HIT, ELEM: new librarian

[Liz Krieger <Wisbiff211@AOL.COM>]

Hi Everyone,
    I'm a bit new at this and I tried to post a hit and put too many letters
in so I don't think it went through. Anyway, I'm going to try again. This
time I'm only going to send a few that covered what everyone said.
     Thank you so much for your wonderful and informative responses. I am
encouraged!!

Liz Krieger
Matthew Patterson Elem.Patterson, NY
Wisbiff211@aol.com

Subj:   Name song
Date:   99-07-29 21:57:07 EDT
From:   Mberbeza
To: Wisbiff211

Hi Liz!
I've been using a song where everyone says their name for several years now.
(I've subbed for 13+ years.)  To the tune of the "Wheels on the Bus."
If anybody asks you who you are, who you are, who you are,
If anybody asks you who you are, tell them you're a boy named _______ (child
says their name), tell them you're a girl named _______ (child says their
name), tell them you're a boy named _______ (child says their name, I usually
try to do 3 at a time.)
If anybody asks you who you are, who you are, who you are,
If anybody asks you who you are, tell them you're a boy named _______ (child
says their name), tell them you're a girl named _______ (child says their
name), tell them you're a boy named _______ (child says their name, I usually
try to do 3 at a time.)
Repeat the words above until every child has been identified.  I end with:
If anybody asks you who you are, who you are, who you are,
If anybody asks you who you are, tell them your name.

I hope it helps!  When we do this, I usually have everyone sit in a big
circle.  Marcy

><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>
Marcia Berbeza
Substitute
Christina School District
Newark,  DE  USA
Mberbeza@aol.com
LMS in training

Subj:    Names...
Date:   99-07-29 17:52:57 EDT
From:   BFC@prodigy.net (brett f coleman)
Reply-to:   herbie71@worldnet.att.net (brett f coleman)
To: Wisbiff211@aol.com

A few years ago I started a new job with 500 students.  Just last year I
switched schools and had to "erase" those 500 names I had filed in my head
and learn 550 new ones!  It is not silly to worry about it--it really makes
a difference in your job.  Anyway, this is what I did--
1.  If you have a class by yourself, take a few minutes to go around the
circle and ask each individual child their name and talk to each a second.
I make it almost like an interview and try to be as personable as possible.
I tell them I LOVE ice cream--so I ask each their favorite flavor.  It
sounds dumb, but it was easy for me to associate after awhile--there were
sherbert lovers (yuck!) I remembered those kids right away.  I knew all of
the mint choclate chip kids  because that's MY favorite.  Vanillas were
tricky.  Wacky flavors got my attention.  It sounds crazy, but it worked,
and kids also got to know me!
2.  If I couldn't remember someone's name, I'd try to "eavesdrop" on the
children's conversations...I'd listen to them call each other by name and
then use it myself.
3.  I stood at the checkout computer and read their names as they'd check
out.  It helped to see it and hear it.
4.  I practiced, practiced and practiced.  Seriously!  With a conscious
effort to learn them , I usually get the whole school by the 4th week.
Thank goodness I don't have to leave THIS job anytime soon!
Good luck
Jennifer Coleman
The Lamplighter School, Dallas, TX
bfc@prodigy.net

Subj:   learning names
Date:   99-07-29 14:01:03 EDT
From:   Rynecat
To: Wisbiff211

Hi Liz:
     I was a first year librarian last year, new to the community and knew no
one.  The first day each of my classes came into the media center for their
library time, I took a group photograph of them.  I taped the photograph to a
white piece of paper and then, my associate and I sat down and, left to
right, filled in the names of the kids.  I studied those pictures constantly
(especially right before the class came was scheduled to arrive).  Every
other week or so, we played "test the media specialist's memory" and I tried
to go around the room and name the kids.  The kids loved giving clues when I
got stumped.  But if I missed someone, I made DARN sure I remembered their
name the next time!  I didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings by consistently
forgetting them!  By the end of the first quarter, I had a pretty good grasp
of the names of 450 kids, k-5...
Good luck!

