Marvelous Mornings in the Media Center

Each morning I leave my house around 6:30 am in order to arrive to school early to prepare for Marvelous Mornings in the Media Center.  Since this is a service my school provides for students who arrive at 7:30 before the first bell which is at 8:00, it is considered a "duty", and sounds like it should be a lot of work, but in fact it is the exact opposite.  The 30 minutes I spend in the library each morning is consistently my favorite part of the school day and I look forward to seeing smiling faces walk through the library each and every day.

Students arrive at a variety of times, from a variety of grades, each one with different interests and skills.  A few years ago, if you walked into the library in the early mornings kids would all be on computers playing online video games, some of which were somewhat educational.  Last year, with the renovations on our library, and the computer lab that once lived in there was now gone, our department was provided with an opportunity to introduce activities each morning that went beyond the computer and engage children in meaningful learning experiences.

This year I am the only teacher "on duty"5 days a week in the library and I seized an opportunity to provide consistent programming for these kids who arrive early each and every day.  On any given day you will see students using their brains first thing in the morning to create and innovate.  Each week is theme based, and each day I prepare a suggested activity, but there is always the freedom to do/make/create whatever you want from materials we have on hand in the Media Center for this purpose.  And of course there are a few kids who visit the library early in the day to checkout and/or read ACTUAL BOOKS.  Some days a parent will even be seen in the library participating in the activities alongside the kids.

To document the activities I did, as well as to share them with my PLN on twitter, I started tweeting using #marvelousmornings.  Looking back on all the Marvelous Mornings at school I am reminded of some of my favorites.

I put out outdated floppy discs and the kids had a ball taking them apart and
creating new objects out old ones.

I introduced Snap Circuits to the kids, integrating the theme of light for Hanukkah.  The kids loved the Snap Circuit kits so much, that they chose to use them for a week and a half straight, each morning completing the different projects.    

Sometimes we need to use our resources in order to be inspired to create.  So during Autumn Week, I logged into my Pinterest account that morning and typed in fall acorn crafts and let students troll through the dozens of pages and found projects that interested them and then executed their version of it. 

So why are Marvelous Mornings consistently my favorite part of the day?  It is because the students arrive each morning excited for learning and fun.  I love that they feel ownership of the time and give me suggestions, and I allow their interests and ideas guide the activities day to day or week to week.   When it is time for school to begin, I tell them to have a great day and I am happy to say that the majority don't go running out the second they hear the bell.  I love that some of them "help me clean up" just so they can hangout a few extra minutes finishing up their project and talking with me. How many teachers do you know who say the best part of the day is their day is their "duty"?  I know only one, and it's me.