National Picture Book Month

November is National Picture Book Month. This celebration is a recent one for schools, libraries, authors and readers to promote literacy at all ages. Many times in the library we hear these words, "I want to check out a chapter book!" Chapter books are certainly wonderful, but often students want to rush to chapter books because they think picture books are too easy. 

In reality, many picture books are written for older readers at high reading levels. Books with illustrations working together with text can give readers a better understanding of challenging concepts. For example, Carole Boston Weatherford's book Freedom on the Menu tells the story of the Greensboro Sit-in. Doreen Rappaport's biography Eleanor, Quiet No More chronicles the First Lady's transition from childhood to the White House. Photographs like Nic Bishop's in his book Frogs capture wildlife in action-an experience many children don’t have.

Reader understanding of all of these topics are enhanced because of their illustrations. The picture book format provides the right balance to make the topic more accessible for students. 

During November I hope you'll challenge yourself to read a few picture books and enjoy the work of both authors and illustrators!  You can print this calendar in color or black and white with picture book suggestions. Make sure you scroll down to page 2 on the black and white calandar. Let's read, share, and celebrate the power of picture books!

If you are reading any great picture books, please share with me! Starting on Friday I'll be sharing a great picture book related to the theme on the calendar.

Happy Reading!!

Miss Hazuda

An Update Coming Soon

An update will be coming soon. It has been such a busy beginning of this school year! I can't believe it is already mid-October! Book Fair is coming soon, so be on the lookout for a flyer!

Miss Hazuda (@HESMediaCenter)

Mrs Roper and Miss Hazuda's Take A BOOK On Vacation Pictures!

Mrs. Roper had some fun times hanging out on her porch
reading this summer. She loves to sit out there with her dog and a good book! It is a very relaxing place and a great place to read! Her house is about 5 miles away from HES!

I also stayed around St. Mary's this summer. I really took it easy, so it was nice and relaxing! I spent most of my time reading and researching my family history. (Just so you know, it is not as easy as the commercial for Ancestry.com makes it seem.) I stayed home reading a lot of the time, but some mornings I went across the bridge and went into Solomon's. I had breakfast at Roy Rogers and then went and found a bench on the boardwalk. I sat and read and read and read. I would bring a few books with me. It was very relaxing and I got to be outside. Solomon's Island is about 9 miles away from Hollywood Elementary School.

I've got three more Take A BOOK On Vacation pictures that will be shared on the blog this week! If you haven't sent in your pictures, there is still time.

Happy Reading!!

Miss Hazuda (@HESMediaCenter)

Even More Take A BOOK On Vacation Pictures!!

Austin, an incoming Second Grade student, did A LOT of reading this summer along with a lot of traveling. These first three pictures were taken at King's Dominion in Doswell, Virgina. King's Dominion is about 82.1 miles from Hollywood Elementary.

These next two pictures show Austin reading at Niagara Falls in Ontario, Canada. Niagara Falls is about 475 miles from Hollywood Elementary. If you have not had a chance to visit Niagara Falls, I highly suggest that you do. It is a site that is so impressive when visiting in person.

While up North, Austin also visited Binghamton, New York. Binghamton is about 351 miles from Hollywood Elementary. It looks like Austin had some visitors as he was reading!

Austin also manged to do some reading at home in Hollywood, Maryland. Austin seems to be a good reading role model in this picture. It looks like Austin did a lot of reading this summer, but also had a lot of fun traveling different places.

Stay tuned for my Take A BOOK On Vacation picture and one from Mrs. Roper!

Happy Reading!!

Miss Hazuda (@HESMediaCenter)

Take A BOOK On Vacation Pictures from Japan!!

I was so excited to open my email and find Take A BOOK On Vacation pictures all the way from Japan!! The pictures had a great email from Nicole and Megan's mom explaining all about the pictures. These pictures make me want to go visit Japan. 

Dear Ms. Hazuda,

We are exited to send this email to you because this is our first time Take A Book On Vacation pictures!

Megan ( an incoming 3rd Grater) and Nicole (an incoming 1st Grader) are visiting their family and friends in Japan. They went to Japanese elementary school to experience lots different things in Japanese, and they loved it!!!

Megan is a great reader, and she helps her little sister Nicole to read her books and homework. Nicole started reading books like her big sister, and now read books to her little brother. They decided to take their books to Tokyo Tower because it's one of a popular place to visit in Japan, and also they thought that HES kids might know this place because of Godzilla movie!

