Dear Media Specialists,
Nothing is over like summer! I hope yours was fun and your batteries are recharged for a new year of opportunities!
My newest reading program, “Wherever You Go, There’s a Story!,” debuted in over 70 libraries this summer, and it is so much fun! We learned about the continents, legends and folk tales, animals and culture and a whole lot more! I got great reviews all summer long, and I can’t wait to bring it to your school! (There’s more about that below.)
My goal with this newsletter is to share information that is
- helpful
- relevant
- concise (to that end, some of the articles conclude on my blog)
- linked to other e-sources for further study.
Of course, every issue will also include some shameless self-promotion, but since you have already seen or heard about my programs, you know that even those sections of the newsletter can be helpful!
This time we cover:
Rewarding summer readers
Our newest show, Wherever You Go, There’s a Story!
Liberty County Media Showcase
Arctic Express
Budget Crunch
It’s Time to Reward Those Summer Readers and Kick off a New Year!
Early each school year, the media specialist at Brandon ES in Atlanta celebrates her students’ participation in the public libraries’ Summer Reading Program. This is a great way to encourage reading ALL YEAR LONG! She has a fun celebration that rewards the kids with a snack and a fun magic and puppet show (performed by one of my favorite magicians!). She gives the kids a book, a bookmark and a certificate, and they have drawings for prizes as well.
I know it encourages kids to read, because she was celebrating summer readers as our media specialist when my boys were in elementary school 17 years ago. They LOVED being a part of this recognition and it really spurred them to read even more in the summer!
If you are interested in having one of our reading programs to encourage/reward your summer readers, let me know. I have special pricing for summer reading celebration shows.
For a new year Reading Kickoff, any of our fun and educationally significant reading programs can help you get your year started off right. Any programs booked to take place in August or September get 15% off the regular pricing! The most popular "kick off show" is I Love to Read, a program that shows students that good readers can learn to do all kinds of things, meet all kinds of people and have all kinds of adventures.
Call or e-mail me (770-640-6509, toll free at 1-866-490-READ, or tommy@tommyjohnspresents.com) for more information, or to book a program!
Wherever You Go, There’s a Story!
If you book our newest program for your school, you can travel to all seven continents, learn interesting facts about each place and hear stories that help students appreciate other cultures while being inspired to read! Like all of our programs, Wherever You Go uses puppets, magic, music and audience participation to encourage reading and teach library skills. And it looks like a social studies show! All summer long, parents and librarians talked about how much THEY learned and how fun the show is. Check the website, http://tommyjohnspresents.com for more details.
Liberty County Media Showcase
If you are near Liberty County, GA (south of Savannah) and want to attend a SUPER one day conference with great vendors, free prizes, useful breakout session and workshops and a fun atmosphere, you should attend the Liberty County Media Showcase on September 1 in Hinesville. I will be leading a session entitles “45 Ideas in 45 Minutes!” a session that will give you a basket load of ideas for promoting your media center and reading in general. The 45 ideas will be listed on a webpage after the meeting and the link will be included in the next newsletter. Find out more on their blog (and read a review of last year’s Showcase) at http://mediamatterslcss.blogspot.com.
Arctic Express
It’s still in the upper 80’s outside, but it’s time to be thinking about your holiday programming. Last year we sold out of available days for Arctic Express, a show that many say is the best of the ones we offer. Set as a story about a boy who LOVES trains, it’s a show that explores the late fall and early winter festivals of cultures and religions from around the world. The show covers Diwali, Hanukah, Ramadan, Solstice, Kwanzaa, Chinese New Year and of course Christmas.
Don’t miss out on a reading show that your students and teachers will love, and that you may be able to get the counselors to pay for (since it is a show about diversity!).
Budget Crunch
Media Specialists are among the most committed teachers I know. You have the largest classroom in the school, you teach everybody, and you have to do it with less money every year. Funding keeps getting harder and harder to come by, especially for things like reading assembly programs. I can help. (Of course, this is a bit self serving, but I really believe that what I do can help reinforce what your teachers are teaching and can inspire kids to read!) I have done a lot of research and have written an article outlining 5 ways you can bring a program to your school without impacting the budget. Click on the link below and read more about it!
Funding a Reading Assembly
That’s it for this month! See you in September!
Encouraging Kids to READ, I am
Tommy Johns
Educational Entertainment Specialist
http://TommyJohnsPresents.com
tommy@tommyjohnspresents.com
Call (770) 640-6509 or Toll Free at (866) 490-READ!
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Your colleagues appreciate recommendations from people like you. Do you know someone who needs educationally significant school assembly programs that encourage kids to read? Send them an e-mail about www.tommyjohnspresents and encourage them to find out more about what we offer!
