Week 3 Recap

Though this week was a short one because of the holiday, it still felt like it dragged! Nothing much to report on my end here, except that I finalized booking my trip to Vancouver!

I booked my flight and hotel about a week or two ago, but I didn't want to blog about it just yet. I'm doing a solo trip, without parents, planning on doing sight-seeing and experiencing their culture. (Also o escape Edmonton for a while!). I fly at the end of August, the day after my last day at the library!

I also watched Pitch Perfect 2 with a couple of volunteers from The Crookie Monsters. One word to sum up the movie? Best. I was dying at the most funniest parts and cracking up at the (in)appropriate jokes. Fat Amy, you're seriously my idol. Seriously, I want your humor. 

On a final note, I feel that I'll stop doing weekly recaps as I feel my life is too boring to share sometimes. Ha. I really like my highlighting of picture books so maybe instead of doing, Picture Book Fridays, I'll instead do Picture Book Publicity or PBPublicity. Hmm, just a thought! I'll see how I decide upon that later on. 

Picture Book Friday Presents: Little Blue Planet

I was roving at work until I saw the bold blue book that just struck right out of me. It's called Little Blue Planet by Jon Riggs. I read this quick read over my lunch hour, where I think preschoolers/Kinder's would enjoy this story the most!

I also think it's an awesome read-aloud for these young learners! The rhymes within this book are very articulate and imaginative -- much more than what I can do. I suck at rhyming and making poems. Gosh, no wonder why I'm still single. /sigh. Little Blue Planet is a quick short read about finding purpose in life and discovering what are you and why you are here. (Or maybe I'm just completely extrapolating this into a more philosophical interpretation!)

It's smart how Riggs uses the planets of the sun to relay this message. I don't want to give too much away, but here's a sample of a page inside!

With any picture book, they must be aesthetically pleasing to their readers. Little Blue Planet does this justice. The illustrations are very impressive and the facial expressions on the planets themselves are realistic as they can be! This book can also be a great introduction to space, planets and even what's beyond planet Earth. Any cross-curricular resource, not just books, I simply strive for! (I'm sure all teachers do!) 

You can find this book here at the SCL or order it on Amazon! 

Week 2 Recap

Week 2 at my summer job -- check! This week was slower on the training side, and more emphasis on me being independent and working on projects here and there. I worked my first evening shift [1-9] and my first Saturday shift too! Maybe because it was a long weekend or not, but it wasn't all that busy. I expect there to be more foot traffic come summer as the Summer Reading Games (for both children and adult!) start. Plus, there's going to be more programs for all ages in the summer at most libraries, not just at the one I'm at! 

Here's a 2nd reason why libraries are the bomb[dot]com. The SCL library has two floors, meaning not all of its resources could fit onto main! The library doesn't just have books, rather resources to help customers find what they are looking for. I think I've mentioned they have DVDs, magazines, CDs, etc, but there's also cool stuff too that's available! I learned this week that SCL has maps dating years and decades back of the county's area. There's resources to help newcomers to Canada with resume and career search. There's also resources to help new people learn about eBooks, Kobos, and other e-devices that are out there. (I can't keep up, there's too many!). I mean, they have it all! 

Summer! + Week 1 Recap

What a week last week was! I started my full time job with the Strathcona County Library in Sherwood Park! Living in Edmonton, the drive is at least 30 minutes, sometimes can range up to an hour depending on weather. I'm one of the few summer students there working in the Youth Services Department! (Mind you there's 6 major departments in this large library!) 

I think instead of blogging every day or so, I'll think I'll do weekly recaps of my summer job. I plan in recapping about my week, things I learned and things I'm looking forward too. Let's start with week 1!

One word to sum it all up: training. We started training the second our first shift started and continued until Friday. There are other summer students working in other departments, so we stayed together, similarly like a "cohort." We learned SO much from this week, from meeting the CEO, management, to getting tours about the library and what makes this library, so unique in its programming and outreach. If you haven't heard or been to this library, click here to see what it can offer for you! Long story short, I love libraries because there is always something for someone. Anyone can find something they like within a library whether it's a DVD, book, program or class, you name it!

Lastly, s u m m e r for University students has officially started last week! Wait, that's a lie -- unless you're FT working like me, Uni students could also be taking spring/summer courses (which would be very challenging especially in sunny weather like this!). With that said, I'll be blogging about my job, things in the summer I'm looking forward to and continuing to add resources for other educators. Though I'm not teaching or volunteering this summer, I always will have something to share with you readers! :)