Tokyo Tower is 13 meter taller than its model, the Eiffel Tower of Paris, and the world's tallest self-supporting steel tower. It was completed in the year 1958 as a symbol for Japan's rebirth as a major economic power, and serves as a television and radio broadcast antenna and tourist attraction.

We could ascend to the main observatory at 150 meters and the special observatory at 250 meters to get a bird's eye view of Tokyo. One of the picture is Nicole checking the view through "looking down window". Under good weather conditions, Mount Fuji can be seen in the distance.

We highly recommend this place to visit if you have a chance to go to Japan!!!

 

I'm not brave enough for the "looking down window"! Tokyo is about 6,817 miles from Hollywood Elementary School. It takes about 14 hours to fly from the US to Japan.

Happy Reading!!

Miss Hazuda (@HESMediaCenter) 

A Take A BOOK On Vacation Picture From Nurse Page!

Nurse Page and I share a love of vacationing in the mountains. I think our favorite quote is from John Muir, "The mountains are calling...and I must go". We each hear them calling every summer and usually go and relax and recharge. 

Nurse Page finds yoga as relaxing as reading, so this vacation she decided to combined both. I think she looks very relaxed and interested in her book.

Happy Reading!!

Miss Hazuda (@HESMediaCenter) 

Another Take A BOOK On Vacation Picture!

Jack, an soon to be Second Grader, went on vacation with his whole family. He took two of my favorite books on vacation with him. Jack wrote me a letter, which his wonderful mother emailed to me. You will find it below.

Dear Ms. Hazuda,

I went to Nags Head North Carolina with the entire Venendaal family, all 14 of us, this summer.​ 

I read Penguin on Vacation by Salina Yoon.  I liked how Penguin went to the beach and we were at the beach too.  My favorite part was when Crab said, "I shell return".  I also read Penguin and Pinecone and like the colorful illustrations in these books. While on vacation, I got to be a part of an annual turtle race and learned the difference between an alligator snapping turtle and a striped mud turtle.  My cousins and I spent our days surfing, body boarding and digging for sand crabs. It was a fun relaxing trip.  Hope you like my picture. 

Nags Head is about 280 miles from HES. Hope you are having a great summer and we will be seeing each other shortly.  :)

Jack

If you have not read Penguin on Vacation and Penguin and Pinecone you really need to because they are great books! Salina Yoon also written Penguin in Love and her newest Penguin and Pumpkin. I can't wait to read Penguin and Pumpkin! It was just published at the end of July!

More Take A BOOK On Vacation Pictures from myself, Nurse Page and many other students are coming this week!

Happy Reading!!

Miss Hazuda (@HESMediaCenter)

Mrs. Gilman's Take A BOOK On Vacation Picture

Wow has time gotten away from me! I've been hard at work in the HES Media Center getting it all set up for the new school year! It is looking really good! There are some great books that are in boxes waiting to be processed for this school year! I'm espceally excited to share the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Award Nominees. There are some great titles for Kindergarten through Third Grade and Fourth Grade through Fifth Grade. I have read all of the books and they are some really good choices this year.

Mrs. Gilman took some time to go on vacation with her family to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. While there, Mrs. Gilman and her family had a lot of great family time on the beach. Mrs. Gilman made sure that she brought a fun beach read with her. Her dad was even got in her Take A BOOK On Vacation picture! Myrtle Beach is about 438 miles away from Hollywood Elementary School.

Stay tuned I've got even more Take A BOOK On Vacation Pictures coming up this week!

Happy Reading!!

Miss Hazuda (@HESMediaCenter)

Another Set of Take A BOOK On Vacation Pictures!

Nathan (an incoming Third Grader) and Ben (an incoming First Grader) took their vacation to Natural Bridge Virginia. While at Natural Bridge, they stayed in a cabin at Jellystone Park and enjoyed playing at the water partk. They toured the caverns which are said to be the deepest on the East Coast. The cavern depth is 375 feet and the temperature in the cavern is 54 degrees. Nathan and Ben also visited a drive through zoo. They were able to feed and pet exotic animals from six different continents. While they were at the zoo, they took time to read a book they got from the gift shop about the animals they had seen. Everyone had a wonderful time.

Ben and a Friend

Nathan and a Friend

Natural Bridge Virginia is about 212 miles from Hollywood Elementary School. Which is about four hours from Hollywood Elementary School. If you haven't had a chance to visit Natural Bridge Virginia, I highly suggest that you take the time to visit this wonderful place. 

Keep those pictures coming! Mrs. Gilman's post is coming up tomorrow!

