Grade 1-2

Building upon our school-wide winter theme of Peace, First Graders in the library shared three peace-inspired books. We began with Peace, Salaam, Shalom, an artfully designed exploration of peace by educator Howard Bogot,and written in three languages, English, Arabic and Hebrew. Next, we enjoyed, Somewhere Today: A Book of Peace, a collection of photographs showing the simple ways all of us can make the world a better place. Lastly, we read Let There Be Peace on Earth and Let It Begin with Me which is based on an a 1955 song by the same name. We listened to a recording of this classic anthem of peace as we created wax-resist and watercolor doves to decorate the library in the new year. We concluded with book browsing and check out. Please try to return overdue books before the winter break. Happy Reading!

First  Graders put their knowledge about books and the library to the test today with a giant game of Five Alive! Teams had to select a letter from my magic bag which corresponded to a literacy-based question. Correct answers were rewarded with a checker (black or red) that could be strategically placed on the game board with the goal of getting five checkers in a row.   Students demonstrated their knowledge about genre, book organization, library organization, reference materials and alphabetization. We concluded with book browsing and check out. Happy Reading!

Taking a break from the ice and snow, First  Grade placed an Ethiopian stamp in their passport. Today in the library, we explored Ethiopian fabrics, baskets and clothing, smelled berbera and mit’mita (traditional Ethiopian spices) and marveled at the delicate script of Amharic (one of Ethiopian’s languages). We discussed the differences between fairy tales (last week’s theme) and this week’s folktales and then settled in to share The Lian’s Whiskers, an Ethiopian story by Nancy Raines Day. With textured materials and colored papers that portray the traditional Amhara people, illustrator Ann Grifalconi perfectly captures the spirit of the Ethiopian landscape. We also read The Tug of War, an East African fable in which a tortoise gains respect from his much bigger neighbors, the hippo and the elephant.  A special thanks to Keely and her mom, Rochelle, for loaning us so many wonderful things to explore! Our time in the library concluded with book browsing and check out .Happy Reading!