Resolutions, Oh My!

 

Hi everyone and Happy New Year! Funny that the title of this post is resolutions, because it’s not something that I’ve ever been too good at making, in addition to making happen!  Often resolutions come with a self-discipline needed type change that I’m just not fond of taking; “this year I will cut down on sweets, exercise every day, not spend my life on Twitter”, etc, etc. In addition I just don’t like putting myself in the position to be let down; why add to my life another possibility for feeling guilty. I think there’s just too much risk involved in the whole process, and although I don’t think of myself as a perfectionist, I don’t like failing; who does!

Webster defines Resolution as: “A firm decision to do or not to do something”. So maybe it’s the firm decision part I’m not lovin’. I’ve never been the best at making decisions and having them have to be firm ones, well that makes it even harder! Plus I kind of like being flexible; the firm decision thing just seems a bit too stuck in the mud for me.

However, I do know that what I need to do may not be what I want to do, and just maybe, what I need to do lies in the fact that I avoid making firm decisions! I do know that I need to do a better job of, as my mom would say, “sticking to my guns”. Inherent in all of this is my ever-present need to FOCUS. So here lies my Plan for Change (better terminology, right?!):

  • Create a daily plan and make every effort to stick by it. More specifically, take my Hiveminder To-Do list, prioritize items based on need, and fill in each period in my daily planner with what I need to accomplish. Student needs are top priority. Do not plan to get anything accomplished during busy periods; if I do it’s a gift! Plan time for social learning; from blank to blank I will check Twitter or Paperli posts, LM_Net e-mails, diigo groups etc, no excuses!
  • Only take on what I truly believe that I can effectively complete. Also, involves step-by-step-daily planning including prep time!
  • Observe how long it takes to complete a task so that I can best plan in the future. Stop saying, “No prob, I’ll have it done first thing tomorrow!” since it’s simply not always possible.
  • Leave at 5 PM no matter what; my family needs me!

On a smaller note, I so need to do a better job at book talking books and for that matter reading them! We’re lucky to have been given a nice budget for books, but for our students, the choice is overwhelming.

Whoa, I do feel better. Maybe this Plan for Change thing, aka New Year’s Resolutions, isn’t all that bad. Thinking, for me the process is more about reflection than anything else. Now that makes sense, first reflect, then change; a process I can wrap my fingers around. Looks like Google had it right too…”As you look back at 2012, let’s look forward at 2013″.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Support” at your Library’s Bookfair

Supporting Lavallette School during Lounsberry’s Book Fair

It’s been a few weeks since we held our  “conference time” book fair at Lounsberry, but I wanted to wait to write this post until we had a better idea on how we made out.  Due to a change in the conference schedule, this year’s fair only lasted one week with three of those days limited, due to early dismissal for conferences. In year’s past, the fair lasted one full week plus the three half conference days. This change was more a matter of circumstance while the following change was my initiative…

This year we took a bit of a risk and decided to use a local book store, Sparta Books, to run our fair. We’ve used Scholastic Book Fairs in the past, and in all honesty, I haven’t been thrilled with the selection. I wanted a bit more control over the books we were selling, especially when many in our school community thought I chose what we were selling! I was inspired to call  Sparta books, since I was aware that my own hometown district uses their local book store. So here’s the low down…

The good…

  • Set up was awesome and easy
  • No monstrous containers to try to fit, get to and move around in in our space; our custodians were very happy!
  • Personal service which included set up help and personal delivery of reorders.
  • No mishmash of titles that seem to make no sense where they’re placed
  • It was incredibly easy to sort books by genre since I was familiar with the books
  • I was familiar with the books!
  • The fair itself  felt far less invasive, even though the tabletops were being used for display.
  • It was much easier to find what students were looking for
  • No junk!

The not so great…

We didn’t make as much money. However, other factors contributed to loss of sales, such as: a much shorter fair, not enough books (we will include more copies and titles next year), no junk! and students use of e-readers. In addition, ringing up was a bit harder because we needed to enter dollar amounts in a basic register; Scholastic uses a scanner.  Also, we needed to take orders, since Sparta books is not a warehouse and doesn’t have the financial ability to order way more than they think we can sell. Students were  fine with placing orders, however, sorting books after they came took some time and effort.

The best…

  • We were  supporting a local book store!!!
  • I had six or so students come back and tell me how much they loved their new purchased book, (I’ve never, ever heard that in previous fairs)

Will we do it  again? Definitely! I love supporting a local book store and the fact that our students left with good books. I’ve always questioned the whole book fair concept in the library setting,  but I  do know that more books at home encourages more reading.  I may even add a Barnes & Noble online sale for Valentine’s Day to support Nook owners, possibly earn a few more lost  dollars and foster the gift of reading.

And here’s the best part…as an additional way to show our support during the book fair, our school community collected $500- to support the students of  Lavallette School, which have been displaced due to Hurricane Sandy. Our students are totally psyched about helping and our planning to connect with their fifth and sixth grade students, (yet to figure out the details, but we’ll make it happen!). It’s all good!