CHESS Christian Library

Help Your Library - Check out Books!

March 08, 2019

I went to a library book sale last week, and their library's excess turned into the CHESS library's blessing! I spent an entire morning sifting through books, and ended up with quite a few stacks of interesting and relevant books for our collection.

This is exciting! It's also a bit of a problem, because I currently don't have enough room on our shelves for all these books.

I've added what I can, but now many of the shelves are just about as tightly packed as I can make them! Our CHESS families can help with this problem, however, in two different ways:

1. Keep on supporting the CHESS capital campaign. We need that bigger library space, folks! Also, the other rooms and great outdoor spaces, too. But that library! Let's make that happen!

2. Come check out books! Did you know that any CHESS student, whether homeschooled or enrolled full-time, can check out books? Did you know that we really, really WANT our CHESS students and families to check out books? We are always working to add materials that will complement the diverse learning experiences of our students. Our library is made for our students and their families - please don't be afraid to use it! And don't let those sometimes pesky library notices deter you - they're automated and just serve as reminders. I would rather our students be checking out books regularly and losing track of due dates, than letting all our great books sit on the shelves unused!

Go to our New Books page to see what's been added lately...and come see us soon!

Share |

Library Week 2019 - Once Upon a Time

February 08, 2019

This week was Library Week, and while it was much quieter than last year's Grand Opening Week, we still had a great week of celebrating books and readers. Our theme this year was "Once Upon a Time," featuring the tried and true tales that have inspired so many books and stories over the years.

On Day 1, we featured tales from "All Around the World," with stories from Russia, West Africa (various countries!), China, India, and more! Some were original to a particular country or region (such as the Anansi tales), and others were cultural twists on popular stories (La Princesa and the Pea!)

Day 2 honored "Brave Girls and Strong Women." It's a common misconception that fairy tale heroines are represented only as helpless "damsels in distress," but this is actually far from true! Gerda from The Snow Queen

and the "fair lass" in East of the Sun and West of the Moon, for instance, go to great lengths and endure many hardships in order to rescue their beloveds. Most of their counterparts in other such tales are also courageous, determined, and fierce.

On Day 3, we showcased "Heroes and Adventures," with clever boys and gallant men. And in chapel we shared the story of a real-life hero, Brother Andrew, who had many great adventures and saw God's miraculous provision in his years of delivering Bibles to countries behind the Iron Curtain. His story is told in God's Smuggler, and the students were encouraged to check it out from the library to read it for themselves! As it was, hearing some of them retell it the next day was such a blessing. If your student was present for Wednesday's chapel, have them tell you what they learned about Brother Andrew!

We concluded Library Week on Day 4, with "Animal Tales," displaying many of the wonderful stories the younger students have already been enjoying in storytimes throughout the year. We also shared pictures of the "Stuffed Animal Sleepover" of the previous night, when students dropped off their stuffed animals to roam CHESS and explore the library before settling down for the night.

Each day we offered prize drawings for both Upper and Lower School students, and that proved to be a fun part of our week. I loved seeing so many of our students stop by the library, even for brief moments. I hope that they were inspired in those moments by the wonderful stories and ideas housed in just our small corner.

Happy reading to all our CHESS students. Join us for Library Week again next week!

Share |

Library Week!

February 01, 2019

Hello again, CHESS friends! The library blog has been quiet over the past couple of months, but the library itself has been bustling with activity. I've enjoyed visiting with students of all ages, as they discuss upcoming literature projects (don't worry, high schoolers, Romeo and Juliet can actually be a pretty fun read!), discover new stories, and return to old favorites. Our collection has also been steadily growing (check out our New Books page to see the latest additions)!

Next week, we'll be celebrating the library with Library Week! (Yes, it was originally scheduled for this past week - we apologize for any confusion!) We'll be featuring great stories with a different theme each day, offering daily prize drawings for both Upper and Lower School students, and hosting a Stuffed Animal Sleepover on Wednesday. (see details below!) A used book sale will also be out, with books available for $0.50-$1.00.

Come celebrate all that's good about books and the CHESS library with us!

*Stuffed Animal Sleepover - bring your favorite stuffed animal for an overnight at the library! The official drop off date is anytime Wednesday, February 6, but students who do not attend electives that day may drop off their animals with Mrs. Meester Monday or Tuesday. Come pick your friends back up on Thursday (special permission may be granted for the following Monday), and find out what kind of fun they had on their library adventure!*

Share |

Books that Bring Joy

October 26, 2018

There's nothing like finding that book.

