WEBVTT 00:00:20.510 --> 00:00:24.589 Hello, I'm Patrick Adams. And I'm Caroline Legere. 00:00:24.829 --> 00:00:28.050 And this is Librarians of Littles, a podcast 00:00:28.050 --> 00:00:31.769 where we discuss books, give makerspace ideas 00:00:31.769 --> 00:00:35.250 and tips and tricks for working with our youngest 00:00:35.250 --> 00:00:39.250 learners in the library setting. This week we 00:00:39.250 --> 00:00:42.969 have two excellent books because it is getting 00:00:42.969 --> 00:00:47.210 to be fall. We are not necessarily here in Texas 00:00:47.210 --> 00:00:50.490 seeing the fall weather yet, but we're hoping 00:00:50.490 --> 00:00:53.250 and wishing it into existence. But we have some 00:00:53.250 --> 00:00:58.670 wonderful fall books to share today. The first 00:00:58.670 --> 00:01:06.230 of which is called The Very Last Leaf. It was 00:01:06.230 --> 00:01:10.409 written by Steph Wade. It was illustrated by 00:01:10.409 --> 00:01:14.430 Jennifer Davison. And it was published by Capstone 00:01:14.430 --> 00:01:21.349 Books in 2020. This book ended up on one state 00:01:21.349 --> 00:01:24.170 list for Pennsylvania. The list was the best 00:01:24.170 --> 00:01:30.569 books of 2020. As far as our author, Steph Waite 00:01:30.569 --> 00:01:34.269 holds a BA in advertising from Marquette University 00:01:34.269 --> 00:01:37.890 and an MBA in integrated marketing communication 00:01:37.890 --> 00:01:41.769 from DePaul University. Steph is a member of 00:01:41.769 --> 00:01:45.090 the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, 00:01:45.569 --> 00:01:50.590 or the SCBWI. She's bounced all over the Midwest 00:01:50.590 --> 00:01:55.049 with her college sweetheart husband and her three 00:01:55.049 --> 00:02:00.870 historically and literary named boys, and currently 00:02:00.870 --> 00:02:05.250 resides in the Milwaukee area. Some of her other 00:02:05.250 --> 00:02:08.669 books include A Place for Pluto, illustrated 00:02:08.669 --> 00:02:12.889 by Melanie Demmer. Every Day's a Holiday, Winnie's 00:02:12.889 --> 00:02:18.069 Birthday Countdown, illustrated by Hasna Agnia, 00:02:20.530 --> 00:02:23.310 Moving to Mars, illustrated by Aaron Taylor, 00:02:24.330 --> 00:02:28.289 and Q &U, Call it Quits, illustrated by Jorge 00:02:28.289 --> 00:02:33.409 Martin. And for the illustrator history, Jennifer 00:02:33.409 --> 00:02:36.250 Davison is a passionate and acclaimed illustrator 00:02:36.250 --> 00:02:39.289 who has illustrated over 50 picture books, touching 00:02:39.289 --> 00:02:41.530 hearts across the globe and being translated 00:02:41.530 --> 00:02:45.270 into 18 different languages for publishers worldwide. 00:02:45.909 --> 00:02:48.830 After graduating from the Belfast School of Art 00:02:48.830 --> 00:02:54.650 with a first class honors degree, Jennifer embarked 00:02:54.650 --> 00:02:58.639 on her journey as a digital artist. It was her 00:02:58.639 --> 00:03:01.159 deep rooted passion for illustration that guided 00:03:01.159 --> 00:03:04.020 her toward a fulfilling career as a children's 00:03:04.020 --> 00:03:07.419 book illustrator. Years ago, she discovered a 00:03:07.419 --> 00:03:10.560 profound connection between creativity and spirituality, 00:03:10.740 --> 00:03:13.400 which ignited a desire to convey the richness 00:03:13.400 --> 00:03:16.979 of heaven's culture through her art. She strives 00:03:16.979 --> 00:03:20.080 to create illustrations that are not only visually 00:03:20.080 --> 00:03:22.860 captivating, but also have the potential to transform 00:03:22.860 --> 00:03:26.740 lives. Today, she dedicates her time to illustrating 00:03:26.740 --> 00:03:29.479 inspiring faith -based books and stories from 00:03:29.479 --> 00:03:33.280 the Bible, including the beloved Very Best Bible 00:03:33.280 --> 00:03:37.780 Stories series and God's Big Promises Bible Storybook. 00:03:38.479 --> 00:03:42.639 Some of her other books include The Shrew with 00:03:42.639 --> 00:03:47.349 the Flu, Written by Will Hamilton Davies, Mouse 00:03:47.349 --> 00:03:53.250 and the Rocket by Tim Bailey, and The Six -Legged 00:03:53.250 --> 00:03:58.330 Spider also by Tim Bailey. And so I think part 00:03:58.330 --> 00:04:01.590 of I was looking at Jennifer Davison's stuff 00:04:01.590 --> 00:04:05.289 and I couldn't find a ton of her books listed. 00:04:05.969 --> 00:04:09.150 It says in her biography that she has done over 00:04:09.150 --> 00:04:13.150 50. I think a lot of them are faith -based and 00:04:13.150 --> 00:04:18.290 maybe not through the major publishers, which 00:04:18.290 --> 00:04:19.829 makes it a little bit more challenging to find 00:04:19.829 --> 00:04:22.589 some of her work because it's not necessarily 00:04:22.589 --> 00:04:26.610 as mainstream. But good for her for doing all 00:04:26.610 --> 00:04:31.449 those books. That's pretty awesome. Alright, 00:04:31.529 --> 00:04:35.189 so the summary for this book. We have Lance Cottonwood, 00:04:35.350 --> 00:04:39.589 who is a leaf, and he is the best and brightest 00:04:39.589 --> 00:04:43.750 student on the Cottonwood tree branch. He was 00:04:43.750 --> 00:04:47.949 best at budding, at wind resistance, at photosynthesis, 00:04:48.209 --> 00:04:52.649 and pigment changing. But, Lance is afraid to 00:04:52.649 --> 00:04:56.149 fall from the branch as the last exam of the 00:04:56.149 --> 00:04:59.560 season. Lance is able to overcome his fear and 00:04:59.560 --> 00:05:02.959 finally falls to be with the other students of 00:05:02.959 --> 00:05:07.300 the Cottonwood Tree Branch. And this is a really 00:05:07.300 --> 00:05:11.300 cute story. I enjoyed reading it. It's a story 00:05:11.300 --> 00:05:15.139 about overcoming your fears. It includes some 00:05:15.139 --> 00:05:20.379 very, very special and awesome scientific words 00:05:20.379 --> 00:05:23.540 that I think would be a lot of fun to include 00:05:23.540 --> 00:05:26.720 in a discussion with the students. And it's nice 00:05:26.720 --> 00:05:29.139 that the way they're used in the book, you don't 00:05:29.139 --> 00:05:30.720 necessarily have to pre teach because it does 00:05:30.720 --> 00:05:33.540 give like an explanation of what that means in 00:05:33.540 --> 00:05:35.959 the story itself. So that's nice, but you could 00:05:35.959 --> 00:05:38.639 pre teach them in advance if you wanted to. The 00:05:38.639 --> 00:05:43.100 pictures are colorful and very cute. There's 00:05:43.100 --> 00:05:47.439 also a little bit of like teasing that you could 00:05:47.439 --> 00:05:49.420 have a conversation, you could pull this in for 00:05:49.420 --> 00:05:52.980 a conversation about bullying, about fear of 00:05:52.980 --> 00:05:55.439 change, about nature in general. So there's lots 00:05:55.439 --> 00:05:58.040 of opportunities to bring this book in to have 00:05:58.040 --> 00:06:00.279 different discussions with your class, which 00:06:00.279 --> 00:06:02.879 I love to be able to use books for different 00:06:02.879 --> 00:06:05.339 reasons. So that's always a good thing. I think 00:06:05.339 --> 00:06:09.019 this book would be very engaging, because the 00:06:09.019 --> 00:06:12.560 kids are always loving anything about nature. 