Library
About our B.F. Day Library
For those of you new to the B.F. Day Family, welcome! My name is Jaimee Papineau (most students call me “Mrs. P.”) and I am a Reading Support Teacher and Librarian for our wonderful community. This will be my 13 year at B.F. Day, and 24th year (gulp) in education!
I am in my second year of librarianship, with the goal of creating a warm, welcoming, supportive space for all students and families. The library is a place to learn more about ourselves, grow in our empathy for others, and expand our ability to be critical and informed thinkers. I can’t wait to share my enthusiasm for learning and reading with our students. My goal is to help nurture truly joyful and lifelong readers. The purpose of the B.F. Day library program is to cultivate a love of reading and learning; whether for pleasure or knowledge, and to provide our students with the skills and strategies needed to become self-reliant and critical users of information.
Announcements
April News From The Library!
Books to ask your Preschool – 3rd graders about…. what’s your favorite so far? These are all nominations for the Washington State Children’s Choice Book Award!
The 4th and 5th graders enjoyed the Towner nominee Washed Ashore: Making Art From Ocean Plastic to begin our month highlighting books around environmentalism and conservation (Hello Earth Day!). We’ve become inspired to make our own sculpture with found plastic!
Thank you to our book donors toward April’s wish list featuring books about conservation, the eclipse and national library month! Richard Mackay (aka Popi, Cole’s grandfather), Nicolo’s family, Kyriaki Levanti.
More April News
In the month of March to recap, we had 1,688 check outs! Wowza! Students in grades PK-3 have been enjoying read-alouds from the Washington State Children’s Choice Book Award nominee list. At the end of April, B.F. Day students will vote for their favorite and we will submit our vote to the state. Here’s a list if you’d like to check them out! Ask your student about their favorite!
Students in 4th and 5th grade have continued learning about the lives of amazing, unheralded women who made groundbreaking advances paving the way for others. In the month of April, we celebrate the solar eclipse, Earth Day, and National Library Week. This month’s April Amazon Wish List brings together titles to celebrate all three! (Who knew we had zero books on eclipses in the library!).
Grownups Book Club
Our next meeting is April 16, 7:00 at Retreat in Greenlake. You have plenty of time to read this month’s book A Day in the Life of Abed Salama. Please join us!
Global Reading Challenge Books
The Global Reading Challenge book list!
This year’s books are:
- A Kind of Spark, by Elle McNicoll
- Invisible, by Christina Diaz Gonzalez and Gabriele Epstein
- Healer of the Water Monster, by Brian Young
- The Secret of the Jade Bangle, by Linda Trinh
- My Kingdom of Darkness, by Susan Tan
- The Jumbies, by Tracey Baptiste
- The Button Box, by Bridget Hodder and Fawzia Gilani-Williams
- Too Bright to See, by Kyle Lukoff
Questions Lately…
Q: How do I help my emerging reader pick out books for practice, either at the library or the bookstore?
A: Did you know reading levels were actually created for teachers, not students? Each level corresponds with a skill set students need to read and comprehend the text. Many publishing companies try to put levels on their books with their own system of numbers and letters. Recently, with a greater focus on the science of reading and how students learn to read, companies are better aligning the text in the book to actual phonetic skills (aka, if you know short vowels and CVC words this book is a “good fit”), but it can all be very confusing!
There is a quick, easy way to match your child to a book called “The Five Finger Rule” from Scholastics Books. Here’s how it works: Your child opens a book to the first page. They read the page and hold up one finger for every word they don’t know or can’t pronounce.
The number of fingers they’re holding up by the end of the page tells them if the book is the right level:
- 0-1 fingers: It’s too easy.
- 2-3 fingers: It’s just right.
- 4-5 fingers: It’s too hard (or best read aloud with a buddy).
Two to three fingers is the sweet spot. If they’re holding up any more or less, that’s a clue that they should try to find another book if they’re reading independently. Clearly, this is a very simplified method, but at least it gives you a place to start. Check out the cited link for the full article.
Helpful Library Resources
Reading with Mrs. P.
How do I help my child with phonemic awareness?
