Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

Dr. Seuss books are loved by all children because they are so fun to listen to, with lots of silly characters and situations. This year to celebrate Dr. Seuss's Birthday, all Riverside students were invited to the library throughout the day to listen to guests from the community read their favorite Dr. Seuss books. These guests were very brave because listening to Dr. Seuss books and reading Dr. Seuss books are two very different things! It is not easy to read page after page of tongue twisters and made up words... bravo to all of the wonderful guest readers that volunteered their time. These guests included; Oneonta Police Chief Dennis Nayor, Miss Clow (3rd grade student teacher), Mrs. Sadlocha (RS school counselor), Michele Barry (owner of The Green Toad), Mr. Slater (RS P.E. teacher), State Trooper Sergeant Tim Pidgeon, Mrs. Jayne Kelly (former RS Library Aide, PreK Aide and all around wonderful lady), and a special appearance by the Cat in the Hat! Thanks to all RS staff for making enough cupcakes for every single student to have a Dr. Seuss birthday cupcake.

Mrs. Sadlocha, RS counselor

Police Chief Nayor reads a real tongue twister!

Mrs. Iannello as Cat in the Hat

Ms. Barry from the Green Toad shares a story with 3rd grade.



Sergeant Pidgeon adds a new hat to his uniform!

1st grade students love Mrs. Kelly!



2nd grade students enjoying their cupcakes and hats!

Even Penny, Therapy Dog, loves Dr. Seuss!

Mr. Slater, RS P.E. teacher reads to 6th Grade

Year of the Snake

5th grade students at Riverside have been researching and learning about the Chinese New Year. After learning how to efficiently search online resources (this includes learning how to discern whether a website is trustworthy), students discovered this year is the year of the Snake. Students have learned about how certain Asian cultures celebrate the New Year, the history behind the celebration and how to make a few of the New Years decorations. Students thoughtfully wrote about their own New Year wishes and the preparation one may take to get ready for a year of positive changes.  After all this hard work, we will be having our own New Year celebration! Complete with oranges for good fortune, red envelopes with wishes placed inside and lanterns. Happy Chinese New Year!

Snowflakes are amazing!

Third grade students spent January learning about snowflakes. We learned all about Wilson 'Snowflake' Bentley, who first photographed snowflakes and eventually published a book with his beautiful photographs. We learned that snowflakes are always six-sided, and made our own snowflakes to decorate the library. Students also learned about determination and perseverance because Wilson Bentley was not able to accurately photograph and study snowflakes right away, it took him many years to perfect his technique.

Stations in Kindergarten

Last Friday I was invited to host a 'station' in Mrs. Saggese and Mrs. Ganio's integrated Kindergarten classroom. At my station, I taught students how to use the Leap Tag reading system from Leap Frog. Students use the camera reader 'pen' to read a single page, the whole story or anything the student wants to click on and learn more about. This interactive book system from Leap Frog is a great way to introduce beginner readers to the wonderful world of books. Every student was very excited to try a new way of 'reading'...even the students that already have the Leap Tag system at home!

The Gingerbread Baby

Students listened to The Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett this week during Library time. Afterwards, they were given a special treat - their very own Gingerbread Baby cookie to eat! Yum! Many students had never tasted gingerbread before and decided to give it a try. Everyone decided that the Gingerbread Baby was pretty tasty. Here is the printable recipe for making your own Gingerbread Baby which can be found on Jan Brett's website. Just remember...no peeking!

Story Telling in 1st Grade

1st Grade students listened to the book The Mitten by Jan Brett, who is author of the month for December. The story is about a white mitten that gets lost in the snow and when several woodland animals find warmth in the mitten, it stretches to many times its size. Students colored and cut their own mitten as well as woodland animals to be able to retell the story to their classmates. We had a great time, and found that retelling a story is harder than it may seem! Check out the pictures and short clip of Sarah retelling her version of The Mitten.

 

2nd Grade Mammal Research

Mrs. Ouimet's 2nd Grade students have been researching mammals in the library. After talking about mammals in the classroom and library, each student chose to research a mammal they found particularly interesting. They used reference books, Pebble Go (online research database just for K-2 students) and the Internet. Students learned many computer and technology skills as well as how to use books for research. Now that all of their research is complete, students are learning how to make informative power point presentations with images.