Diane Fight, k-8 Media Specialist
Durant Community Schools
Durant IA

Subj:   Re: TARGET, ELEM: new librarian
Date:   99-07-29 09:55:31 EDT
From:   Pope1966
To: Wisbiff211

Liz, back in the pre-automation days (ten years ago) when Kindergarten
students were ready to check out their books they would come to the
circulation desk just as all other students did.  Instead of them writing
their own names, either me or the K aide would do that for them.  Sometimes
both of us would do the task.  Also, I know some school settings where the
librarian would have a number of books pulled and placed on tables.  When
they were finished with storytime or the lesson they would seat students at
tables and they were to pick a book from the ones on their table.  I just let
them go to the shelves and look and choose.  This year I may start off with
the books-on-the-table for a month or two so I can talk about proper
procedures for looking for a book on the shelf.  The Pre and K classes seem
to have a hard time grasping the concept that you don't put your book back on
the shelf after it's checked out and grab another one!  :)

In regards to remembering names, that has always been one of the hardest
things for me to do in any situation.  The biggest help for me was when I
started doing breakfast duty every morning...it's amazing how easy it is to
remember the kids names when you see them each day!   Ha...

Good luck,
Tony Pope
McHenry Primary School
100 McHenry Drive
Rome, GA  30161
pope1966@aol.com

Subj:    Re: Circ question
Date:   99-07-29 08:58:18 EDT
From:   jacquec@web-access.net (Scott Childress)
To: Wisbiff211@aol.com (Liz Krieger)

Hi Liz,
first of all, congratulations on your new job!  I'm not automated either
& we checked out nearly 9,000 books this past year to 250 K-12
students.  Yes, that's a lot but it was worth it.  We'll hopefully be
automated, at least the circulation part, by Dec.  The most time
consuming part is re-carding all incoming books, so I came up with a
system that helps me keep track of that & I'll share it with you...
    Each class had a class code which they wrote along side their name
(i.e. if they came from Mrs. Smith's 5th grade class, they wrote their
first name and S5), then I filed it behind Mrs. Smith's name.  As for
kindergarten, I have done it two different ways:  I use to fix a poster
board for each class and kept it up all year (that was in a different
library where I had lots of wall space).  I glued book pockets to the
board, enough for every child, with a different child's name on each
pocket & their teacher's name at the very top of the poster board.  When
they came to check out a book, all they did was take out the card and
place it in their pocket...when they brought it back, they retrieved the
card for that book out of their pocket and placed it in the book, then
on the shelving cart...No writing what-soever, but keep in mind that
this isn't condusive to an accurate circulation count...but it worked
for me!  Now that I'm in another district, I must keep strict circ
records/counts, so we have the kinders write their name.  As far as
stress is concerned, there really has never been any...the ones who can
right their name jump at the chance to do it.  At the first of the year,
they wrote their name if they could or I wrote it for them and I
attached the class codes on each card myself.  By the end of the year,
they were all writing their own names and using class codes.  They take
great pride in doing this.  The only stress it might cause won't be on
their side, it may be you feeling like it's not moving as fast as you
like.  So, if you have the time & patience, let them learn to do it
themselves!  If not, use the poster idea...it works wonderful.  Good
luck!
Jacque Childress, Librarian
Cross Plains Elementary Library
Cross Plains, TX

Subj:    Re: TARGET, ELEM: new librarian
Date:   99-07-29 08:52:39 EDT
From:   bishop.wds.school@snet.net (Jean Lowery)
To: Wisbiff211@aol.com

I am not good with names - but I do have a method of K check-out you might
want to try.  Have each child on the first visit decorate a book pocket
(which you or the K teacher write their name on).  Then each visit they find
"their" pocket and when they are taking a book out they place their book's
card it "their" pocket and when they are returning they take the card from
"their" pocket and put it back in the book.  I also put a selection of books
on the tables for them to choose from until after Christmas - they are
overwhelmed by all the choices if I let them go to the shelves in Sept.
(This last bit is for students who have not been taken to the public library
are pre-schoolers and have not a clue that you "borrow" and "return" to and
from a library - these children still ask in third grade about "The book I
want to buy is..." when asking for hep finding a book on the shelves.)
Jean Lowery, LMS
Bishop Woods School (A New Haven Public School)
bishop.wds.school@snet.net

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