WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.160 How was your trip? It was good. It was very busy. 00:00:05.839 --> 00:00:09.939 I think we were, my in -laws out, but that was 00:00:09.939 --> 00:00:14.400 okay. It was, yeah. We don't, usually when we 00:00:14.400 --> 00:00:17.920 go to Disney World, we're like, my parents live, 00:00:17.940 --> 00:00:22.399 you know, like an hour away. So we just do it 00:00:22.399 --> 00:00:24.420 in the way that you would do anything like that 00:00:24.420 --> 00:00:26.460 where like you don't have to stay all day because 00:00:26.460 --> 00:00:29.179 it's not like... Once -in -a -lifetime thing 00:00:29.179 --> 00:00:32.659 we're going back in a couple of days So normally 00:00:32.659 --> 00:00:35.200 we do like a half day or something and it's like 00:00:35.200 --> 00:00:38.079 kind of chill, but we did it like tourists do 00:00:38.079 --> 00:00:44.840 it and Yeah So we're all tired now. Yeah, but 00:00:44.840 --> 00:00:48.500 it was fun. Good. Yeah How was your break? Awesome. 00:00:48.960 --> 00:00:52.460 Yeah. Um, yeah, it was good. It was quiet My 00:00:52.460 --> 00:00:56.060 family left Saturday morning and they got back 00:00:56.039 --> 00:00:59.740 last night, Saturday night. So I had basically 00:00:59.740 --> 00:01:03.500 eight days of just me and the two dogs in the 00:01:03.500 --> 00:01:06.840 house, quiet. So that was nice. I got the house 00:01:06.840 --> 00:01:11.379 clean and worked on a couple little projects 00:01:11.379 --> 00:01:14.959 and stuff like that, but it was good. Good. And 00:01:14.959 --> 00:01:17.280 they had fun? Yeah, they had a good time. They 00:01:17.280 --> 00:01:22.680 went to Iowa to see Sarah's family and while 00:01:22.680 --> 00:01:25.519 here it was like chilly in the morning but like 00:01:25.519 --> 00:01:28.319 warm in the afternoon, they got five inches of 00:01:28.319 --> 00:01:34.420 snow. Whoa. Yeah. So like they got to go sledding 00:01:34.420 --> 00:01:37.299 and stuff like that because yeah that's what 00:01:37.299 --> 00:01:39.420 you do in the snow. That's good. Were they prepared 00:01:39.420 --> 00:01:41.819 for that? They knew what they were getting when 00:01:41.819 --> 00:01:44.079 they left. Yeah they knew that there was a cold 00:01:44.079 --> 00:01:48.079 front coming in and so yeah they brought the 00:01:48.079 --> 00:01:52.379 appropriate clothing and yeah. Good. It was good. 00:01:52.799 --> 00:02:17.740 Good. That's great. Yeah. Hello, I'm Patrick 00:02:17.740 --> 00:02:21.780 Adams. And I'm Caroline Legere. and this is 00:02:21.780 --> 00:02:25.500 Librarians of Littles, a podcast where we read 00:02:25.500 --> 00:02:29.599 books, discuss the books, give makerspace ideas, 00:02:29.960 --> 00:02:34.099 and give tips, tricks, and kind of reviews about 00:02:34.099 --> 00:02:38.699 things to do in our library with our youngest 00:02:38.699 --> 00:02:44.159 learners. Today we have two books for Earth Day, 00:02:44.180 --> 00:02:48.120 which is coming up in April, and the first of 00:02:48.120 --> 00:02:53.360 those books is Bruce Saves the Planet by Ryan 00:02:53.360 --> 00:02:57.319 T. Higgins and published by Disney Hyperion in 00:02:57.319 --> 00:03:02.800 2025. And so we've discussed the Bruce books 00:03:02.800 --> 00:03:07.039 on the podcast before by Ryan T. Higgins. They're 00:03:07.039 --> 00:03:09.620 an amazing series and this is one of the newer 00:03:09.620 --> 00:03:13.740 books that have come out in that series. It is 00:03:13.740 --> 00:03:19.969 on the 2026 Read Aloud Indiana list. and our 00:03:19.969 --> 00:03:23.870 author slash illustrator is Ryan T. Higgins. 00:03:24.389 --> 00:03:26.830 He was greatly influenced by Calvin and Hobbes 00:03:26.830 --> 00:03:29.650 comics as a child. Initially, he wanted to become 00:03:29.650 --> 00:03:32.590 a comic writer. However, after reading Don't 00:03:32.590 --> 00:03:35.930 Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, he became intrigued 00:03:35.930 --> 00:03:38.990 by early readers and decided to try his hand 00:03:38.990 --> 00:03:41.650 at the genre. He currently lives in Maine with 00:03:41.650 --> 00:03:47.780 his wife and three children. And some of the 00:03:47.780 --> 00:03:50.759 other books that he has written are all of the 00:03:50.759 --> 00:03:53.560 Mother Bruce books, which there's a total of 00:03:53.560 --> 00:03:57.300 19 right now. Is it just 19? That was that last 00:03:57.300 --> 00:03:59.919 count that I found. Yeah, 19 of them. So that's 00:03:59.919 --> 00:04:03.960 a lot. The Penelope Rex book series, which is 00:04:03.960 --> 00:04:07.770 a total of four books, including The ever popular 00:04:07.770 --> 00:04:11.509 we don't eat our classmates The Norman book series 00:04:11.509 --> 00:04:13.650 which currently has two books which are Norman 00:04:13.650 --> 00:04:17.269 didn't do it. Yes, he did and Norman and the 00:04:17.269 --> 00:04:22.769 smell of adventure Yeah, and so for the summary 00:04:22.769 --> 00:04:29.399 of Bruce saves the planet When Bruce inadvertently 00:04:29.399 --> 00:04:32.500 stumbles upon a protest to stop a factory from 00:04:32.500 --> 00:04:35.740 cutting down the forest, he becomes the figurehead 00:04:35.740 --> 00:04:38.990 leading the charge to City Hall. The protest 00:04:38.990 --> 00:04:41.709 crowd stops the meeting taking place in City 00:04:41.709 --> 00:04:44.069 Hall to convince the mayor to stop the factory 00:04:44.069 --> 00:04:47.370 from being built. Thanks to the existence of 00:04:47.370 --> 00:04:51.209 some rare beetles in the area, the factory cannot 00:04:51.209 --> 00:04:56.930 be built because they claim the area as a protected 00:04:56.930 --> 00:05:00.310 wild land. And so this is a really cute story. 00:05:00.389 --> 00:05:03.889 I like the idea of Bruce just stumbling upon 00:05:03.889 --> 00:05:07.660 this protest and just not even meaning to be 00:05:07.660 --> 00:05:10.920 a part of it and just getting sucked into it 00:05:10.920 --> 00:05:13.040 because in reality in the story he's just trying 00:05:13.040 --> 00:05:19.839 to go fishing and when he is unable to do so 00:05:19.839 --> 00:05:23.579 that's when he comes back and gets pulled into 00:05:23.579 --> 00:05:28.860 this protest and becomes the the leader without 00:05:28.860 --> 00:05:33.959 ever wanting to be he Those random little things 00:05:33.959 --> 00:05:38.839 that happen that seem to be Misunderstood like 00:05:38.839 --> 00:05:41.800 he gets poked in the nose with one of the protest 00:05:41.800 --> 00:05:46.279 signs and Well his face well, he has his paws 00:05:46.279 --> 00:05:50.639 over his face a news reporter sees that he's 00:05:50.639 --> 00:05:53.220 in distress and must be crying over the situation 00:05:53.220 --> 00:05:55.560 that kind of thing like silly little things like 00:05:55.560 --> 00:05:57.519 that that make it so that he becomes the leader 00:05:57.519 --> 00:06:01.000 I love Ryan T Higgins humor in this story because 00:06:01.000 --> 00:06:03.740 the the city hall meeting that's taking place, 00:06:03.939 --> 00:06:06.259 they keep saying like, we have this important 00:06:06.259 --> 00:06:09.720 meeting and a lizard keeps coming in and is like, 00:06:09.779 --> 00:06:12.579 sir, the ice cream sundaes are ready or like 00:06:12.579 --> 00:06:14.899 the hula hoop contest is about to begin. Like 00:06:14.899 --> 00:06:17.079 that's the important things that the city hall 00:06:17.079 --> 00:06:20.000 is doing. So that kind of silly little humor 00:06:20.000 --> 00:06:21.959 that a lot of the kids aren't going to notice, 00:06:21.980 --> 00:06:23.579 but the adults that are reading the book are 00:06:23.579 --> 00:06:27.759 going to be like, that's pretty funny. That humor 00:06:27.759 --> 00:06:31.959 is always well received. I love that kind of 00:06:31.959 --> 00:06:34.959 stuff. And it's just a cute story about the importance 00:06:34.959 --> 00:06:39.779 of, you know, keeping those trees and not cutting 00:06:39.779 --> 00:06:42.379 everything down, protecting the homes of all 00:06:42.379 --> 00:06:46.199 these animals, and keeping the planet healthy. 