Summer: More Time to Read!
Amazing Summer Reading Resources Below
Keep reading to Avoid SUMMER SLIDE!
Summer Storytime in the Park!
We'll meet near the city park playground area, find a shady spot, and read together!
10:00-10:30ish
Fridays 6/15 & 7/13
Please know that I lead an open storytime. This means that I do not expect children to sit quietly for twenty minutes. Come and go, stand or sit, walk around or lie down - I'll just keep on trucking for 2-3 books!
I originally had this idea a few years ago because while my children LOVE books, they are terrible, awful, no-good quiet-storytime listeners. I often felt like it wasn't worth it to attend a library or bookstore storytime when my children would call out or walk away and I would leave with my hair standing on end. THIS IS NOT THAT KIND OF STORYTIME!
It will be a casual, fun setting - feel free to stay and play and make new friends (adults and kids!).
School-age siblings and kiddos are of course welcome, I'm just basing my book choices on younger groups. Feel free to invite neighbors or friends, there is no requirement that kids are current or future Caraway students!
We are a go rain or shine UNLESS we are under a severe thunderstorm or tornado WARNING. I know my kids need a break from the indoors. If it's raining we'll meet in the gazebo.
We are hoping that this will be a fun way to share Caraway's reading love with the world as well as a way to get ideas for great new books to read.
We would love to post your reading and/or book picture!
NO NAMES WILL EVER APPEAR
Please send any reading pictures you would like to share with the community to me via the Facebook Page.
Please include your student's name and 16-17 teacher for verification purposes (I want to make sure we only post the Caraway family) but remember no names will EVER be posted.
I would also love to know the title of the book you are reading if the cover is not visible!
I hope you will join us!
Online Resources Available to You All Summer
From digital audiobooks and ebooks to online encyclopedias to amazing streaming video, you can access all of the following from home this summer!
Passwords to these paid services can not be published online but check your summer reading email attachment for a fresh copy of the password information.
MackinVIA
The program Caraway Library uses for ebooks and digital audiobooks is called MackinVIA. All students will have access to the books the library has purchased from any computer or device (with browser or app abilities) with an internet connection. They may choose from both ebooks AND audiobooks across the levels.
CARAWAY HAS OVER 1,700 DIGITAL EBOOKS AND AUDIOBOOKS AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW!
The Basics:
Website: http://www.mackinvia.com
or
Free app: MackinVIA
(Android App | iTunes App | Kindle Fire App | Nook Tablet App | Windows Desktop App | Mac Desktop App)
To Log In
School: Caraway Elementary (No Kathy)
Username: ###### (six digit student ID number - no 's')
Password: ###### (exact same as Username)
Beyond the Basics:
At this link you can find student guides and training videos to peruse at your convenience. Alternatively, you can set your student loose and they’ll be ready to teach YOU in no time! : ) http://www.mackin.com/Help/VIA_Help/index.html
One important note: If you are using a device for MackinVIA I suggest immediately clicking the “download” button after any material checkout. This will allow your student to read and listen to electronic materials even without an internet connection. There is also a new capability to access media without an internet connection on devices with data plans. Materials can be found within the book or audiobook section of your device once they have been downloaded. They will go away after the checkout period expires. Easy-peasy!
I hope you will enjoy accessing these materials with your students any time from this point forward as we continue to expand our selection in the future.
Special thanks goes out to those of you making purchases at the Book Fair and to the Caraway PTA for their generous donationl. These two places were the sole sources of funding for all of our awesome electronic resources.
Enjoy!
CREATIVE READING SPOT CONTEST
This summer, think about unusual, creative, and interesting places where you can read and snap a picture. It could be a place you are visiting this summer, someplace around town, or just a weird place in your home - it's up to you!
In the fall judges will chose 10 winners to have their photographs blown up to POSTER SIZE and displayed in the library!
We are SO excited to see what you come up with. It is great to see our library filled up with pictures of kids reading!
REMEMBER PHONE PICTURES NEED TO BE HIGHEST QUALITY!
Details:
o Students should be visibly reading in the photograph
o Any reading material is great reading material for this contest (books, newspapers, magazines, comics...)
o Photos will need to be a minimum of 3500 x 2500 pixels (or min 150 dpi at 18x24 dimension) to be included in the contest (check your camera settings first)
o No square pictures please - landscape or portrait are fine
o Unfortunately many phone pictures will not have high enough resolution for this contest due to enlargement. We will still display all pictures entered in smaller frames.
o Submissions should be sent FULL SIZE to carawaylibrarycontest@gmail.com Along with the student's full name and grade for 2018-2019
o Entries can be submitted any time between 6/01/18 and 10/1/18
o Maximum of one (1) entry per student
Check out this year's winners directly below!
Bluebonnet Program (grades 3-5)
Each year, 20 books are chosen as the “Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List” by the TBA selection committee.
Students read a minimum of five books from the current master list (or have the books read aloud to them), and they have the opportunity to vote for their favorite title during the month of January each year.
At Caraway students who read more than the minimum and complete/turn in a signed tracking sheet will be invited to an end-of-the-year Bluebonnet party! Third graders need to read at least 10, fourth graders at least 12, and fifth graders at least 15 to be eligible for the party.
Students that read at least 15 books by mid-January will be eligible to compete to be a member of the Caraway team in the district-wide Battle of the Bluebonnets!
The author of the book receiving the most votes statewide is declared the winner of the Texas Bluebonnet Award.
Click here if you need a copy of the 2018-2019 Bluebonnet Tracking Sheet
Round Rock ISD Librarians will be hosting “Pop-Up Libraries” in multiple locations on
different days and times throughout the District this summer.
Choose books to take home.
Check the schedule below for Pop-Up locations, times and dates.
There will be surprise visits around the District too!
Summer Reading Programs Around Austin
Man, are you lucky to be an Austinite! Not only are there a million great things to do around town, there are also TONS of ways to get reading this summer!
Below are links and descriptions for some of the programs available online and around town.
Austin Public Library
- Pick up a reading log at the Library or download and print one.
- For every 20 minutes you read, color in a section. Color sections by number to display a hidden picture!
- Return your completed log to any of the Austin Public Library's 21 locations between July and August, 2018.
BookPeople: Book Dive
How to get started: Come to BookPeople to pick up a summer reading bookmark for your age level. (Bookmarks will be available by the end of the school year.) You are going to want to hang on to this because it’s also your reading tracking form that you’re going to use all summer and turn back in to us before school starts.
What you get to read: Feel free to explore this list of recommended books for grades K-12 in English and K-5 in Spanish. The whole point of the Five Book Dive is to encourage reading for pleasure, so you get to read 5 self-selected books to complete this challenge!
Half Price Books: Feed Your Brain
Read 15 minutes a day to keep up an appetite for reading all summer long.
(Grown ups may read aloud to kids who are still learning.)
Slay dragons. Ride broomsticks. Unlock portals. Cast spells. FEED YOUR BRAIN® & fuel the power of your imagination this summer.
Download and use this reading log in June and July. Add up your minutes and have your parent or guardian initial each week. Once you've reached 300 minutes or more, bring your reading log into your local HPB store to claim your Bookworm Bucks on or before August 30, 2018.
This Picture for No Reason Except I Love It:
Melanie Letendre, Caraway Librarian
Email: melanie_letendre@roundrockisd.org
Website: http://carawaylibrary.weebly.com/
Location: 11104 Oak View Drive, Austin, TX, United States
Phone: 512-464-5508
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/carawaylibrary
Twitter: @caraway_library