00:06:13.019 --> 00:06:15.060 So like the leaves changing and that kind of 00:06:15.060 --> 00:06:19.339 thing is always something that is fun to watch. 00:06:19.339 --> 00:06:21.600 We don't get to see it as often here in Texas, 00:06:21.620 --> 00:06:24.860 but they do change. They go pretty quickly from 00:06:24.860 --> 00:06:29.740 green to orange and brown. But, you know, that's 00:06:29.740 --> 00:06:31.579 something that the kids do notice and they start 00:06:31.579 --> 00:06:33.600 to pick up on those things. And so having books 00:06:33.600 --> 00:06:37.759 that mention why and what's going on in a fun 00:06:37.759 --> 00:06:42.160 story way. is always good. I like this book a 00:06:42.160 --> 00:06:44.680 lot. I think I'd probably give it, I don't know, 00:06:44.740 --> 00:06:47.279 I think maybe like a four and a half out of five. 00:06:47.439 --> 00:06:54.240 I think it was good. I think some of the leaves 00:06:54.240 --> 00:06:59.560 that fall before Lance, they're kind of harsh 00:06:59.560 --> 00:07:04.300 on him. But I think it was a good story, so yeah. 00:07:05.579 --> 00:07:08.279 Yeah, this was a really good book. This was the 00:07:08.279 --> 00:07:10.579 first time I got into read it. I love that it 00:07:10.579 --> 00:07:14.519 does introduce lots of really great vocabulary 00:07:14.519 --> 00:07:18.699 words and it kind of teaches them in a pretty 00:07:18.699 --> 00:07:21.819 developmentally appropriate way. It still like 00:07:21.819 --> 00:07:25.639 very much reads like a fiction book. It's clearly 00:07:25.639 --> 00:07:29.720 fiction, but it does teach a lot of really great 00:07:29.720 --> 00:07:32.779 nonfiction concepts and like everything down 00:07:32.779 --> 00:07:36.689 to like You know Lance is named Lance because 00:07:36.689 --> 00:07:39.709 he's a I forgot the full name of the cottonwood 00:07:39.709 --> 00:07:43.709 It's a Lance something cottonwood but like you 00:07:43.709 --> 00:07:46.209 can have a lot of conversations with why things 00:07:46.209 --> 00:07:51.329 are the way they are and Like why the story is 00:07:51.329 --> 00:07:54.329 going in that direction and it's all very science 00:07:54.329 --> 00:07:59.670 -based. So it's a really great kind of book for 00:07:59.670 --> 00:08:05.089 cross curricular literature in general. It's 00:08:05.089 --> 00:08:06.889 pulling in a lot of different directions and 00:08:06.889 --> 00:08:09.970 I love it. It was really good. And I did really 00:08:09.970 --> 00:08:13.029 enjoy at the very end his report card because 00:08:13.029 --> 00:08:15.370 it goes through and explains what each of those 00:08:15.370 --> 00:08:18.329 things like what budding is and what the wind 00:08:18.329 --> 00:08:20.870 resistance is and how it impacts the leaf and 00:08:20.870 --> 00:08:23.509 what it does for the tree and that kind of stuff. 00:08:23.529 --> 00:08:26.430 So it gave a lot more in -depth information about 00:08:26.430 --> 00:08:28.870 those things as well as a nice little way to 00:08:28.870 --> 00:08:31.990 end the story. So it was a good book. It was 00:08:31.990 --> 00:08:38.669 fun. It was. It was cute. Good one. Yes. A makerspace 00:08:38.669 --> 00:08:41.009 activity for this. If we're going to use this 00:08:41.009 --> 00:08:44.830 in makerspace, I would... You can do one of two 00:08:44.830 --> 00:08:47.169 things with this. You can go out and actually 00:08:47.169 --> 00:08:50.070 pick up some leaves off the ground, or maybe 00:08:50.070 --> 00:08:53.330 you can get some of the fake leaves from like 00:08:53.330 --> 00:08:55.950 the Hobby Lobby or Michael's or something like 00:08:55.950 --> 00:08:59.149 that. Either way, I think it would work out perfectly. 00:09:00.240 --> 00:09:02.960 With that, you take some paint, have some paper. 00:09:05.799 --> 00:09:09.120 I think what I would try and do is something 00:09:09.120 --> 00:09:12.460 similar to the glue in the sponge and put some 00:09:12.460 --> 00:09:14.440 paint in the sponge and see if we could make 00:09:14.440 --> 00:09:17.460 that work. But if you wanted, you could use some 00:09:17.460 --> 00:09:19.519 paint brushes and have them paint on the back 00:09:19.519 --> 00:09:22.620 of the leaves. But the idea is to have the kids 00:09:22.620 --> 00:09:24.419 get paint on the back of the leaves. I think 00:09:24.419 --> 00:09:26.460 you could do it by putting some paint on a sponge 00:09:26.460 --> 00:09:29.289 and putting the... the leaf on the sponge, and 00:09:29.289 --> 00:09:32.870 then using that leaf to kind of make stamp impressions 00:09:32.870 --> 00:09:36.590 on the paper. And then if like they so the kids 00:09:36.590 --> 00:09:38.490 could take different shapes of leaves and get 00:09:38.490 --> 00:09:41.190 paint on them and make different paint stamps 00:09:41.190 --> 00:09:43.590 on their paper. And then if you really wanted 00:09:43.590 --> 00:09:47.230 to challenge the kids have them take use the 00:09:47.230 --> 00:09:50.970 leaves to make stamps and make something else 00:09:50.970 --> 00:09:53.980 out of those stamps, like you could take the 00:09:53.980 --> 00:09:55.860 different stamps and make them so that they make 00:09:55.860 --> 00:09:58.259 like a landscape with a bunch of trees or maybe 00:09:58.259 --> 00:10:01.200 they could make like a bunny rabbit using the 00:10:01.200 --> 00:10:03.200 leaves or maybe they can make a dog using the 00:10:03.200 --> 00:10:05.580 leaves and so having some extra markers to have 00:10:05.580 --> 00:10:07.919 that they could add little defining features 00:10:07.919 --> 00:10:10.580 to those stamps and get even more creative with 00:10:10.580 --> 00:10:13.659 it would be a fun way to take what's already 00:10:13.659 --> 00:10:15.600 going to be a fun activity of being able to stamp 00:10:15.600 --> 00:10:18.940 and make the leaf prints and then make it into 00:10:18.940 --> 00:10:21.460 something even more and kind of stretch that 00:10:21.460 --> 00:10:24.750 imagination a little bit more. I love that. It's 00:10:24.750 --> 00:10:29.509 a very creative way to go about including those 00:10:29.509 --> 00:10:33.789 leaves and their artwork and kind of encouraging 00:10:33.789 --> 00:10:37.610 our kids to be more creative with what they create. 