00:06:46.339 --> 00:06:49.939 So I really enjoyed this story. I always think 00:06:49.939 --> 00:06:53.540 that the Bruce books are amazing and are definitely 00:06:53.540 --> 00:06:57.160 fun reads for all of our students. They all love 00:06:57.160 --> 00:07:01.139 Bruce and his grumpy attitude. It's just kind 00:07:01.139 --> 00:07:04.959 of silly and the kids really receive that well 00:07:04.959 --> 00:07:07.379 And so I would definitely another five out of 00:07:07.379 --> 00:07:12.220 five for Ryan T Higgins for this book Yeah, I 00:07:12.220 --> 00:07:15.579 agree all the things Ryan T Higgins is always 00:07:15.579 --> 00:07:18.139 great. It does have his classic humor in this 00:07:18.139 --> 00:07:22.259 book Love the adult humor sprinkled in with all 00:07:22.259 --> 00:07:27.259 the everything for the kids. It's got those wonderful 00:07:27.259 --> 00:07:30.480 illustrations that are not too overwhelming, 00:07:31.579 --> 00:07:38.379 very clear, it's not the the colors that he uses 00:07:38.379 --> 00:07:40.939 aren't like overly bright but it's eye -catching 00:07:40.939 --> 00:07:43.660 enough that it'll definitely get the kids attention 00:07:43.660 --> 00:07:48.360 and it's not too not too much going on in the 00:07:48.360 --> 00:07:51.449 page so that the kids can focus on everything 00:07:51.449 --> 00:07:54.170 that they need to focus on but it also does have 00:07:54.170 --> 00:07:56.250 those the little extras with all the little word 00:07:56.250 --> 00:07:58.990 bubbles and everything that you can either choose 00:07:58.990 --> 00:08:02.709 to read or not depending on the type of class 00:08:02.709 --> 00:08:06.310 that you have in front of you so it's just another 00:08:06.310 --> 00:08:08.790 wonderful book from him there's a reason why 00:08:08.790 --> 00:08:11.410 there's so many and yes you know they always 00:08:11.410 --> 00:08:14.029 sell out they're always checked out at the library 00:08:14.029 --> 00:08:18.470 they're great books really wonderful yes and 00:08:18.470 --> 00:08:20.910 I also love that he has a lot of the characters 00:08:20.910 --> 00:08:23.709 returning over and over again so in this one 00:08:23.709 --> 00:08:26.610 the geese are still there and then the mice from 00:08:26.610 --> 00:08:30.170 another previous book are in it and so like so 00:08:30.170 --> 00:08:32.629 many of the characters are just become returning 00:08:32.629 --> 00:08:37.169 characters and so there's that continuity between 00:08:37.169 --> 00:08:39.610 all of the books that is really great as well. 00:08:40.110 --> 00:08:42.690 Yeah that's true that's a good point I love it 00:08:42.690 --> 00:08:46.690 it's good stuff. Yes. And so for a makerspace 00:08:46.690 --> 00:08:49.049 activity for this, I think like I was trying 00:08:49.049 --> 00:08:52.210 to think of what I could do with my students 00:08:52.210 --> 00:08:55.590 for Earth Day. And I think honestly what I would 00:08:55.590 --> 00:08:58.149 do is I would work with the teachers to make 00:08:58.149 --> 00:09:01.090 sure that this didn't become a giant mess. But 00:09:01.090 --> 00:09:05.809 I would love to do the like where the kids can 00:09:05.809 --> 00:09:08.590 grow some flowers. And so like just get a couple. 00:09:08.840 --> 00:09:11.539 You know, egg cartons are pretty easy to come 00:09:11.539 --> 00:09:14.360 by and cutting them up so that the little cup 00:09:14.360 --> 00:09:17.720 is there. And I would let the kids get their 00:09:17.720 --> 00:09:20.419 hands a little dirty. I'd have like a container 00:09:20.419 --> 00:09:25.080 with the soil for them to put in and buying some 00:09:25.080 --> 00:09:28.220 flower seeds is pretty cheap. And so having some 00:09:28.220 --> 00:09:30.879 flower seeds that they could put into the soil 00:09:30.879 --> 00:09:34.309 and cover it up and the water would probably 00:09:34.309 --> 00:09:36.149 be the thing that I would definitely I would 00:09:36.149 --> 00:09:38.230 be the one to help them out with that part not 00:09:38.230 --> 00:09:41.269 to make just a giant muddy mess but you know 00:09:41.269 --> 00:09:43.149 doing a couple of those little things and then 00:09:43.149 --> 00:09:45.490 being able to send those back to the classroom 00:09:45.490 --> 00:09:49.529 and like put them maybe out on like the windowsill 00:09:49.529 --> 00:09:52.009 in the classroom so they get some light if the 00:09:52.009 --> 00:09:54.950 room has that opportunity or to send them home 00:09:54.950 --> 00:09:57.690 with the kids so that they can try and grow their 00:09:57.690 --> 00:10:00.629 own flowers something like that I think these 00:10:00.629 --> 00:10:03.809 kids a lot of And I don't want to generalize, 00:10:03.809 --> 00:10:11.490 but a lot of our students don't spend time getting 00:10:11.490 --> 00:10:14.370 dirty, like getting their hands in soil and that 00:10:14.370 --> 00:10:16.029 kind of thing. Like when they go outside, it's 00:10:16.029 --> 00:10:18.610 to go outside and play on the playground equipment 00:10:18.610 --> 00:10:24.049 or to go play a sport. There's not a ton of these 00:10:24.049 --> 00:10:28.250 kids that are out digging in the dirt and trying 00:10:28.250 --> 00:10:31.950 to plant flowers or searching for earthworms 00:10:31.950 --> 00:10:35.470 and stuff like we used to do. And so giving the 00:10:35.470 --> 00:10:38.629 kids some chances to do that and get their hands 00:10:38.629 --> 00:10:41.789 dirty and have fun and be learning and be helping 00:10:41.789 --> 00:10:44.850 the environment and doing all of those things, 00:10:45.549 --> 00:10:47.769 I think that would be an experience that a lot 00:10:47.769 --> 00:10:50.889 of our kids won't have had at that point yet. 00:10:51.190 --> 00:10:54.909 And so I think that would be a lot of fun. It 00:10:54.909 --> 00:10:57.490 might get a little messy, but it'd be a lot of 00:10:57.490 --> 00:10:59.450 fun. Yeah. Yeah, a lot of our kids don't know 00:10:59.450 --> 00:11:02.049 that it's OK to get messy. I think they spend 00:11:02.049 --> 00:11:08.769 a lot of time inside on screens a lot and they 00:11:08.769 --> 00:11:11.649 just don't they don't get dirty like they used 00:11:11.649 --> 00:11:14.090 to. And there's a lot of kids that like really 00:11:14.090 --> 00:11:17.230 have a little mini meltdown when they do get 00:11:17.230 --> 00:11:20.250 a little bit dirty. So that would be a really 00:11:20.250 --> 00:11:22.730 great experience for them. And then that's an 00:11:22.730 --> 00:11:24.070 excellent tie in with