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The Mischievous Librarian
Over the Rainbow ~ 2022 - 2023
I love everything we made! However, some of my favourites include:
~The Cyclone: The base was created from a tomato plant cage, stuffing from thrift shop pillows, random toys, strip lighting, and ridiculous amount of zip ties.
~Corn stalks: The Base was scrap wood and wooden dowels left over from our house renovations, and the corn were plastic water bottles wrapped in paper.
~Dorothy's Slippers: It was important for me to stay true both to the book and the movie. That meant having both ruby and silver slippers. Most of the credit goes to my hubby who found the best thrift shoes to Modge Podge with red glitter, and a pair of kids silver shoes (perfect the way they were) at the local Salvation Army.
Like last year, I am reading The Wonderful Wizard of Oz as a podcast for the students for our school wide prep time on Thursdays (Over the Rainbow Thursdays).
We've been over the rainbow with this year's theme from L. Frank Baum's novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
August 2022: Unlike previous years where I had the luxury of using my entire garage for decoration creation, I had to relocate production to my in-laws' basement due to house renovations.
My mother-in-law graciously put up with the complete chaos that took place, and I was joined by many family members and friends to creating some of the pieces due to our new location.
Blacklock in Middle Earth ~ 2021 - 2022
Middle Earth didn't come into being until the middle of the summer. My husband needed a theme that incorporated salmon due to a few projects and field trips that would be happening during the year. I wasn't ready for "Ocean" again so.... Middle Earth was born!
While I love all the decorations, Smaug the Dragon is my favourite.
With the help of my husband, we paper-mached the 5 ft Smaug in our garage during the last week of summer, Inside, Smaug s made of paper and chicken wire which makes him relatively lightweight.
His scales and nails are made out of craft foam, his eye balls are styrofoam balls, and his wings are made out of pool noodles and fabric. I just love him!
Like last year, I am reading The Hobbit as a podcast for the students while they eat lunch on Wednesdays (Middle Earth Wednesdays). I've "PG"ed a version for my little Kindergartens to Grade Twos!
Blacklock in Wonderland ~ 2020 - 2021
September 2020: Would we even use the library this year?
That was the question as we started the school year amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Normally, I use the last two weeks of summer to set up the library, but it wasn't until the end of September that we decided to open the library as safely as we could.
Blacklock in Wonderland was a cheerful, wild, and colourful theme that brightened everyone's year!
From October to January, I created weekly Wonderland Wednesdays podcasts of my reading of Alice in Wonderland for the whole school to enjoy while eating their lunches. (One version for primary and one for intermediate grades.
I was so late setting up that I never had time to make Mome Raths.
Why are Mome Raths important?
Our house teams were Cheshire Cats, White Rabbits, Deck of Cards, and Mome Raths. (I stayed away from Mad Hatters as I was trying to be sensitive to issues surrounding mental illness).
So, one of my Grade One students made Mome Raths out of paint sticks for me!
Welcome to the Jungle ~ 2019 - 2020
A Year at Hogwarts was a tough theme to follow!
However, I am truly enjoying the relaxing ambience of the tropical rainforest for the 2019 - 2020 year. This is the second year that the entire school has adopted my library's theme which is combined with "The Love of Reading" initiative.
Lead by our fearless administration leader, Aussie Gal, our halls have been transformed into lush jungle habitats with the 3 pods (K/1, 2/3, and 4/5) named after the Australian Rainforest, the Congo, and the Amazon.
The best investment I made for this year's set up was buying a huge roll of brown craft paper from the amazing staff at Creative Children in Port Moody, BC.
The paper made all the vines all over the school, paper bag monkey for 80+ students, covered several bulletin boards, and many other decorations!
Massive props go to the staff at Creative Children, who searched high and low for the roll in their warehouse and made sure I had everything I needed despite the busyness of back-to-school shoppers! Love these guys!
Once again, I checked out Marketplace and Craigslist for stuffed monkeys and I was not disappointed! I even located a beautiful green snake too!
