PASSIONATE ABOUT SCHOOL LIBRARIES
The first step to creating your makerspace or rejuvenating an existing makerspace should be getting the mindset right. Makerspaces are all about hands-on learning, creativity, and technology. No matter their size and regardless of the resources they host, makerspaces provide students with an environment where they can explore, experiment, and innovate.
You Need A Manifesto
– Charlotte Burgess-Auburn and Stanford d.School –
Ten Speed Press
Published 4 October 2022
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You Need A Manifesto is my favourite of the d.School Guides that I have read so far. If you are interested in directing your creativity, narrowing down your vision or just putting into writing your thoughts about your future, I highly recommend You Need A Manifesto.
How are you celebrating Book Week this year? It’s become a bit of a tradition at my school to celebrate with themed Book Week t-shirts for the staff. This happened thanks to the enthusiasm, skills and energies of one of the amazing Junior School teachers. But you might have seen the suggestion on my Book Week 2023 Resources and Ideas list or maybe you’ve seen other schools do it. If you are not sure how to get started, how to download or use a pre-made design or maybe how to create your own design, I promise it is super easy. Here’s everything you need to know to get started making your own t-shirts for Book Week.
It was so fantastic to be involved with the #ASLA2023 conference. When Anne Weaver invited me to present alongside her on the topic of designed experiences for dynamic school libraries, I jumped at the chance.
The ASLA 2023 conference had such a wonderful range of presenters and topics and brought together school library staff from all over the country and even from overseas.
It has been a while since I last shared anything on my website. I’ve had, what I think, is a petty good reason. This term has been entirely focused on moving into our brand new secondary school library space. I am currently the Head of Library Services at St Paul’s School and we have two school libraries on the campus. A junior school library and a secondary school library space. Last year, in the term 3 holiday break, my AmazingLibraryTech and I moved the secondary school library into a temporary location in the staff lounge area (usually used for meetings and special events). It meant boxing up all of our belongings, having our collection and shelving packed up and stored offsite, and keeping just a tiny live collection with us.
The Secrets of LEGO House
– Jesus Diaz –
Chronicle Books
Published 10 August 2021
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Since watching a documentary about The Lego House, I’ve been intrigued with its design and purpose. So, when I saw this book, I knew I just had to read it.
Adventures in Architecture for Kids: 30 Design Projects for STEAM Discovery and Learning
– Vicky Chan –
Rockport Publishers
Published 21 December 2021
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Adventures in Architecture for Kids is a brightly coloured and attention-grabbing non fiction book with heaps of hands-on activity ideas.
The book is divided into five sections: General Construction, Architecture and History, Landscape Architecture, Sustainable Architecture, and a Brief Introduction to City Planning. Each section then has between three and eight projects to make that step you through an aspect of architecture. Examples of projects include building a 3D model of a house using pasta, designing a treehouse model and building with indigenous construction methods. Each project has multiple pages of photographs demonstrating the materials needed, step-by-step construction and the finished product. While each project can be followed exactly, once that has been created, readers can use the same techniques to create their own designs.
I am extremely fortunate to work in a school that values school libraries. My secondary library is currently housed in a new building.
Following librarians on networks and social media, there seems to be a wonderful trend of school libraries being renovated or redesigned. Hopefully this is a sign that school libraries and their staff are being valued by their school leadership and communities.
In the process of moving into a new school library space, I needed a place to start collecting the library design ideas and the research I was finding. I’m putting it here in a hope it might be helpful for others as well. Continue reading
If I Built A School – Chris Van Dusen – If I Built #3 – Dial Books – Published 13 August 2019
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If Jack built a school, there would be hover desks and pop-up textbooks, skydiving wind tunnels and a trampoline basketball court in the gym, a robo-chef to serve lunch in the cafeteria, field trips to Mars, and a whole lot more. The inventive boy who described his ideal car and house in previous books is dreaming even bigger this time.
If I Built A School is Chris Van Dusen’s third If I Built… picture book. Brilliantly coloured spreads full of wonderful imaginings provide the perfect leaping off point to spark children’s own creativity. If I Built A School is more like If I Built a fun park. From glass tube travel ports and spaceships to holograms and water slides, Jack’s school design is wild and heaps of fun.
While the inclusions in Jack’s school are perhaps not exactly surprising, it is the leap of creativity and the passing of design over to the child that I really like. As Jack tours his teacher around the school, introducing her to his plans and reasoning behind them, even sometimes admitting that he doesn’t yet have all the details on how something might actually work, it is the creativity that is passed into his hands and his teacher’s looks of wonder that I most appreciate (especially her considered look at the existing brick school box at the close of the book).
There is so much that one could do with children after reading this book. Having children design their own school is just one simple activity. Working with DIY holograms is an easy tech-related activity, while in-depth discussion, for example, about Jack’s decision to have animals sequestered into small enclosures just inside the entrance of his school could spark much-needed conversation about the relationship between animals and humans.
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