyed it. It 00:32:02.400 --> 00:32:05.180 was a lot of fun. So that one was super cute. 00:32:05.700 --> 00:32:08.480 Yeah that might be my new favorite like beginning 00:32:08.480 --> 00:32:13.160 of year book yeah it was like because i just 00:32:13.160 --> 00:32:16.160 i've i've had it on my shelf and i hadn't looked 00:32:16.160 --> 00:32:19.720 at it and then we were like let's do a two by 00:32:19.720 --> 00:32:22.500 two series so i was like okay what two by twos 00:32:22.500 --> 00:32:24.859 haven't we hit yet and that was on the list and 00:32:24.859 --> 00:32:26.099 i was like all right let's check it out i know 00:32:26.099 --> 00:32:27.900 i have this one on my shelf in the library so 00:32:27.900 --> 00:32:29.200 i went over and grabbed it and read it and i 00:32:29.200 --> 00:32:32.940 was like oh i like this so that was real cute 00:32:32.940 --> 00:32:34.700 good choice yeah