Sunday, August 29, 2010

Week 1-Complete!

My first week of the practicum is complete.  YaY!  And I survived.  I stayed a total of 20 hours this week.  I stayed the whole school day on Monday and Wednesday and until 12:30 on Friday.
Monday is the short day in the library, but Wednesdays are pretty busy.  And Fridays are Jr. High and High School day.  Each of these classes only stay for 15 minutes and only check-out books in they choose to.  Of course most don't want to.  I've had a good experience so far.  And for next week I have a few activities planned for Kindergarten and First grade.  Hopefully they will go well.  I plan on uploading some pictures this week.  I forgot my camera last week!!!  

Monday, August 23, 2010

August 23, 2010- First day of practicum!

Today was the first day of my 75 hour practicum at Mize Attendance Center.  The day started off with me observing my supervisor, media specialist, Mrs. Alicia Hughes.  Before the beginning bell rang 5th grade students who are in band where able to come to the library and return their books and get new ones.  They do not get to come to the library with their class because that is their band time.  The first class to come to the library after the first bell rang was the 5th grade students who are not enrolled in band.  There was only a handful of these students.  Apparently the band is pretty popular!  The students had to sit at round tables with four students per table.  One table at a time was allowed to get up and browse the shelves and then check their books out.  One student asked to check out the Twilight book, but Mrs. Hughes instructed the student that Twilight was a high school book and she would have to get her parent to bring her to the library to check out the book.  I'm pretty sure this student wasn't too happy about this.  After observing Mrs. Hughes for a few minutes with the check-in/out system she let me try it out.  The scanner is harder to work than it looks!  After a few books I got the hang of it.  The fifth grade got their books and sat "quietly" at their tables while waiting for their teacher to come and get them.  The teacher does not accompany them to the library and I felt that was kind of odd.
The second group to come to the library was a class of kindergarten students.  They were sweet as pie.  They are learning about dinosaurs this week so Mrs. Hughes showed a short dvd on dinosaurs.  They all seemed to enjoy the movie once they got settled and quiet.  Their library time is only 30 minutes and they do not get to check out books.  However, they do have a reading room in their building where they can take books out to look out.  I'm not sure if they can take them home or not.
The last group for the day was a class of 4th graders.  This was the largest group of the day and the most rowdy.  They watched the dinosaur movie but were totally uninterested.  While the movie played one table at a time was able to choose their books and get them checked-out.  After they left I straightened the shelves, shelved the books that have been returned, and spent some time trying to familiarize myself with my new surroundings.
Mondays are the least busy day at the library, but the remainder of the week classes up to the tenth grade will visit the library once a week.  They are allowed two books per check-out and are reminded to take care of the books and not to lose them because there is no money to buy new ones.
Overall I enjoyed my first day in the library at my alma mater!!!  I look forward to my remaining 67.5 hours.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Pre-Practicum Jitters

This is my first ever blog posting.  
On Monday, August 23rd I will start my practicum at Mize Attendance Center.  I am very nervous about it; mainly because I'm not sure what to expect.  After I complete 75 hours at Mize then I'm going to the Brandon Public Library in Brandon, MS.  I think I want be quite as nervous starting there because I have worked in a public library setting before.  However, I have never been in a school setting.  Well not since I was a student anyway.  I think I just need to stay positive and it should turn out to be a great experience!!  I am definitely looking forward to the fall semester.