00:10:37.690 --> 00:10:42.190 I love it. That's great. Have you read the book, 00:10:42.370 --> 00:10:46.870 If You Find a Leaf by Amy Sekiro? I have read 00:10:46.870 --> 00:10:49.309 that before. It's been a while. That one? Yes. 00:10:50.000 --> 00:10:52.200 Yeah, I think that one does the same thing with 00:10:52.200 --> 00:10:57.080 the illustrations. That's a good one to do Yeah 00:10:57.080 --> 00:11:00.639 Maybe maybe subconsciously. That's what I was 00:11:00.639 --> 00:11:02.799 thinking of when I came up with that idea, you 00:11:02.799 --> 00:11:07.799 know, yeah, maybe That would so that would be 00:11:07.799 --> 00:11:09.679 a good one to thought like you could have them 00:11:09.679 --> 00:11:13.440 do this activity and then follow up the week 00:11:13.440 --> 00:11:15.039 by reading that one and being like look what 00:11:15.039 --> 00:11:18.299 this one what this author did to kind of follow 00:11:18.299 --> 00:11:20.909 up to I would. Yeah, that's a good connection 00:11:20.909 --> 00:11:26.389 there. All right, that brings us to our library 00:11:26.389 --> 00:11:29.850 of little's management tip for this week. And 00:11:29.850 --> 00:11:31.629 so we're going to be discussing the pros and 00:11:31.629 --> 00:11:35.350 cons of using reading calendars or doing like 00:11:35.350 --> 00:11:39.669 reading bingo activities with our students, specifically 00:11:39.669 --> 00:11:42.149 our pre -k and kinder students that are younger. 00:11:43.190 --> 00:11:46.990 And to be upfront, there are definitely pros 00:11:46.990 --> 00:11:52.049 and cons to these activities. Caroline, you and 00:11:52.049 --> 00:11:56.669 I tend to lean towards not doing them anymore. 00:11:56.789 --> 00:12:00.049 In the past we have done them. I found that they 00:12:00.049 --> 00:12:03.370 became problematic pretty quickly for a couple 00:12:03.370 --> 00:12:08.429 different reasons. But the way we did our original 00:12:08.429 --> 00:12:11.009 reading calendars was in the grading period. 00:12:11.049 --> 00:12:14.110 We had a paper that was landscape and on it basically 00:12:14.110 --> 00:12:17.110 it explained that the whole purpose was to have 00:12:17.579 --> 00:12:20.720 the students adults at home reading with the 00:12:20.720 --> 00:12:24.779 students. And then for pre -K being that these 00:12:24.779 --> 00:12:27.299 are little kids, the way it worked is there were 00:12:27.299 --> 00:12:30.200 like a grading period, it's about six weeks. 00:12:30.259 --> 00:12:34.200 And so we had six sections where it asked for 00:12:34.200 --> 00:12:36.059 the adult to write down the name of the book 00:12:36.059 --> 00:12:38.299 and the author. And then there was an open space 00:12:38.299 --> 00:12:40.240 for the students to be able to draw a picture 00:12:40.240 --> 00:12:42.100 of something from the book that they enjoyed, 00:12:42.100 --> 00:12:44.980 right? And so. between the front and back of 00:12:44.980 --> 00:12:47.159 the paper there were the six sections for the 00:12:47.159 --> 00:12:49.299 kids to fill out and at the end of the six weeks 00:12:49.299 --> 00:12:50.799 the grading at the end of the grading period 00:12:50.799 --> 00:12:54.799 they could turn that in when i was doing it we 00:12:54.799 --> 00:12:57.120 had like the first time they turned it in they 00:12:57.120 --> 00:13:03.139 got a keychain that had um our campus uh mascot 00:13:03.139 --> 00:13:06.539 on it and it said like i'm a reader kind of thing 00:13:06.539 --> 00:13:10.720 and then each one after that that they completed, 00:13:10.740 --> 00:13:13.340 they got a spirit stick that had different like 00:13:13.340 --> 00:13:15.379 reading themes on it that they could add to the 00:13:15.379 --> 00:13:20.139 key chain. That was the intent behind it was 00:13:20.139 --> 00:13:22.799 to just incentive to have the adults reading 00:13:22.799 --> 00:13:27.259 with the students. What it quickly became was 00:13:27.259 --> 00:13:29.720 I had so many issues from the start with it. 00:13:29.879 --> 00:13:36.179 I had where like the form would be finished. 00:13:36.649 --> 00:13:39.509 and turned into me, and it was clearly the adult 00:13:39.509 --> 00:13:42.669 that did all of the work, like the picture, the 00:13:42.669 --> 00:13:49.610 writing, all of it. Which, again, the con of 00:13:49.610 --> 00:13:52.389 that is that the student isn't getting the opportunity 00:13:52.389 --> 00:13:57.230 to express themselves, and they're not the ones 00:13:57.230 --> 00:14:00.090 that are doing any of the real work. The parent 00:14:00.090 --> 00:14:02.110 may be reading with the student, which is the 00:14:02.110 --> 00:14:05.639 general goal, but there's no Real proof of that 00:14:05.639 --> 00:14:08.059 happening. So I wasn't really sure if that was 00:14:08.059 --> 00:14:10.159 actually being done another thing I had was the 00:14:10.159 --> 00:14:12.200 where it like parents would fill out like or 00:14:12.200 --> 00:14:14.820 they would do like two of them and Then send 00:14:14.820 --> 00:14:19.419 it back and be like we did it Well, you were 00:14:19.419 --> 00:14:22.820 supposed to do six of them. So like Do you get 00:14:22.820 --> 00:14:25.799 do you get the reward for doing it too? When 00:14:25.799 --> 00:14:27.799 the other kids are getting the reward for doing 00:14:27.799 --> 00:14:33.019 so that became an issue I had on the campus originally 00:14:33.019 --> 00:14:36.679 we had bilingual classes with us also. So we 00:14:36.679 --> 00:14:39.740 had Spanish bilingual classes and Vietnamese 00:14:39.740 --> 00:14:44.440 bilingual classes. And so we had versions of 00:14:44.440 --> 00:14:47.139 it that were in those languages. And that's like 00:14:47.139 --> 00:14:49.139 another random thing that happened was I had 00:14:49.139 --> 00:14:51.139 the Vietnamese teacher coming to me telling me 00:14:51.139 --> 00:14:53.179 that their families didn't actually speak Vietnamese, 00:14:53.220 --> 00:14:55.600 so they needed English copies of the form. And 00:14:55.600 --> 00:14:57.899 so that was just slightly frustrating, because 00:14:57.899 --> 00:15:00.299 that was a whole other issue. But we had stuff 00:15:00.299 --> 00:15:05.289 like that happening. And the other part is it 00:15:05.289 --> 00:15:09.309 wasn't the easiest thing to keep track of. I 00:15:09.309 --> 00:15:13.470 had to have like a folder for every class. And 00:15:13.470 --> 00:15:16.110 then every time they'd bring the form back, I'd 00:15:16.110 --> 00:15:17.470 have to go through that folder to find it if 00:15:17.470 --> 00:15:21.269 they'd given me the ones from earlier in the 00:15:21.269 --> 00:15:23.970 year to decide if they needed the original key 00:15:23.970 --> 00:15:25.809 chain or if they got the spirits. So keeping 00:15:25.809 --> 00:15:31.610 track of that stuff wasn't the best. And honestly, 00:15:32.679 --> 00:15:36.440 I don't know. Like I said to you before, I'm 00:15:36.440 --> 00:15:39.720 100 % sure that some of the students that turned 00:15:39.720 --> 00:15:43.740 these in actually sat down with their adult and 00:15:43.740 --> 00:15:48.840 