Tag Archives: mini grant

CMLE, Guest Blogger, Materials

Report from CMLE Mini Grant: Books about Empathy

This is a guest post from Media Specialist Jenny McNew at Talahi Community School. Need a Mini Grant to purchase materials or try an interesting new program at your library? Apply today! 

As I watch the students I work with each day interact with each other it became clear to me that something was different and there seemed to be something missing since our students weren’t being very nice to each other. I pondered this feeling daily and it became clear to me as I watched their interactions that what was missing was kindness and empathy.  

I began to do a little research and found that empathy can and should be taught. As I thought about adding one more thing to the plates of our teachers, it was clear that a great way to teach these topics with an attentive audience was through books. Through a classroom mini-grant from CMLE I have been able to purchase some beautiful books that emulate these topics in an entertaining and engaging way. I purchased, “UnSelfie: Why Empathetic Kids Succeed in Our All-About-Me World” by Michele Borba as a professional read for staff to help them help students take on the skills of empathy and kindness. For student discussion I purchased 35 fabulous titles, some which come with great discussion questions to help facilitate conversations with kids.

What I loved about these books is the characters were a mirror of the students we teach. “Listening with My Heart: A Story of Kindness and Self-Compassion” by Gabi Garcia; “I Am Enough” by Grace Byers; “You, Me, and Empathy: Teaching children about empathy, feelings, kindness, compassion, tolerance, and recognizing bullying behaviors” by Jayneen Sanders. As I read to first graders I heard comments like, “Jade’s like Quinn” and “We are all more than enough!” Thank you CMLE for this wonderful addition to our library!

 

Guest Blogger, Materials, Services

Report from CMLE Mini Grant: LittleBits

This is a guest post from Sarah Gerber, 4th grade teacher at Talahi Community School.  She worked with their Media Specialist Jenny McNew to receive this CMLE Mini Grant. Need a Mini Grant to purchase materials or try an interesting new program at your library? Apply today! 

As part of our Grade 4 standards my students worked on circuits. While working  to STEMify our curriculum the students began using LittleBits to understand how circuits work and how to use them in the design process to create a machine that utilizes electronics.

My students were thoroughly engaged as they learned about inputs, outputs, wires, and power sources. They needed to rely on their collaboration and problem solving skills while following a guide to design an art invention tool. From there students could choose to create a design of their own to solve a real world problem. From using the buzzer for an alarm, to having light sensors help us navigate the dark, the students amazed me with their curiosity and perseverance in completing a design. It was common to hear, “This is so cool!” and “Oh, now I get it!”

LittleBits are an excellent tool to create projects that are STEM and STEAM related. They helped my students understand the MN standards on Energy and Engineering regardless of their technical ability. The color coded electronic “Bits” snap together magnetically and can be used to create many different inventions for multiple skill levels. We purchased the STEAM Student Set and found that it worked best in groups of two to three.

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Featured service: CMLE Grants page

Money, Money, MoneyWho doesn’t love free money??  With 15 different grants to choose from, our CMLE Grants page is a wonderful resource to get extra money for an innovative project or idea for your library, school, or classroom. Here are just a few. Make sure to check out the rest on our page!

  • AASL Innovative Reading Grant: Funding for programs for children which motivates and encourages reading, especially with struggling readers.
  • Adopt-a-classroom: Donors partner with teachers for funding critical resources and needs for the classroom.
  • Arthur Vining Davis Foundation: Professional development funding.
  • Digital Wish Grants: Submit a technology-based lesson plan for a chance to win over 50 different technology grants.
  • DonorsChoose.org: Post classroom project requests on DonorsChoose.org. “Citizen philanthropists” can browse project requests and give any amount to the one that inspires them.

Plus several more to check out here.  There are grants for all library and school types on our page.

 

Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/pzn8nto, licensed under CC BY 2.0

 

General, Public, School Media Specialist

Need $500? Public school and library mini-grants available!

Money!Do you have an idea for an imaginative and exciting program? In honor of Ezra Jack Keats’ 100th birthday, the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation is offering $500 Mini-Grants. Eligibility is limited to public schools and public libraries with a program idea reaching preschool-grade 12. According to the foundation’s Mini-Grants page, the idea should “foster creative expression, working together and interaction with a diverse community.” Grant deadline is March 31, 2016.

Some ideas from the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation:
~a mural
~a story walk
~a quilt
~a theatre production
~a newspaper or other publication
~an intergenerational activity
~a program that brings disparate communities together

For more information on the Ezra Jack Keats Mini-Grants click here.

