In Tune

I have a confession.  I'm a secondary education major, I taught English for nine years, and I LOVE bulletin boards.  The cute-si-er, the cheesier, the better.  Unfortunately, my poor students were often stuck with general FYI boards or generic "bulletin board in a bag" sets.  However, as a media specialist, bulletin boards are a must.  Gotta promote the books, gotta get kids' attention, gotta intice them to come in!  A while ago my sister sent me a bulletin board off of Pinterest and I adjusted it a bit:  "Hey, I just met you and this is crazy, but here's my cover so read me maybe."  It was a huge hit.  Kids stopped in the hallway and actually READ my bulletin board.  I could hear them laughing, pointing it out to their friends, and even better:  singing. 

So began my themed bulletin boards.  We did a little Taylor Swift:  "We will never, ever, ever, stop reading together" with pics of students reading.  Then came the holiday season:  "Through the halls we go reading all the way."  This month came from Florida Georgia Line and I was really excited when I asked some kids for a song suggestion.  One of my faves too!  It's obviously not the best grammar so I'm hoping that when teachers and parents see it they don't think the media specialist doesn't know how to speak correctly. . . .  

It's been really fun.  And today a student told me she thought of me when "Cruise" came on the radio.  Mission accomplished.        

Books 32-52. . . . Oops. . .

Hello 2013!  You came a little sooner than I wanted. . . .   Shouldn't there be about twenty more weeks in a year?!  Well, it's obvious that I didn't make my goal.  I'm disappointed, but I've also realized that a) a book a week is a LOT (even though I'm sure there are many super librarians out there who can do it), b) I still read and wrote booktalks for 31 books (YAY!), c) I'll never regret the fun summer we had (even if I hardly opened a book!) and d) resolutions are tough to keep.  See Exhibit A--my waistline--and Exhibit B--my children's scrapbooks that are still more than two years behind.  Sigh. 

BUT on the bright side. . . . now I can use this blog to showcase a little bit of everything.  What's going on in the library, what I'm reading, what students are working on, what latest Pinterest projects have inspired me. . .  Like my tree of discarded books!  :) 

So here's to everything that 2013 will bring--even if it's a few less than 52 books.