The beginning of school is always a whirlwind. We hit the ground running and it seems like a few weeks go by before we can stop to take a breath. So many of us strive to give our kids the absolute best school experience, and to do that, we plan our environments carefully, capitalizing on the energy, creativity, and imagination of our kids, and ourselves. It takes a lot of time and effort to plan for a lively, fun, interactive learning environment. So many of the teachers in our school excel at creating amazing learning spaces. They spend countless hours creating and installing cool learning areas in their classrooms.
In the media center, we also want to create an imaginative, interactive learning wonderland. We want kids to experience a sense of awe when they walk through our doors. Over the past few years, we have been adding new features to our media center to try to make this library a destination for all of the kids at Lely Elementary. This post is an update of our efforts, to show the progress we have made toward our goal. There are many more surprises coming later this year and we'll feature them on our social media outlets as soon as they are ready to be unveiled. To follow us, check out our social media tags: Twitter - @dayankee, Instagram - @doneckert_libraryguy, and Facebook - Lely Elementary School Media Center.
Our STEAM area features a fish tank, an aquaponics system (we just started growing lettuce seeds), and two enclosed ecosystems featuring plants and beta fish.
Also in our STEAM area, we have a 3D printer and a plasma ball. Kids love the plasma ball especially because they learn about electricity when they use it. The STEAM area is very interactive.
We just got these magnetic fabric blocks and they are a hit with the kids. They are constantly finding some time to build a variety of things. Lately, they have tried building furniture and forts with the blocks.
A few weeks ago, we got this giant Connect 4 game. Kids love strategy games and they are always trying to outthink each other. Kids use this game constantly to exercise their brains.
This is the heart of the library. It is our read-aloud area, where the kids gather for story time.
The read-aloud area from another angle. Our reading tents are featured here.
Just a few weeks ago, we got these super cool rocking readers. Kids looooove them. The kids think they are gaming chairs, but we know that they are really reading chairs.
Some of the items in our Maker Space. The magnetic tiles and coaster-making kits are especially popular. We have Maker Mornings where each morning before school, a different grade level is welcome to come in to use the library resources. The kids always gravitate to the Maker materials.
We got our book vending machine last year. In order to get a book, kids have to score Bingo on a card that is given to them at the beginning of the year. Each square on the card is a different reading goal. Finish five of the goals in a line and you come down for a magic coin that works in the vending machine for a free book.
We have gel tiles at each of the doors. When kids (or adults) walk on them, the gel moves. The kids (and adults) love walking all over them as they enter the media center.
Lately, we converted our graphic novel section to bins. It had been more difficult to see the books with only the spines visible. Now the kids see the covers of the series that they are interested in. Kids are wild about graphic novels and we try to make available the things that they want to read. We are hooking new readers everyday!
There will be many more updates this year. There are two big changes coming in the next few months. We can't wait to see the kids' reactions when they see them. Part of the fun of running an elementary school library is creating an interactive learning wonderland. We are well on our way, but there is still a ways to go!