this book, too, because 00:11:24.070 --> 00:11:26.730 there's a lot with like, you know, talking about 00:11:26.730 --> 00:11:30.279 endangered species and such that like it's that 00:11:30.279 --> 00:11:33.000 isn't really taught beforehand so like that's 00:11:33.000 --> 00:11:35.480 another great way that you could incorporate 00:11:35.480 --> 00:11:38.980 that and like why you need to plant trees and 00:11:38.980 --> 00:11:42.059 why it's important to have you know green spaces 00:11:42.059 --> 00:11:44.960 in general and how you know planting seeds and 00:11:44.960 --> 00:11:48.000 in general is a great thing to do for the environment 00:11:48.000 --> 00:11:52.320 that's a wonderful tie -in love it yeah i think 00:11:52.320 --> 00:11:53.960 it would be a lot of fun i think a lot of the 00:11:53.960 --> 00:11:56.879 kids would really enjoy it and you know just 00:11:57.419 --> 00:12:00.259 If the plants, if they do it right and the plants 00:12:00.259 --> 00:12:04.799 grow, then we can take it from an Earth Day activity 00:12:04.799 --> 00:12:07.340 to a Mother's Day present real fast, you know? 00:12:07.639 --> 00:12:11.360 Oh, that's a good point. I love that. Yeah. Good 00:12:11.360 --> 00:12:13.460 one. Let the kids like, and you could start by 00:12:13.460 --> 00:12:15.740 letting them decorate the little cup that you're 00:12:15.740 --> 00:12:18.179 gonna put the plant in so it's personalized, 00:12:18.279 --> 00:12:20.679 it has their name on it, whatever. Yeah. I've 00:12:20.679 --> 00:12:24.990 seen, I even saw, like if you did it, In like 00:12:24.990 --> 00:12:27.450 a bigger cup than like not an egg carton kind 00:12:27.450 --> 00:12:29.909 of thing, but if you did like an actual cup I've 00:12:29.909 --> 00:12:34.190 seen online where The kids like paint their hand 00:12:34.190 --> 00:12:37.210 white Green and blue and kind of make it look 00:12:37.210 --> 00:12:39.230 like an earth and then they put their handprint 00:12:39.230 --> 00:12:41.230 on the cup and different things like that so 00:12:41.230 --> 00:12:44.509 like however Creative and messy you want to go 00:12:44.509 --> 00:12:46.549 with it. You could do a lot of different things 00:12:46.549 --> 00:12:52.470 with that, but yeah, yeah Love it. Yeah be lots 00:12:52.470 --> 00:12:57.139 of fun All right, which brings us to our Library 00:12:57.139 --> 00:13:01.960 of Littles Makerspace Spotlight for this week. 00:13:02.200 --> 00:13:05.279 So we've been talking about different devices 00:13:05.279 --> 00:13:07.759 and different things that we can use with our 00:13:07.759 --> 00:13:10.600 students in Makerspace and kind of giving reviews 00:13:10.600 --> 00:13:13.399 and some ideas of how they can be used. And so 00:13:13.399 --> 00:13:20.580 this week, the Sphero Indy is a fun toy designed 00:13:21.559 --> 00:13:24.899 from the Sphero company, for pre -k students 00:13:24.899 --> 00:13:30.399 and up, the Indy turns a screen -free play into 00:13:30.399 --> 00:13:33.340 problem -solving through computational thinking. 00:13:34.220 --> 00:13:37.899 Students place colored tiles, each one with coded 00:13:37.899 --> 00:13:42.940 instructions, and watch as the Indy car robot 00:13:42.940 --> 00:13:46.659 navigates a course or a maze, and whether they're 00:13:46.659 --> 00:13:49.809 modeling a classroom routine, retelling a story 00:13:49.809 --> 00:13:53.190 plot, or solving a puzzle, kids can learn through 00:13:53.190 --> 00:13:55.889 interactive play. Along the way, students are 00:13:55.889 --> 00:13:58.889 also developing essential skills like color identification, 00:13:59.250 --> 00:14:02.070 sequencing, decomposition, pattern recognition, 00:14:02.509 --> 00:14:04.929 and cause and effect. When they're ready, the 00:14:04.929 --> 00:14:08.470 Sphere EDU Junior app lets them reprogram the 00:14:08.470 --> 00:14:12.870 indie with block -based code, making for customized 00:14:12.870 --> 00:14:15.769 movements, sounds, and colors for new challenges 00:14:15.769 --> 00:14:19.940 and endless fun. This is built for early learners, 00:14:19.980 --> 00:14:24.039 so it's intuitive, it's durable, and it's rechargeable, 00:14:24.679 --> 00:14:27.019 so all things that are really important if you're 00:14:27.019 --> 00:14:29.500 going to be using them in the library. And it's 00:14:29.500 --> 00:14:32.220 built to withstand a busy classroom with excited 00:14:32.220 --> 00:14:36.899 hands. Indie provides flexibility to grow alongside 00:14:36.899 --> 00:14:41.740 the students. The Indie, they're not cheap. A 00:14:41.740 --> 00:14:46.480 single Indie student kit costs about $150, which 00:14:46.480 --> 00:14:50.740 is not. excessive at all $150 for one of these 00:14:50.740 --> 00:14:54.919 is a reasonable price the class pack which is 00:14:54.919 --> 00:15:01.100 16 robots is about $3 ,200 and it includes 16 00:15:01.100 --> 00:15:07.799 robots two sided code mats printed literacy card 00:15:07.799 --> 00:15:11.860 decks of four of them and it offers hands -on 00:15:11.860 --> 00:15:14.559 ways to explore letter recognition, story structure, 00:15:14.860 --> 00:15:18.500 logic through collaboration, and screen free 00:15:18.500 --> 00:15:22.620 learning. These things are really cool. The squares 00:15:22.620 --> 00:15:26.139 that you put down for the robot to identify are 00:15:26.139 --> 00:15:29.519 like a pliable bendable plastic so they're not 00:15:29.519 --> 00:15:33.820 going to crack or break or get like torn very 00:15:33.820 --> 00:15:38.639 easily. And it's a lot of fun each Color tells 00:15:38.639 --> 00:15:41.500 Indy what to do. And so you put down the robot 00:15:41.500 --> 00:15:43.720 and then put it on the go and it starts moving. 00:15:43.720 --> 00:15:47.519 And as it goes over other colors, it reacts based 00:15:47.519 --> 00:15:50.080 on the colors it sees. It's a lot of fun. Caroline, 00:15:50.120 --> 00:15:53.419 you actually won one of these at one of our previous 00:15:53.419 --> 00:15:56.039 TLAs. And so you have a personal one now, right? 00:15:56.179 --> 00:16:00.500 I do. We love it. Yeah. Your kids, do they play 00:16:00.500 --> 00:16:03.500 with it a lot? My kids love it. Yeah. They had 00:16:03.500 --> 00:16:06.059 a great time teaching their grandparents how 00:16:06.059 --> 00:16:10.600 to use it. that was kind of funny to watch because 00:16:10.600 --> 00:16:14.740 there was like it is pretty intuitive but you 00:16:14.740 --> 00:16:17.720 do have to like play with it a little bit before 00:16:17.720 --> 00:16:20.440 you like really figure out all the things and 00:16:20.440 --> 00:16:23.059 that was that was fun to watch the grandparents 00:16:23.059 --> 00:16:26.779 kind of like Figure out what all the dip because 00:16:26.779 --> 00:16:30.340 each of the mats that Indy drives on has a different 00:16:30.340 --> 00:16:34.019 color and each color Tells Indy to do a different 00:16:34.019 --> 00:16:36.200 thing. So when it drives over like the pink one, 00:16:36.200 --> 00:16:38.620 it'll go straight I could be wrong about the 00:16:38.620 --> 00:16:41.960 certain specific commands but and if it you drives 00:16:41.960 --> 00:16:46.379 over like purple it'll like turn left and Then 00:16:46.379 --> 00:16:49.539 start going straight. So it'll each of the coding 00:16:49.539 --> 00:16:52.559 mats are different color and