read. But I also know that there were definitely 00:15:48.840 --> 00:15:54.019 some students that never saw the books that were 00:15:54.019 --> 00:15:57.480 written down on that paper and turned in. And 00:15:57.480 --> 00:16:01.740 so it's really hard. to verify that. And the 00:16:01.740 --> 00:16:04.659 other part is, is I don't have the time, energy, 00:16:06.139 --> 00:16:10.580 or honestly the willpower to argue with the parent 00:16:10.580 --> 00:16:15.120 about any of those issues. It's not worth my 00:16:15.120 --> 00:16:18.820 time. And so then it quickly became, well, I'm 00:16:18.820 --> 00:16:21.159 not gonna fight this. So here's the reward. And 00:16:21.159 --> 00:16:23.240 then at that point I was like, but so why am 00:16:23.240 --> 00:16:27.019 I doing this? If they're not like, I don't know 00:16:27.019 --> 00:16:30.100 that they're really doing the work. when I can 00:16:30.100 --> 00:16:34.840 be using my time in other ways to give the kids 00:16:34.840 --> 00:16:37.379 other opportunities to be reading and that kind 00:16:37.379 --> 00:16:39.679 of thing. And like using my time for other things. 00:16:39.740 --> 00:16:43.500 That was a lot of my issues with it. You were 00:16:43.500 --> 00:16:45.779 telling me some of your problems with it too, 00:16:45.919 --> 00:16:48.639 like becoming way too big of a thing too, right? 00:16:48.799 --> 00:16:52.779 Yeah. Yeah. So my biggest problem that I had 00:16:52.779 --> 00:16:55.799 on my campus was we started out small, like you 00:16:55.799 --> 00:16:58.580 were describing. where and it was the librarian 00:16:58.580 --> 00:17:02.539 before me started it and it started out small 00:17:02.539 --> 00:17:05.440 with just like they would do fill out their little 00:17:05.440 --> 00:17:08.039 reading log and they would come turn it in and 00:17:08.039 --> 00:17:10.279 they'd get their little keychain or their spirit 00:17:10.279 --> 00:17:14.559 stick every six weeks and that was okay with 00:17:14.559 --> 00:17:18.000 the caveats that you were explaining but ultimately 00:17:18.000 --> 00:17:21.000 it was still just a small little program to kind 00:17:21.000 --> 00:17:24.039 of encourage reading at home and it remained 00:17:24.039 --> 00:17:28.099 a program to continue. to encourage reading at 00:17:28.099 --> 00:17:31.779 home. However, the librarian before me kept adding 00:17:31.779 --> 00:17:36.200 more and more things to it, and by the time she 00:17:36.200 --> 00:17:41.339 left, in her final year, the things that it included, 00:17:41.779 --> 00:17:44.900 if they did all of the, they had to do all the 00:17:44.900 --> 00:17:47.440 reading logs for the whole year, which was a 00:17:47.440 --> 00:17:50.480 total of six, because it's six weeks, then they 00:17:50.480 --> 00:17:56.099 would get a T -shirt, a trophy, a pizza party, 00:17:57.380 --> 00:18:02.000 and a magic show with an actual magician coming 00:18:02.000 --> 00:18:05.579 into the library just for them. And it was like 00:18:05.579 --> 00:18:11.059 this big, like hour -long celebration. And while 00:18:11.059 --> 00:18:15.200 I agree with celebrating reading, and we should 00:18:15.200 --> 00:18:21.519 do that, it was just, it ended up being so much 00:18:21.519 --> 00:18:26.039 stuff. Like, first of all, pre -K, They they're 00:18:26.039 --> 00:18:28.680 not gonna make that connection that's gonna be 00:18:28.680 --> 00:18:32.180 so far removed from the reading I don't think 00:18:32.180 --> 00:18:34.740 very many of those kids are going to connect 00:18:34.740 --> 00:18:36.980 that they got to have this celebration in this 00:18:36.980 --> 00:18:40.140 magic show because they read For an entire school 00:18:40.140 --> 00:18:43.319 year and had to continuously keep reading I don't 00:18:43.319 --> 00:18:45.619 think that connection is going to be made because 00:18:45.619 --> 00:18:49.400 it's way too delayed as far as a reward goes 00:18:49.400 --> 00:18:55.980 and then There was so much with a program like 00:18:55.980 --> 00:19:01.319 that at the you know pre -k kinder age They can 00:19:01.319 --> 00:19:06.559 there's a few kids who are going to be responsible 00:19:06.559 --> 00:19:12.140 enough and Cognizant enough to go home and talk 00:19:12.140 --> 00:19:14.480 to their grown -ups and tell them that they want 00:19:14.480 --> 00:19:17.500 to read and it's for this reason but the vast 00:19:17.500 --> 00:19:21.359 majority aren't going to do that and it's more 00:19:21.359 --> 00:19:23.539 of like you kind of need to connect with the 00:19:23.539 --> 00:19:25.779 parents and tell the parents this is what's happening 00:19:25.779 --> 00:19:27.319 because the parents are going to actually have 00:19:27.319 --> 00:19:31.200 to be the ones facilitating a bit more and making 00:19:31.200 --> 00:19:35.819 those connections with the kids for you. So there 00:19:35.819 --> 00:19:37.960 was a lot of kids that are being left out because 00:19:37.960 --> 00:19:39.660 if they missed even one of those, then they're 00:19:39.660 --> 00:19:41.440 out for the giant celebration at the end of the 00:19:41.440 --> 00:19:46.720 year. And then that was also kind of angering 00:19:46.720 --> 00:19:51.799 some of the teachers at our school. So then As 00:19:51.799 --> 00:19:56.119 a work around those teachers were like you know 00:19:56.119 --> 00:19:59.299 what we read every day in our classroom this 00:19:59.299 --> 00:20:01.799 is going to be something that i complete with 00:20:01.799 --> 00:20:05.599 every single one of our kids and those teachers 00:20:05.599 --> 00:20:08.819 filled out the forms with their kids and they 00:20:08.819 --> 00:20:11.539 they did read the books they legit did the reading 00:20:11.539 --> 00:20:14.619 log but it was in their classroom it wasn't the 00:20:14.619 --> 00:20:18.799 extension that it was intended to be and they 00:20:18.799 --> 00:20:21.680 kind of. did that little work around so that 00:20:21.680 --> 00:20:23.700 every single one of their kids got to participate 00:20:23.700 --> 00:20:27.740 in the massive little magic show giant celebration 00:20:27.740 --> 00:20:31.380 pizza party thing at the end of the school year. 00:20:31.519 --> 00:20:35.480 And then after so after at that point, it was 00:20:35.480 --> 00:20:38.299 like, okay, so some classes are fully participating 00:20:38.299 --> 00:20:40.240 and all the kids are getting the things and then 00:20:40.240 --> 00:20:43.160 how do I tell these classes that only like these 00:20:43.160 --> 00:20:45.640 two kids get to come to the things and it was 00:20:45.640 --> 00:20:49.559 it was I think if you are going to implement 00:20:49.559 --> 00:20:55.480 something like this, it's imperative to keep 00:20:55.480 --> 00:20:59.799 a good reward, a tangible reward, so that the 00:20:59.799 --> 00:21:05.019 kids do make a connection. And