Bunhead With Duct Tape
  • HOME
  • CONSULTANT
    • "BOOK" KRISTINA
    • PRESENTATIONS
  • AUTHOR
    • HACKING SCHOOL LIBRARIES >
      • BOOK STUDY
    • SCHOOL LIBRARY PLANNER
    • SCHOLASTIC MAKERSPACE BOOKS
    • MY FIRST BOOK OF TRAINS
  • SPEAKER
    • CONFERENCE APPEARANCES
    • "You Can Write a How to Book" & STEM activity for kids!
    • Flipgrid Guides
    • ARTICLES & BLOGS
    • TWITTER CHATS
    • INTERVIEWS & VIDEOS
  • COLLABORATOR
    • EDCAMP CARDIGAN CAMP
    • THE DIGITAL LIBRARIAN'S SURVIVAL TOOLKIT
    • THE DIGITAL LIBRARIAN'S SURVIVAL TOOLKIT
    • The Epic Ebook of Web Tools & Apps
  • ADVOCATE
  • EDUCATOR
    • BLOG
  • CREDENTIALS

LARYSSA'S LITTLE FREE LIBRARY

9/26/2019

5 Comments

 

I never shared my 20th anniversary present with you from last year, so here are some photos.

Last year, like every good husband, Mike asked me if I would like a new piece of jewelry to celebrate our anniversary. I told him no. I wear the same pieces every day...my engagement ring that he designed, my wedding ring, the Maleficent watch he ordered from Disney World, the very first ring he ever bought me (my birthstone), the silver ring that also my sister Jen wears and my sister Laryssa used to wear, and two pendants (one that says mother in Korean and one that says mother in Chinese). I don't need anything else.

What I did ask for was this Little Free Library that Mike installed, with help from our kids, at the end of our driveway. We stock "Laryssa's Library" with books that our children are willing to discard from their bedroom libraries. Each book carries a message in it for the new owner to post a photo or video of a rubber duck in Laryssa's memory. This has been the best anniversary present ever, and a happy reminder of Laryssa.

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

Update: Thank you to Linda Prout who inspired me to register Laryssa's Little Free Library, and even took it upon herself to send send me the information I needed.  I value your friendship.

Picture
Picture

library houses

Smart Apparel for Smart People! Your one-stop shop for geek STEM clothing for adults, kids dresses, and babies. Our Ms. Frizzle dresses defy the gender norms & celebrates all of those amazing women pioneers. ....Did we mention our dresses with POCKETS?? We now have teacher clothing! Plus size clothes available too!

Use this link to receive 20% you first order over $50:
​https://librarian.rocks/Svaha20percentoff50?

5 Comments

FLIPPING OVER FLIPGRID QR CODES

6/27/2019

0 Comments

 

One day after school in my library as I was cleaning up and getting ready to leave, I discovered that the pen that had been left at the circulation counter for students to sign in with had been misplaced again.  Pens were a commodity since they had a habit of rolling off the counter, or being indefinitely "borrowed."  I remembered seeing pens with feathers attached to the top of them in my colleague's classroom to prevent pens from being misplaced.  I had the solution! I quickly ran to my computer and printed out a few copies of the QR code for our library book recommendations Flipgrid, laminated them, and attached them to the tops of some pens.  I didn't need to replace the pens until the ink ran out, and the QR code was a reminder to share their favorite books with one another.

Picture

And I snuck a few reminders into new books when I processed them too...

Picture

So excited to speak about QR codes at the Flipgrid booth in the ISTE 2019 Expo hall...

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

With the new Flipgrid AR (augmented reality) your videos will come alive!

Create a MixTape for each of your students, combining their responses from various topics during the school year.

Kick it Old School with MixTapes □

□You pick what goes on your MixTape (any video Response from any of your Grids).□You set the order you want Responses to play.□MixTapes are view-only and can be shared anywhere.□Your community can Follow your MixTapes and receive an email when new videos are added. Ready to get rocking?

MixTape CoPilots are coming!  This will make it even easier for teachers to create digital portfolios for their students.

Picture

Password protect those MixTapes so only friends and family can view them.

Picture

Create student ID badges.

Scan Student ID Badges with QR Codes for Easy Access

If your students don't have Microsoft or Google accounts, Flipgrid makes it easy to secure your Grid using Student IDs! Educators can add or edit their Student ID List at anytime and print out the...

Save time, and download multiple QR response codes at once.

From □ QA Jeff to □ QR Jeff to □ QUIT JEFF!@jeffgmpls was excited to share his latest release...

