Season Three celebrates two full years of my blog hobby becoming a real business! I left my job as a librarian in June 2019. I had two goals: homeschool my two boys, and really make a go of my fledgling business, MrsReaderPants.
Two full years later, it’s still hard to believe all that’s happened since I left the library. Thanks to the pandemic, we were unable to return home to Shanghai last year and ended up staying here in Mexico instead.
Though we did not plan it this way, we love living in Mexico! And now, though my site has existed since 2011, I’m getting ready to start what I call “Season Three” of MrsReaderPants.
ARE YOU A NEW LIBRARIAN?
Welcome to the best job in the school!
A lot of new librarians are secondary teachers heading into elementary libraries. There are just more elementary school buildings, so there are more elementary school librarian positions.
This was me, way back in 2004. I had taught seventh grade English for three years. Prior to that, my student teaching was with Grades 10 and 12. I had no children of my own at that time. Talk about a “babe in the woods!” I had NO IDEA what to do with a class of 5-year olds.
WHY MRSREADERPANTS EXISTS
I started MrsReaderPants in 2011. At the time, I was in my 8th year as a librarian. I knew the struggles of new librarians and how it can just feel so lonely and overwhelming at times.
My #1 goal then and now is to help new librarians. Teachers already have so much support built in. They have grade level teams. They have thousands upon thousands of websites online for lesson planning and curriculum help. School districts pay billions every year for curriculum and support material for teachers. Many people–parents, teachers, and administrators–do not even understand what school librarians do.
My mission is to help you along the way! If you aren’t a new librarian, you will still find some great tips and ideas on this site. My #1 goal, however, is to help newbies. If you are a newer librarian and find yourself stressed and overwhelmed and just don’t know how or what to do next…know that you are definitely not alone. I was excited about my first library, but I was also completely overwhelmed and exhausted and unprepared. I was 5 months pregnant with my first son when my first (brand-new!) school library opened. I wasn’t even finished with my MLS yet; in fact, I still had two years to go.
That son I was pregnant with will turn 17 this year. I’ve worked as the librarian in five schools in two countries. I’ve been the Head Librarian in two of those schools. Despite all my overwhelm those first few years, I did it. And you absolutely can, too.
SEASON THREE
I call the 2021-2022 school year “Season Three” because it begins my third year as a full-time MrsReaderPants. Here’s what’s in store for Season Three…
WHAT’S CONTINUING?
- 50% off for the first 48 hours
- Approximately two new resources each week, released on Thursdays
- Week 1 of each month: Update Week
- Google Slides versions added to resources that will work for Google Slides
- Email schedule: Tuesday and Thursday mornings
- New Release Spotlights released every Monday afternoon
THEMES–MAIN FOCUS
I’ve gone back and forth on these a lot. I’d like to do predictable themes, but I’m not sure if I will want to stick with them for the entire school year. I also want to split up the grade levels a bit, but the themes may not always divide up the way I outlined below. Please keep in mind that it is very possible the themes this year will go outside these ideas, but this is what I’m thinking. My goal is to release at least one of each of these every month.
- Digital Storytimes (PK-1) will include letter themes. You can see my first one (Letter E) here.
- Digital Library Lessons (Grades 2-3) will have a traditional stories theme. These will include fairy tales, nursery rhymes, folktales, etc.
- Digital Bulletin Boards (Grades 4-6) will have a travel theme. These will include the US states and countries of the world.
- Digital Bulletin Boards (Grades 7+) will have random themes. I wanted to leave these open to fit my mood!
- Other themes planned: holidays and celebrations from different cultures. These will be similar to my Ramadan lessons from the spring. Examples include: Hanukkah, Diwali, el Dia de los Muertos, and Chinese Moon Festival.
THEMES–MINOR FOCUS
- I will continue to create new trivia games. My current games are mostly for Grades 4-7 or 5-8, so I want to work outside that age group a bit. I’ve had multiple requests for games for Grades 2-5, so these will be a focus for me this year.
- Secondary Grammar–Boy, are these needed! As I mentioned, I am also a secondary English teacher. Grammar is super-necessary, even if it isn’t the most fun to teach. I will continue to create grammar resources for Grades 5+.
- Boom Cards! I love them!
Obviously, this will be a very busy year for me! I do tend to bite off more than I can chew, but these are my goals for the next 11 months. Season Three starts this week, with my first release of the year on Thursday, July 8th. Here we go!