you want it tangible, 00:21:05.180 --> 00:21:08.400 too, so the parents can see, so that they know 00:21:08.400 --> 00:21:10.759 that their kid's getting something out of it, 00:21:10.759 --> 00:21:12.279 because the parents really are going to have 00:21:12.279 --> 00:21:14.039 to put forth effort to do it with their kids 00:21:14.039 --> 00:21:18.660 as well. But just something a little bit smaller 00:21:18.660 --> 00:21:22.000 because you do ultimately the goal is it is to 00:21:22.000 --> 00:21:25.660 read But we want reading to be a lifelong thing 00:21:25.660 --> 00:21:28.000 that they just love because they love to read 00:21:28.000 --> 00:21:29.779 We don't want them doing it because they get 00:21:29.779 --> 00:21:32.079 a magic show at the end of the school year. So 00:21:32.079 --> 00:21:36.480 like keeping it smaller is Will make it easier 00:21:36.480 --> 00:21:41.480 to transition it from an external reward to an 00:21:41.480 --> 00:21:45.349 intrinsic one later on as they go get older, 00:21:45.690 --> 00:21:48.369 it's just an easier way to weed them off of it. 00:21:48.390 --> 00:21:53.390 If you make it massive, it's harder to scale 00:21:53.390 --> 00:21:58.089 it back in the future. I'm also just trying to 00:21:58.089 --> 00:22:01.670 think about that money coming out of your budget 00:22:01.670 --> 00:22:06.309 for that. And as more and more teachers have 00:22:06.309 --> 00:22:08.329 their whole class do it, that means you're spending 00:22:08.329 --> 00:22:10.769 more money on pizza and you're doing more of 00:22:10.769 --> 00:22:14.920 it. and it just becomes more and more expensive 00:22:14.920 --> 00:22:18.539 with and with our library budgets being cut year 00:22:18.539 --> 00:22:21.339 after year because school district budgets are 00:22:21.339 --> 00:22:24.660 being cut like that's a big chunk of money being 00:22:24.660 --> 00:22:28.299 spent on a celebration that the kids aren't actually 00:22:28.299 --> 00:22:30.339 making that connection to oh this is because 00:22:30.339 --> 00:22:36.539 i read like you know yeah yeah ultimately i think 00:22:36.539 --> 00:22:39.920 i think if i could go do it all over again I'm 00:22:39.920 --> 00:22:42.319 not sure I would participate in that but I think 00:22:42.319 --> 00:22:45.500 I would do some sort of a I would try and do 00:22:45.500 --> 00:22:49.680 a parent outreach thing instead and kind of and 00:22:49.680 --> 00:22:52.880 try and educate parents more about the importance 00:22:52.880 --> 00:22:55.519 of reading at home and kind of let them know 00:22:55.519 --> 00:22:58.180 because there's a lot of little things about 00:22:58.180 --> 00:23:01.700 um reading that parents don't realize like they 00:23:01.700 --> 00:23:04.980 don't realize that it's a like reading is important 00:23:04.980 --> 00:23:08.559 but you can totally if your kid's into it Read 00:23:08.559 --> 00:23:11.519 the same book 20 times. You might not enjoy it, 00:23:11.660 --> 00:23:14.039 but like your kids are still getting the same 00:23:14.039 --> 00:23:16.299 benefits from it. You know, we're still learning 00:23:16.299 --> 00:23:19.440 print concepts. We're still, you know, solidifying 00:23:19.440 --> 00:23:23.039 the vocabulary. It takes more than one reading 00:23:23.039 --> 00:23:26.559 to really grasp all the vocabulary and all the 00:23:26.559 --> 00:23:29.099 concepts that are being that we're reading about, 00:23:29.500 --> 00:23:31.339 like especially for younger kids where they're 00:23:31.339 --> 00:23:32.920 because they're little sponges and they're learning 00:23:32.920 --> 00:23:36.910 all the things all the time. Because they don't 00:23:36.910 --> 00:23:39.130 have all the background world knowledge that 00:23:39.130 --> 00:23:41.890 we as adults do so like it's okay to read it 00:23:41.890 --> 00:23:46.069 a few times and It's you know, it's okay. If 00:23:46.069 --> 00:23:50.329 it's a shorter book. It's like in for even for 00:23:50.329 --> 00:23:52.769 our Parents of older kids like it's okay if it's 00:23:52.769 --> 00:23:54.609 a graphic novel and has lots of pictures still 00:23:54.609 --> 00:23:57.670 it's all good Reading is reading will accept 00:23:57.670 --> 00:24:00.430 any form of reading. Thank you very much You 00:24:00.430 --> 00:24:03.369 know, I think that would be more effective. I 00:24:03.369 --> 00:24:06.809 yeah, but Yeah, breeding logs are still okay. 00:24:06.869 --> 00:24:10.730 I'm not saying don't do them. Just with caution. 00:24:11.049 --> 00:24:13.769 Proceed with caution, especially for the youngest 00:24:13.769 --> 00:24:19.250 kids. Yeah, and just be mindful that these situations 00:24:19.250 --> 00:24:23.349 and these issues may arise. And if nothing else, 00:24:23.549 --> 00:24:27.349 be prepared for them. Just have a plan in place 00:24:27.349 --> 00:24:29.390 of maybe what you want to do about it. And if 00:24:29.390 --> 00:24:30.890 it's something like that, you're just going to 00:24:30.890 --> 00:24:32.910 be like, well, I'm just not going to fight it 00:24:32.910 --> 00:24:37.390 or whatever. you know, just be prepared. I do 00:24:37.390 --> 00:24:40.470 think that like the key chain and the spirit 00:24:40.470 --> 00:24:44.049 sticks is not a terrible, tangible reward. Cause 00:24:44.049 --> 00:24:46.130 it is something small. It's not gonna, it's something 00:24:46.130 --> 00:24:50.210 that the kids can hold and have. They're not 00:24:50.210 --> 00:24:55.910 crazy expensive. And so like, I always, always 00:24:55.910 --> 00:24:57.750 tried to keep the, and the spirit sticks that 00:24:57.750 --> 00:25:00.470 I got were always, like book themed so that I 00:25:00.470 --> 00:25:02.430 could be like, remember this is you got this 00:25:02.430 --> 00:25:04.250 because you read kind of thing. So at least being 00:25:04.250 --> 00:25:06.609 able to try and connect it back every time to 00:25:06.609 --> 00:25:11.609 the reading kind of thing. It just becomes like 00:25:11.609 --> 00:25:14.589 a, you just have to have a process in place to 00:25:14.589 --> 00:25:16.369 make sure that you're keeping track of it. And 00:25:16.369 --> 00:25:19.109 then, you know, it's just, there's a lot that 00:25:19.109 --> 00:25:23.190 goes into it and a lot of things that if you're, 00:25:23.190 --> 00:25:26.250 if you're brand new to it, you'll find real quick 00:25:26.250 --> 00:25:29.420 that there are lots of other parts to it that 00:25:29.420 --> 00:25:32.720 you didn't plan for. So thinking it through, 00:25:32.819 --> 00:25:35.700 thinking about the real goals that you want to 00:25:35.700 --> 00:25:41.359 have and the real purpose behind it before you 00:25:41.359 --> 00:25:45.259 choose to do any of it. Because I think you're 00:25:45.259 --> 00:25:50.539 right. I think that if I Could have like there's 00:25:50.539 --> 00:25:53.319 