□ BULK QR Response Codes □

...his enthusiasm didn’t stop there but @mg0stisha □ swooped in before Jeff revealed the BIG #FlipgridLIVE □ QR update...□#FlipgridFever □ pic.twitter.com/Hk76ggeJVW

— Flipgrid (@Flipgrid) May 22, 2019
0 Comments

HELPING HANDS AND HEALING HEARTS FOR HEALTHY MINDS: HOW LADY GAGA, DONORSCHOOSE, FLIPGRID, 100 STUDENTS, AND A FRIEND MADE A DIFFERENCE

1/18/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

Some years ago, my friend and colleague Claudia Leon and I brought our NYS Liberty Partnerships students on a field trip to the Ronald McDonald House in New Hyde Park, Long Island.  We brought with us:
  • ​wooden toys donated by adviser Steve Kaplan and the students of his Toy Making Club
  • pantry items donated by adviser Mary Lapid and the students of the National Honor Society
  • True Hope cancer dolls that our students had purchasing through fundraising
  • and hats that I had knitted for babies 
It was an amazing experience for our students, many of them English Language Learners, for them to realize how they can make a difference in other people's lives.

This year I had been speaking to a group of students about the Ronald McDonald House and what an impact that field trip made.  At the same time, a new program was being promoted by DonorsChoose.org and the Born This Way Foundation, led by Lady Gaga and her mother Cynthia Germanotta, to support mental and emotional wellness.  As an advocate for student voice to empower children to become agents of change, I had used the Flipgrid video recording tool for our SLIME event's Make a Difference Charity Pitch Fest.  With all of these in mind, tt was time to write a new project with my students:


"Many of us visit the library because it is a place where we can relax and meet with our friends during free time. Our library has a classroom area, a reading lounge, and a makerspace. We even have exercise bikes that we ride on when we read. Our "Kids Kindness Kart" that has supplies so we can make things for others. During a day of working so hard, it's nice to visit the library and make things with our friends like toys for shelter dogs, cards for sick kids, and kindness rocks. Mrs. Holzweiss told us about the Ronald McDonald House, a place where families stay when their children are in the hospital. We want to help these families to cheer them up, and to know that people are thinking about them. We know that it's hard when people you love are sick, so we can take turn our pain into something positive.

If this project is funded we will have the supplies that we need to create beautiful works of art, and enjoy the wonderful smells and sounds of the library. After we paint our pictures, we are going to record video messages of hope with the Flipgrid app. Then we will print the QR code and attach it to the back of the artwork before we give them to the families at the Ronald McDonald House. They will have the artwork and a video to remind them when they need cheering up. If they want, they can even respond to our videos. We can do some awesome things together! This can make our school and the whole world a better place."


A few students participated by creating works of art in the library during their free periods, but I soon realized that it would take quite some time to paint 100 pieces of artwork to donate to the Ronald McDonald House.  And so how it usually happens in the library, one thing leads to another...
My colleague Amy Scognamillo, a 6th grade ELA teacher, explained how she had been reading the picture books We're All Wonders by R.J. Palacio and Malala's Magic Pencil by Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai with her students so that they could develop not only literacy skills, but also empathy.  Listening to Amy speak was magical!  

I explained my idea of this Ronald McDonald House art project to complement her lessons, and Amy immediately agreed to join me.  For three days, my library was transformed into an art studio.  With paints, crayons, markers, canvases, and brushes Amy's students created heartwarming messages of hope and inspiration.  They not only learned ABOUT empathy, but they were given the opportunity to make a difference with their hands, hearts, and minds.

This project is particularly special for both Amy and me.  Today is the 19th anniversary of her mother Marie's passing, and the 13th anniversary of my sister Laryssa's passing.  I thank Amy not only for collaborating with me as a colleague, but the gift of making a difference with her and her students.

Click here to view the student messages: 
https://flipgrid.com/6af621
Picture
0 Comments

THERE ARE NO COINCIDENCES

7/7/2016

0 Comments

 
There are no coincidences.

Today, while in Washington D.C. for EdCamp USA I made it just in time to take a look at Shakespeare's First Folio at the Folger Library. A mother and daughter visiting from Alberta, Canada were not as fortunate. As they sat down on the bench beside me the mother, Donna, remarked about the book purse that I had made. When I opened it up to show her how I made it, her daughter noticed my ducks, Laryssa's ducks that travel with me. Sometimes I explain them to people, and sometimes I don't.

