Appy Hour!

Skitch- 
"Get your point across with fewer words using annotation, shapes and sketches, so that your ideas become reality faster."

http://evernote.com/skitch/
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/skitch/id490505997?mt=8

Pic-Collage- 
"Let PicCollage instantly arrange your photos into frames - or get creative with freeform collages, cutouts, filters, borders, stickers, and text.  It's like photoshop with your fingers!"

http://pic-collage.com/
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pic-collage/id448639966?mt=8

Educreations-
"Educreations turns your iPad into a recordable whiteboard. Creating a great video tutorial is as simple as touching, tapping and talking. Explain a math formula... Create an animated lesson... Add commentary to your photos... Diagram a sports play...

With voice recording, realistic digital ink, photos and text, and simple sharing now you can broadcast your ideas from anywhere."
http://www.educreations.com/
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/educreations-interactive-whiteboard/id478617061?mt=8

Mike Lupica at Harleysville Books!

NY Times Bestselling Author Mike Lupica will be at Harleysville Books on February 12th at 7PM.  For more information and to preorder books, check out the Harleysville Books website.

http://www.harleysvillebooks.com/event/ny-times-bestselling-author-mike-lupica-0

Read!!

I just read this article on the importance of reading to children from the Huffington Post.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/earl-martin-phalen/child-literacy_b_2527980.html

"While the year is still fresh, and our New Year's resolutions still in mind, make sure yours include reading -- and reading to the young people in your life. It is everyone's responsibility to help shape the next generation. The stakes are high."

Why not set a goal for yourself and your children on the Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge:
http://www.goodreads.com/challenges/940-2013-reading-challenge

I'd love to see what you are reading - please add me as a Goodreads friend: krarmstrong @ swainschool.org.

Author Visit- Sandra Feder

On Wednesday, November 29, we were lucky to host children's author, Sandra Feder.  The first book in her new series about a little girl who loves words is called Daisy's Perfect Word.  Ms. Feder introduced Daisy to the Kindergarten through 5th grade students at Town Meeting and met with smaller groups of students in the Umansky Library.  She helped the Kindergarten and 1st grade students make lists of their favorite words in a variety of categories.

Sandra Feder making the K-1 Favorite Word list.

K-1 Favorite Words

• apple
• bunny
• precipitation
• forgiveness
• fluffy
• squash
• pistachio
• family
• kindness
• lily
• sandwich

Library Words

• books
• quiet
• pictures
• reading

Sparkling Swain School Words

• cooperate
• education
• tech
• SMARTBoard

To learn more about Sandra Feder and her book, Daisy's Perfect Word, check out her website www.sandravfeder.com.

Sandra Feder reading from Daisy's Perfect Word.

What's your Bookprint?

A bookprint is the list of five books that leave an indelible mark on our lives, shaping who we are and who we become. 
You are what you read.  Check out these celebrities' bookprints:

http://www.scholastic.com/readeveryday/celeb-bookprints.htm

Then let me know what 5 books are in your bookprint.

What's your favorite book?

Leave a comment with your favorite book that you think we should buy for the library.

Just found this cool app called Tiled and made this tribute to Divergent by Veronica Roth.