Happy Reading!!

Miss Hazuda (@HESMediaCenter)

More Take A BOOK On Vacation Pictures!

This time our Take A BOOK On Vacation pictures come from Weld, Maine. This is an annual trip for Leo (an incoming 2nd Grader) and Eliza (an incoming 4th Grader) to visit family. Weld is about 660 miles away from Hollywood Elementary. It looks like such a great place to visit, especially Lake Webb. This picture shows Leo and Eliza taking a break from swimming to read a book that Leo checked out from the Weld Public Library. He was excited to check out a Leo Lionni, for obvious reasons! This book, Tico and the Golden Wings, is one that I haven't read and will be looking for soon.

Leo and Eliza's second picture was taken in Weld, Maine along Route 142 at the Scholfield Home. This "man in the bucket" has been on the roadside for decades and is a favorite spot to stop for family pictures! In this picture Leo and Eliza has just been up the road at the Weld Public Library checking out some books to read on vacation. Leo got The Bear That Wasn't by Frank Tashlin and Eliza picked up Dear Mrs. Larue-Letters From Obedience School by Mark Teague. 

I just love that these HES students are making use of the public library on their vacation. It reminds me of my summers with my grandparents. I would stay with my dad's parents during the summer while I was being tutored for dyslexia by a good family friend. One of the things that my grandmother and I did in the afternoon every other day was to walk to the library. It was always a treat for me because I thought it was really neat that the library was on two floors, not like the ones around here. Leo and Eliza thanks for bringing back those memories!

Keep those Take A BOOK On Vacation pictures coming! I've got four more posts coming! There will be a new one each day! One of the posts is from Mrs. Gilman and another post is from me!

Happy Reading!!

Miss Hazuda (@HESMediaCenter)

Take A BOOK On Vacation At Disney!

I have always been a huge Disney fan! I have some great memories of my grandparents, my parents, and I traveling to Walt Disney World many times. My favorite picture I have is one that shows me holding hands with Donald Duck (my FAVORITE character) walking to breakfast.

I was thrilled to get a picture from Gabby, a soon to be fourth grader at HES from Disney, specifically Blizzard Beach. Great to see that she remember to bring a book with her so she could read while taking a break from the water. Disney World is about 1,000 miles away from HES. Can't wait to talk to Gabby when we come back and see what her favorite part was.


Don't forget to keep sending in those pictures.

I'll have a post later on this week about what I've been reading.

Happy Reading!!

Miss Hazuda (@HESMediaCenter) 

What Is Miss Hazuda Reading?

I had a great week reading this week. Had a lot of great choices. I'm still in shock though that it's already July. Trying to enjoy every moment of vacation. Hope you all are as well.

On 7/1 my #bookaday was The Dandelion's Tale by Kevin Sheehan. Click here for a summary on Goodreads.This is a great book about friendship. I will never look at a dandelion the same way again. 

On 7/2 my #bookaday is Unplugged: Ella Gets Her Family Back by Laura Pederson. Click here for a summary on Goodreads. This book is a great reminder to sometimes put the electronics away. 
More and more we are consumed by all of our electronics. We sometimes need to just put them down and reconnect with family. 

My #bookaday on 7/3 was What We Found In The Sofa And How It Saved The World by Henry Clark. It's a Black-Eyed Susan Award nominee for Grades 4-6. This is a mixture of adventure and science fiction. I can't wait to see what the kids think about this book next year.

On 7/4 my #bookaday was My Country 'Tis of Thee: How One Song Reveals The History of Civil Rights by Claire Rudolf Murphy. Great book! We will have it at HES soon. I was really amazed at this book. I never realized how many different versions of the song there has been over the years.

My #bookaday on 7/5 was The Highest Number In The World by Roy MacGregor. This is a great ice hockey story about a girl & her grandmother. I always love family stories. This one was neat because it had a girl playing a nontraditional sport. I also like the little bit of ice hockey history that this book provided.

I had two books for #bookaday on 7/6. The first is a chapter book Countdown by Deborah Wiles. Great historical fiction book for 4-5 Grade. I just loved this text. I didn't used to be a fan of historical fiction but when I came to realize was I was just reading the wrong books. I'm really looking forward to reading the next book in this trilogy, Revolution. The picture on the cover below isn't the same as the one that is at the library. My 2nd #bookaday is a picture book Rooting For You by Susan Hood. Great story about a seed that grows into a flower. It's a fiction book. This is such a fun book. I love books that have pages that open bigger.

