From Common Sense Media, "These playful apps run the gamut of school subjects and leverage the core qualities of play to get kids to wonder, experiment, and discover while building social and emotional skills, cultivating their creativity and critical thinking, and acquiring key math and literacy skills."  Click here for the list and links.

Let's read and learn about squirrels this week!!   In our live Media Center hangouts this week, we will be reading a book called, "This is Taco!" about a squirrel named Taco because he LOVES to eat tacos!!  And, if you log into Epic! books, you will see this books, as well as other fiction and non-fiction books about squirrels.  Click here to find out how to sign up for an Epic! subscription that is free through 6/30/2020.

Our spring Book Fair is going virtual and starts Monday, May 4th !!!!  CSD's K-2 schools are working together to raise funds for our media centers AND to show our support for Little Shop of Stories.  We are grateful for Little Shop's support over the years for both book fairs, a wonderful neighbor resources, as well as many, many author visits that were provided at no cost to our schools.  

Logistical Details can be found here including Little Shop's online store, payment and delivery during this unusual time.

Click here to see some of the books for sale.

Any questions, please contact Ms. Zeff directly at izeff@csdecatur.net.

Check out the Media Center Classroom this week for some featured non-fiction books from the Get Georgia Reading Website - cookbooks and origami books.  Some you will even recognize from our Winnona Park library. The website will also be available for free through the summer.  Click on the link to the left - "Online Resources and Passwords".  The password can be found in Google Classroom.
Also join Ms. Zeff and Ms. Siver for live hangouts - Tuesday at 2 pm; Wednesday at 9 AM and Thursday at 10.  Use the link in the Google Classroom.

Come celebrate National Library Week in the Media Center Google Classroom!!!!  Come see Ms. Zeff and Ms. Siver at live Google Meets, watch read aloud, and book talk videos. You can also do some keyboarding practice.  Details can be found by visiting the Media Center Google Classroom.  Please email Ms. Zeff directly if you have any questions - izeff@csdecatur.net. 

These are excellent, free ebook and audiobook resources/websites that have been made available for free during the COVID19 school closures.   More like an online shopping experience than a library, please spend some time looking over the titles with your student; there are many books they will recognize from their classroom and from our Winnona Park library.  In particular, the Get Georgia Reading site has two categories of particular interest - Scary and Gross which includes Monsters and Mythical Creatures, Scary and Unexplained Mysteries.  Access these resources via this website link in the first column - "Free During Covid19". The password for access to the page is: wp.  And please feel free to email me, or leave a comment, if you have specific questions.  Ilene Zeff - izeff@csdecatur.net

Many fee-based e-book resources have been made available for free during this time of virtual learning.  I will be posted these as I find them.  Some are open access, some require passwords, some require an adult to register.  Classroom teachers might use some of them but even if your child's teacher isn't, you can still take advantage of them.  

This website will be one of two ways we can stay in touch while we're out of school.  I have also created a Winnona Park Media Center Google Classroom that you can join from within your regular Google classroom with this code: us5i73j.  Click on the + sign in the upper, right hand corner, and then click on "Join."  Then enter the code.  For now, I have some pictures to share with you - I have set up a Media Center in my house.  Thanks to Ms. Blackmon for this great idea.  It's a little lonely without Ms. Siver, all of our students, and teachers but I am getting used to it.  I am really looking forward to connecting with everyone and hearing about what you have been doing at your house.  I especially want to know what books you've been reading!!