Van Meter Summer Reading 2019!
Let's Connect To A Universe of Stories, Learning & Creating!
Happy Summer, Van Meter students, families and friends!
As we get ready to enjoy this time with our family and friends, we wanted to send out places for everyone to go to stay connected to reading, creating, technology, fun and of course, our library.
It is proven that reading over the summer prevents the summer slide and is crucial the success and happiness of our students during the summer and as they start back to school in the fall. Please take a few minutes to read the tips and ideas in the infographic below for summer reading with kids. They are very helpful, meaningful and will add lots of fun into your child's reading and learning this summer.
This summer we are also excited to announce a weekly addition to our newsletter called 12 Weeks of Summer! You will find each week below. On Week 1, we will be sharing places to listen to audio books and podcasts for kids.
Enjoy these resources with your family. These are things that our kids are familiar with because we use them in the library and classrooms. We hope everyone learns, creates and reads a little something new over the summer too.
In the fall, we have big plans to kick off the year including even more literacy, technology, STEAM and lots of way we will connect, collaborate and create with each other and others around the world. It is going to be an awesome school year and we can't wait!
And don't forget to follow us on the Van Meter Library Voice Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for great shares throughout the summer.
Shannon McClintock Miller and Jessica Rabe, Teacher Librarians at Van Meter School
Our readers can listen to wonderful stories online with Storyline Online!
Our readers at Van Meter love listening to wonderful stories being read by actors from the Screen Actors Guild on Storyline Online. They can search by browsing or by title, subject, special events and features and more.
WOW in the World...An Awesome Podcast for Kids!
The one above, Wow in the World, is one of the best from NPR. These two fun hosts inspire creativity and encourage kids to think with topics around science and technology.
You will find Wow in the World here.
Let's Start With A NEWS Flash About Summer Reading!
Registration is at the library and all ages are invited to participate.
The 2019 theme is "Universe of Stories" and you can win prizes that are out of this world!
Join us this summer as we Explore the Universe!
The AEA Username is 6615vmes and Password is haea11.
Here is the Van Meter Library Symbaloo!
These are the digital tools and apps that we have already used this year.
For example, here is the 2nd Grade Symbaloo which contains...
There is Bloxels, Typing.com, Buncee, PebbleGo, Scratch and more!
Remember, each grade level has a Symbaloo and that is where the kids go to on a daily basis. We continue to add and change things on them too.
The Van Meter Reads Symbaloo!
This is a new Symbaloo full of places our students can go to read anywhere, anytime. In the top left hand corner, you will find our library catalog, Destiny, where you can see what we have in our local collection at Van Meter. There are eBooks, databases, book talks, video of illustrators, nonfiction sites for reading and information, music videos that go along with books, and so much more!
Three Months of EPIC for the Three Months of Summer!
***Just remember...this is a summer special, so make sure you cancel your membership after the summer. It will go back up in price then.
You can access our library collection at Van Meter through Destiny.
All of our students and teachers have their own login. It is their lunch number for both username and password. Let us know if you need any help logging into Destiny.
Keyboarding! Keyboarding! Keyboarding! Symbaloo
Our 2nd through 5th graders are using Typing.com. Each student has a unique username and password. They are really enjoying getting better and better at keyboarding all the time. It is important for them to practice at home as much as they can too.
Coding Symbaloo
With coding being an universal language and one that is used in almost every career, coding is an essential skill that our students need to have now and for the future. By practicing, creating and being able to code, they will have the skills they need.
AR/VR Tools and Resources Padlet
However, we have some very exciting news! We recently received 100 MERGE goggles and cubes from our friends at this amazing company and will be checking them out of the library for families to use at home too.
We will be sharing this news soon.
Our First Graders Create Video Games With Bloxels About Their Zoo Animals!
You've Been Book'd! A New Picture Book Program At Van Meter!
We Have New Library Branches Popping Up Within Our School!
Flipgrid's Stop At Van Meter For The Student Voice Bus Tour!
The 2nd Grade Fractured Fairy Tale Crayola creatED Board Game Project!
Girls Who Code Van Meter! We Are Excited About Our New Chapter & Where This Will Take Our Girls!
Our 5th Graders Civil Rights Movement Storyboard That Projects
3D Printers Bring Experiences, Learning & Make A Difference For Our Elementary Students at Van Meter!
Our Fifth Graders Hosted The VERY First Van Meter Film Festival!
Bloxels Brings Research, Writing & Storytelling Through Video Game Creation To Our 2nd Graders!
The Story of Student Artist, Molly, and Her Amazing Paper Dolls and Debut of Her Buncee Stickers, Molly Dolls!
The BIG Reveal Day Of The Stickers & Backgrounds Our 2nd Graders Made For Buncee!
Mystery State Buncee Project! Join the Van Meter 3rd Graders For This New Project!
Check out there Mystery State Buncee's on this Buncee Board and see if you can guess the states too!
Our 2019 World Read Aloud Day Celebration In Van Meter, Iowa!
Augmented Reality Quiver Coloring Sheets Are A Hit On Valentine's Day!
Our 3rd & 5th Graders Created Amazing #GingerbreadSTEM Video Games With Bloxels!
A Virtual Reality Trip To The North Pole With The Polar Express, Merge and Our Kindergarteners!
The Library Voice Blog
And don't forget to follow 12 Weeks of Summer too!
Shannon McClintock Miller
Email: shannon.miller@vmbulldogs.com
Website: thelibraryvoice.com
Twitter: @shannonmmiller