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Happy Back to School!

I hope everyone is having a smooth start to their school years! The end of summer was a whirlwind for me - I traveled a bit, took a week-long Responsive Classroom course, was a bridesmaid in a fellow librarian's wedding, and got my library ready to go.

I thought I'd get back in the swing of things by sharing a fun back-to-school ice breaker I've done with my older kiddos: Find a Reader. This is a take on a game I have played during professional development days where you find people who fit various descriptors...has a pet, worked this summer, traveled out of the country, speaks another language, etc.

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This is a really fun way to get the kids up and moving and helps them get to know each other as readers. It was really helpful for me last year because I got to talk to so many kids one on one during our first day of library. It's also working well this year because, at least at my school, the classes get mixed up a lot each year so the kids don't always know each other as readers. They can find other kids who might have similar interests and can ask those kids for book recommendations during checkout. The bottom of my game has a place for students to express themselves as readers, which always helps me out in the beginning of the year!

What activities do you do to kick off the library year?