On 7/7 my #bookaday was Captain Awesome vs. Nacho Cheese Man by Stan Kirby. Great early chapter book for 2nd-3rd Grades. This is the second in the An awesome series. It's a fun series that I think boys and girls will both like.

I'm still waiting for more Take a BOOK on Vacation pictures. I can't wait to see all the great places our HES students can be found reading this summer.

Happy Reading!!

Miss Hazuda (@HESMediaCenter)

The Second Take A BOOK On Vacation Picture!

I was so excited to get the second Take A BOOK On Vacation picture because it was taken at one of my favorite National Parks.

Lauren, a soon to be First Grader, went out to Oregon to visit her grandparents. While she was out there, the family went to Crater Lake National Park. It is such a beautiful spot!! Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States. It is 1,943 feet at the deepest point. Crater Lake was formed when mount Mazama blew its top more than 7700 years ago. The lake is formed in the caldera of the volcano. The average surface elevation of Crater Lake is at 6,173 feet.

Crater Lake National Park is about 2874 miles from Hollywood Elementary School. That is about 45 hours away! If you haven't had a chance to visit Crater Lake, I suggest you point it on your list. The water is just so blue and it is just so peaceful there!

Can't wait to see more pictures! Keep reading!

Miss Hazuda (@HESMediaCenter)

What Has Miss Hazuda Been Reading?

If you have been following my Twitter feed I've been participating in #bookaday. See my post below to find out more about #bookaday. It has been a busy week for me, so I've missed a few days of reading.

On 6/24 my #bookaday was The Chicken Squad: The First Misadventures by Doreen Cronin. Click here for a summary on Goodreads. I loved this book. We first met the chicks in the chapter book Trouble with Chickens. In this book the chicks take center stage. This is a great book for 2nd and 3rd Graders. I'm hopefully that there will be more in this series.


On 6/25 my #bookaday was a great high 4th and 5th Grade chapter book called This Journal Belongs to Ratchet by Nancy J. Cavanaugh. Click here for a summary on Goodreads. The main character Ratchet (Rachel) tells her story through her homeschool english assignment journal. Once I started this book, I couldn't stop reading until I got to the end. This book is a Black-Eyed Susan Award nominated book for Grades 4-6. This is the Book Award for the state of Maryland.

On 6/26 my #bookaday was Big Bug by Henry Cole. Click here for a summary on Goodreads. This book is a great book about perspective. I highly recommend any book that is written by Henry Cole. He visited HES in February 2013. We had a great time hosting him and learning all about the process he goes though to write books. I'm hoping we will be able to have Henry Cole come back in the future.

Hopefully I will be able to do some more reading this week. If you are reading this summer, make sure you share in the comment section.

Happy Reading!!

Miss Hazuda (@HESMediaCenter)

What Has Miss Hazuda Been Reading?

If you have been following my Twitter feed I've been participating in #bookaday. See my post below the find out more about #bookaday. I read some great books over the past week. Had to skip Sunday, since I waited until school got out to get the flu.

My first #bookaday for this summer is Firefly July: A Year of Very Short Poems selected by Paul B. Janeczko & illustrated by Melissa Sweet. Click here for a summary on Goodreads. I can't say enough good things about this book. I loved that all the poems were short but perfectly described each season. My favorite poem was called In Passing by Gerald Jonas. This poem  is all about fans in the back of a truck being taken away and how they're all just spinning is the truck drives away. The illustrations by Melissa Sweet just add to each to each poem and makes it visually come alive.

My next #bookaday for was It's an Orange Aardvark by Michael Hall. Click here for a summary on Goodreads. This was such a fun book to read. I showed the book trailer for this book to my Kindergarten and First Grade students at the end of the school year. The book really lived up to the book trailer. I can't wait to get it for the library for next year and share with the kids. If you haven't read another book by Michael Hall I highly suggest that you check out his books, they're always a lot of fun.

My third #bookaday was This is a Moose by Richard T. Morris & illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld. Click here for a summary on Goodreads. This is a laugh out loud funny book! As a kid growing up I always love the blooper shows and this is what that book reminded me out. It took me back to my childhood. The story is a lot of fun and the illustrations by Tom Lichtenheld just add to the hilarity of the story.

My #bookaday for 6/19 was Ninja by Arree Chung. Such a fun book. Ninja's seem to be everywhere these days. Click here for a summary on Goodreads. The book reminded me of a graphic novel the way it was set up. The good way to introduce parents and kids to the graphic novel format. The book was a great story about siblings.

