Fall Enrichment days arrived at KES in early October and here at the Hiʻilei Media Center, our 4th and 5th graders spent the time with us making new friends with books.  Our library was transformed into a little bistro complete with red and white balloons, streamers, black tablecloths, rose filled vases and books – loads and loads of books.  The tables were piled high with both traditional favorites as well as our new hotly requested titles – the latest installment of Harry Potter, Dork Diaries and Geronimo Stilton.  A few weeks ago we received our order of new books and have been rushing to get them processed and into the hands of the students.  Our Speed Dating Book Adventure was the perfect opportunty to do this.

After reviewing the criteria for selecting a great book, the music started and the students eagerly dived into the tables to make their choices.  Using popular kids music as a timer, the students choose a book, read for 2-3 minutes then completed a quick evaluation of the book.  At the end of the session, the students had gone through six rounds, examined lots of great books and wrote out a detailed recommendation for one of their books for other students to read.  With nearly every student choosing to borrow a book, it was a great day for reading!

September 15 was International Dot Day! It is the day students, teachers and everyone who loves Peter Reynold’s book, The Dot, celebrate creativity, perseverance and courage. The book tells the story of Vashti, a young girl who is very frustrated because she doesn’t believe she can draw.  But, with the encouragement of her teacher, she learns to make her mark, perseveres and becomes a great artist by simply using dots!

Here at the Hiiliei Media Center, our Dot Day adventure started bright and early with our morning classes and recess. Our students listened to the story on Tumblebooks, sang the Dot Day song written by Emily Arrow and then had a choice from two art activities. They could either create their own artistic mark using an augmented reality coloring page from Quivervision and watch it come alive using the free app on their iPads or they could decorate a Dot Day card with stickers, stamps and their own artistic style . Our older students designed their own 3D cards using the themes of I Mua, Lokomaikaʻi, Kulia and Hoʻomau.

As you can see, everyone involved had a blast – students and adults as well. By the end of the day, the students were teaching each other the Dot Day song and dance, could recite the story almost word for word and were proudly showing off their artistic creations. In fact, we all had so much fun we continued it well into September 16. After all, author Peter Reynolds always says, “Dot Day is on September 15ish”!