Reading with Rodney Bus

Our district used to have a convocation meeting with everyone who works in GISD. At one a couple years ago, we were all introduced to the story of Rodney, who gave his name to the Reading with Rodney Bus. Rodney is a worker at the CCC building who could not read. People in the district worked together to help Rodney learn how to read. 

We now have a bookmobile called the Reading with Rodney bus. Students and families from across the community donated gently used or new books to stock the bus. Since the initial loading of the bus, the program has received donations to buy new books. I have been lucky enough to get to work on some of these book orders and I cannot wait to see the students enjoying the new books from the bus. I will hopefully be working on the bus some this summer and get to help students pick out just right books for them.

I first worked on the Reading with Rodney bus at a GoGreen event in September. The crowd was sparse at first, but it quickly grew. Many were still wondering what was going on in the big purple bus. I have since worked on the bus several times and it is an amazing experience. 

You connect with kids over their joy in finding awesome books to read and with adults who share the love of reading with their children. You also get a lot of "I just wanted to see inside!"  The artwork on the bus brings people in to check it out. Everyone always asks "how do the books stay on the shelves?" It is fun to see people's first reactions to the wonder that is a library on wheels.

I encourage you to stay tuned to find out the summer schedule for the Reading with Rodney bus that will be coming soon. I always end up checking out at least 3 or 4 books for myself...and then I return them to any Garland ISD school or to the bus. Easy peasy!

Bluebonnet Books...so far!

I try to read or at least start reading all 20 of the Bluebonnet books so that I can make recommendations and write trivia questions for the student contest. I have made a lot of progress so far this year and I've actually read most of the books all the way to the end. Here are my thoughts so far...

This was a very cute book with a sassy main character. I did get bored about halfway through and skip to the end, but it would be a great starter book for those kids just getting into chapter books. It teaches good lessons about friendship.

I had purchased this book already and used it for our yearly dedication book for our former music teacher. I read it when it became a Bluebonnet book and was touched by the amazing story of overcoming circumstances. It is based on a true story where kids took literal garbage and made music out of it.

I heard a lot about this book so I waited a while to read it, but it was fine. It was not very interesting to me, but I did not find anything too controversial in it. 

 I am sorry to say that I did not like this book at all. I love poetry, but this was just too much to keep me engaged.

This book was cute. I never knew about how the lights from beach houses can affect a turtle's life. 

I was not excited to read this book for some reason, but I am sure glad I did. It hooked me from the very beginning and it was a page turner to the end. I loved it and can definitely see why it was the named this year's Newberry Award Winner.

This was the first chapter book from the Bluebonnet list that I read this year. I had seen the book on various lists and in our book fairs. I really enjoyed reading this book and I thought it was very creative.

This one was a quick read, but very cute. It would also be great for kids starting to read chapter books. I thought the multicultural elements were nicely done without being forced.

I thought this one was a great biography. It taught a lesson about not giving up while pursuing your dreams. I liked it. 

I have had this one on my "to read" list since last summer. I finally found the time and it was worth the wait. It is very strange to me that an event like 9/11 is now historical fiction material, but I thought it was very well written. 

\I really enjoyed this book. It has a big twist in it! :)

I thought this book was fine, but a little dry and over elementary school students' heads.

I am not a huge fan of graphic novels, but this one was cute. It was a fast read and fun.

I am excited to read the rest of the books on the list, but sad I am not at TLA. Next year! :) 

#EdCampGoo

This past Saturday was a busy, but great day of learning. I attended EdCampGoo and I facilitated two sessions. Thank you to the team that put together this event because it was very informative!

My first session was about booksnaps. I had heard a lot about these and I was very interested in learning how to make them. There were some very helpful peers in this session who helped me figure out how to make a Bitmoji and start on the path of creating booksnaps.

The second session was one I facilitated about GSuite apps. It turned out to be a group that was just getting started using Google and GSuite so we just stuck to the basics. I enjoyed sharing the presenter view features of the new Google Slides...it was a big hit!

My third session was about how to become a Google for Education Trainer. It was a small group, but I was able to get a few tips as I continue towards my path of being a certified trainer. 

I facilitated my fourth session about Level 1 and Level 2 Google for Education certifications. It was a little difficult to answer questions because the process is constantly changing, but hopefully I was able to help a few people out. 

The final session I attended was about hyperdocs. This was a great session. I had been wanting to learn more about hyperdocs and there were many resources shared in this session.

We wrapped up the day with prizes. While I did not win anything, the librarians were well represented in the winners' list...including the grand prize! I cannot wait for next year's event where I will hopefully be attending as a Google for Education Trainer. 

Appy Easter Egg Hunt!

I am the i3 (innovation in instruction) team member for our campus so each month I try to incorporate different aspects of technology into our school. This month, we are doing an Appy Easter egg hunt to encourage teachers to try some new apps. It has been the most popular challenge of the year already and I am excited to who finds all the eggs next!

I placed 5 eggs around the school in places teachers go frequently. Each egg has a QR code with the name of an app the teachers should try. 

Here is the form for teachers to put their answers. Let's see who reads my blog because here are the answers! Thinglink, Draw & Tell, Twitter, Kahoot, and Educreations.

 This is the note I have been attaching to the prizes. 

I tried to make the prize look like an Easter basket of sorts. I wish I could give the teachers so much more, but it is comprised of candy, pencils, ear buds, and a stylus/highlighter/pen. Everyone who enters will go in a drawing for a larger prize.