not an opportunity for me to have like all of 00:25:53.319 --> 00:25:56.099 my pre -k Parents or all of my kindergarten parents 00:25:56.099 --> 00:25:58.279 in one place where I could just sit and talk 00:25:58.279 --> 00:26:01.819 to them first Like at like an open house or something 00:26:01.819 --> 00:26:04.460 like that like if I could sit and be like here's 00:26:04.460 --> 00:26:07.180 why? Reading is important and be able to go through 00:26:07.180 --> 00:26:09.299 like the list of all the things that are happening 00:26:09.299 --> 00:26:11.680 in the child's brain While they're reading and 00:26:11.680 --> 00:26:13.359 why it's important to do it every day and that 00:26:13.359 --> 00:26:16.700 kind of thing and then be like and to encourage 00:26:16.700 --> 00:26:21.400 it we're gonna do this and then explain that. 00:26:22.000 --> 00:26:25.240 I think that would have a more impact on the 00:26:25.240 --> 00:26:28.039 families but it comes down to the time and getting 00:26:28.039 --> 00:26:31.680 those parents all in one place together and that's 00:26:31.680 --> 00:26:34.480 the part that doesn't become so feasible. And 00:26:34.480 --> 00:26:36.559 so then you're hoping that they're reading a 00:26:36.559 --> 00:26:40.519 paper that you're sending home and we know the 00:26:40.519 --> 00:26:44.400 realities of that and so it gets diluted really 00:26:44.400 --> 00:26:50.190 quick. Having said all that I did continue to 00:26:50.190 --> 00:26:54.289 send home reading bingo for read across America 00:26:54.289 --> 00:26:57.789 day to encourage more reading at home and they 00:26:57.789 --> 00:27:03.049 the kids just got I think for that one I Think 00:27:03.049 --> 00:27:05.210 I had I still had all the spirit sticks. I think 00:27:05.210 --> 00:27:08.470 they got spirit sticks. Yeah Well, and I mean 00:27:08.470 --> 00:27:10.950 like our school district this you like you'll 00:27:10.950 --> 00:27:13.869 find this coming summer They'll send home a reading 00:27:13.869 --> 00:27:19.779 bingo blackout sheet And it's for every grade 00:27:19.779 --> 00:27:25.059 level. And so like, here's the thing though. 00:27:25.759 --> 00:27:29.700 Honestly, I have on my campus, I had 720 students 00:27:29.700 --> 00:27:34.519 at the end of last year. I think I got eight 00:27:34.519 --> 00:27:38.640 of the reading bingo blackouts back from the 00:27:38.640 --> 00:27:42.819 summer. That's surprising. So that one I'm not 00:27:42.819 --> 00:27:46.829 like, and I'm... whether those eight kids read 00:27:46.829 --> 00:27:48.710 all the books or not at that point. I'm like, 00:27:48.730 --> 00:27:50.390 well, there's only eight of you. It's fine. We'll 00:27:50.390 --> 00:27:52.029 submit your names kind of thing. And actually 00:27:52.029 --> 00:27:54.529 one of the students on my campus did win. And 00:27:54.529 --> 00:27:56.710 she is one that I know actually read all the 00:27:56.710 --> 00:28:01.630 books, which is nice. So like there, if it's 00:28:01.630 --> 00:28:04.950 done correctly, it can be very beneficial and 00:28:04.950 --> 00:28:10.430 it will impact some families. I wish we could 00:28:10.430 --> 00:28:13.210 find a way that it was more effective and impacted 00:28:13.210 --> 00:28:16.809 more families, but there's only so much we can 00:28:16.809 --> 00:28:22.049 do. So just having that understanding of this 00:28:22.049 --> 00:28:26.869 will help some and maybe that's enough for you 00:28:26.869 --> 00:28:30.269 to do it. Maybe it's not. It depends on really 00:28:30.269 --> 00:28:34.589 on your, your campus and your goals, I think. 00:28:34.589 --> 00:28:38.160 Yeah. So just understand there are pros and cons 00:28:38.160 --> 00:28:42.359 and like there's not one blanket like this is 00:28:42.359 --> 00:28:44.759 how it should be done or this is the way to do 00:28:44.759 --> 00:28:49.799 it. There's so many little things that will impact 00:28:49.799 --> 00:28:54.460 how that works for you on campus. It's true. 00:28:56.339 --> 00:28:59.640 All right. Well, the next book that we're going 00:28:59.640 --> 00:29:03.140 to talk about, I cheated. This isn't just fall. 00:29:03.240 --> 00:29:07.000 This does all four seasons. This is Tap the Magic 00:29:07.000 --> 00:29:09.920 Tree. It's published by Greenwillow Books in 00:29:09.920 --> 00:29:12.980 2013, and the author and illustrator is Kristi 00:29:12.980 --> 00:29:16.619 Matheson. This book is a Junior Library Guild 00:29:16.619 --> 00:29:19.859 selection for 2013. It got the Kentucky Bluegrass 00:29:19.859 --> 00:29:26.859 Award in 2015, South Carolina SCALC Picture Book 00:29:26.859 --> 00:29:30.400 Award 2015, Tennessee Volunteer State Book Award 00:29:30.400 --> 00:29:36.000 2015, and Texas 2x2 2014. And for the author 00:29:36.000 --> 00:29:39.259 history, Kristy Matheson is an award -winning 00:29:39.259 --> 00:29:41.880 children's book author and illustrator. Her books 00:29:41.880 --> 00:29:44.619 have been translated into more than 20 languages. 00:29:45.039 --> 00:29:47.539 She enjoys spending time with her children outside 00:29:47.539 --> 00:29:51.559 in nature, and of course, reading. Some of the 00:29:51.559 --> 00:29:55.039 other books that she has written are A Mischief 00:29:55.039 --> 00:30:00.880 of Mice, Forest, Mamas and Babies, Birdwatch, 00:30:01.680 --> 00:30:05.640 Plant the Tiny Seed, The Hidden Rainbow and Touch 00:30:05.640 --> 00:30:09.220 the Brightest Star. She's also written two middle 00:30:09.220 --> 00:30:14.160 grade novels, which are Select and Shelter. And 00:30:14.160 --> 00:30:17.420 in this book, an unseen narrator tells the reader 00:30:17.420 --> 00:30:20.880 to begin the story by tapping a bare brown tree, 00:30:21.480 --> 00:30:25.200 which makes a leaf magically appear on the next 00:30:25.200 --> 00:30:28.519 page. The narrator continues telling the reader 00:30:28.519 --> 00:30:32.549 how to interact with the tree and it makes the 00:30:32.549 --> 00:30:36.029 tree go through one full year of seasons. I like 00:30:36.029 --> 00:30:39.569 doing this one this time of year to introduce 00:30:39.569 --> 00:30:42.369 the concept of fall because it's the first time 00:30:42.369 --> 00:30:45.549 that we talk about seasons in school because 00:30:45.549 --> 00:30:49.130 we do start school in the fall, right? And then 00:30:49.130 --> 00:30:53.119 I feel like I think it's important all the time 00:30:53.119 --> 00:30:55.140 to talk about seasons in general. I mean, that's 00:30:55.140 --> 00:30:58.319 just an important concept, right? But in Texas, 00:30:58.319 --> 00:31:01.720 especially where we don't really have very many 00:31:01.720 --> 00:31:07.660 seasons and it's so stinking hot for so very 00:31:07.660 --> 00:31:09.839 long. And especially if you're doing this book 00:31:09.839 --> 00:31:14.079 with like four and five year olds, like