What is phonemic awareness? This is the ability to manipulate individual sounds. In essence, it’s knowing the word “dog” is made up of the individual sounds /d/ /o/ /g/. Phonemic awareness and letter-sound knowledge are the two biggest indicators of how well a child will learn to read in the first two years of school. If students learn to play with sound, and then learn that letters go with those sounds, they have a better foundation in learning to read!
Building phonemic awareness is all about playing with sound.
- Practice by….
- Saying the sounds in a simple word (/m/ /a/ /t/ for “mat,” /sh/ /o/ /p/ for “shop,”) and ask kids to put the sounds together to tell you the word.
- Do the opposite! Say a word, and have kids tell you the individual sounds in the word. Cash = /c/ /a/ /sh/.
- If kids struggle to do this out loud, you can use cars, figurines, coins, etc. to represent each sound.
- Have them move an object while saying each sound.
- Alternatively, kids can tap each sound by tapping a part of their arm or patting on their lap.
Having fun with sounds leads helps kids learn to read! ~ Mrs. Papineau
Seattle Public Library Resources
The Seattle Public Library (SPL) offers some AMAZING resources for students. The ability to check out audio and e-books can be a special treat. The Libby App can be downloaded onto your phone, iPad, home computer as an e-reader.
Here’s how to set it up your SPL account…visit the Seattle Public Library website at SPL.org and select on “my account.” Your library link number is 990000 (four zeroes) followed by your student’s 7-digit ID number to create a 13-digit number. The PIN is the month and date of your child’s birthday, 2 digits for the month and 2 digits for the day. So, a birthday of November 7 would be a PIN of 1107. From there you have access to the library collection and an array of resources including these below. I haven’t yet investigated Tutor.com, but it appears Seattle Public School students have access to Free Tutoring through this site! If anyone wants to give it a try and report back, go for it!
SPL Resources
- Libby App
- Download OverDrive’s Libby app for iOS or Android to check out e-books and e-audiobooks.
- BookFlix
- BookFlix pairs over 135 animated stories with real-world concepts to help new readers improve their skills in English and Spanish. Animated stories and interactive games keep kids engaged and help build vocabulary. Access BookFlix for free with your Library card.
- Hoopla
- Enjoy thousands of always-available digital comics and graphic novels in our Hoopla digital collection for free with your Library card. With Hoopla you can also access over 6,000 movies and TV shows, and 300,000 music albums.
- Tutor.com
- K – 12 students in Seattle can get free virtual tutoring from Tutor.com with a Library card or Library Link number.
How to Place a Book on Hold
View the helpful district How to Place an Online Library Hold or instructions on how to place a book on hold. Chinese, Spanish, Somali and Vietnamese translations available.
Learn more on the SPS Library Resources for SPS Students
Library Link
You already have your own account! Enjoy free access to carefully curated collections of e-books, animated picture books and non-fiction, as well as movies, graphic novels, research databases and much more.
Library Link is a partnership between The Seattle Public Library and Seattle Public Schools . It gives all K -12 students, teachers and staff access to SPL’s vast collection of online resources and books using their SPS student or teacher ID numbers — all SPS students and staff already have accounts created for them., You don’t need a SPL library card/account. Learn all about the wonders of Library Link
Reminders
A reminder to handle our books with clean hands, keep books away from pets/babies, keep books away from liquids (including Seattle rain), and return books on time. Books may be checked out for two weeks and may be renewed if students would like more time with them.
Students have a rotating library schedule. Please check with your classroom teacher regarding which day(s) your child has library.
Lost or Damaged Materials
In the event that a library item has been lost or damaged beyond reasonable use, we ask that families Pay for the book or Replace it with a new or gently used copy. Most titles can be found at your favorite local bookstore or online vendor.
We do our best to check the library shelves and talk with the student prior to sending out a notice. Your support in helping your child return their library books so that others may enjoy them next year is essential and most appreciated.
Parent Library Accounts
Yes, parents and guardians can create their own library accounts! Creating your own library account is a great way to support your child’s appetite for great books. Just stop by the library. *SPS school libraries do not charge late fees for overdue books.
Coming Soon! B.F. Day Library on Instagram
Our library Instagram page (@bfdayreaders) will be live soon and will have book reviews and updates about events for our students.