each color makes 00:16:52.559 --> 00:16:54.320 it do a different thing. And it was just really 00:16:54.320 --> 00:16:56.340 funny to get to watch grandparents learn how 00:16:56.340 --> 00:16:58.600 to do it with the kids. That was a great time. 00:16:58.779 --> 00:17:01.460 And my kids have also brought it to school with 00:17:01.460 --> 00:17:06.140 them a couple of times as well on days when their 00:17:06.140 --> 00:17:09.299 teachers let them bring like they were in fourth 00:17:09.299 --> 00:17:11.119 and fifth grade and their teachers let them do 00:17:11.119 --> 00:17:14.559 like a game day for like a reward. And they brought 00:17:14.559 --> 00:17:18.480 Indy to school and let other kids learn how to 00:17:18.480 --> 00:17:22.000 use them too. And they loved that as well. Will 00:17:22.000 --> 00:17:26.500 say that it's like it is expensive But it's it's 00:17:26.500 --> 00:17:31.099 a big upfront cost, but it's so durable Like 00:17:31.099 --> 00:17:33.799 this might be the most durable thing that I can 00:17:33.799 --> 00:17:39.220 think of. I don't know As far as like a coding 00:17:39.220 --> 00:17:44.619 tool for younger kids, it's pretty great The 00:17:44.619 --> 00:17:47.160 Indy car is really cute. He's a little blue guy 00:17:47.160 --> 00:17:50.069 and he just looks He looks like a little indie 00:17:50.069 --> 00:17:54.450 race car and kids love him. It's pretty great. 00:17:54.890 --> 00:17:58.869 I think it would, I've had mine for five or six 00:17:58.869 --> 00:18:02.430 years and it's going strong and it's been through 00:18:02.430 --> 00:18:07.410 kind of a lot. So yeah, it's a really good, it's 00:18:07.410 --> 00:18:10.710 expensive, but it's a long -term investment if 00:18:10.710 --> 00:18:12.329 you want to think of it that way. It's a good 00:18:12.329 --> 00:18:16.039 one. And yeah, they've got some really great 00:18:16.039 --> 00:18:19.720 stuff on their website also for different things 00:18:19.720 --> 00:18:24.539 that you can use the indie robot for. Like we 00:18:24.539 --> 00:18:27.500 mentioned, it can be used as a way to kind of 00:18:27.500 --> 00:18:31.059 retell a story by having the indie move and as 00:18:31.059 --> 00:18:33.660 it hits certain things the kids hit certain points 00:18:33.660 --> 00:18:37.599 of the story or you can just have them try and 00:18:37.599 --> 00:18:41.470 get from point A to point B. and they can put 00:18:41.470 --> 00:18:43.549 out the little mats to make it so that the card 00:18:43.549 --> 00:18:45.970 gets where it's supposed to go. There's lots 00:18:45.970 --> 00:18:47.930 of different ways to use this, so there's lots 00:18:47.930 --> 00:18:50.450 of different ways that the students can be learning 00:18:50.450 --> 00:18:52.589 while using it and having fun with it, which 00:18:52.589 --> 00:18:58.269 makes it really a great tool because it's so 00:18:58.269 --> 00:19:01.990 versatile in how it can be used, you know. Yeah, 00:19:02.170 --> 00:19:06.490 it's a great one. Agreed. So, highly recommend 00:19:06.490 --> 00:19:11.930 the Indie robot from Sphero. That's on my list 00:19:11.930 --> 00:19:16.849 for next year to buy. Probably not a class set, 00:19:17.049 --> 00:19:19.230 but I'd like to buy two or three of them for 00:19:19.230 --> 00:19:21.730 my library to use with the students because I 00:19:21.730 --> 00:19:24.329 think they'd have a good time with it. It's a 00:19:24.329 --> 00:19:30.250 lot of fun. I will say having floor space is 00:19:30.250 --> 00:19:33.750 good. You need the floor space for it. Having 00:19:33.750 --> 00:19:37.240 it on a table, You can do that, but I think floor 00:19:37.240 --> 00:19:40.259 space is better for it. It's risky. Yeah. Floor 00:19:40.259 --> 00:19:43.220 space is better for it. But I'm fortunate, my 00:19:43.220 --> 00:19:44.980 library, I've got plenty of floor space. We can 00:19:44.980 --> 00:19:46.779 use it and still have a good time with it. So 00:19:46.779 --> 00:19:48.500 I'm thinking about getting a couple of them next 00:19:48.500 --> 00:19:50.299 year. Yeah. Because they're a lot of fun. Well, 00:19:50.480 --> 00:19:52.500 any kind of a whole group space where you would 00:19:52.500 --> 00:19:54.519 do like a story time with kids sitting on the 00:19:54.519 --> 00:19:56.339 floor, like you would really just have the kids 00:19:56.339 --> 00:20:00.549 sit like in a circle. Yeah, and put Indy in the 00:20:00.549 --> 00:20:02.490 middle and that kind of a space would work, but 00:20:02.490 --> 00:20:04.710 you did I mean that does take a significant amount 00:20:04.710 --> 00:20:09.470 of floor space so Yeah, it'd be fun though, and 00:20:09.470 --> 00:20:11.849 I think the kids will really really enjoy it 00:20:11.849 --> 00:20:16.549 so definitely worth it. It's a good one Well 00:20:16.549 --> 00:20:18.769 the other book that we're gonna talk about today 00:20:18.769 --> 00:20:23.609 is called our planet There's no place like earth 00:20:23.609 --> 00:20:26.150 and it's published by Henry Holton company in 00:20:26.150 --> 00:20:31.180 2022 This one is part of the Our Universe series 00:20:31.180 --> 00:20:35.359 by Stacey McAnulty and the illustrator for this 00:20:35.359 --> 00:20:38.400 particular book is David Litchfield. I didn't 00:20:38.400 --> 00:20:42.400 realize and that the so Stacey McAnulty did all 00:20:42.400 --> 00:20:45.819 the Our Universe books which is like the Our 00:20:45.819 --> 00:20:49.259 Earth my first 4 .5 billion years or something 00:20:49.259 --> 00:20:52.579 like that and like Moon and there's one about 00:20:52.579 --> 00:20:55.940 the Sun and all the Planets the newest one is 00:20:55.940 --> 00:20:58.700 gonna be Venus coming out soon and I didn't know 00:20:58.700 --> 00:21:00.779 they didn't all have the same illustrator that 00:21:00.779 --> 00:21:04.880 was news to me all the same author yeah lots 00:21:04.880 --> 00:21:07.460 of different illustrators who knew I don't I 00:21:07.460 --> 00:21:09.460 don't think I realized that I knew she did all 00:21:09.460 --> 00:21:11.900 of those books and I love them because they're 00:21:11.900 --> 00:21:14.559 yeah they're a lot of fun to do read alouds and 00:21:14.559 --> 00:21:18.549 I love that they're that they're like a really 00:21:18.549 --> 00:21:21.410 good way to introduce non -fiction books to young 00:21:21.410 --> 00:21:24.769 readers because they're a lot of fun and they're 00:21:24.769 --> 00:21:28.809 colorful and really great. So I love that series 00:21:28.809 --> 00:21:31.769 and I'm looking forward to the Venus one that's 00:21:31.769 --> 00:21:35.769 coming out because I really enjoy reading all 00:21:35.769 --> 00:21:37.650 of these with the students. But I didn't realize 00:21:37.650 --> 00:21:40.710 that they were different illustrators for the 00:21:40.710 --> 00:21:43.529 books. Yeah, he's only done like two or three. 