Time to Get Ready to Come Back to School!

Are you ready? I am trying to be! I haven't finished reading all the books I want to read!

The library is having some work done on it so that when we return, you will see some improvements. There is new carpet, new paint, and... I am sorry to say... they scared the ghost in the library away!! The tile that lets him out is now gone!! I wonder where he went??

I have been reading this whole summer and look forward to telling you about a few of them.

For example:

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

It is a very spooky book about a kid that grows up in a

graveyard while being raised by ghosts!! Want to read it?

We have 2 copies in our library! Who will be the first ones???

I look forward to seeing you at our meet and greet night!

Keep Reading!

Mrs. Duckworth

Happy 4th Reading

I hope you had a great Fourth of July and celebrated by eating lots of food and watching beautiful fireworks!!
I have been busy reading LOTS of books! I can't wait to start sharing all that I have read!! I hope you have been spending some of your time off inside a good book! I can tell you that there a bunch of really good Bluebonnets for this year. One in particular, is going to be a hit at Longfellow Elementary!! I can't wait for you to read it!

Enjoy they rest of your summer and I look forward to seeing you in August!!
Keep Reading!
Mrs. Duckworth

WoW!

I cannot believe the year is already finished!! And I apologize for not keeping this up to date! I know I promise you the link to the Dewey Decimal Rap on YouTube and I will try and get it on the blog so that you do not have to search.

Remember to come to the library this summer and get a head start on next year's Bluebonnet Books!! Bluebonnet Camp is June 15 - 18 and June June 22 - 25 at 10:00 am. I will be reading one of the shorter stories and then we will do an activity to help you remember the story! Come every day or come on only the days you can! We will do a different book each day. The more you participate, the more books you will have done for next year!

I look forward to seeing you this summer!
Keep Reading :)
Mrs. Duckworth

National Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month. Two weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to attend the Texas Library Association Conference and see a lot of new books and meet a few authors! While I was there, I bought the new poetry book by Jeff Foxworthy. While I was gone, you watched the fairy tale "Thumbelina" by Hans Christian Andersen (which is poetry!). You learned the elements contained in most Fairy Tales! (royalty, talking animals, problem/solution, good guy/bad guy, and a little magic)
We have also been studying two of my favorite poets. Last week, we listened to Shel Silverstein read and sing some of his funny poems on his website (link on the left side of this page)!! Some of my favorites were "Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me, Too" and "Boa Constrictor"!
This week, we have watched a tape of the great Jack Prelutsky talk about how he gets his ideas for his poems and how many times he has to go back and try to make it perfect. I like his poem about Willie and the worm he eats! Not great to hear right before lunch, though!
Our school is celebrating Poetry in Your Pocket Day on April 24th (actual date is April 30th but some of our students are taking their TAKS test that day!). Make sure you hang on to the poem you copied on your paper. Someone may ask you to read it to them on April 24th!!
My other favorite poet, that we have already talked about, is Dr. Seuss. I could read any of his rhyming stories - anytime!!

Make a poem your SPOT this month!!
Keep Reading :)
Mrs. Duckworth

Dog - Man's Best Friend

What a great topic we had this week! We read part of the informational text, How to Talk to Your Dog. Then we read the book of poems called Good Dog. We learned how to communicate with a dog and how to read their "talk" to us. Remember, to show a dog who is the boss - you do not have to use your mouth on their muzzzle!! You can use your hand!! Also, dogs LOVE the baby talk! They understand that tone of your voice. The poetry book gave us a glimpse of what some dogs' personalities are like. Our favorites were the chihuahua, the bulldog and the boston terrier.

There are so many great stories about dogs that you want to share! I BEG you to write them for me so that I can read about your favorite dog story.

Happy Reading :)

Mrs. Duckworth

Book Fair

Book Fair was a great success!!! A BIG thanks goes to all that helped make it a success! I enjoyed seeing all your smiling faces come through the doors and all the books that went out in your hands!! The daily door prizes were fun and I hope you are enjoying your prizes - for those of you lucky enough to have your name drawn from the bucket with names from everyone in the WHOLE school!!
I hope you had a restful Spring Break and read a lot of books!!!
I finished The Thing About Georgie - A Novel. It is a very interesting book. I don't want to give it all away but, I felt a little sorry for Georgie. Being a dwarf could make it difficult to make friends but he learns a lot about himself and how his friends see him. You will have to read this great story to understand what I am talking about!

Check it out!!!
Mrs. Duckworth

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss

March 2nd was Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel)'s Birthday! This week, we shared a few Dr. Seuss stories. There was one common thread through all of them - Use your brain and Always do your best! This was perfect for the upcoming TAKS tests the next week. The stories we shared were Hooray for Diffendoofer Day, And to Think I Saw It On Mulberry Street, and Bartholomew and the Ooblek. Some of you even got to touch green oobleck!! (How to make Ooblek - 2 parts corn starch, 1 part water, green food dye; mix)
Hooray for Diffendoofer Day says the teachers have taught you the most important thing of all - "How to Think!" On the TAKS test, I know you used your brains to think and Prove It! Prove It!!
Happy Reading!
Mrs. Duckworth