Tumble Books are Here!

Thanks to a grant from the Smithville Education Foundation, our school now has a subscription to Tumble Books!  You can read and listen to these ebooks by clicking the button below.  Please see Mrs. G. in the library for the username and password!

During the week of September 15th, Smithville Elementary celebrated Dot Day!  Our students listened to the story of The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds.





Then, we created our very own dots and put them together for an amazing display!



Wow!  what an amazing way to "make our mark!"

This Week In the Library...

September 15th is International Dot Day--a day to celebrate creativity, courage, and collaboration.  Inspired by Peter H. Reynolds's The Dot, SES students will be thinking about how they'll make their mark this year!

Check back soon to see how we celebrated!

This Week in the Library...

This week, all grade levels will be continuing to practice library procedures.  We'll also be reading about some characters who sometimes have trouble following the rules but who love to use the library!

Third grade will be reading Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen.

Fourth grade will be reading The Library by Sarah Stewart.

Fifth grade will be reading an excerpt from Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key by Jack Gantos.

Have a great week!

Storytime for July 15th: Pet Parade

This week, we'll be sharing stories about those furry members of our families--our pets!

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Here are the books we'll be reading this week, along with some videos, links, and activities to accompany them!

Read more about Eric Rohmann and his book, Bone Dog.

Meet Eric Rohmann in the video below:

Here's a preview of A Pet for Petunia

Watch this animated adaptation of Children Make Terrible Pets!

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You can also download this week's Takeaway page by clicking here.

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And be sure to check out the related online activities about pets:

NationalGeographic Kids—check out these hilarious and adorable pet photos!

DiscoveryKids—help the dog catch the Frisbee in this game!

DLTK—arts and crafts featuring cats, dogs, fish, and other pets

EnchantedLearning—Pet-related rhymes, crafts, activities, and printables

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And, finally, if you liked today's stories, here are some more great books about dads!

• City Dog, Country Frog by Mo Willems
• Just Me and My Puppy by Mercer Mayer
• The Cat Came Back by Fred Penner
• Pocket Pets by Alvin Silverstein
• The Class Pet from the Black Lagoon by Mike Thaler
• The Ferret's a Foot by Colleen A. Venable

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Have a great week, and we'll see you next Tuesday!

Storytime for July 1st: America the Beautiful

In preparation for the Fourth of July, this week's storytime celebrates America the Beautiful!

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Here are the books we'll be reading this week, along with some videos, links, and activities to accompany them!

Watch this video about Of Thee I Sing:

At storytime, we read the book together; watch the video below to hear the song and to view some of the actual scenes illustrated in our story!

Read more about the author of Happy Birthday America, Mary Pope Osborne.

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You can also download this week's Takeaway page by clicking here.

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And be sure to check out the related online activities for the Fourth of July:

DLTK—coloring pages, printables, songs, poems, and puzzles

Time for Kids—learn the story behind the holiday

Surfnetkids—get moving on the fourth with these fun party games

Lil’Luna—Use glue and tissue paper to create these patriotic flags

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And, finally, if you liked today's stories, here are some more great books about the U.S.A!

• America Votes by Linda Granfield
• Here's to You, America! by Charles M. Schultz
• The Scrambled States of America by Laurie Keller
• John, Paul, George, and Ben by Lane Smith
• My Teacher for President by Kay Winters
• Liberty's Journey by Kelly DiPucchio

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Have a great week, and we'll see you next Tuesday!

Storytime for June 24th: Creepy Crawlies

This week, storytime is about creepy crawlies--insects, spiders, and all of the other critters that live all around us!

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Here are the books we'll be reading this week, along with some videos, links, and activities to accompany them!

Here's a great list of free printables and activities to accompany The Grouchy Ladybug.

Download and print some Eric Carle coloring pages.

Watch this book trailer for Some Bugs!

Here's a quick up-close look at a pill bug!

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You can also download this week's Takeaway page by clicking here.