00:21:43.730 --> 00:21:46.500 Okay. But I don't know. And there's some that 00:21:46.500 --> 00:21:49.000 are different publishers too. It was interesting 00:21:49.000 --> 00:21:53.299 to me. This particular book has gotten a couple 00:21:53.299 --> 00:21:56.220 of awards. It got the Golden Kite Award for best 00:21:56.220 --> 00:21:58.519 non -fiction book for young readers in 2023, 00:21:59.420 --> 00:22:02.980 and the Illinois Monarch Award in 2023, and the 00:22:02.980 --> 00:22:04.859 Florida Literacy Association Children's Book 00:22:04.859 --> 00:22:10.380 Award for K -2 in 2023. And the author Stacey 00:22:10.380 --> 00:22:13.579 McAnulty spent about a decade working as a mechanical 00:22:13.579 --> 00:22:17.250 engineer. designing airline seats. She stayed 00:22:17.250 --> 00:22:19.509 home to have children and raise her kids and 00:22:19.509 --> 00:22:22.769 then she decided to devote her time and toward 00:22:22.769 --> 00:22:25.970 writing instead and she became a full -time author. 00:22:26.490 --> 00:22:29.089 She currently lives in North Carolina with her 00:22:29.089 --> 00:22:32.549 husband and their three kids and three dogs and 00:22:32.549 --> 00:22:34.769 she loves to do author visits. I wish I lived 00:22:34.769 --> 00:22:37.529 closer to North Carolina so we could do that 00:22:37.529 --> 00:22:40.349 but she looks like she has a lot of really great 00:22:40.349 --> 00:22:43.349 presentations. I'm trying not to hold against 00:22:43.349 --> 00:22:46.289 her that she's one of the designers of airline 00:22:46.289 --> 00:22:55.309 seats. Yeah. I'm sure she's not the reason you 00:22:55.309 --> 00:22:58.450 get no leg room in those seats. I'm sure that's 00:22:58.450 --> 00:23:02.170 not her fault, but I'm finding it hard not to 00:23:02.170 --> 00:23:06.509 hold that against her. But no, that's really 00:23:06.509 --> 00:23:10.859 cool. And yeah, if we lived... Because like I 00:23:10.859 --> 00:23:13.279 said, I love these books these that her all of 00:23:13.279 --> 00:23:18.140 her books have been really enjoyable If she was 00:23:18.140 --> 00:23:20.359 lived closer, I definitely want her to come and 00:23:20.359 --> 00:23:22.960 talk to my students about how she does her research 00:23:22.960 --> 00:23:24.880 and everything That would be really cool. It 00:23:24.880 --> 00:23:29.319 would be really cool. I know She's written over 00:23:29.319 --> 00:23:32.000 40 books to date and all the books are either 00:23:32.000 --> 00:23:34.359 middle grade novels or picture books Some of 00:23:34.359 --> 00:23:37.400 the more notable ones are the our universe series 00:23:37.400 --> 00:23:40.430 that we just talked about The miscalculations 00:23:40.430 --> 00:23:43.609 of lightning girl forever 12 brains not just 00:23:43.609 --> 00:23:46.890 a zombie snack. I want 100 dogs and millionaires 00:23:46.890 --> 00:23:53.630 for a month Yeah, and so our Illustrator David 00:23:53.630 --> 00:23:55.609 Lichtfield is that how we're saying the last 00:23:55.609 --> 00:24:01.009 name which film Has always yes, which film he 00:24:01.009 --> 00:24:04.009 has always had a passion for drawing as a child 00:24:04.009 --> 00:24:10.160 the he created Star Wars Indiana Jones mashup 00:24:10.160 --> 00:24:13.279 comics for his older brother and sister. And 00:24:13.279 --> 00:24:16.480 as an adult, his work has appeared in books, 00:24:16.940 --> 00:24:20.059 magazines, newspapers, and on shirts. He lives 00:24:20.059 --> 00:24:24.299 with his family in Bedford, England. And he's 00:24:24.299 --> 00:24:29.319 had quite a few books. He has worked for more 00:24:29.319 --> 00:24:32.960 than 15 other published works, including Ocean, 00:24:33.460 --> 00:24:39.339 Waves for All by Stacy Mecham. McAltony. The 00:24:39.339 --> 00:24:45.059 Earth, my first 4 .54 billion years, also by 00:24:45.059 --> 00:24:51.019 Stacey McEnulty. And then we got Watercress by 00:24:51.019 --> 00:24:55.740 Gregory Maguire, Miss Muffet or What Came After 00:24:55.740 --> 00:25:00.980 by Marilyn Singer, and A Shelter for Sadness 00:25:00.980 --> 00:25:05.880 by Anne Booth. He also wrote and illustrated 00:25:06.059 --> 00:25:10.420 the boy and the giant, my friend Billy Whiskers, 00:25:11.180 --> 00:25:15.099 the bear and the piano, and the dinosaur next 00:25:15.099 --> 00:25:21.500 door. Yeah, and in this book, it's like the rest 00:25:21.500 --> 00:25:24.160 of our universe series. It's a nonfiction book 00:25:24.160 --> 00:25:27.940 and it gives a brief overview of the earth, why 00:25:27.940 --> 00:25:30.619 it's the only planet in the solar system that 00:25:30.619 --> 00:25:33.660 can support human life. And then it goes on to 00:25:33.660 --> 00:25:37.200 talk about what climate is How it's currently 00:25:37.200 --> 00:25:40.480 changing and why it's a bad thing that it's changing 00:25:40.480 --> 00:25:44.700 and then what we can do about it I think this 00:25:44.700 --> 00:25:48.200 one was like a really really excellent nonfiction 00:25:48.200 --> 00:25:52.759 introduction to climate change in general and 00:25:52.759 --> 00:25:56.720 the importance of Just taking care of the planet 00:25:56.720 --> 00:25:59.980 overall like the rest of the our universe series. 00:26:00.460 --> 00:26:05.769 It's got the the subject is kind of your host. 00:26:05.890 --> 00:26:08.609 So in this one, it's the earth and the earth 00:26:08.609 --> 00:26:11.309 has, you know, eyes and it's a very smiley earth. 00:26:11.309 --> 00:26:14.210 It's very happy and kind of tells you a little 00:26:14.210 --> 00:26:20.210 bit about itself, I guess. And so the earth is 00:26:20.210 --> 00:26:22.190 your host in it. And I think that's kind of a 00:26:22.190 --> 00:26:26.009 great way to get kids kind of engaged and get 00:26:26.009 --> 00:26:29.349 them kind of interested in it. Because it's so 00:26:29.349 --> 00:26:32.109 smiley and friendly, it kind of peaks the kids 00:26:32.109 --> 00:26:34.589 interest because the pictures are very vibrant 00:26:34.589 --> 00:26:36.910 there's a lot of naturally of course there's 00:26:36.910 --> 00:26:39.230 a lot of earth tones in it so it's kind of calming 00:26:39.230 --> 00:26:42.970 uh when you're reading it but it's not the pictures 00:26:42.970 --> 00:26:45.849 aren't too overwhelming and there's still plenty 00:26:45.849 --> 00:26:49.390 of like blank space where the words are so that 00:26:49.390 --> 00:26:53.470 you can kind of point out those words and notice 00:26:53.470 --> 00:26:56.329 a lot of that as well when you're reading and 00:26:56.329 --> 00:27:00.599 i love that it starts out as like very vibrant 00:27:00.599 --> 00:27:05.039 and hopeful and It you know tells you all the 00:27:05.039 --> 00:27:08.700 great things about earth it does get into the 00:27:08.700 --> 00:27:13.440 bad things and You know why global warming is 00:27:13.440 --> 00:27:17.140 a problem that needs to be addressed Those couple 00:27:17.140 --> 00:27:21.440 of pages like you can feel the distress there, 00:27:21.440 --> 00:27:25.549 but then it's like wait it's not too late and 00:27:25.549 --> 00:27:28.450 you know talks about the importance of reducing 00:27:28.450 --> 00:27:32.789 reusing recycling and using alternative forms 00:27:32.789 --> 00:27:35.910 of energy and you know it has a brief introduction 00:27:35.910 --> 00:27:40.470 to like you know solar energy and wind power 00:27:40.470 --> 00:27:44.829 and things like that so I overall it wasn't it 00:27:44.829 --> 00:27:47.430 didn't feel like condescending talking to kids 00:27:47.430 --> 00:27:51.519 kind of felt like it was You know, a friend talking 00:27:51.519 --> 00:27:54.180 to another friend was kind of the vibe of the 00:27:54.180 --> 00:27:57.660 book in general. So it's not, I think that it'll, 00:27:57.880 --> 00:28:00.680 you know, that the language that it uses isn't 00:28:00.680 --> 00:28:03.079 too much and it defines everything really well, 00:28:03.700 --> 00:28:06.240 like the bigger concepts like climate and everything. 