Back to School

Tiffani Roltgen brings a fresh perspective to the YSS Blog. With blogs from the school library side of things in Verona, WI, we are always excited to hear from Tiffani!

Dear Youth Librarians,

My name is Tiffani Roltgen, and I am the library director/teacher librarian at New Century School and Verona Area International School in Verona, WI. I love my local public library and am thrilled to share some suggestions to help build partnerships between schools and libraries.  

Back to School season brings with it a variety of emotions. Here are some simple and engaging ways to help families with the transition. 

• Set up a Back to School paper chain countdown craft station. Support math and fine motor skills with a simple passive activity that allows students and families to create a way to count down the days until school begins.

Photo by Tiffani Roltgen

• Display Back to School books featuring a wide variety of characters and families. Include titles about the range of feelings students may experience from excitement and anticipation to nervousness and sadness that summer is coming to an end. Be sure to include Your Name is a Song, The Magical Yet, First Day Around the World, The Proudest Blue, and The Day You Begin.

• Create an interactive “Summer Memories” board where students and families can post their favorite activities and stories from the summer months. This will jump start those narrative writing skills and help mark and celebrate the transition from summer to school.

• Offer helpful handouts for caregivers such as information about ways to ease the school transition, how to adjust bedtimes, or laminated morning routine or backpack checklists for families to post and use during busy mornings. Consider hosting a freezer meals or lunchbox workshop to inspire quick and creative nutrition.

• Don’t forget the teachers and staff! Help reacquaint them with public library resources including classroom library cards that allow them to check out materials without worries about charges for lost items, time saving services like placing holds on multiple copies of a book, field trip opportunities, or kits that support classroom activities such as science or mindfulness. 

Photo by Krista Brinkmeier Photography

But until that first bell, enjoy these last days of summer sun! 

Tiffani Roltgen

roltgent@verona.k12.wi.us

Books to Help with Kindergarten Jitters

Photo by Gautam Arora on Unsplash

Once the calendar flips to August, heads start turning away from summer and towards the start of the school year, especially for those starting kindergarten. The first day nerves can be overwhelming for some kids (and their parents!). Dena McMurdie says, in an article for readybrightly.com that, "I've sent two kids off to kindergarten and it broke my heart both times. They looked so small and uncertain on those first few days of school." While we know these feelings are to be expected, anything we can do to help families be prepared for these first days is a good thing. 

McMurdie recommends picture books to help get kids ready for that big step, including Kitty Vs. Kindergarten by Martha Freeman, Getting Ready for Kindergarten by Vera Ahiyya, and The King of Kindergarten by Derrick Barnes. To see the full list checkout the article here.

[The First Day and Beyond: Books About Kindergarten for Kids. McMurdie, Dena. Readbrightly.com. 2025.] https://www.readbrightly.com/books-about-kindergarten/

Time for Back-to-School!

Hard on the heels of celebrating ends to successful summer library programs comes time to plan for service to kids and teachers returning to school.

Two recent ALSC blog posts share some lovely ideas on service and book displays to spark your thinking, your outreach and your inclusive collection development.

The first blog post from Maria Trivisanno explores creative ideas to connect back to your schools through outreach. Read it here. [Back to School Outreach. Trivisonna, Maria. ALSC blog. August 10, 2022.]

The second post is from everyone's favorite collection development librarian, Abby the Librarian.  She shares a great group of inclusive back-to-school books to expand your collection and your displays during this busy run-up to the first day of school. Read it here. [Inclusive Back to School Books. Johnson, Abby. ALSC blog. August 12, 2022]

Book Riot's 8 Back-to-School Picture Books for Teaching Coronavirus Procedures

With the new school year fast approaching and COVID-19 still looming, individuals of all ages are feeling the pressure of the unknown.  The choice is a difficult one across the board, to put it mildly...

Recently, a preschool teacher named Katherine Willoughby created a list of books she plans to utilize in her classroom when the school year begins and she generously shared it with the good folks at Book Riot: 8 Back-to-School Picture Books for Teaching Coronavirus Procedures. 

While only one of the books on the list was written specifically during the time of COVID-19--Why Is Everyone Wearing a Mask? written and illustrated by Debbie Qiu, which is written in both English and Portuguese!--Ms. Willoughby includes books that discuss social distancing, hand washing, and mask wearing, including her reasoning behind choosing that specific book or the lesson she plans to help her students learn after hearing the story.

See all her recommendations and the reasoning behind them HERE.

What else would you add to the list?  Or perhaps you've already made a pandemic/COVID booklist?  Tell us in the comments!

For more information and resources on resources for kids/families, please see earlier posts in our 

Kids Resources YSS blog COVID-19 series:

Booksto Help Kids Cope with COVID Changes    11/22/20

Back to School Picture Books for Teaching Coronavirus Procedures 8/11/20

ALSC’s #Looktolibraries Resources 8/4/20

Curated List of Free COVID-19 EBooks for Kids 4/27/20

Infographic to Help Parents with Tech Time During COVID-19 4/2/20

Tips on Safe and Inclusive Gaming/Livestreaming for Families 4/6/20

Talking to Kids About COVID-19  3/28/20

Ear Ticklin’ Listening/Viewing for Kids at Home 3/30/20