Er, maybe I should have titled this "Christmas near the Castle" or "Christmas in the Media Center". Neither of them were quite as catchy so there you have it! It's hard to believe, but this school year is halfway over! Halfway!! The move from the regular ed classroom to a media center means that I am essentially a first year, a novice, a just beginning, don't know what I am doing but am faking it until I make it librarian. Hopefully, that will explain my long absence from this little blog!
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree.....how lovely are your books! We used old Reading Invitational books that we had 10 copies of to create the tree. I borrowed a "wild thing" from the Easy section to use as the tree topper. A wild thing seemed appropriate considering it matched the behavior of the kiddos perfectly! ;) I added a few bulbs as a garland for the wild thing, and then christened this tree complete! I've included a link so that you can take a look at my inspiration tree on Pinterest.
I bought bulbs that wouldn't shatter from Target in an assortment of colors. You can't tell in the picture, but some of the bulbs have glitter, some are matte finish, and some are shiny. My para and I hung them with white ribbon by using the heavy duty (read expensive) 2 inch masking tape. We tried book tape first, but it just didn't hold the bulbs as well. They would periodically fall which became annoying in a hurry! The school tree was located right outside of the media center, so we got a double dose of festive!!
We continued to wrap the bulbs around all of the windows on the inside. It didn't take us long and created a simple yet festive touch to the decor. We added a little sheer ribbon with red and silver to finish the top. These windows had a shallow ledge and we couldn't hide the tape on the underside. The mesh-like ribbon hid the tape perfectly! The kiddos love it when we change things up a bit in the library.
One of my volunteers found a menorah on Pinterest and recreated one in our library using Hardy Boy Mysteries; they had lovely blue spines that fit the bill perfectly. The volunteer did not share the pin with me, and unfortunately, I didn't get a picture before a little one caused it to collapse (for the second or third time....it was obviously in an area that received way too much traffic (er elbows)....sadly, I didn't get a picture).
Next year, we will be putting up a tree similar to this one:
A Dr. Seuss tree in the media center. I.love.it! Now is the time to start working on this friends. Christmas ornaments are up to 70% off. 70% people!! Run to your nearest Michael's, JoAnn, Target, Wal-Mart, or Hobby Lobby! Kerri from A Pop of Pretty Blog also has a green tree version and all of the directions for how she put this tree together. Hop on over to her blog for your list of supplies and the directions to recreate this tree. #cutesttreeforalibrary #ever
Dr. Seuss' birthday is in March. I'll be on the lookout for the Cat in the Hat hat and tie as well as the foamies that Kerri mentions in her blog at Michaels. I've already picked up the tree, all of the ribbon, and some shatterproof ornaments on clearance. I'll be ready to roll next December!
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Click here to go to Kerri's blog for step by step directions on how to recreate her Dr. Seuss tree.
Along with the tree, menorah, and window
decor, I added Christmas lights to the inside of the castle. I am fortunate to
work with a gentleman that is more than proficient with sounds systems. (He
literally made it so that broadcast has voices instead of the static that came
on t.v.
as a little girl after 10 p.m. Can I get an amen if you are a child of
the 70's and know exactly that of which I speak?) He also happens to be handy
with lights. He brought in 4 lights that change colors. My kindergartners
thought they were at a rave or a disco at the very least! Of course the
point was not dancing, no sirreee. We
were having cookies in the castle (That lasted for all of one kindergarten
class before we hightailed it to the tables.....I can not even describe the
mess they created. Wow.....just wow.) and reading books for pleasure. The older
kiddos (3rd-5th) absolutely relish this time to read for fun! This is the
second time we've done it this year. The first was the week of Halloween/Red
Ribbon Week. I hosted Campfire Reading in the media center. I'll have to go
back and post about that another time. You can literally do it any time of
year! At any rate, the kids had a blast and so did I! Let's face it,; none of
us can compete with Christmas, Christmas parties, or sing-alongs!!
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| If you look closely in the background, you can see the cool lights shining on the back wall of the castle. #kidwin |
How do you decorate for the season? Do you have any special activities or traditions to help you maintain your sanity? I'd love to hear from you in the comments!
