HHCS LIBRARY BLOG
Support our school by ordering your child’s new books from the Scholastic Digi-Flyer! Enter in class code- RC391237.
Check out this helpful article from Growing Book by Book! 
We will be hosting a used book sale soon! Proceeds will go towards a student-led project – a school Time Capsule for the HHCS 60th anniversary, coming up in September! 
Thank you to all the students who created ornaments for our library Christmas tree! It’s looking very Christmas-y and cozy in the library!
Check out this article from Growing Book by Book about Reading Aloud Strategies and Tips!
Try These Read Aloud Strategies and Tips with Young Children
Have a cozy, merry, filled-with-books, and blessed Christmas, everyone!
I am looking for volunteers! Do you like to read? Do you like Christmas? Do you like kids? We are looking for parent or grandparent volunteers to guest read to classes on Thursday, Dec. 19 for a special celebration of JOLABOKAFLOD- the Icelandic tradition of ‘flooding’ with books on Christmas Eve! We will be reading in different ways and enjoying hot chocolate and pajamas. Please email Mrs. B. if you can help out- L.Baillargeon@hh-cs.org.
Check out these amazing family literacy resources from Growing Book by Book!
The Word Collector- Family Resources
Grade 1-2 recently created another wonderful project- they presented me with a book of wonderful words to describe the library! See the amazing pictures below. This immediately reminded me of the book The Word Collector by Peter Brown! I read it to the class to show the wonder of words and to say thank you for their work.
Representatives from the Halton Hills Public Library came to visit the students and talk about their summer reading program! We were excited to hear about the prizes and the fun events that will be happening this summer. I thought I would also highlight the library’s Inc Writing Project- a great way to extend your child’s learning!
HHCS SUMMER READING PROGRAM- You will see a flyer come home in your child’s report card. One side is to set reading goals for the summer, e.g. Books I Want to Read, I Want to Read ____ Books This Summer. On the other side is a Reading BINGO challenge. Complete at least 10 of the squares and return it to me in September to receive a HHCS Award Seal! Examples of some challenges are: read under a tree, read a book that became a movie, read a book about the beach, etc.
GROWING READERS TIP- FINDING FREE OR INEXPENSIVE BOOKS
Books can be expensive, but there are some affordable and free options. Try these ideas for bringing books into your home.
The public library
Library book sales
Yard sales/garage sales
Thrift shops or second hand shops
Scholastic book orders
TAKE AWAY: Use free and inexpensive sources for books.
Happy, happy summer, everyone!!
Grade 1/2 read the book Dear Street and had an author visit with Lindsay Zier-Vogel earlier this year. Inspired by the events in the book, the students decided to write ‘love letters’ to our school. These are the letters they wrote to the library! What a treasure. 
GROWING READERS TIP- WORD-RICH ENVIRONMENTS
Creating a home full of rich conversation and things to read sets the stage for lots of rich literacy learning. Here are a few ways to make your home word rich.
TAKE AWAY: Add words to the home through books, writing, and conversation.
Take a look at this e-book, created by a group of grade 4-6 students that I work with. We took on project-based learning this year to do a diversity audit on our library’s chapter books. You can read about our process and our findings here. Proud of our students!
Earth Day is coming up soon! Let’s use books to help our children to care about this very important topic.
Children’s Books for Earth Day
GROWING READERS TIP- WE ALL HAVE A STORY
We all have stories to tell. There is probably a birthday you remember, an accident you had, or a special trip you took. This content makes for great storytelling with your little ones. When you share a story from your personal timeline, you are not only spreading that history to your child, but you are helping to build vocabulary, enhancing language skills, and modeling story structure. Share a few stories from your past or your child’s past this week.
TAKE AWAY: STORIES CAN COME FROM MY OWN LIFE.
Get ready for the Scholastic Book Fair, HHCS! It will be held the week of April 2-5, including availability during Student-Led Conferences. Please let me know if you might be able to volunteer! Email Mrs. Baillargeon at L.Baillargeon@hh-cs.org.
GROWING READERS TIP:
Yes, we can build reading skills when we are shuttling kids between school and home or sports practice and the grocery store. Try one or more of these ideas this week while driving around town with your child.
TAKE AWAY: Play a reading game or listen to an audiobook in the car this week.
February is Black History month! Here are some of the newest books that your kids might enjoy reading related to this theme.
GROWING READERS TIP- KITCHEN TIME
Finding time to build literacy skills can be challenging. Capture a little time in the room you spend a lot of time- the kitchen. Try these ideas:
Have your child play with magnetic letters on the refrigerator or on a cookie sheet.
Create a sensory writing tray using salt and a shallow pan.
Send the kids to the pantry shelves for a letter or word hunt using cans and boxes.
Listen to your child read a book.
TAKE AWAY: I can use kitchen time as literacy learning time.
New storywalk The Library Fish is now up in our wetlands! Come and take a walk with your kids and enjoy the story out in nature!
Grades 3-6 had a fantastic Zoom visit with the hilarious author Chris Grabenstein! It was especially exciting to hear that the last installment of his Lemoncello book series comes out this fall! Many of his books are available at our HHCS library.
Kindergarten – Grade 3’s author visit was with Forest of Reading award nominee Lindsay Zier-Vogel! We loved having her read her book, Dear Street, to us and hearing about her love lettering project. Grade 1-2 adapted her project to write letters of appreciation to different areas of our school! I already found one in the library and am looking forward to seeing more around the school!
GROWING READERS TIP:
There is a lot of wait time during sports practices, music lessons, and club meetings. Carry along a book or two for these opportunities. Your child can look at books on their own or with siblings and friends.
Take away: Pack a few books in the practice bag.
