A good day.

Today as one of the first grade classes left the library I got a hug from a little girl.  It made my day. :)  The lack of TLs at elementary schools makes it less likely I'll ever work in one, but if I did, I'm pretty sure the hugs alone would make it worthwhile.  A close second was the smile on another young patrons face when I showed her a book she knew she'd enjoy.

Things to remember:  hold system for students.  Slips they fill out (name, room number, date stamp), books in basket by day they come to the library.  Seating chart on floor spots for younger kids.  Specifically teaching them to use shelf markers so books go back in the right spot.  Having library volunteers "read" shelves so when things do get put back incorrectly it gets corrected. 

If by some chance I do end up in an elementary school, I will need to slow my "high school" brain down.  Often, the lessons my supervising TL gives probably seem repetitive, but I need to remember these are young students who need that repetition.  Today, after I observed her talking to them about the difference between fiction and nonfiction (a lesson I know they also learned from their Kindergarten teachers), I was doing readers' advisory and asked the student if she wanted fiction or nonfiction.

"What's nonfiction?"

I had to laugh, because it's easy for adults to forget that sometimes, it just takes a while for new information to sink in.

Another lesson:  sometimes, a student just doesn't know what he or she wants.  I tried for quite some time to help two other students find books, and even when they'd say a book looked good or when they obviously had a positive reaction when I showed them some pictures, they didn't want to take them home.  My supervising TL just told them to try one of the new books she had on display, and if they didn't like them, they could bring them back.  That idea--that you're just borrowing the book and are under no obligation to like it, and you can always get a different one--is kind of tricky for students to get.

One downside to the fact that the TL is teaching all day both days I am there is that I don't get a chance to really ask her a lot of questions about her practice.  I do at lunch, of course, but that's not a ton of time and I'm not the only person she has to speak with.  I should start carrying a notebook where I can record questions to ask her, because of course another issue is I forget the questions!

I'm also learning quite a bit about how to manage classes of young students.  My supervisor is extremely patient, but firm.  She does a lot of positive discipline.  Today when one class couldn't remember where to sit, she took the time to remind them, then let them have another chance finding their seats.  Yes, it ate up a good 5 minutes, but the students will remember next week (I hope!!).   She also finds ways to have students use their bodies during the lesson (raise one hair on your head if you think X, or if you got a nonfiction book, put it on top of your head).  It's little stuff, but stuff I didn't do with high school kids.