My #bookaday for 6/20 was Brave Squish Rabbit by Katherine Battersby. Click here for a summary on Goodreads. I just loved this book. Squish Rabbit has become a favorite character. I read the first book Squish Rabbit as I was waiting for my table at Cracker Barrel. He is such an underdog, you want to root for happy endings in his story.

My #bookaday 6/21 is for the older kids, How They Choked: Failures, Flops, & Flaws of the Awfully Famous by Georgia Bragg. Click here for a summary on Goodreads. I found this one just as interesting as the first one How They Croaked: The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous. I'm a big history buff, so I always find it interesting to find out little tidbits of famous historical figures.

What have you been reading? Share in the comments.

Happy Reading!!

Miss Hazuda (@HESMediaCenter)

First Take A BOOK on Vacation Pictures

I was thrilled yesterday to get the First Take A BOOK on Vacation Pictures from a family of readers. Vick will be attending 6th Grade next year, I hope the Media Center is ready to see a lot of him. Sonny will be in 2nd Grade and Charlie will be in 1st Grade next year. These three boys are great reading role models for their little brother RJ, who is the cutest 4 year old ever!


Vick, Sonny, Charlie, and RJ are having a great summer already by spending time at the pool. But of course they are a family of readers, so before hitting the pool they stopped by the Leonardtown Public Library to check out some great books. Then they went to the park to enjoy the shade and the books. 

The Leonardtown Public Library is about seven miles from Hollywood Elementary School. Their pictures are a great example of having a great vacation without having to go very far. That is what I'll be doing this year.

Can't wait to see more of our students who are Taking a BOOK on Vacation! 

Don't forget to keep checking Twitter for my #bookaday posts. I'll summarize them on Monday on the blog.

Happy Reading!!

Miss Hazuda (@HESMediaCenter)

What is Book A Day?

If you saw my tweet yesterday, I tweeted about my first book I read this summer. That book was Firefly July: A Year of Very Short Poems by Paul B. Janeczko and illustrated by Melissa Sweet. Click here for a summary on Goodreads. I used the hashtag #bookaday. This hashtag was started by Donalyn Miller who was the author of The Book Whisperer and Reading in the Wild. Both of these books were written for teachers. Donalyn started the #bookaday in 2009 as a way for people to share what they are reading. During the summer and school breaks the hashtag is widely used.

So I will be trying to tweet my #bookaday each day over our summer break. Every  Monday I will post a summary of the books that I have read during that week. Hope you will come along for the ride. Please feel free to leave comments about what you are reading or if you follow me on Twitter make sure you tweet about what you are reading.

Happy Reading!!

Miss Hazuda (@HESMediaCenter)

Scholastic Book Fair March 27th-April 4th

I'm so excited that the Scholastic Book Fair will be starting this Thursday, March 27th and run through Friday April 4th. We will be open weekdays 9:00am-3:30pm. We will also be open during the Sock Hop for those family attending this  fun event. Please visit the Book Fair Homepage for more information. New this time is a Book Fair app that you can download through the iTunes store or GooglePlay. Click here for more information about the app. This app is a great way for you, as the parent, to find out information quickly about a book. After downloading the app, you can scan the cover and find out reading level, appropriate age and grade, book summary, videos, and podcasts. This is a very helpful app. I've downloaded it and played around with it on the preview box of books.

Also, our Online Book Fair will be available from March 27th-April 12th. If there are books that you and your child can't find, or books for older or younger children the Online Fair is perfect. Any books that are ordered on the Online Book Fair will be delivered to Hollywood and there is no shipping and handling charges. This is a perfect way to get books for summer reading. If you want the books to be a surprise for your child(ren), just send me an email letting me know that you ordered and I will let you know when they come in.

If you have any questions, please email Miss Hazuda or Mrs. Bulvin.

Happy Reading!!

Miss Hazuda (@HESMediaCenter)

Snow Day Reading

My Snow Day Reading Pile

I can't believe that I'm talking about maybe another snow day! It seems unreal that we are getting snow again. I made sure that I went to the Public Library on Saturday so I could have some books to read if I happen to be home. I was also excited to get my book order from Amazon, which added to my pile. I got some new books for the HES Library Media Center. A few that I got were: the next in the Origami Yoda series (Princess Labelmarker to the Rescue), the next in the Marty McGuire series (Marty McGuire Has Too Many Pets), and the third in the Floors trilogy (The Field of Wacky Inventions). I know the students will love them as much as I have. I admit, I started reading a bit already.