Princess in Black has been just such a book this week for several of our young students, and their joy and excitement as they make their way through the adventures of Princess Magnolia and friends is positively contagious!

Princess in Black is perfect for readers who are just venturing into chapter books, and it's clever and witty enough to charm readers of all ages (I love reading them!).

Share |

Spirit Week!

October 19, 2018

This week was Spirit week at CHESS, which was a blast for the whole school! To see the week in pictures, check out the CHESS blog, where you can see Pop Culture Day, Game Day, Color Day, and Pajama Day. My personal favorite day of the week was the last one, because it meant Thursday story times in our pajamas!

As a special treat, and a nod to a cozy bedtime story time, we read two versions of The Little Red Hen - a faithful retelling of the original, and a slightly less conventional version involving pizza. Both, however, highlighted the virtues of industriousness and diligence, and cautioned against laziness, in the clever and lighthearted way that makes the classic folktales such valuable pieces of early education. Also, no animals were eaten in this week's tale, which was a relief to everyone, I'm sure!

In other library happenings of the past couple of weeks, we celebrated fall (and the much-awaited arrival of actual fall weather!)

Our fall display featured some of our newest additions to the library collection, which is growing so rapidly that we've added a special page for new arrivals. Check our NEW BOOKS page often to see the most recent additions! You can also see some of the new books, as well as a rotating selection of recommended books each week, on our "Books of the Week" cart.

And last but not least, we had a special visitor this week, Riley the ball python. He traveled to many of the classes for no particular reason, other than that he adds a fun boost to the day when he comes to CHESS! Most everyone likes Riley's visits...with a few notable exceptions who shall remain unnamed (although you may have heard them as they darted in the other direction!).

I hope all this fun and contagious learning is translating into happy learning at home as well, and I would LOVE to hear about it, so comment below and share what your family is reading or exploring. Until next time!

-Mrs. Meester

Share |

Books about Belonging (and a Few Pigs!)

October 05, 2018

This week we were so busy in the library that, to my dismay, I forgot to take pictures! So this week, I'll just briefly share a few of the great books we shared with our students.

All week long, we displayed the creative works of our 8th grade Language Arts students, who had written poems describing the feelings of being social insiders and outsiders. Alongside those poems, we featured books that also grapple with some of those feelings, in individuals and among groups of friends. Click on the links to learn more about each, and then visit our library to check them out!

Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan

(This is one of my favorites, spanning years, many miles, and even genres! It's also excellent in audiobook format, which unfortunately we don't have in the CHESS library, but is definitely worth finding elsewhere. In the meantime, check out the book!)

The Dreamer by Pam Muñoz Ryan

The View From Saturday by E.L. Konisburg

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jaqueline Kelley

Then at the end of the week, I visited each of the K-2nd classes for our weekly story times, and we enjoyed another classic folk tale - The Three Little Pigs. Being a retelling of the most original version of the tale, two of the pigs do come to a tragic end, but it gave the students an excellent opportunity to discuss the consequences of hasty and foolish choices!

These are the library picks this week - what are yours? I would love to hear what our students and their families are reading this weekend!

Share |

The School Year Begins...Fun and Learning Ensues!

September 28, 2018

The library blog has been quiet for the past few weeks, but the start of the school year has been a very busy one for the library! We've been establishing routines, distributing books and materials, making connections with teachers, and, most importantly, getting to know our CHESS students! Now that we're in full swing, I'm excited to share some of the highlights from the last few weeks.

We've featured some great books in our displays, starting with fairy tales (which will be a theme in the library throughout the year):

Most recently, we featured Chasing Vermeer, a great book for middle grade students (and beyond!) that uses art history, codes and ciphers, and pentominoes to weave together an exciting and challenging mystery. And what are pentominoes? You can find the information we shared with our students here: What Are Pentominoes?. Other resources, including some challenging pentomino puzzles and activities, are still available in the library for teachers, students, and parents to continue to explore.

We're also adding new books to our collection regularly, as we work to provide teachers with resources to supplement their class topics, as well as to connect our students with good and relevant literature.

And finally, I'm excited about the opportunity I've had to visit some classes on a weekly basis, getting to know students and sharing stories with them. We've been reading classic folk tales and having great fun together doing so, but we've also been able to discuss the value of wisdom and the perils of foolishness.