really 00:31:14.079 --> 00:31:17.839 right now. it's still like 90 degrees outside 00:31:17.839 --> 00:31:20.319 and it's the end of September like the last time 00:31:20.319 --> 00:31:24.259 these kids were had anywhere near like colder 00:31:24.259 --> 00:31:31.160 weather it was like um maybe March maybe definitely 00:31:31.160 --> 00:31:36.140 February I was thinking February yeah so it's 00:31:36.140 --> 00:31:40.059 been like seven or eight months Which is close 00:31:40.059 --> 00:31:43.700 to like a quarter of their lifetime so like truly 00:31:43.700 --> 00:31:47.400 they may not remember cold weather like for real 00:31:47.400 --> 00:31:50.259 so they may not like they're like it's just hot 00:31:50.259 --> 00:31:54.579 all the time because it's just been. Like comparatively 00:31:54.579 --> 00:31:59.460 so much of their life has like like they don't 00:31:59.460 --> 00:32:01.339 remember like when they were baby and such so 00:32:01.339 --> 00:32:04.640 like it was just so long ago that like. I know 00:32:04.640 --> 00:32:08.180 they know it gets cold, but do they? Do they? 00:32:08.240 --> 00:32:11.319 I don't know. So I like to start with this book 00:32:11.319 --> 00:32:14.539 because it does show the tree going through all 00:32:14.539 --> 00:32:20.039 four seasons. And we do get to remind kids that 00:32:20.039 --> 00:32:24.339 eventually it'll get cold. And like, as I'm reading, 00:32:24.539 --> 00:32:26.559 I kind of, you know, like, okay, on this page, 00:32:26.700 --> 00:32:30.099 there's snow. All right. We're going to wear, 00:32:30.099 --> 00:32:31.759 you know, long pants are going to come back. 00:32:31.779 --> 00:32:35.700 It's going to happen. I promise. eventually we're 00:32:35.700 --> 00:32:38.480 going to wear jackets eventually it's going to 00:32:38.480 --> 00:32:42.700 happen so just like reminding kids that there 00:32:42.700 --> 00:32:46.839 are seasons because i know they know kind of 00:32:46.839 --> 00:32:49.579 but they haven't their memory isn't long enough 00:32:49.579 --> 00:32:54.980 yet to really remember it so this is my favorite 00:32:54.980 --> 00:32:57.980 way to kind of introduce all four seasons and 00:32:57.980 --> 00:33:00.680 then i usually do this one and then i do another 00:33:00.680 --> 00:33:03.859 fall book like just focusing on fall usually 00:33:03.859 --> 00:33:08.259 like a non -fiction right after it um and with 00:33:08.259 --> 00:33:11.779 this one i very much you know stop on like i 00:33:11.779 --> 00:33:15.000 read it through because it is very interactive 00:33:15.000 --> 00:33:17.980 the kids absolutely love it and actually a lot 00:33:17.980 --> 00:33:20.960 of the teachers love watching the kids interact 00:33:20.960 --> 00:33:23.319 with the book as well and they get kind of excited 00:33:23.319 --> 00:33:28.339 for that too because it's just so much fun so 00:33:28.569 --> 00:33:32.150 that interactive piece is like super duper engaging 00:33:32.150 --> 00:33:36.589 for the kiddos. I read it through once like kind 00:33:36.589 --> 00:33:40.210 of quickly and just just follow directions and 00:33:40.210 --> 00:33:43.089 let everybody interact with the book. And then 00:33:43.089 --> 00:33:46.470 I go through it one more time just looking at 00:33:46.470 --> 00:33:49.329 the pictures and pointing out like this is what 00:33:49.329 --> 00:33:51.920 the tree is doing here. Okay. leaves are falling 00:33:51.920 --> 00:33:54.960 down the weather is getting colder now all the 00:33:54.960 --> 00:33:58.420 leaves are gone like what season is it now and 00:33:58.420 --> 00:34:02.299 kind of point out all the like non -fiction teaching 00:34:02.299 --> 00:34:05.480 pieces with it um i feel like going through it 00:34:05.480 --> 00:34:09.059 that way they get the benefit of both interacting 00:34:09.059 --> 00:34:11.760 with it quickly and remaining engaged so i don't 00:34:11.760 --> 00:34:16.599 lose the momentum but then they also get an opportunity 00:34:16.599 --> 00:34:21.199 to see why the tree is going through the changes 00:34:21.199 --> 00:34:23.360 when it's going through those changes, if that 00:34:23.360 --> 00:34:25.900 makes sense. But this is like one of my favorite 00:34:25.900 --> 00:34:29.820 books to read because it's so interactive. I 00:34:29.820 --> 00:34:33.019 do like Kristi Matheson's books in general, but 00:34:33.019 --> 00:34:37.480 I think this one is by far the best interactive 00:34:37.480 --> 00:34:40.380 book that she's got. The other ones are okay, 00:34:40.960 --> 00:34:44.000 but this one, there's enough to do that I can 00:34:44.000 --> 00:34:48.079 get... in a whole class, I can make it so that 00:34:48.079 --> 00:34:51.139 everybody gets a turn to do something. And I 00:34:51.139 --> 00:34:53.960 can't necessarily do that with her other ones, 00:34:54.179 --> 00:34:56.440 which makes this one easily my favorite of hers. 00:34:57.420 --> 00:34:59.500 So I would give it a five out of five. I like 00:34:59.500 --> 00:35:02.780 it a lot. It's a good time. I love this book. 00:35:02.840 --> 00:35:06.320 It was great. It was just kind of magical. It 00:35:06.320 --> 00:35:09.699 reminded me of like the some of the other books 00:35:09.699 --> 00:35:12.559 where you like tap and you flip the page and 00:35:12.559 --> 00:35:16.019 something new happened you know so like it was 00:35:16.019 --> 00:35:19.380 it is beautiful i loved it i i'm definitely going 00:35:19.380 --> 00:35:22.199 to use this with my pre -k students this year 00:35:22.199 --> 00:35:25.920 yeah they like it a lot it's it's a good one 00:35:25.920 --> 00:35:29.760 it is um and then for a makerspace activity for 00:35:29.760 --> 00:35:35.739 this i like to do leaf rubbings um you can just 00:35:35.739 --> 00:35:41.300 go outside and fine leaves with particularly 00:35:41.300 --> 00:35:45.820 big veins and such and use those for leaf rubbings. 