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And be sure to check out the related online activities about insects and other creepy crawlies:

National Geographic Kids—check out these close-ups of all kinds of cool bugs!

Build a Bug—First choose your parts to build a bug, then try to get it through the maze.

Insect World—learn about different types of insects and play related games.

Orkin—printable coloring pages, games, and other information about bugs!

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And, finally, if you liked today's stories, here are some more great books about creepy crawlies!

• The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
• Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin
• Crickwing by Janell Cannon
• Two Bad Ants by Chris VanAllsburg
• Bug Faces by Darlyne Murawski

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Have a great week, and we'll see you next Tuesday!

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss

This Monday, Smithville Elementary celebrated Dr. Seuss's birthday, and, since he's one of our favorite authors, we've kept the celebration going all week long!

We've been dressing up according to our Dr. Seuss theme days!

The library got a Dr. Seuss makeover!

Truffula trees sprouted overnight!

Students are using our chalk wall to vote for their favorite Seuss character!

And, we've been participating in some fun Dr. Seuss crafts!

Leiana models her Lorax mustache and her pink hat for Cat in the Hat day.

Blain and his mini Truffula tree.

Gabrielle is proud of her pink and purple Truffula tree.

Is that Abigail behind that mustache?

Evan with his Horton Hears a Who pencil.

Inez knows that "A person's a person, no matter how small!"

Matthew's origami fish.

Miguel with his Thing 1 bookmark and Keep Calm and Read On bookmark.

Steven made a tiger-striped fish.

A little Katy cat!

Thing 1 and Thing 2 (also known as Marisol and Jasmine).

Abby's Horton pencils says "Small people are awesome!"

To download instructions for these, click on the picture of each below!

This Week in the Library...

This week, we're celebrating fall by reading some spooky stories, as well as some books about the changing of the seasons.

Third Grade is listening to The Monsters' Monster by Patrick McDonnell.  Grouch, Grump, and Gloom 'n Doom decide to create the ultimate monster, but instead of terrorizing the nearby town, their creation has some other ideas in mind.

Fourth Grade is listening to some mysterious tales by Chris VanAllsburg.  In The Stranger, the Bailey family encounters a strange visitor who can't remember who he is.  In The Widow's Broom, a witch leaves behind her old broom that hasn't quite spent all of its magic.

Fifth Grade is listening to a book talk about Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn.  Molly can't seem to make a connection with her new stepsister, Heather.  Things get even stranger when Heather makes a discovery in the cemetery near their new home.

This Week in the Library...

Since Children's Book Week is coming up next week, this week, we're going to be reading book about books!

Third grade will be reading Miss Brooks Loves Books (And I Don't) by Barbara Bottner.

With the help of Miss Brooks, Missy’s classmates all find books they love in the library—books about fairies and dogs and trains and cowboys. But Missy dismisses them all—“Too flowery, too furry, too clickety, too yippity.”

Still, Miss Brooks remains undaunted. Book Week is here and Missy willfind a book to love if they have to empty the entire library. What story will finally win over this beastly, er, discriminating child? 

Fourth grade will get to hear That Book Woman by Heather Henson.

Cal is not the readin' type. Living way high up in the Appalachian Mountains, he'd rather help Pap plow or go out after wandering sheep than try some book learning. Nope. Cal does not want to sit stoney-still reading some chicken scratch. But that Book Woman keeps coming just the same. She comes in the rain. She comes in the snow. She comes right up the side of the mountain, and Cal knows that's not easy riding. And all just to lend his sister some books. Why, that woman must be plain foolish; or is she braver than he ever thought? 

Fifth grade will be listening to The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore by William Joyce.

Morris Lessmore loved words.
He loved stories.
He loved books.
But every story has its upsets.
Everything in Morris Lessmore’s life, including his own story, is scattered to the winds.     
But the power of story will save the day. 



Happy reading, and have a great week!