There was a reason that I walked the long way to the Folger Library from my hotel today in this heat. There is a reason that Donna (a public librarian) and her daughter, Kate, did too. Kate noticed my ducks, because she has travel companions also.
​
Laryssa's spirit said hello to me today. There are no coincidences. Libraries bring us together.

Many years ago I tried to apply for a posthumous high school diploma for Laryssa, but there is no such thing as a posthumous or honorary high school diploma in New York State. Some states have them, and others do not. The irony is that Billy Joel received an honorary diploma from the same high school that Laryssa would have graduated from, Hicksville High School.

In 2008, the Board of Regents presented my family with a resolution in memory of Laryssa, commemorating her life and achievements. Please continue to post your duck pictures in memory of Laryssa and to bring awareness to this diploma policy in New York State.

News:

NY Post
Daily News

Would you like a duck of your own?
Email me at lieberrian@yahoo.com and I will send you one.
Post your own duck pictures in our Facebook group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/Ducks4Laryssa/

Picture
Picture
Picture
0 Comments

    Kristina A. Holzweiss

    Ed Tech School Librarian
    Professional Developer
    Author
    Maker

    Archives

    July 2021
    April 2021
    February 2020
    December 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    January 2018
    December 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015

    Categories

    All
    AASL
    Advocacy
    Alzheimer's
    Appsmash
    Aprons
    Autism
    Awards
    Bitsbox
    Bloxels
    Book Fairs
    Books
    Book Tasting
    Book-Tasting
    Brag Tags
    BrainPop
    Breakout EDU
    Buncee
    Business
    Buzzers
    Canva
    Coding
    Conferences
    Contests
    CoSpaces
    Creativity
    Cricut Maker
    Curation
    Design
    Digital Book Bentos
    Digital Portfolios
    Doink
    DonorsChoose
    Dry Erase
    Ducks4Laryssa
    EBooks
    Electronics/Circuits
    English Language Learners
    ESBOCES
    ESL
    Failure
    Fake News
    First Day Of School
    FlipGrid
    Fliphunt
    Folger Library
    Games
    Gamification
    Genially
    GIF
    Google Slides
    Grants/Funding
    Green Screen
    Grit/Perseverance
    Growth Mindset
    Guest Post
    Hacks
    Howtoons
    Immersive Reader
    ISTE
    Kapwing
    Kids Deserve It
    Kits
    K'Nex
    Legos
    Literacy
    Little Free Library
    Madison-Oneida BOCES
    Make A Difference
    Make Magazine
    Makerspaces
    Making
    Malala
    Manners
    Memes
    Microsoft
    Music
    Newsletters
    New Teachers
    NGSS
    NYSCATE
    Organization
    OSMO
    Ozobots
    Pedagogy
    Planetarium
    PLN
    Productivity
    Professional Development
    QBall
    QR Codes
    Reading
    Reading Logs
    Recycled Materials
    Relationships
    Research
    Resumes
    Scholastic
    School Librarian Of The Year
    School Library Journal
    Sensory Walk
    Shakespeare
    Shopping
    Skype
    SLIME
    SnapCircuits
    Social Media
    Special Education
    Standards
    STEAM
    STEM
    STREAM
    Stripling Model Of Inquiry
    Student Engagement
    Tackk
    Target
    Teen Tech Week
    Thank You
    Thinglink
    Think It Up
    Twitter
    VersaTiles
    Video Games
    Virtual Field Trips
    Visitations
    Visual Literacy
    Wakelet
    Webinar
    Web Tools
    Wireless Door Chime
    YALSA

    RSS Feed


Picture
  • HOME
  • CONSULTANT
    • "BOOK" KRISTINA
    • PRESENTATIONS
  • AUTHOR
    • HACKING SCHOOL LIBRARIES >
      • BOOK STUDY
    • SCHOOL LIBRARY PLANNER
    • SCHOLASTIC MAKERSPACE BOOKS
    • MY FIRST BOOK OF TRAINS
  • SPEAKER
    • CONFERENCE APPEARANCES
    • "You Can Write a How to Book" & STEM activity for kids!
    • Flipgrid Guides
    • ARTICLES & BLOGS
    • TWITTER CHATS
    • INTERVIEWS & VIDEOS
  • COLLABORATOR
    • EDCAMP CARDIGAN CAMP
    • THE DIGITAL LIBRARIAN'S SURVIVAL TOOLKIT
    • THE DIGITAL LIBRARIAN'S SURVIVAL TOOLKIT
    • The Epic Ebook of Web Tools & Apps
  • ADVOCATE
  • EDUCATOR
    • BLOG
  • CREDENTIALS