00:35:46.079 --> 00:35:50.599 I personally have a set of like plastic leaves 00:35:50.599 --> 00:35:55.380 that are like it's clear plastic but it has like 00:35:55.380 --> 00:36:00.159 the shape of a leaf and like printed on it and 00:36:00.159 --> 00:36:03.199 they're like designed for making leaf rubbings 00:36:03.199 --> 00:36:08.610 but then I just I have my bag of Crayons that 00:36:08.610 --> 00:36:12.409 where I've taken off the paper on them and I 00:36:12.409 --> 00:36:14.789 show the kids how to do leaf rubbings and that's 00:36:14.789 --> 00:36:19.630 a good one for Encouraging that fine motor grasp 00:36:19.630 --> 00:36:22.989 there They do get a little bit confused with 00:36:22.989 --> 00:36:25.730 how to hold the crayon at first because a lot 00:36:25.730 --> 00:36:27.929 of them try and like right with it and I'm like 00:36:27.929 --> 00:36:31.829 no you got to lay it completely flat and Am I 00:36:31.829 --> 00:36:35.690 like I show them how to hold it so that they 00:36:35.690 --> 00:36:39.090 can make the rubbings and once that like some 00:36:39.090 --> 00:36:40.949 some of the kids do need a little bit more guidance 00:36:40.949 --> 00:36:46.289 with that um but once that gets going they really 00:36:46.289 --> 00:36:48.550 like it most most pre -k kids are able to do 00:36:48.550 --> 00:36:52.369 that kind of independently and i like using the 00:36:52.369 --> 00:36:57.750 clear plastic leaf rubbing plates because it 00:36:57.980 --> 00:37:00.139 Feels a little bit more magical too when the 00:37:00.139 --> 00:37:01.800 kids do the rubbing because you can't really 00:37:01.800 --> 00:37:03.800 when they because they're clear plastic It doesn't 00:37:03.800 --> 00:37:06.739 necessarily like it looks like a leaf, but not 00:37:06.739 --> 00:37:09.059 really because there's no color to it yet so 00:37:09.059 --> 00:37:13.300 once you do the leaf rubbing on top and I of 00:37:13.300 --> 00:37:15.039 course only use fall colors with it because I 00:37:15.039 --> 00:37:18.719 usually do it in the fall Once you do that leaf 00:37:18.719 --> 00:37:21.539 rubbing on top and they see it pop up they get 00:37:21.539 --> 00:37:26.090 really excited because it feels almost like That 00:37:26.090 --> 00:37:28.030 feels almost magical too because it looks almost 00:37:28.030 --> 00:37:30.010 like it wasn't there at all because it was clear 00:37:30.010 --> 00:37:33.530 plastic But now it definitely is on that paper. 00:37:33.849 --> 00:37:38.230 So yeah, I Love that idea. That sounds like a 00:37:38.230 --> 00:37:40.010 lot of fun. I'm gonna have to look into finding 00:37:40.010 --> 00:37:44.010 some of those clear Leaves to do that with that. 00:37:44.010 --> 00:37:47.650 That'll be cool. I lucked into mine. They were 00:37:47.650 --> 00:37:51.650 just there they were part of a giant stem package 00:37:51.650 --> 00:37:55.340 and that like nobody was using in my school. 00:37:55.539 --> 00:37:57.320 I don't even know where I would have ordered 00:37:57.320 --> 00:38:00.960 them from. But I'm gonna, I'm gonna have to search 00:38:00.960 --> 00:38:03.119 Amazon or something and see what I can find. 00:38:03.199 --> 00:38:05.539 Because that sounds like a really cool, cool 00:38:05.539 --> 00:38:08.760 activity. Yeah, low prep and all that's the best 00:38:08.760 --> 00:38:14.780 kind. Magic leafs appearing. All kinds of magic 00:38:14.780 --> 00:38:17.320 today. We got the magic tree and the magic leaves. 00:38:17.820 --> 00:38:20.869 It's good. Well, thank you all for joining us 00:38:20.869 --> 00:38:23.250 today on this episode of Librarians of Littles. 00:38:23.570 --> 00:38:26.110 We hope you found some fresh ideas for inspiring 00:38:26.110 --> 00:38:28.449 our young readers. Please be sure to subscribe 00:38:28.449 --> 00:38:31.670 and connect with us on social media. Happy reading! 00:38:32.170 --> 00:38:35.010 Thank you for listening to this episode of Librarians 00:38:35.010 --> 00:38:37.869 of Littles. We hope that you've enjoyed it. Check 00:38:37.869 --> 00:38:42.269 back each Wednesday for a new episode. Librarians 00:38:42.269 --> 00:38:45.030 of Littles is a podcast produced and hosted by 00:38:45.030 --> 00:38:48.690 Patrick Adams and Caroline Legier. Editor, Patrick 00:38:48.690 --> 00:38:52.469 Adams. Our theme song is performed by JD Adams. 00:38:52.909 --> 00:38:55.570 You can follow us on Instagram at Librarians 00:38:55.570 --> 00:39:00.710 of Littles. You can follow us on BlueSky at littleslibrarian 00:39:00.710 --> 00:39:05.309 .bsky .social. And you can send us your emails 00:39:05.309 --> 00:39:10.969 at librarianoflittlespodatgmail .com. But they 00:39:10.969 --> 00:39:13.750 decorated the whole house while you were podcasting. 00:39:13.889 --> 00:39:16.550 Huh? We're all ready for Halloween still. Don't 00:39:16.550 --> 00:39:19.730 worry. It's still up. Awesome. Like when you 00:39:19.730 --> 00:39:23.389 sent me that text message, I died laughing. I 00:39:23.389 --> 00:39:27.750 was like, that is brilliant. They had that, they 00:39:27.750 --> 00:39:30.190 had to have had that planned in advance. There's 00:39:30.190 --> 00:39:32.570 like, they were like, dad's going to be gone. 00:39:32.969 --> 00:39:36.230 Mom's busy. We know what to do because that had 00:39:36.230 --> 00:39:39.230 to be an organized and concerted effort to make 00:39:39.230 --> 00:39:44.250 sure it happened. And I love it. All Halloween 00:39:44.250 --> 00:39:48.010 is still out. Don't worry. Entire inside of your 00:39:48.010 --> 00:39:51.650 house is just Halloween. That's awesome. It's 00:39:51.650 --> 00:39:54.210 only inside. Brandon's going to do the outside. 00:39:55.989 --> 00:40:10.280 That's amazing. I love it. That's awesome. I 00:40:10.280 --> 00:40:13.500 bet they're about to make pancakes or some thing 00:40:13.500 --> 00:40:16.920 like that since I'm in here, which is probably 00:40:16.920 --> 00:40:19.219 for the best because I shouldn't watch them do 00:40:19.219 --> 00:40:23.559 that. I get stressed out when I see them cook 00:40:23.559 --> 00:40:25.719 because I'm like, I want to take over and I but 00:40:25.719 --> 00:40:27.039 I know they're big enough and I need to give 00:40:27.039 --> 00:40:30.269 them space. Yeah. I can see that. But they are 00:40:30.269 --> 00:40:33.090 getting to that age where they can handle it. 00:40:33.349 --> 00:40:34.550 They can and they should do it. They might make 00:40:34.550 --> 00:40:37.269 a mess in the process, but they can handle it. 00:40:37.590 --> 00:40:40.210 It'll be okay. I just don't want to watch it. 00:40:40.369 --> 00:40:44.630 Yeah, I get that. I get that. I want to be nearby. 00:40:45.309 --> 00:40:47.190 At least your kids take initiative to do that. 00:40:47.210 --> 00:40:50.989 My son, I'm 100 % sure I know exactly what he 00:40:50.989 --> 00:40:55.389 has done today. While I've been podcasting, he 00:40:55.389 --> 00:40:59.670 woke up. he has gone downstairs and either sat 00:40:59.670 --> 00:41:03.389 on his phone and watched YouTube videos, or he 00:41:03.389 --> 00:41:05.469 pulled out his Switch and is playing Mario Kart. 00:41:05.590 --> 00:41:08.449 It's one of those two things. That's it. That's 00:41:08.449 --> 00:41:10.269 the only thing that has happened this morning. 00:41:10.829 --> 00:41:15.510 He hasn't fed himself. He hasn't fed the dogs. 00:41:15.929 --> 00:41:18.989 Like, I guarantee that's all that got done today. 00:41:21.900 --> 00:41:24.260 So like the initiative to be like we're gonna 00:41:24.260 --> 00:41:26.840 decorate the house or even just we're gonna make 00:41:26.840 --> 00:41:33.619 breakfast is impressive They have to do the things 00:41:33.619 --> 00:41:39.960 that stress me out while I'm in here That's pretty 00:41:39.960 --> 00:41:40.960 awesome, yeah