Don’t forget to check out other valuable grant opportunities on the CMLE Grants page located on our website under “Resources”.

Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/oykz869, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

 

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Updates & Reminders from State Library Services

MDE logo retrieved online 12/17/13..

TO: Minnesota Libraries
FROM: State Library Services
DATE: October 20, 2014
SUBJECT: MBTBL job opening, GCFLearnFree.org, LSTA Mini Grants due, MLA thanks and 90-Second Newbery

Position Opening at the Minnesota Braille and Talking Book Library
The Minnesota Braille and Talking Book Library (MBTBL) is seeking qualified candidates for a full-time library technician. Located in Faribault, the MBTBL provides library services to individuals with a visual, physical or reading disability that prevents them from reading standard print materials. The vacancy announcement and application form may be found online at the My State Job Search website. The closing date for the position is October 23, 2014. For more information please contact Catherine Durivage at 507-384-6860 or catherine.durivage@state.mn.us.

Free 21st Century Skills Training Website: GCFLearnFree.org
Over the past decade, the Goodwill Community Foundation’s GCFLearnFree.org program has helped millions around the world learn the essential skills they need to live and work in the 21st century. From using Microsoft Office and email to reading, math, and more, the website offers more than 90 free, self-paced tutorials, including more than 1,000 lessons.

Please join us for an informational webinar on Wednesday, October 29, 2014 from 11 a.m. to noon. Get a virtual tour of the site and learn how other libraries have successfully used GCFLearnFree.org with their patrons. Preregistration is not required. View the webinar. If requested, enter your name and email address, then click “Join.”

For more information, please contact Jennifer Verbrugge at 651-582-8356 or jennifer.verbrugge@state.mn.us.

LSTA Mini Grant applications due November 5
State Library Services is pleased to offer two competitive mini grant opportunities — Playful Learning in Libraries and Expanded Learning through Libraries. With streamlined applications, mini grants are short term grant awards of up to $10,000 for projects taking place from approximately early January through September 30, 2015. Applications for both mini grant opportunities are due on November 5.

Playful Learning in Libraries mini grants are offered to bolster the capacity of public libraries to provide welcoming and engaging play-friendly spaces and experiences that engage children ages 0-8 and their parents/caregivers in play and learning. These projects will also ensure that early learners experience a variety of playful activities that support their growth across the six domains of Minnesota’s early childhood indicators of progress. For inspiration, see what was done at the Park Grove Library in Cottage Grove with a Playful Learning in Libraries mini grant. For more information about this opportunity, contact Jackie Blagsvedt at jacqueline.blagsvedt@state.mn.us or 651-582-8805.

Expanded Learning through Libraries mini grants are designed to support activity-based partnerships between schools and public libraries. The overarching goal is to increase organizational capacity to connect students with meaningful out-of-school time opportunities that improve literacy, academic achievement, college readiness and more. For more information about this opportunity, contact Jennifer Verbrugge at jennifer.verbrugge@state.mn.us or 651-582-8356.

Grant opportunity documents, including timelines, are available on MDE’s grants management site.

Great to See You at the MLA Conference!
State Library Services staff members Jen Nelson, Jackie Blagsvedt and Jen Verbrugge enjoyed connecting with you at the MLA Conference. Thanks to all who attended the programs we presented and chatted with us about your libraries. Please continue the conversation — feel free to contact any State Library Services staff member by email or phone. We love to hear from you!

Calling All Kid Filmmakers!
The 90-Second Newbery Film Festival is an annual video contest in which kid filmmakers make movies that creatively tell the entire stories of Newbery-winning books in ninety seconds or less. Making the film is a fun, creative and multi-faceted educational exercise. Kids write, storyboard, produce, act, frame and edit. James Kennedy, the founder and curator of the 90-Second Newbery, made his own 90-second movie about the 90-Second Newbery inviting you to take part.

Public librarians, school librarians, homeschool parents and teachers are encouraged to work with their kids to make movies. The deadline to submit films is December 20, 2014 (deadline extended to 1-16-2015 as of 12-11-2014). Inspiration and more information can be found on the 90-Second Newbery website. Want to make a 90-Second Newbery video, but are daunted by the project? Download this handy guide of tips, tricks, and strategies.

Mark your calendar for the first-ever Minnesota screening of the best local entries on Saturday, February 28, 2015, from 3:00-4:30 pm at Hennepin County Library – Minneapolis Central. Co-hosts of the event will be James Kennedy and Kelly Barnhill, Minneapolis author of The Witch’s Boy. For more details, please contact Jennifer Verbrugge at jennifer.verbrugge@state.mn.us or 651-582-8356.