00:28:07.079 --> 00:28:09.420 And it does discuss how climate is different 00:28:09.420 --> 00:28:12.119 from weather because I think there are people 00:28:12.119 --> 00:28:15.720 that do deny climate change in general. don't 00:28:15.720 --> 00:28:17.500 recognize that there is a difference between 00:28:17.500 --> 00:28:19.380 climate and weather. They're not the same thing. 00:28:19.400 --> 00:28:22.599 So it defines that really well. So that's great 00:28:22.599 --> 00:28:26.500 too. I just, I don't know. I loved it for a non 00:28:26.500 --> 00:28:29.680 -fiction book about just Earth Day in general. 00:28:29.819 --> 00:28:33.720 I guess it doesn't cover Earth Day, but taking 00:28:33.720 --> 00:28:36.599 care of the planet in general and why it's important. 00:28:36.819 --> 00:28:40.420 It was just, I think it was kind of the perfect 00:28:40.420 --> 00:28:43.599 introduction to that. Really accessible for younger 00:28:43.599 --> 00:28:46.380 kids. It's great. Like the rest of the series. 00:28:46.500 --> 00:28:51.160 The series is fabulous. Yeah. Agreed. It's a 00:28:51.160 --> 00:28:54.019 really good book. I enjoyed it. I loved how it 00:28:54.019 --> 00:28:57.440 did point out that like Earth is the only planet 00:28:57.440 --> 00:29:00.220 within this range that has the right temperatures 00:29:00.220 --> 00:29:04.380 and how its average temperature is like 57 degrees 00:29:04.380 --> 00:29:08.779 and you know how planets closer are too hot and 00:29:08.779 --> 00:29:11.420 planets further away are too cold and that kind 00:29:11.420 --> 00:29:13.700 of thing and then like you said like it does 00:29:13.700 --> 00:29:16.720 say it does have some issues like these are problems 00:29:16.720 --> 00:29:18.599 that we're having but it's not too late and we 00:29:18.599 --> 00:29:21.440 can fix them and so i love that it hits all of 00:29:21.440 --> 00:29:23.920 those topics and i think these are things that 00:29:23.920 --> 00:29:29.240 like if we teach the kids now hey we need to 00:29:29.240 --> 00:29:31.339 make sure that we're being intentional with the 00:29:31.339 --> 00:29:33.799 choices that we make because it does have an 00:29:33.799 --> 00:29:39.599 impact on our planet we can we can have an impact 00:29:39.599 --> 00:29:44.829 on how our children, how our students impact 00:29:44.829 --> 00:29:48.009 our futures realistically. And so by reading 00:29:48.009 --> 00:29:50.930 these books at younger ages and talking about 00:29:50.930 --> 00:29:55.349 how simple little choices can change the outcome, 00:29:56.269 --> 00:29:59.029 I think it's an important message to start early 00:29:59.029 --> 00:30:02.670 so that it has that impact and our students can 00:30:02.670 --> 00:30:06.809 learn from that and help heal the planet a little 00:30:06.809 --> 00:30:09.390 bit. So I think it's a really great book and 00:30:09.390 --> 00:30:13.509 I love the entire series just because they're 00:30:13.509 --> 00:30:16.890 such informative and enjoyable non -fiction reads 00:30:16.890 --> 00:30:20.329 for our kiddos. Yeah, it was really good stuff. 00:30:21.309 --> 00:30:24.349 And I think for any makerspace activity with 00:30:24.349 --> 00:30:27.349 this one would be, because there is a lot to 00:30:27.349 --> 00:30:33.170 do with recycling as one of the, and reusing 00:30:33.170 --> 00:30:35.569 actually, as one of the ways that you can help 00:30:35.569 --> 00:30:38.619 the planet. So anything to do with recycling 00:30:38.619 --> 00:30:41.099 or reusing things, I think would be great. I 00:30:41.099 --> 00:30:43.839 think I would probably do some kind of an art 00:30:43.839 --> 00:30:45.819 project where I would like bring in a lot of 00:30:45.819 --> 00:30:48.160 recycled materials, have kids cut it up and create 00:30:48.160 --> 00:30:51.519 new art with it. Whether it's like just coloring 00:30:51.519 --> 00:30:55.259 on old pieces of paper that we're reusing from 00:30:55.259 --> 00:30:57.259 like, hey, remember when we did this project? 00:30:57.359 --> 00:30:59.579 Well, we didn't finish like using all these papers 00:30:59.579 --> 00:31:02.680 for it. So we're gonna, you know, color on these 00:31:02.680 --> 00:31:06.000 again and use them again because we're not being 00:31:06.000 --> 00:31:08.599 wasteful, we're using what we've already got 00:31:08.599 --> 00:31:12.440 and things like that. So I think as far as that 00:31:12.440 --> 00:31:15.819 goes, that would be different depending on your 00:31:15.819 --> 00:31:18.000 campus and what you've already got on hand, but 00:31:18.000 --> 00:31:20.819 just, and maybe you could, like I would probably 00:31:20.819 --> 00:31:23.559 bring some stuff from home to like old cardboard 00:31:23.559 --> 00:31:25.680 boxes and stuff and cut them up and like kids 00:31:25.680 --> 00:31:29.319 color on that too. So that there's just more 00:31:29.319 --> 00:31:32.319 materials for them to use. But I think that would, 00:31:32.400 --> 00:31:36.579 again, that would depend on your school, what 00:31:36.579 --> 00:31:39.380 you've got on hand, and if you have anything 00:31:39.380 --> 00:31:41.220 at home you kind of need to get rid of that kids 00:31:41.220 --> 00:31:45.299 could reuse to create new art with and just give 00:31:45.299 --> 00:31:47.799 them a bunch of crayons and markers and glue 00:31:47.799 --> 00:31:52.460 and just let them go to town with all that. I 00:31:52.460 --> 00:31:54.740 love that idea. I love that. That's a really 00:31:54.740 --> 00:31:56.720 great way to do that because I definitely see 00:31:56.720 --> 00:32:00.299 a bunch of kids like using the leftover paper 00:32:00.299 --> 00:32:03.900 and stuff to make like a collage or you know. 00:32:03.950 --> 00:32:07.130 Make a mosaic kind of picture or something like 00:32:07.130 --> 00:32:09.390 that. That'd be a lot of fun for the kids I think 00:32:09.390 --> 00:32:11.430 they'd have a good time being able to use all 00:32:11.430 --> 00:32:14.450 those recycled piece of paper and other materials 00:32:14.450 --> 00:32:16.710 to make something that they could feel proud 00:32:16.710 --> 00:32:21.049 of Be really cool. Yeah, and I've done that a 00:32:21.049 --> 00:32:22.869 few times like at the end of the school year 00:32:22.869 --> 00:32:25.819 when I just have like extra stuff That I'm trying 00:32:25.819 --> 00:32:28.920 to get rid of and kids usually really love that 00:32:28.920 --> 00:32:30.960 like that's usually one of the favorite things 00:32:30.960 --> 00:32:32.960 Because they I think it's because they have more 00:32:32.960 --> 00:32:35.420 creative control over what they're doing. It's 00:32:35.420 --> 00:32:38.500 less defined as far as what I'm telling them 00:32:38.500 --> 00:32:41.799 to do and they're just Creating so they have 00:32:41.799 --> 00:32:44.359 a lot of it. It's good stuff. Very cool. Yeah, 00:32:44.680 --> 00:32:47.440 I Got to try that this year because I do have 00:32:47.440 --> 00:32:53.349 a lot of pieces of paper and random things Well, 00:32:58.109 --> 00:33:00.210 thank you all for joining us today on this episode 00:33:00.210 --> 00:33:02.529 of Librarians of Littles, and we hope you found 00:33:02.529 --> 00:33:04.869 some good ideas for inspiring our younger readers. 