Librarian School Visit, Hendersonville Public Library, Indian Lake Elementary School

Librarians from Hendersonville Public Library Take a Field Trip to Indian Lake Elementary, in Hendersonville, Tennessee

In September 2023, we (Chelsea DiCicco, Kidlit Writer, Blogger & Librarian- pictured left and Connie Clark, Lead Children’s Librarian, pictured right) were contacted by Kaylie Garrett, an educator at Indian Lake Elementary School located in Hendersonville, Tennessee. She shared with us that her first grade classroom, along with three other classes in her elementary school, were currently doing a study on how books change lives around the world and how librarians play a part in getting books to children. She then asked if any of the librarians at the Hendersonville Public Library would be interested in coming to speak a little about books, what happens in a library, and explain how library cards work- and how you can get one. Of course, we jumped at this exciting opportunity!

Right away, we got to work gathering everything we would need for a successful school visit.

Connie Clark, former Elementary School Educator and current Lead Children’s Librarian, for the Hendersonville Public Library, and myself, Chelsea DiCicco, former Children’s Librarian and current Social Media and Events Outreach Coordinator for the Hendersonville Public Library, as well as Kidlit Writer and blogger started to form a plan.

Librarians prepping for school visit

Our first order of business was prepping goody bags to hand out to all four classrooms. Because, who doesn’t love getting free stuff? We filled our brightly colored bags with custom library stickers, pencils, and bookmarks – and of course, a sign-up sheet for a library card!

Next on the agenda was gathering goodies for our hardworking teachers and their classrooms. We created a packet for each educator and their classroom containing the following items:

A monthly calendar of free events and programs that our library offers for kids and families of all ages.

A personalized book recommendation list of terrific diverse reads (from yours truly)- with 8 amazing books, and why you should have them in your classroom.

A stack of educational resources: word searches & coloring pages (which you can find and download for free on TEACHER CORNER on my website)

Once the goodies had been prepped, it was time to focus on talking points and look for books to tag along on our fun-filled classroom field trip. In the end, we ended up with a beautiful compilation of beloved classics and newer stories for young readers (see pictures below).

A Compilation of Beloved Classics and Newer Stories for Young Readers

A Crabby Book: School’s In, Crabby by Jonathan Fenske, Who Would Win- Coyote VS. Dingo BY Jerry Pallotta, illustrated by Rob Bolster, Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum- I am Alexander Hamilton- Level 3, Ordinary People Change the World series, based on the best-selling series by Brad Meltzer and illustrated by Christopher Eliopoulos, I Can Read! Series: Otter I love Books! By Sam Garton, Dragon Masters Waking the Rainbow Dragon by Tracey West, Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen, illustrated by Kevin Hawkes, The Librarian who Measured the Earth, by Kathryn Lasky, illustrated by Kevin Hawkes, Mr. Ferris and his Wheel, by Kathryn Gibbs Davis, illustrated by Gilbert Ford, How Milton Hershey Brought Milk Chocolate to America- on the Corner of Chocolate Avenue, by Tziporah Cohen, illustrated by Steven Salerno, Perkin’s Perfect Purple- How a Boy Created Color with Chemistry, by Tami Lewis Brown and Debbie Loren Dunn, illustrated by Francesca Sanna, Pura’s Cuentos How Pura Belpre Reshaped Libraries with Her Stories, by Annette Bay Pimentel, illustrated by Magaly Morales, The Librarian of Basra A True Story from Iraq, by Jeanette Winter, Secret Engineer How Emily Roebling Build the Brooklyn Bridge by Rachel Dougherty, and Miss Moore Thought Otherwise: How Anne Carroll Moore Created Libraries for Children by Jan Pinborough, illustrated by Debby Atwell.

Time to Hit The Road!

School Visit- Indian Lake Elementary School, Hendersonville, Tennessee, Mrs. Garrett’s First grade classroom- Librarian Presentation- September 11^th 2023.

On the morning of Monday, September 11th, we put the final touches on our goody bundles and headed out of the library on a mission to reach some hearts and minds. We arrived at Mrs. Garrett’s classroom with a happy heaping bundle of terrific goodies and were greeted warmly by 12 small smiling faces, who had just shuffled back inside from recess and were just as excited as we were for this event! We waited a few minutes until all four classes (65 students/educators) were comfortably seated and ready to learn.

After a wonderful discussion about libraries and their history, Ms. Connie read aloud to all 65 in attendance, Miss Moore Thought Otherwise: How Anne Carroll Moore Created Libraries for Children by Jan Pinborough, illustrated by Debby Atwell.

A huge round of applause to the teachers and students at Indian Lake Elementary. The kids couldn’t have been on better behavior, or more courteous to their visiting guest speakers. After listening quietly, it was finally time for the coolest portion of the afternoon: taking questions from first graders!

Hearing all of their well thought out curious wonderings was such a treat- and at times, even made us librarians think a moment before answering. Of course, we had a lot of cute questions specific to a particular book series and “how many of those books do we have on the shelves?” Among the list of specific book series mentioned were Barbara Park’s Junie B. Jones, Dav Pilkey’s Dog Man, and Tracey West’s Dragon Masters.

After hearing everyone’s fabulous questions, it was time to hand out goody bags for students and teachers. And, as a special thank you for inviting us to speak, I was thrilled to be able to donate a signed copy of my book, ADHD AND ME, to Mrs. Garrett’s classroom, along with a copy of the coinciding lesson plan, for ages 5-8/grades k-3rd, (also available for free PDF download on TEACHER CORNER on my website).