Hope everyone stays safe and warm. Please share what you are reading during this maybe snow day in the comments section.

I'll be posting soon about what we have been working on the the Library Media Center. Stay tuned!

Happy Reading!!
Miss Hazuda (@HESMediaCenter)

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

Today is Dr. Seuss’ birthday! Theodor Seuss Geisel was born in 1904 so this year would be his 110th birthday! As a child he liked to draw. As a child Theodor enjoyed drawing. After he graduated from high school and from college he used his skills to sell cartoons. He was also hired to illustrate advertisements. 

In 1937 Dr. Seuss wrote To Think I Saw it on Mulberry Street. It was the first of over 60 books he wrote. More than forty were written and illustrated by Geisel for children. His books written with poetic patterns and rhymes began a new trend in literature. His books were fun to read and many had simple words that helped students learn to read. 

It is true that Geisel was challenged to write a book using fewer than 50 words. The result is one of our favorites: Green Eggs and Ham! 

You can also go to PebbleGo and listen to a biography about Dr. Seuss. If you need the user name and password, please email Mrs. Bulvin or myself.  Please make sure you mention who your student is, because this log in is only for HES students. Once in the database, go in to Biographies and the click on Writers.

Seuss Writing Challenge:
Take a look at these two word clouds. One is for Green Eggs and Ham and the other is for The Cat in the Hat. Can you write a story inspired by the words of Dr. Seuss? You can either write a story only with the words from one of the books or write a story using some of the words you really like! Write your story and draw a picture. Bring it in to the library and we’ll put it on display! 

Green Eggs and Ham

The Cat in the Hat

What is your favorite Dr. Seuss book? Share in the comments!

Happy Reading!!

Miss Hazuda (@HESMediaCenter)

President's Day

This week begins with President’s Day. President’s Day is always the third Monday in February because it is a day very close to the birthdays of both President George Washington and President Abraham Lincoln. 

Have you ever wondered how some of our presidential heroes got the job in the first place? Do you ever dream of being President? Maybe you’ve got what it takes! 

You can read about the achievements of many presidents at Amazing Americans. What kinds of qualities did our past leaders have? 

Would you be a good President? Do you have the right skills, ability to make decisions, and a positive personality? Find out in these two interactive games: If You Were President and President for a Day! 

If you discover that you would be a great President, you should check out your future residence. The White House offers an online tour. Learn about the history of the house through maps, photos, and videos. 

Finally, listen to what other kids would do if they were Kid President:

You can see more videos of Kid President and a learn all about him on his website. He has some great videos! I just love watching them!

Also if you want to access some great information about the presidents you can always use our online databases:  World Book Online (for our older students) and PebbleGo (for our younger students).  Both sites require a user name and password. If you need the user name and password, please email Mrs. Bulvin or myself.  Please make sure you mention who your student is, because this log in is only for HES students.

Happy Reading!

Miss Hazuda (@HESMediaCenter)

Valentine's Day

Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is more than just a day to celebrate love. It’s a celebration of who we are as people. As humans we thrive because of our relationships with other people. We work together in groups to solve problems. We have teams to accomplish goals. We have friends to spend time with. We learn from others of all ages. 

The people around us make a difference to us every day.

Which is why February 14th is a great day to write letters and cards to friends and family members we appreciate. 

Valentine’s Day has a long history and there are many different traditions celebrated around the world. The United Kingdom began the tradition of sending flowers, chocolates and cards. In the area of Slovenia (in Europe near Austria and Hungary) February 14th is a celebration of spring. Men and women go out into the fields to being their work. In some countries in Central America February 14th is a traditional day to do acts of kindness for friends. 

To celebrate this week of kindness and the people we love here are a few things you can do:

Monday: Read about the traditions of Valentine's Day on Pebble Go.   
              If you need the user name and password, please email Mrs. Bulvin 
              or myself.  Please make sure you mention who your student is,
              because this log in is only for HES students. Once in the database,
              go in to Social Studies, and then Holidays. 

Tuesday: Do like puzzles? Do this interactive word search from National 
              Geographic Kids. 

Wednesday: Do a Random Act of Kindness for someone. Here are some ideas
                    for people of all ages. 

Thursday: Make a card for a friend or relative. Follow these directions at 
                Instructables for a simple card or for a more challenging card.

Friday: Watch a Valentine-themed video from PBS Kids.  

Happy Reading!!

Miss Hazuda (@HESMediaCenter)