00:33:05.269 --> 00:33:07.130 Please be sure to subscribe and connect with 00:33:07.130 --> 00:33:10.809 us on social media. Happy reading! Thank you 00:33:10.809 --> 00:33:13.589 for listening to this episode of Librarians of 00:33:13.589 --> 00:33:16.150 Littles. We hope that you've enjoyed it. Check 00:33:16.150 --> 00:33:20.539 back each Wednesday for a new episode. Librarians 00:33:20.539 --> 00:33:23.299 of Littles is a podcast produced and hosted by 00:33:23.299 --> 00:33:26.980 Patrick Adams and Caroline Legere. Editor, Patrick 00:33:26.980 --> 00:33:30.740 Adams. Our theme song is performed by JD Adams. 00:33:31.160 --> 00:33:33.819 You can follow us on Instagram at Librarians 00:33:33.819 --> 00:33:38.980 of Littles. You can follow us on BlueSky at littleslibrarian 00:33:38.980 --> 00:33:43.579 .bsky .social. And you can send us your emails 00:33:43.579 --> 00:33:49.230 at librarianoflittlespodatgmail .com. Did you 00:33:49.230 --> 00:33:52.470 apply for the job in Northwest? I did not. I 00:33:52.470 --> 00:33:57.809 didn't either. No, for a couple reasons. My team 00:33:57.809 --> 00:34:03.230 is really good this year and honestly, I can't 00:34:03.230 --> 00:34:05.990 even wrap my brain around what Northwest is expecting 00:34:05.990 --> 00:34:09.289 from that job right now. Yeah. When they've already 00:34:09.289 --> 00:34:11.530 said that every other librarian in the district 00:34:11.530 --> 00:34:13.730 is going to be in rotation, like I don't know 00:34:13.730 --> 00:34:17.230 what they're gonna expect from that position. 00:34:17.559 --> 00:34:23.260 Yeah. I've, like I said, I've got a really good, 00:34:23.340 --> 00:34:26.139 solid, strong team. And we've, we just found 00:34:26.139 --> 00:34:29.980 out, like literally in the last week or two, 00:34:30.619 --> 00:34:35.659 my art teacher's leaving. Oh. Which is really 00:34:35.659 --> 00:34:38.400 disappointing because she's really good, but 00:34:38.400 --> 00:34:42.380 she's like, she was set up for failure. I tried 00:34:42.380 --> 00:34:45.480 to do everything I could to make it so that she 00:34:45.480 --> 00:34:49.010 could do the job but the expectations put on 00:34:49.010 --> 00:34:52.710 her were just not reasonable. Yeah. She also 00:34:52.710 --> 00:34:57.010 has all of her family is out of state and she's 00:34:57.010 --> 00:35:02.269 got two sisters that are both having kids and 00:35:02.269 --> 00:35:04.809 that kind of thing. Her husband has a master's 00:35:04.809 --> 00:35:09.469 degree in business and was told that if he drove 00:35:09.469 --> 00:35:12.789 trucks they would work make it so he could work 00:35:12.789 --> 00:35:15.639 his way up the ladder to get a job he's looking 00:35:15.639 --> 00:35:19.360 for. It's been three years and he hasn't. And 00:35:19.360 --> 00:35:23.940 so he can make in the state they're moving to, 00:35:24.280 --> 00:35:27.079 he can make the same amount of money that he's 00:35:27.079 --> 00:35:30.599 making here. And the price, the cost of living 00:35:30.599 --> 00:35:37.980 is substantially lower. So she did a remote interview 00:35:37.980 --> 00:35:40.980 and accepted a position teaching fourth grade. 00:35:41.800 --> 00:35:47.389 Okay. And so she's leaving, which is not necessarily 00:35:47.389 --> 00:35:50.309 a reason for me to stay, but the rest of my team 00:35:50.309 --> 00:35:55.590 is really strong. I want to like, the rest of 00:35:55.590 --> 00:35:57.469 my team has also said, like they don't, none 00:35:57.469 --> 00:35:59.369 of them want to be the team lead. They want me 00:35:59.369 --> 00:36:02.610 to keep doing it. Cause like I said, I always 00:36:02.610 --> 00:36:04.730 get just thrust into those positions. I don't 00:36:04.730 --> 00:36:10.920 know. And it also doesn't hurt like not that 00:36:10.920 --> 00:36:12.960 this is a final this would be the final reason 00:36:12.960 --> 00:36:15.059 or anything but our district has said like since 00:36:15.059 --> 00:36:19.320 they're paying for TLA like even just the just 00:36:19.320 --> 00:36:22.559 the admission to TLA but they're paying for TLA 00:36:22.559 --> 00:36:26.320 and the hotel and all this stuff basically you're 00:36:26.320 --> 00:36:28.360 promising to stay for at least one more year 00:36:28.360 --> 00:36:31.900 if you do if they do pay for it I forgot about 00:36:31.900 --> 00:36:35.579 that which I'm okay with I don't mind but yes 00:36:35.579 --> 00:36:38.840 pay having to pay back $1 ,600 is also not something 00:36:38.840 --> 00:36:44.590 I would like to do. So, you know. For me, it 00:36:44.590 --> 00:36:47.090 was like how supportive everybody was with me 00:36:47.090 --> 00:36:50.969 randomly being like, hey, I got to go take off 00:36:50.969 --> 00:36:53.309 for like maybe two weeks or something. And everyone 00:36:53.309 --> 00:36:56.989 was like, okay. And I was like, really? I don't 00:36:56.989 --> 00:36:59.250 think that would have ever happened in Teller. 00:36:59.949 --> 00:37:03.429 No, I agree. They would have been like, good 00:37:03.429 --> 00:37:08.110 luck. I probably would have gotten docked actually. 00:37:08.429 --> 00:37:12.860 Yeah. Between that and then the other thing was 00:37:12.860 --> 00:37:15.480 like my principal did send out the email again 00:37:15.480 --> 00:37:19.219 like cuz he sends it out Every year asking like 00:37:19.219 --> 00:37:21.539 are you planning to stay? Are you looking to 00:37:21.539 --> 00:37:23.320 do any changing kind of stuff? Which doesn't 00:37:23.320 --> 00:37:27.320 really apply to us as much Yeah, it's more of 00:37:27.320 --> 00:37:31.539 are you coming back or not for us? But for like 00:37:31.539 --> 00:37:32.960 the classroom teachers like do you want to move 00:37:32.960 --> 00:37:36.079 grade levels that kind of stuff? Whatever and 00:37:36.079 --> 00:37:38.440 in it one of his questions is about like what? 00:37:38.590 --> 00:37:42.469 are you looking to do? Like what are your goals? 00:37:43.329 --> 00:37:49.050 And I did say that I was honest and said I'd 00:37:49.050 --> 00:37:54.130 love to get out of the rotation because research 00:37:54.130 --> 00:37:59.309 has shown that a librarian that's available has 00:37:59.309 --> 00:38:04.329 a much greater impact than what I'm doing. But 00:38:04.329 --> 00:38:07.429 I also was upfront and said I get based on the 00:38:07.429 --> 00:38:10.550 economics of it that's not going to happen anytime 00:38:10.550 --> 00:38:15.230 soon and that's not within anyone locally their 00:38:15.230 --> 00:38:17.809 control to deal with that but I wouldn't mind 00:38:17.809 --> 00:38:21.670 taking on like I did say that at like the district 00:38:21.670 --> 00:38:25.570 level I wouldn't mind because like working to 00:38:25.570 --> 00:38:30.309 become one of the the library like leaders uh 00:38:30.309 --> 00:38:32.650 part of that leadership group and that kind of 00:38:32.650 --> 00:38:36.010 thing and so like having some goals of like continuing 00:38:36.010 --> 00:38:41.829 to work with The district but You know working 00:38:41.829 --> 00:38:45.110 to to put myself in a position where maybe my 00:38:45.110 --> 00:38:50.849 voice has some more sway to to start some conversations 00:38:50.849 --> 00:38:55.110 about Changing some things like adding another 00:38:55.110 --> 00:38:58.130 fine arts teacher Like because if I because I 00:38:58.130 --> 00:38:59.949 really feel like if I get if I could get into 00:38:59.949 --> 00:39:05.550 like that leadership group and start trying to 00:39:05.550 --> 00:39:08.429 have some of those conversations and not just 00:39:08.429 --> 00:39:10.329 between us librarians, but also with the fine 00:39:10.329 --> 00:39:12.409 arts department. Cause I can't imagine that the 00:39:12.409 --> 00:39:14.389 fine arts department is like, no, this is perfect 00:39:14.389 --> 00:39:16.849 and it's working exactly how we want it to work. 00:39:17.170 --> 00:39:22.650 I'm sure they want like a separate music and 00:39:22.650 --> 00:39:25.389 art teacher also. So like to start trying to 00:39:25.389 --> 00:39:29.670 build some alliances that way to like, to have 00:39:29.670 --> 00:39:32.329 the conversation coming from more than one facet. 00:39:32.489 --> 00:39:35.050 Yeah, so that people realize hey, this is something 00:39:35.050 --> 00:39:37.650 we should probably consider. That's absolutely 00:39:37.650 --> 00:39:39.869 ridiculous. There's not too, you know, I just 00:39:39.869 --> 00:39:41.570 yeah, that's the one thing about Eagle Mountain 00:39:41.570 --> 00:39:44.429 I can't wrap my head around my fine art. But 00:39:44.429 --> 00:39:48.429 to be fair like and the way Eagle Mountain is 00:39:48.429 --> 00:39:51.010 doing it isn't great but it's not that different 00:39:51.010 --> 00:39:54.469 than what Keller and what Northwest are moving 00:39:54.469 --> 00:39:57.030 towards where they're having just rotating people 00:39:57.030 --> 00:39:58.989 where you get it for this long and then that 00:39:58.989 --> 00:40:01.610 person leaves and some new person comes in like 00:40:02.840 --> 00:40:05.820 It's not that different. They just keep a consistent 00:40:05.820 --> 00:40:09.199 person on the campus in Eagle Mountain. Does 00:40:09.199 --> 00:40:13.280 Northwest do that too? Northwest is cutting back 00:40:13.280 --> 00:40:15.260 on their fine arts department. I don't think 00:40:15.260 --> 00:40:16.820 they've actually gotten to the point where they're 00:40:16.820 --> 00:40:19.380 rotating through yet. but they are cutting like 00:40:19.380 --> 00:40:21.639 they went from having like there were campuses 00:40:21.639 --> 00:40:24.599 where if they had 700 kids they had two fine 00:40:24.599 --> 00:40:27.219 arts teachers that were both teaching art and 00:40:27.219 --> 00:40:29.239 then they had two music teachers so they had 00:40:29.239 --> 00:40:31.219 like four fine arts teachers on their campus 00:40:31.219 --> 00:40:34.280 and they've cut back to just two and some like 00:40:34.280 --> 00:40:37.880 stuff like that so like theirs is definitely 00:40:37.880 --> 00:40:40.940 a better program but Keller doing theirs where 00:40:40.940 --> 00:40:43.619 for nine weeks you had this person and then they 00:40:43.619 --> 00:40:45.179 left and went to a different campus and you had 00:40:45.179 --> 00:40:48.099 nine weeks of a different you know Yeah, I still 00:40:48.099 --> 00:40:50.780 don't know that that's any better than what we 00:40:50.780 --> 00:40:54.860 have now in Eagle Mountain. I think it is because 00:40:54.860 --> 00:40:57.820 they've got three programs, but they've got one 00:40:57.820 --> 00:41:00.139 full -time fine arts teacher. Yeah. And then 00:41:00.139 --> 00:41:03.139 two part -time. So you've still got two teachers, 00:41:03.519 --> 00:41:06.880 full -time staff. Okay. Yeah. Because you've 00:41:06.880 --> 00:41:09.099 got the music teacher doesn't rotate. She's there 00:41:09.099 --> 00:41:13.639 all the time. It's just theater and art that 00:41:13.639 --> 00:41:18.469 rotate. So it's marginally better. Yeah. Yeah. 00:41:19.630 --> 00:41:23.090 Like staffing wise, it's still double. Well, 00:41:23.150 --> 00:41:25.369 then maybe that's how you try and push it first 00:41:25.369 --> 00:41:30.710 is that you, like, instead of being like, we 00:41:30.710 --> 00:41:32.989 need however many elementary schools there are, 00:41:32.989 --> 00:41:35.670 what, 30? I don't know how many there are, 25, 00:41:35.769 --> 00:41:38.170 something like that, in the mountain. Instead 00:41:38.170 --> 00:41:44.510 of saying we need 25 new employees, say that 00:41:44.510 --> 00:41:47.650 we need Well, no, you'd still need at least 25. 00:41:47.769 --> 00:41:49.150 That would still be 25. Yeah. Yeah. I was just 00:41:49.150 --> 00:41:50.929 thinking you probably actually the way that way 00:41:50.929 --> 00:41:54.130 you'd say you'd almost need 50, which is even 00:41:54.130 --> 00:41:59.710 more money. I don't know. Well, my fine arts 00:41:59.710 --> 00:42:03.550 teacher told me like three weeks ago maybe that 00:42:03.550 --> 00:42:06.030 at the last really big fine arts meeting they 00:42:06.030 --> 00:42:09.829 had across the district, they didn't really get 00:42:09.829 --> 00:42:14.440 in big trouble, but like the upper admin fine 00:42:14.440 --> 00:42:16.900 arts people were like hey elementary teachers 00:42:16.900 --> 00:42:20.699 did you notice that this middle school only had 00:42:20.699 --> 00:42:25.980 like three kids join choir like in sixth grade 00:42:25.980 --> 00:42:29.179 and that all of them and they were like over 00:42:29.179 --> 00:42:32.400 there looking at them like could it be because 00:42:32.400 --> 00:42:35.579 we're split in half and trying to teach two curriculums 00:42:35.579 --> 00:42:38.059 and you have all these days that are like randomly 00:42:38.059 --> 00:42:40.340 taken away from us and like we can't effectively 00:42:40.340 --> 00:42:44.710 teach choir in elementary school like of course 00:42:44.710 --> 00:42:48.690 not are you serious i think we know what the 00:42:48.690 --> 00:42:52.110 problem is no but no teacher can effectively 00:42:52.110 --> 00:42:55.130 yeah prepare kids when they're given not when 00:42:55.130 --> 00:42:58.369 they're trying to teach two curriculums and most 00:42:58.369 --> 00:43:03.989 of them see each kid once a week yeah maximum 00:43:03.989 --> 00:43:07.550 yeah so if you're lucky you see the kids 36 times 00:43:07.550 --> 00:43:09.670 in the year and you're supposed to teach two 00:43:09.670 --> 00:43:13.579 full curriculums yeah Absolutely not. And you 00:43:13.579 --> 00:43:15.920 know you don't actually see them 36 times, so 00:43:15.920 --> 00:43:19.280 that's it. No, no, and I keep thinking of that 00:43:19.280 --> 00:43:22.199 one class that I like didn't see from October 00:43:22.199 --> 00:43:26.000 23rd until January 5th or whatever it was. Like, 00:43:27.719 --> 00:43:33.880 no. Anyway, so like, I don't know, somewhere 00:43:33.880 --> 00:43:36.920 in there, upper admin in fine arts is thinking 00:43:36.920 --> 00:43:39.099 about it. they're just not doing a good job thinking 00:43:39.099 --> 00:43:41.940 about it right and not necessarily finding a 00:43:41.940 --> 00:43:46.219 way to solve the problem but or they're not recognizing 00:43:46.219 --> 00:43:50.639 how hard it is could be that too i don't know 00:43:50.639 --> 00:43:55.099 probably they're just still operating like their 00:43:55.099 --> 00:43:58.019 teeny tiny school district is the main thing 00:43:58.019 --> 00:43:58.380 yeah